March 23, 2021 April 3, 2021

Pirate101 April Fools’ Day Tournaments 2021

Last year, I ran two April Fools’ day tournaments: one serious (normal rules) and one more lighthearted (joke rules). The community reception to running both tournaments was quite good. Furthermore, many people are still interested in tournaments. Once again, we’ll have TWO TOURNAMENTS (PLUS AN EXHIBITION MATCH, SEE BELOW).

The first will be a “joke” tournament with lots of wacky rules that you won’t find anywhere else. The second tournament will be similar to our other 1v1 tournaments, with a focus on skillful play and balanced rules. Most importantly, you CAN participate in both tournaments! We have lots of awesome prizes, generously provided by Kingsisle, so these aren’t competitions that you’ll want to miss! But first, let’s go over the basic info for each tournament.

This year, I’m adding an exhibition 3v3 match. What makes this match special? In line with the spirit of April Fools’, I want to make the craziest 3v3 this game has ever seen.

IMPORTANT: WHEN YOU SIGN UP, YOU WILL RECEIVE A FRIEND REQUEST FROM DISCORD USER MATTHEW#9684. PLEASE KEEP YOUR FRIEND REQUESTS OPEN SO I CAN INVITE YOU TO THE PARTICIPANT SERVER.

General Tournament Info

The following information applies to BOTH tournaments (and the 3v3)!

We have separate signups for each event, found in the below sections.
All participants must play on the US Pirate101 server and be level 65+. Players declare a single pirate for each tournament they sign up for. You can’t switch pirates between rounds. However, you can declare different pirates if you sign up for both tournaments.
- Teams that sign up for the 3v3 will be asked to provide pirate information for all 3 characters on a single form. There are no class restrictions for teams.
Both tournaments will be Swiss tournaments, with a cut to the top 8 and will start April 6th (signups remain open until the 5th at 11:59 PM eastern time). The number of Swiss rounds is TBD and depends on turnout (plan for 5-6 rounds in either tournament)
- All rounds in both tournaments will be best of 3. The Exhibition 3v3 will be a single match(es).
  All participants will join a tournament-exclusive Discord server in order to schedule their matches with their opponent. Within this server, participants are to be civil to one another and refrain from using inappropriate language. Breaking these rules are grounds for immediate disqualification. You will receive a Discord friend request from Matthew#9684 to invite you to the server.
  - Also worth noting: this server is not a general gameplay server. While you’re welcome to chat with fellow participants, pinging everyone to ask for help farming for something or to do random pvp matches isn’t this server’s intent. There are lots of other wonderful places to get in-game help.
Participants have 1 week to complete the matches for each round. However, if you and your opponent cannot schedule a mutually acceptable time, let an organizer know and we can look into providing an extension.
All matches will take place in the Spar Chamber.
Your internet connection is your responsibility. Should both players disconnect simultaneously, however, (due to a server DDOS attack, for instance), the match will be restarted with no consequences to either player.
If you have any conflicts during your match (an opponent breaking the rules, a game-altering glitch, etc.) it is your responsibility to provide concrete visual proof of these claims, preferably a screenshot or video recording. Only then can I force players to redo a match.

Finally, let me re-emphasize: You can sign up for both tournaments! Each will have its own section in the participant server.

“Joke” Tournament

What is a joke tournament, you may ask? Essentially, the tournament will feature rules that radically alter and de-power the PvP environment, forcing you to use gear, companions, and strategies that you would otherwise find insane. The tournament, obviously, doesn’t take itself very seriously. 😉

The prizes are as follows:

First place- 10,000 Crowns + April Fools’ Day Mount
Second place- 5,000 Crowns + April Fools’ Day Mount
Third and Fourth place- 2,500 Crowns + April Fools’ Day Mount

Joke Tournament Signups

The next two sections detail the rules. READ THEM VERY CAREFULLY!

Gear and Power Rules- Joke Tournament

All “No Auction” gear is banned.
All pets are banned.
The following powers are banned:
- Valor’s Fortress
- Blast of Discord
- Battle Zeal
Any two pieces of gear that you equip cannot have the same power grants. For example, I can only run 1 piece of gear with a revive power on it. Running 2 or more would be illegal. I can, however, run 1 piece of gear with a rally and one piece of gear with a revive.
Weapon restrictions: (pay close attention)
- All weapons used must be of a singular type (ex: only 1 of smashy, slashy, stabby, shooty, or staffy).
- No hybrid weapons (slashy stabby weapons are banned, for instance)
- Melee pirates (swashbucklers, buccaneers, and privateers) cannot use melee weapons (smashy, slashy, and stabby weapons). They must instead use either shooty or staffy weapons
- Musketeer pirates cannot use shooty weapons. They must instead use staffy or melee weapons (smashy, slashy, and stabby weapons)
- Witchdoctor pirates can not use staffy weapons. They must instead use shooty or melee weapons (smashy, slashy, and stabby weapons)

Companion Rules- Joke Tournament

I’m sure many of you have heard of “meme” companions. Units like Nurse Quinn, the Monquistans, and the Chicken Miner largely fail to see play in PvE or PvP. The idea for this tournament is largely based on forcibly giving these “meme” tier companions a chance to shine. So, we’ve made a list of companions that each class of Pirate can use. The companions on this list are all obtainable from storyline and side quests exclusively. Purchased companions of any sort are not allowed in this tournament.

Remember, your companions must come from your class’ list of companions. If you think we’ve missed one, contact us. Just a note, we have pre-emptively banned some side quest units for power level concerns.

Swashbuckler

Chicken Miner
Crab Hermit
Crazy Monquistador
Froggo Villa
Ju Hao
Monkey King
Monquistador Veteran
Nurse Quinn
Stormy Sky
Weasel Gambler

Witchdoctor

Batacuda
Bat Masterson
Bones McGee
Crokagator
Ghost Singer
Helephant
Ju Hao
Monkey King
Samoorai Musketeer
Scorpius
Skyfire
Sky Snake

Buccaneer

Bagha Khan
Ju Hao
Lost Ranger
Monkey King
Monquistador Crossbowman
Mustang Gaucho
Nadya
Pig Raider Crossbowman
Taro Moomori
Water Mole Slingman

Musketeer

Bison Hunter
Black Storm Elder
Corporal Sanders
Eagle Archer
Hidenari Kuga
Ju Hao
Masamune Goto
Monkey King
Romba

Privateer

Bison Shaman
Inoshishi Chief
Jim Masterson
Ju Hao
Monkey King
Monquisitor
Monterey Jack
Mustang Rowdy
Nanu Nanu

“Serious” Tournament

This tournament is more like other tournaments we’ve ran in the past. We have a general set of balancing rules, found below, but nothing else. The prizes are as follows:

First place- 10,000 Crowns + Empire Bundle
Second place- 10,000 Crowns
Third and Fourth place- 5,000 Crowns
Fifth through Eighth place- 2,500 Crowns

Serious Tournament Signup

Rules- Serious Tournament

Players are subject to the following rules in all matches during the tournament. Breaking these rules may result in your disqualification.

All Doubloons are banned.
Old Scratch is banned.
The Spring and Fall Champion weapons are banned.
All tiers of the Beastmaster Banner are banned.
The Imperial Robes of Moo Manchu are banned.
Ghor is banned, due to his Eagle Eyes glitch.
Overwatch 5 is banned.
Firstmate’s Boon is banned.
Blast of Discord is banned.
Haywire Companions are legal, but note that Overwatch 5 cannot be given to them.

Exhibition 3v3

Now for the new part for this year’s event. When mulling over what I wanted to do for April Fools’ tournaments, I had an idea for a very wild type of 3v3 event. No. Rules. At. All. Yes, Old Scratch will be allowed. Yes, Blast of Discord will be allowed. Yes, triple privy will be allowed. Yes, DOUBLOONS will be allowed (So get those Marks of Mooshu ready 😉 )

However, this style of event probably isn’t conducive to an entire tournament. It would get very old, very fast. I still want to try it out once or twice though. So, I’ve added a third event to this year’s slate. If you have two other friends and are interested in playing this no holds barred, everything goes format that makes traditional no rules events look fair, feel free to sign up.

Every full team that signs up will get at least one match. Winners of the match(es) will get prizes that will be determined later. I’d like to record at least one of the matches for content, hence the “exhibition.”

Exhibition 3v3 Signup