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A Player's "Review"
I'm currently at level 11 in Pirate 101 and here is what I've found out so far:
F2P? This is more of a free trial with no time limit. Although it is not the first game I've seen labeled as F2P that was only free for a few levels. In Pirate101, once the free area is complete, a player that wishes to continue playing the game can either subscribe to the game or pay to unlock chapters. Either method will unlock the content across the account (for those who have multiple characters).
Cash shop: There is a cash shop but the "need" to purchase items from the cash shop depends on the patience of the player. So far, I've had plenty of crew members just from those gained by playing through the game (most battles don't use all of the crew members I have) and a big enough boat (the first two boats came through quest line and I've already found a vendor that sells the next size boat with the use of in-game gold).
Setting: Although it is a pirate game with an ocean theme, it actually takes place in the sky. "Land" areas range from islands to clumps of boats to the back and inside of a whale.
Character creation: Looks are determined by selecting from preset choices (face, hairstyle, hair color, eye color, skin color) rather than the use of sliders. Player chooses colors for beginning outfit. Player also creates a flag and chooses colors for the flag. These color determinations become the colors used in all outfits used by the player and the crew members. During character creation player answers questions that determine bonus and class.
Graphics: cartoony
Combat: Except for ship to ship battles, combat is turn-based. I have not tried PvP so I do not know how PvP works.
Themepark v Sandbox: This is a typical themepark game with a main quests along with side quests.
Things to do: Aside from "land" and "sea" combat and doing quests, there are also mini-games similar to old arcade games.
Instanced v open world: Some areas are "open world" and others are "instanced." Player housing is "instanced." There are a lot of loading screens in the game but, fortunately, they go quickly on my computer.
Grouping: In "open world" areas, running into another battle causes players to join in the fight unless the area is already full. In "instanced" areas, there are four circles on the ground. Once a person is standing on a circle (by clicking x on keyboard or left click on mouse), a 10 count starts. Other players can join during the countdown. A player can also step off the circle during the countdown. If all players step off, the countdown resets. At the end of the countdown, whoever is on a circle enters the instance. The amount of enemies is affected by the group size and the amount of crew members joining in the battle depends on the number of players and the number of enemies. I've joined in a battle where none of my crew members were included due to the "board" (playing area) already being full.
Solo versus grouping: Due to the dynamic battles (enemy numbers varying according to player numbers) and the crew member system, I've successfully soloed some of the instances/dungeons so a person that prefers to solo would probably be able to solo the majority of the content in this game or a person would not find themselves being required to wait if they were unable to find other players for groups.
Population: Certain areas, especially the starting area, usually have other players around. The main time I've been in "empty" areas are the areas designed for a specific quest so it may take a bit for other players to come along with the same quest.
Lag: not an issue for me so far
Bugs: I've had two occassions in the game where I seemed to have lost connection. I don't know whether it was on my end or on the games end. The first time, I ended up getting kicked from the game. The second time, I had to relog. In both occasions, I was sailing and was unable to control or land the ship. The second time, I also noticed that at least part of my HUD was missing. As far as "on land" bugs, when exiting a building, I've found myself just outside the land area and unable to move. There are a couple of buttons that tp the player to another area (the starting island and the nearest "life stone") so it was easy to escape being stuck and has not been a "game breaker" for me.
My take on the game: It offers something different from many of the other games currently available. While it might not be my preference for MMO styles, it is a good filler until some of the games in development come out.
Comments
I've invested money in the cash shop buying crown gear whenever there was a reasonable upgrade. I discovered all it did was take away an aspect of MMOs I really enjoy namely finding and using loot drops. It makes the game much more grindy when all you grind for is levels. I just got sick of the game around the level 37 mark and just couldn't do another 'kill X' quest
The solution should be obvious and just ignore the cash shop gear but that's really no solution for me. I like to be able to obtain the best gear available at any given level. Hell I can grind the same mob for days just to get that 1 special drop for those few higher stats. That becomes pointless when the best is just available with a trip to the store.
Living by loot is like shopping at a third hand store. It's nowhere as good and It makes me feel it too. That's what I liked about W101 when it was released. The best gear back then was available through play as well.
LOL, I might buy crown stuff at level 50. Of course only if its better than my pretty gold EPIC! Doubtful it will be!