[PIXEL PIRACY GUIDE] Tips, hunger, salary, morale, pets and start !

[Patricia Hapon]

I create this subject because for a while I start repeating myself a bit too much. Well, I can't ask peoples to look on the subjects already made or use the search's function so they'll find answer to their problems (I know they'll find it, I answered already most of them).

So here's I'll compact the pieces of informations and tips I've. Feel free to help, just like when you started peoples would love to know more.

F.A.Q. - Frequently Asked Questions:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/264140/discussions/0/522730700795790463/

1. Beginner's guides
   It's simple, you can find a lot of them :
   http://steamcommunity.com/app/264140/discussions/0/522730700795790463/
   http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=206746004
   http://pixelpiracy.gamepedia.com/Pixel_Piracy_Wiki
   http://pixelpiracy.gameiki.com/wiki/a_basic_survival_guide
   http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=295513118
   
   Or simply type "beginner" in the search's function.
   
   
2. Your world
   The important part is here, how is your world ?
   (Monsters) - Increases the amount of monster and pirates on the world map.
   (Mystery) - Increases islands and the type of monsters that will spawn on each island.
   (Drama) - increases ports, thieves on each ports, and problematic crew members.
   
   (More ship encounters) -Will get attacked by pirates more frequently during your travels.
   (Plague) - Crew members are more prone to scurvy, etc.
   (Long Dangerous Nights) -Travel time to each place/ encounter will take longer than normal.
   
   For the fathers you've choice between a famous pirate, a lazy guy or a perfect nobody.
   
   For a plundering and easy money based world you should choose:
   The monsters' world with more ships encounters !
   
   For a world made by a masochist for a masochist where it's mostly impossible to survive and all the peoples will say "Go back playing Dark Souls !" (like the last I made ...) you should choose :
   The plagued dramatic world !
   
   For a secured world where you'll manage you crew most of the time you'll have to choose :
   The dramatic nightly world !
   
   For a landlubbers' world, where you will try to avoid sailing you should choose :
   The mysterious plagued world !
   
   Now I think you've the gist of it. But you must ask "What's about my father ?"
   Here's again it's simple, you've the choice between a weapon, a crew member or gold.
   Let's be franks here :
   -Gold, you'll try to make some all the time (and we're hoping you'll succeed, or you're really bad)
   -Weapons, you'll finish by having so much that you'll be sick of it ... Thinking about selling them ? At the moment every weapon are sold 1GP (Gold piece).
   -Crew member, they're your reals enemies, you'll spend most of your time scolding them (even if they can't hear you) and they cost a lot.
   
   So, is it possible to choose nothing ? No, but :
   -Choosing gold is mostly useless, at first you'll don't need it that much. If you've chosen something like the long night you should however that this one, it will make more spare food to buy ... And you'll need it.
   
   -Choosing the sword is a good way to start and giving more damage, it's even more important if you want to try a "solo captain". It's a decent start, but fast enough you'll find better weapons and have to sell this one (or give it to a crew member). So it's really a decent START, after starting you'll end up remembering it and thinking "'Why the hell did I took that damn sword ?"
   
   -Choosing a crew member... He's far from the best guy ever, maybe he'll die a pathetic death, maybe he'll turn against you. But at first he'll be battle power and it's something that can help. Also he's free and in the long run can stay useful.
   
   So my list is made with the harder one up and easier one down.
   
   
3. First steps !
   Here we are, you've a small boat, you're in the starting (and more complete) town with shops, a bit of gold and normally a tavern.
   Go down of you boat (and make Horke go down if you've him) and keep only one block. Yeah, you heard (reading is part of hearing !) me, you'll keep one block, even the food you'll keep it !
   No need to go shopping, nothing good for you. Go back on your ... Block ... And open the map. Your objective is to search level 1 ship, capturing the first then plundering the others.
   When you've 360 GP (or more) you've the starting point of your adventures. (if needed sell some ships' parts) Normally you didn't had food or morale's problems, but if it goes below 40% just go in the tavern regenerating a bit, well if your lives start going down, go also in the tavern for regenerating.
   If you gain TP don't use them yet.
   
   
4. What is where ?
   There is quite a lot of informations displayed on your HUD, here's a little picture for explaing, more or less, what is where :
   http://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/14629809082014080630.png
   
   
5. 360 GP and the world is mine !
   So, why did I say you need 360 GP ? Simple :
   You'll go to the books' shop and use 60 GP for two "swimming" skills
   You'll also take one "cleaning", one "fishing" and one "cooking".
   Now hire a pirate (if you don't have Horke). Look at the cheapest one, ok, now look at his overall level ... That's what we need, you should search the most expansive one with the same overall level as the cheaper one. Reason ? They've the same overall level but not the same price, it's probably because of their perks. So the cheapest one probably have bad perks and the expansive one should have goods one. (I got a sailor like that)
   
   Now you've two "swimming", one "cleaning", one "fishing", one "cooking", a crew member and more or less 110 GP. It's time for searching a weapons' shop that sell fishing poles (if your starting town don't have one) ! When found it, buy it.
   
   Finish the level 1 encounters, then break your ship to just one block again, take a level two encounter and capture it, then start plunder them.
   
   Normally you should have some tp (and your crew member too) and quite a lot of gold (and ship's parts that you can keep or sell). Use "swimming" for each then one should focus on cleaning, the other one will focus on fishing and cooking. (soon he'll forget cooking so another crew member can focus on it, try to specialize them)
   
   Ok, now you can improve your stats, it's depend of your way to play and what you want from your crew. Myself I balance all the stats, so I've a balanced crew, but you can specialize them more.
   
   Your fisher is fishing, your cleaner is cleaning and if you put fishes on the deck of your ship the fisher will cook it. Normally no problem with hunger and as for morale, just go in the tavern when needing.
   
   Your next step should be to hire a cook, make the fisher forget it so you've three specialized members. After that buy some barrels (10GP each), they'll serves for stocking food and rum.
   Now you can try to buy six plants (two for each pirates) and your morale should stay high longer. Try to place everything on the upper and open part, so cleaning is easier, boarding is faster and your crew don't lost time walking all the way.
   When you think you're autonomous and can travel a bit without having to always go to the tavern it's time for making more money ... 200GP exactly. Then find a weapons' shop that sell combat fishing pole. Now your fisher have a decent weapon too (and can keep fishing).
   
   
6. Where are my items ?
   

   Originally posted by Morrowsaw:

   The way to put food on your ship is to hit Space or Esc go to ship setup and go to food choose the food you want to put down and place it somewhere on your ship
   Note:Some foods require a cook to be edible but most fruits can be eaten without needing one
   
   Items you buy are either food, weapons, books or ship things
   
   For weapons go to your crew click on their weapon and equip it to them
   
   Books can be found in the passive equip tab in a crew member stats as well all they need is 1 TP that hasnt been used and they will learn the skill

   
      
7. Fishing
   -Fishing will certainly be your main income of food.
   
   -For fishing you need to equip a member that got the finishing skill with a fishing pole (or combat fishing pole).
   
   -Finishing improve with the stat "luck", so at first all fisher tend to be really bad at it (the most you have when starting can be 5, not really good for fishing)
   
   -The fish are put in the "food" part of your ship, even while sailing you can access to it in the menu and put food on your ship.
   
   -The fish need to be cooked, so you need a cook (if possible with a chief's knife) that will make them edibles.
   
   -Barrels will help you keeping your food and save space on your ship, one barrel can take 10 fish, so 20 parts to eat.
   
   -Fish can be cooked directly in the barrels.
   
   -You should put the barrels on an open space (no roof) on the upper deck. When eating your pirates tend to poop, it will make cleaning easier if your cleaner don't need to go all the way because the food is in the bottom of the ship.
   
   -You can also take a barrel for rum, it is good with fish, keeping hunger and morale in check (but no, rum can't be fished)
   
   
8. Pets
   -In the menu (echap or space for opening it) you've your crew but also your animals.
   
   -Capturing animals is made with the ranged weapon named "cage", you've something like 15% of success for each launch. Be careful to not spam too much or you'll kill the animals, you should wait a bit before each launch.
   
   -Animals can get XP (mostly from sailing, or when ennemies drown) and level up.
   
   -There is a mount button (the one at the extrem right of your tool tip), when clicking on it each animals will jump on the head of the closer pirate. It's used for improving the say pirate or making animals going onboard or on land (they don't grapple).
   
   -For unmounting, as of now, you need to make them out in/out of your ship.
   
   -Each species have their own skills, turtles are made for defend themselves, crabs are made for improve their hosts, spiders are made for zone defense, boar are made for attacking, chicken are made for managing ...
   
   -You can box your animals (they tend to go attack the ennemies if you let ennemies board you), but beware, a one block large wall isn't enough to block everything well (ranged weapon, mount function), you should a least have a two blocks thick wall.
   
   
9. Cats
   Capturing and leveling cats can be useful, they stop the morale's drop of the peoples that carry them on their heads. It's kind of long and hard to do but it's useful. For the leveling part you can just box your cats somewhere in the ship, they'll don't mind it.
   
   
10. Salty dogs
    It's the name I give to the dogs I captured, but you can apply it to all "fighting pets" you can capture. Boars, dogs, monkeys, rats... They can fight (and sometime fight well) if leveled and they're free, not pooping, not drinking, not eating. Just box them until they're level well and you can have a cheap crew for defending your ship or that you can mount for fighting.
    For that it's best to runaway from islands with those animals, come back when you'll have cages, equip your crew with those cages and normally, you should be able to capture some. (take low level weapon like knives so you don't kill them)
    
    
11. Salary and morale
    -The salary depend directly from the morale, the more you need morale the more you need to pay. If you can manage morale without paying salaries ... Well, just don't pay it at all.
    
    -Some items can give morale (rum, tobacco ...), it should help you avoiding to pay your crew, or decreasing it's cost. Buying rum and putting it in barrels is cheaper than paying salaries.
    
    -There are also items that can help a lot, those are passive items like the eye-patch or legendary ring. You should equip them for the crew members that cost the most or when sailing. That sort of things.
    
    -Having plants help reducing the morale's decrease, you should try to have two plants for each pirates at least (the very least, actually four plants for each it's recommanded), even if it will not block the morale's decrease it should help.
    
    -Cleaning the ship and keeping it clean also help reducing that impact, more morale mean less salary, so cleaning isn't much of an option.
    
    -On some islands you'll find places like "fire camp" or "tetra bush". The fire camp, when used (there is a button for it on your tooltip) will restore your morale and the morale of your crew. The tetrabush have great chances to spawn tobacco. Those are really useful and you should try to remember them (or note them).
    
    -Taverns restore morale for free, you can never pay salaries if you go in tavern when needing. With all those tips, normally you'll just never pay salaries, or only when sailing for long. Consider taverns like your HQ, try to find some when exploring so you've a "web" and you should be able to safely travel.
    
    
12. Hunger
    Tricky part...
    -You should have one fisherman for at least three crew member (fisherman include). So a crew of 9 should have three fishermen. Having more is not a problem, if you've spare food you can sell it, it can make good money.
    
    -You'll need cooking too, so for this you should have one cook for three fishermen. (even while cooking peoples can eat, but a crowd isn't good)
    
    -You can also buy food in shops, if needed just do it, but it's not important and personally I avoid it.
    
    -Taverns restore hunger if under 40%, so yeah, taverns are your best friends, and yeah, you should use them. But beware ! Tavern restore at max 70% of hunger (more 60% than 70% ...) and your pirates will take foods from the boat at 50%, so tavern are most a "last resort" for hunger than a real solution !
    
    -Some items restore hunger ... Coconuts and bonemeal are the one I remember best, I think boar meat too ... But most of the "food" you can find (like bananas or crab meat) don't touch hunger, beware !
    
    
13. Healing items
    Healing items and skills now heal a percentage of total HP: Throwing medicine (10%), Doctor aura (1%/tick), Elixir(20%), Bread(5%), Small Elixir(10%), Crab Meat(10%), Cabbage(5%), Butter(3%), Viking Elixir(5%), Blueberry(3%), Raspberry(1%), Banana(10%), Egg(7%), Coconut(10%)
    
    
14. Cannons
    -I think they're expensive, you must buy some, then buy and keep ammos, train gunners with cannons mastery ... So yeah, I find that expansive.
    
    -Cannons are "automatically" used when boarding time, it can kill pirates (for now not giving you XP), damage the ship (can also make it buggy) and ending it by sinking it (no more chest, but you can still plunder it).
    
    -If your gunners are in the gunners' group they'll never fight, they'll just use cannons. It's not that bad, if they've cannons' ammos in end they tend to explode or make your crew explode, or make your ship explode ... Well, they shouldn't fight ... So this group is good for them.
    
    -The shivel gun is like a cannons but without the AOE, so it's like a cheap cannon with cheap effects ... Actually, perfect for testing how it work. I would have loved mounted harpoons ... But well ...
    
    
15. Plundering
    -Plundering is made by a button on the bottom of your screen, it look like a rock.
    
    -When plundering the ennemie's boat explode, with everything that was on it. (you, your crew members, chests, animals ...)
    
    -Plundering give you a bit of money (the more leveled the ship is the more you make money) and some ships' parts.
    
    -Before plundering make sure your crew is safe and sound on your ship ! Grapples will disappear on plundering, so don't do it before everyone is really on.
    
    -You can't plunder if there is still some ennemies (I tried ...).
    
    -There is a skill (Ship Plunder) that will give you more gold on plundering.
    
    
16. Capturing
    -Capturing is done in the same way as plundering but with the flag button.
    
    -When capturing it's your previous ship that'll explode, make sure you and your crew are safe on your new ship !
    
    -Capturing tend to make your stuff disappear, so save your wheel, grind-wheel, sparesword, cards, barrels and other stuff before capturing a ship. (sometime they're saved, but better be safe than sorry)
    
    -Capturating is mostly useful for "upgrading" your ship at each new level encounters, but you can also make a brand new personal ship.
    
    -A good way to make money is to change your ship for a raft (3/4 blocks only) and capture a new ship, then making it a raft and capturing another ... Each time you'll get more ships' parts than when plundering, and ships' parts can be sold well. (That's why at the start I told you to capture a first ship)
    
    -Animals on a ship will disappear after capturing it. At first there was an animation where the captain kicked them in the water like cleaning but it was too long and violent so it was removed. (I'm joking ! But, yeah, you can't capture animals by capturing the ship, you still must use cages)
    
    
17. Ultimates
    -Ultimates skills are the ones that cost 300GP each. 20 strikes, Falcon Dance, Boar Strike, Gun frenzy, Ace are ones of them.
    
    -One pirate can have one ultimate. Sure you can make him learn two, three, four, but he'll just use one, so the other were wasted, and if you think about the price, it's quite a waste.
    
    -The pirates just use ultimates as a last resort, so basically when low on life (15 or less%). It will also be less useful if they can retreat (you can't retreat and use your ultimate).
    
    -Ultimates can be found in chests, it's rare but it happen (I got falcon dance at my first chest ... Well I really danced after that ...) so it can be good to not spend GP in this in the beginning.
    
    -Ultimates start directly at level 10, they can't improve by leveling them, but they do improve by leveling your pirate as they depend directly of him.
    
    
18. Tribals
    Tribals are goods enemies, at first they're strong, but when you can dispose of them (level 20 or more) they're just your friends. Make them appear with totems or hook, kill them, then go on another islands and do the same.
    You can gain giant axes (good weapons with bleeding effect... You'll probably feel it ...) and tribal masks, that give +1TP at each level (made from sailing or fighting, not from items).
    Tribals give some of the best loots, we all love tribals !
    
    
19. Bounty hunting
    -Bounty hunting can start from town with a "wanted" place.
    
    -Bounty hunting is hard, you should start it only when your crew can take level 4 encounter and everyone can fight well.
    
    -If a target fall in water the whole crew take XP (even animals), it can be an excellent way for leveling.
    
    -Bounty hunting don't give much money, but it give money, so it's also a good way to make some. Most of the time you'll not have to travel much for it.
    
    -Bounty hunting give "renown", "renown" give you small discount in some shops. The more you hunt the more you'll have renown, and so discount ... Did I said hunting give money too ?
    
    
20. Spare swords, grind-wheel, cards ect.
    -Those are excellent items when sailing, the grind-wheel can help improve your weapons, so the rookies will always have some fighting power. blocks only)/
    
    -You should just never put them on your ship and never use them. Well, the grind-wheel isn't a problem, if you upgrade the fish-pole before.
    As you've guessed, your crew members will start using them, even if they should do their chores. For most it's not really a problem ... But imagine a starving member that just keep playing cards until he die ? A fisherman that let your crew dying from starvation while he sharpen his pole ? A cleaner that try to train with a poop in hands and letting lot in the ship, even if morale decrease ?
    Yeah, those items are excellent, but for now, don't even think about it.
    
    
21. When do their cannons will get me ?
    Normally you should be able to take Level 4 encounters without a scratch on your ship (if your own cannons don't sink it). At level 5 and more you should start thinking twice about it ...
    
    

22. Originally posted by DJ Calico:

    I always start off a new crew member with swimming, fast learning, toilet study and one of either fishing, cleaning or cooking. Plus a small amount of food to offset their sucking at fishing.

I think that's all I can see, if you've tips to share, please feel free to do it. The more we've the easier it is to start, play and take the challenge of pirates' life head-on ! (and maybe I'll don't have to repeat myself that much ...)

[deadcantdance]

Where were you, when I started to play this game?

[Prometheus]

With the starting 50 I buy a wheel (+2 ship speed) and a cleaning book right away. Also stealing ships is a nice trick but I find I get more than enough parts from pundering to just make my own custom ship without any issue and I don't lose out an any plunder money.

Absolutely support getting a fishman and cook as soon as possible. His fisherman to crew ratio seems off. Even at the current rate of bugged extreme hunger decay if your fisherman has just a little bit of luck (and by that I mean the stat) he can feed himself + 5 others.

Swimming isn't absolutely necessary but I do recommend getting it eventually. Better early book purchases are fast learning, plunder and sailing. Fast learning is self explanatory. Plunder is your best source of money so increasing it is a big deal and the skill stacks for every crew member so teach it to everybody. As you move further out the distances between locations increases and sailing starts to become very relevant. Sailing also stacks for every crew member.

Finally since all you need to sail out is your captain on board, everybody else is teleported to the ship, get your captain light steps. It is noticable and will shorten your times running to treasure chests and to and from shops in town.

[Calico]

Hey, great guide!

[DirectOrder]

Great work on this guide. I'm sure it will help a ton of people!

[Patricia Hapon]

Added some littles things for morale (fire camp and tetra bush) and a quote from someone that isn't on this topic.

Note that I didn't made it exhaustive so everyone can try his own way. I didn't spoke about map reading and map awarness even if you should get them quite quickly, nor I explained anything for long sailing. If peoples want to do it, feel free, personally I don't think I'm good enough for teaching how to play, just how to start.

[Patricia Hapon]

Updated it a bit with fishing, pets, capturing, plundering, an explanation (basic) of the hud and ultimates.

[JabbaTheToad]

Thank

[Jared]

Not saying the game hasnt a ton of bugs (i'm looking at you multileveled pathfinding!)but i feel that the morale/hunger is not that big a problem. I feel if you just keep a clean ship (easier with a single story longboat) and always have a barrel of watermelons/fish (cheapest food / free food) and a barrell stocked with rum, neither hunger/morale is ever a problem. A few times I had to pay them b/c they were too mad to get back on the ship, but otherwise drunk pirates=happy pirates.

In terms of making money, getting plundering for multiple crewmates seem to boost the output of plundering. I never bothered with the 'living on a 3 block raft, capture, sell back to 3 block" way of life. Just blowing up ships all day long with plundering seemed much faster.

That said, I choose the monsters/ship settings at the start, which meant alot more ships floating around. Ships > Islands for cash.

But yea: Morale/Food decreases are there, but its annoying, but definately not impossible to overcome.

Note: Ship plunder skill at this version stacks per crew. So level 2 ships give 80 goal base. With 1 crew with a lvl 1 plundering skill its 84, 2 is 88, 3 is 92 etc. Considering the skill is 30 goal, it recovers the cost pretty quick.

[Wasabito]

when low level, I capture ships if mine has poop, I didn't have a cleaner back then, so I made ships dispposable (and full of poop)

[All-Purpose Sauce]

luck affects fishing? is that true?

[Calico]

luck doesn't affect anything currently, save for chance to crit on hit.
citation?

[Patricia Hapon]

http://steamcommunity.com/app/264140/discussions/0/522730701088217989/

Well, maybe at the actual version it don't, but lot of peoples also say it does.

[Calico]

okay. so you notice that you wont ever catch a fish unless there's a fish in the water, visibly.
and when they are in range, there's a little red blip that pops up on the fish that is going to be caught and each time the blip pops up is a check to see if it's successful.
that being said, how many ticks should it take on each fish to catch when your fisherman has a LUCK of 75?
It took about 45 seconds for him to catch a single fish.

[Wasabito]

Darn, and one of my pirates went full luck to fish for the crew.

[Paralytic]

thanks for the info very helpful