stuff123

This article is intended for those individuals currently playing Pirates. If you have played Mafia Wars you will see the extremely close resemblance (same design house, same company).The information here is intended for those just starting the game although others may find useful information in the items to follow. Think of it as a condensed help file. It will be updated periodically.

Last update Dec.18/08

General

1. Buy the Featured Lot whenever the opportunity presents itself. The return is ridiculously high.
2. Try to buy properties before you are about to receive your hourly gold infusion (last 5 minutes or so).
3. If you gain gold in an attack, spend it right away (Heal yourself first, if possible). Buy lots/operations first. They become recurring revenue. Buy items in your armory second, especially if you need to enhance your arsenal.
4. Buy the featured weapon whenever the opportunity presents itself. It has both exceptional offensive and defensive powers.
5. Don’t buy armory items until you need them. If you have 4 crew members, you should never have five of most items.Targets – Check your News Updates on your home screen. If someone has attacked you and given you a win (FIGHT!). Click on their name and check there relative strength. If you feel you are strong, ATTACK. Don’t continuously attack this opponent in future. You will find yourself on the Bounties list.
6. Early in the game, only buy one (1) Lot to be used when you get a gold infusion. Only buy the more expensive ones when you have enough gold to develop them immediately. The payouts are too small on these expensive investments.
7. Resist the temptation to put someone on the Bounties list. Remember, you will show up under the Paid By list and will become a target. If someone is constantly hitting you, you may have no choice but to put out a hit on them (doesn’t have to be expensive) but try to avoid making yourself too visible to your opponents.
8. Beware of trappers in the Bounties list. These players go in with the minimum hit and appear to be weak. They are masking the strength of their team in order to trap you.
9. Focus on increasing levels. Persistent attackers cannot advance if they are fighting too much. They will be spending their gold on getting out of the brothel. Keep buying property to increase your gold flow whenever possible.
10. A good time to buy lots/operations or armory items is when you are wounded and can’t fight. Your opponents can’t attack you because you are too weak. They can’t steal your money in a fight at that time.
11. Favor Points - Only spend your DAVEY JONES favor points on additional crew members. They are the hardest resource to get. Everything else can be bought or won in fights.So far I haven’t found anyway to get favor points unless you buy them. I think this will limit the size of the pool of players taking part in this game and eventually kill it. (The designers are getting a little greedy)
12. Fight - Limit your attack to 1.5 the size of your crew size. Start with attacks to crews equal or lower than yourself. Do not attack larger ones if your points are below 50%. Heal as quickly as possible. Bank any gold gained before attacking next opponent.
13. Lots/Operations - Try to buy in bulk - 5 at a time. When you have 20 or more of an item, sell off. Buy the next higher units or buy armory items that you may need to improve your strength. Make sure you can cover the additional upkeep charge.
14. Plunder - Some plunder jobs give better returns for experience points while others pay better gold returns. It will depend on what your next moves are as to which is better to spend energy on.
15. If your crew is close to growing - favor points - plan to buy armory items that will take you to the next higher jobs. Only return to lower levels if you need points to upgrade.
16. Upgrade - Initially you will need to spread the points around (some in each category).  As you advance Energy, Defense, Attack, Health and Stamina should be the order for using points. Focus your attention on Plundering. You will need to go to the brothel frequently if your defense is not strong enough.
17. Experience Points - Early in the game focus on 1 Attack, 2 Defense, 2 Energy. Disregard Stamina for now. Jobs and survival are more important than attacking. Once you start surviving long enough to upgrade, shift to 1 Attack, 2 Defense, 1 Health, 1 Energy. As you continue level up got to all 5 points in one category of your choice. You will start to add Stamina when you survive long enough to need it. Keep building lots to improve gold flow. Reserve armory purchases to large gold gains. Be patient. You will be going to the brothel a lot in this game.
18. Upkeep $ - Once you have maxed out on armory (1 per crew member) you can consider selling off items that have upkeep attached to them and turn that money into lots. Buy them later when you level up or add players.
19. Adding players - Every 20 favor points earned will allow you to add players. You can recruit from friends in Facebook. If you like, you can buy favor points (that’s how the designer pays for the program)

Targets

1. Pirates allows you to attack Fresh Meat with low resistance/low gain results. It can be useful if your current crew is weak. You will gain experience points slowly but will not be spending time in the brothel. (Sounds wrong, but the brothel is not a good place in this game) I would like to see an attack again button instead of having to go through the additional step of Attack. It won’t make me invite any more players which I don’t do anyway. They can decide for themselves whether or not they are interested in the game.
2. Try to attack opponents with fewer crew members than you. BEWARE – They may be better defended than you.  Make sure your gold is at $0 before you attack. Try to have enough in the Treasure Chest that you can heal yourself without depleting all of your revenue.
3. Check the Bounties list. Look at the relative strength under “Paid By”.
4. If you do not have targets within your range of points, you can set a bounty on someone that has attacked you.You will ultimately get placed on the bounty list.

Have fun!