Pirate101 Battle Standards: A Complete Overview

Pirate101's new Empire Bundle (Click to view) contained the first available Battle Standard, a whole new system that will forever change combat. Pirate101 released a guide, but it left many questions unanswered. Which companions does it affect? What is the effect area? Allow me to answer these and show you this standard in action.

I haven't done a post in a little while now, in part because I've been researching for this one, but I think it'll be worth it. Concept101 should resume normally next week, and I've got several posts planned out through mid-December.

Battle Standards: How do they work?

A battle standard, as most of you know, is simply a token. You equip it and receive a power. You order it like any other power and receive the card in the battle.

When you go to cast it, you can only place it in the 3x3 area surrounding you; it must start right next to you, and then you can move if necessary, though the card's number 2 next to the area of effect seems to indicate a larger AoE.

The card was interesting. It read "Fair Weather +50% [Accuracy] for Birds [+] Fowl Winds +50% [Damage] for Birds." Fair Weather? Foul Winds? Curious to learn more, I recruited some friends to assist in the first known use of the standard in-game.

Acquired Knowledge The standard has no health, it requires only an interaction to destroy it. You cannot destroy your own standard The penalty if you are in range of the destroyed standard (and meet the requirements, e.g. you are a bird), you not only lose your boosts, you have reduced accuracy and cannot move for three turns It seems to either only affect eagles (it IS themed to Aquila)	Acquired Knowledge The standard affects ALL birds, but only allies In "Fair Weather" (ally territory), you get the 50% accuracy boost (or whatever first boost the standard may give) In "Foul Winds" (enemy territory), you get both the 50% accuracy boost AND the 50% damage boost (or whatever the [+] additional boost may be You suffer BOTH penalties, regardless of whether you standard is destroyed in ally territory or enemy territory
Acquired Knowledge Battle standards affect birds - apparently, this doesn't just mean companions. Pets are included as well, as you can see the Scarakeet with the effect around its feet in this image It appears that the battle standard has a larger radius than expected, as the Eagle Archer in this photo is also receiving the boost despite not being next to the standard	Acquired Knowledge The battle standard DOES affect birds other than eagles - hawks, chickens, etc.  The area of effect for this standard (and I am guessing for all others) is a five-by-five square, including the corners - every qualifying bird within two squares of the standard in any direction receives the boost; likewise, they receive the penalty

Testing of the battle standards was pretty extensive already. Merciless Morgrim had played a large part, and SorceressMiklai, as well as other in-game pirates of whose community names I am not aware of, helping in battles as well. But their opportunities hadn't dissolved yet.

I posted on the Pirate101 Central forum asking which all birds were affected by the standard. Some, including myself, had believed that only eagles received the boosts. Others ventured so far as to assume that Itzen Kaan, because of his relations to birds as a dinosaur, might receive the boost. And so I compiled a list, which would not have been possible without the assistance of the community, of all affected companions and pets.

Chicken Miner - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Chicken Ranger - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Corporal Sanders - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Dan Drake - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Duck Holliday - Confirmed by Disloyal 11/21/2013 Eagle Archer - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Eagle Hoplite​ - Confirmed by $eth 11/22/2013 Eagle Mercenary - Confirmed by Katalina 11/22/2013 Egg Shen - Confirmed by Katalina 11/22/2013 Emerald Budgie (Pet) - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Eric Jolly - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Hawkules - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Itzen Kaan (As requested) - NO effect, Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Jane Canary - Confirmed by Katalina 11/22/2013

Lefty - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Madclaw - NO effect, Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Monterrey Jack - Confirmed by SorceressMikali 11/22/2013 Nikeeta - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Nurse Quinn - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Rooster Cogburn - Confirmed by Katalina 11/22/2013 Samocles - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Scarakeet (Pet) - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Tyson - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Wild Bill Peacock - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Wing Chun - Confirmed by Swordroll 11/22/2013 Wu Tang - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Zang Cha - Confirmed by SorceressMiklai 11/22/2013 Zeena - Confirmed by Disloyal 11/21/2013

For confirmation photos, please visit the Pirate101 Central thread HERE.

It would seem we have the Imperator Battle Standard pretty well figured out, plus the foundation for all future standards and how they'll operate. But answering all of these questions about the first standard leaves a lot of questions about standards to come.

What will new standards look like and what groups will they affect?

The only standard we've seen so far affects birds. So it's fitting that it has an eagle on top. When we've got a lot of standards, it might be tougher to distinguish. I'm guessing that the two clearest things will be the color of the banner and the creature above it. But what happens when we get a standard with a land creature? Will it float with the energy like the eagle, or sit casually on top of the standard?

My guess for the next standard is one that affects monkeys. If you think about it, we receive some monquistadors in Skull Island, further encounter them in Monquista, where we also unlock two crown shop monkeys, and then later get involved with the Iron Monkey and Monkey King in MooShu. That seems to be how these standards work, and also the beauty of them. If there were a bird/fox/bull standard, then we'd have a problem. But a monkey one might boost a few of our better companions without completely reworking the arena.

What will the boosts on future standards consist of?

This is one of the things I'm most questioning. Accuracy and Damage are very general. Accuracy is alright. That kind of damage boost is pretty huge, but that's why you must maintain it in enemy territory. Both of these stats are extremely general, but they almost have to be to have a worthwhile effect on all of the birds.

Imagine, though, if we had one that gave +50% Dodge and then +50% resistance! Keep in mind, of course, that it is a percent. So if you never trained resistance on some companions, they may not increase at all even if they meet the requirements.

Then there's the question of the debuffs. This one takes away accuracy and mobility, but could future ones reduce dodge, damage, or resistance? This might be useful is some of the standards had effects on enemies. I'd be destroying my own.

What does the 2-square, 5x5 area mean for Pirate101?

Believe it or not, this is huge. That little number two next to the bottom-right symbol on the card brings some interesting ideas. I was worried for a long time that the largest attacks or areas of effect otherwise would be 3x3. The potential for 5x5 mean more attacks, more spells, and endless options for Pirate101 when it comes to powers. Just as they took the Walk in Darkness power and turned it into a 3x3, so they can with other single powers, and then to 4x4 and 5x5, and beyond. This could also mean more obstacles, more summoned creatures, etc.

What I'll really be interested to see is if we have more options for these standard. Right now, it's a green square on the card. What about a yellow one that affects everyone on the board that meets the qualifications in terms of race or animal type? Would enemies destroy it them? What about a red standard? That decreases enemy stats instead. Or maybe a standard that at least everyone can destroy. Suppose you had a standard with a yellow square that affected all monkeys. Monkey King is chasing down one of your companions, Bonnie, who can't outrun him AND hit at the same time. She runs past the standard and destroys it, leaving Monkey King immobile while she either attempts to kill him or retreat to safety.

How will the standard affect both PvE and PvP?

In PvE, this standard is a new boost available to players that could offer a significant advantage. In PvE, there's really no reason to go charging your opponents when you could be buffing and awaiting them on your end, and so to throw this standard into the mix and have enemies ignore it is going to be something that it makes sense to take advantage of. That's one reason I love Pirate101 - questing with friends may make things easier, but soloing IS possible, if with the need for a number of filled elixirs.



As for PvP, it'll be another story. Because it's new and comes from a bundle, I'm guessing we'll see it a moderate amount from people testing it out. However, PvP requires a lot of mobility, and battle standards force you to stay in one spot. Additionally, I think that most players will find that the risks of destruction (especially from companions like Nausica and Goronado in addition to Buccaneers because they all have long-range attack abilities) and the penalties far outweigh the advantages of placing it. However, I'll take my hat off to the pirate uses thus frequently and effectively; I'd love to see it happen.

Will the availability of standards expand and what effects will that have?

Right now, the only way to get a standard is to buy a $40 bundle. And while the contents are pretty impressive and built around improving your tactical game (though the cosmetics may be somewhat lacking), if someone just wants a standard, they're out of luck. Will these show up only on bundles? Surely they're an important enough aspect that we'll never see them instead of a pet on $10 and $20 cards. But will we find them in bundles or in the crown shop?

I'm not sure what I think of having the standards reserved only to the group who can purchase these bundles in the U.S., but if that market did expand (e.g. they showed up in the crown shop), then I'm sure we'd see an abundance of them, if only for the first couple. And then I'd guess that you'd see them fairly often in both PvP and PvE. Whether or not they are used properly is another question.

Battle Standards of the Future

I've talked about the future of these new game items a little bit, but the thing I'm most curious about is what the next standard will be. Once it's released, it'll answer a lot more questions because we'll be able to identify the overlaps and differences. Pirate101 did release and video (below) and guide (HERE) on the standards, though it does not include answers to the questions above or some of the information provided here.

Now this is my challenge to you - comment here and predict what group the next battle standard will affect. Stats aren't important. My guess, as I've said, is primates. Then, I suppose, pirates would get a boost when they were just... monkeying around. 

Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral! Credits: The Empire Bundle video and player guide are from Pirate101, the videos are my own. Thanks to Sneaky Kevin Newell and Merciless Morgrim for assisting with testing. Thanks to SorceressMiklai, Disloyal, $eth, and Katalina for looking into which companions and pets are affected by the standard.