Companion Spotlight: Hoodoo Cornelius

     Hello, Pirates! Welcome to the second edition of the Companion Spotlight. In this episode,  we'll be featuring Hoodoo Cornelius: his overview as a character, playstyle, strengths, weaknesses, etc. If you missed the first Companion Spotlight about Ratbeard, please click HERE.

     Hoodoo Cornelius can be bought from the Hoodoo Bundle for Pirate101 (for 29 U.S. dollars).  This little monkey is one of the few unique melee Witchdoctors in the game. He's also one of the most offensive companions obtainable in the game, and when used correctly, can wipe out the whole battle board in a couple turns.

Strengths

Looks (he's one cute chimp)

Attack

Very useful epics

Go Bananas!

Weaknesses

Low movement

Low defenses

If not used correctly, your fights are based on luck

Powers

First promotion: Monkey Witchdoctor

Second promotion (at level 30): Monkey Houngan

Third promotion (at level 52): Monkey Bokor

-Relentless (Auto-trained) 

-Second Chance

-Repel Borders

-Witch Hunter

-Blade Storm (at Monkey Bokor only)

      The typical build on Cornelius would be relentless 2, repel borders, and second chance. There are other builds to him, but this is the most common in the game. For non-epic powers, you can follow the guide HERE.

Strategy

     To use Hoodoo Cornelius efficiently, you should have at least some sort of defensive buff in your arsenal of moves. I prefer to use Valor's Fortress (-50% damage on attacks for 5 turns), but Valor's Armor works as well.  You can easily find this item on pieces of gear throughout The Spiral (good ones, too). This buff not only works for incoming attacks from the enemies, but it also works on the percentage of health he loses from Go Bananas. Just by using Valor's Fortress once, you can multiply this move's hits by two!

     If you redeem your Hoodoo Cornelius on a Privateer, he can come in real handy. Boost his attack with your will buffs (and don't forget the defensive buff). Right before you use Go Bananas, use Battle Zeal. This should boost his accuracy by 50%, making him almost undodgeable. If you don't have a Privateer, accuracy doubloons can substitute for this buff. Position your Cornelius correctly, and BOOM! You leave your computer for some cheese and crackers and come back to defeated enemies.

As shown in this spotlight, Hoodoo Cornelius has his ups and downs, but overall, he makes a great companion. Thanks for tuning in for this post. Fair sailing, Pirates!

~Fishy Kyle

Companion Spotlight: Ratbeard

Ahoy, pirates, and welcome to Companion Spotlight. Each post in this series will take a look at a different companion. We'll break down their abilities and playstyles, so you can get the most bang for ye buck (or gold, or crowns). This Spotlight will focus on Ratbeard.

     Ratbeard... It seems most people love or hate him and his playstyle. Granted, when Ratbeard is first recruited and even after his promotion immediately after, Ratbeard seems like an average buccaneer at best. So what makes this rodent revel rouser so interesting? His last 2 promotions allow him to be used to slow or halt enemy advancement. So let's take a look at this peg legged protector's abilities and see how he can go from being a throw- away buccaneer to a one rodent defense squad.

     Powers: When Ratbeard is first recruited, his powers are rather lackluster. Here are the powers he starts with:

Title: Rat Officer
- Hold the Line (Auto-Trained)
- Epic Strike
- Talent: Pirate
- Talent: Turn The Tide (Auto-Trained)

As you can see, there is nothing special here. However he promotes at level 10, which is around the time he's recruited. This moves him up to his next set of powers.

Title: Rat Commander
- Mega Strike
- Cheap Shot
- Blade Storm
- First Strike
- Repel Boarders

As you can see, he has more of a defensive line of powers, to stop enemies and hit them first or prevent them from reaching squishier companions. At level 18 he gets only a couple more skills.

Title: Rat Captain
- Buccaneer Strike
- Super Strike

Now let's look at his last (as of writing this) promotion at level 55.

Title: Rat Admiral
 - Clear the Decks
- Triton's Song
- Buccaneer Smash

Again, nothing that seems to fit the aggressive nature of the buccaneer. What is the deal? Remember how Ratbeard was during the beginning of the game? He constantly ran away, and even was willing to give up all of Gunn's Gold is you saved his skin. His personality does not fit the charging buccaneer style. So how can Ratbeard be effective? By being a good defensive fighter.

     Playstyle:  Ratbeard is all about slowing down or stopping foes. His role in the battle should be to protect your less resilient fighters, including pirates. Foe buccaneers,  swashbucklers, and possibly privateers, this means having him hang back to cover the ranged fighters and anyone that can provide buffs or heals while you and the tougher buccaneers go in for the kills as Ratbeards hold the enemy in place. For witchdoctors, musketeers, and again privateers, this means using Ratbeard as a barrier between you and those heavy hitting melee fighters. Remember to always use Triton Song immediately so Ratbeard can soak up the extra damage. If you want to use him as protector for squishier characters, using a mix of Hold the Line, Repel Boarders, and Cheap Shot will help defeat enemies coming and going. Using Hold the Line, Repel Boarders, and First Strike allow him to possibly hit one enemy multiple times in one turn. Try out some different combinations of epics and maybe Ratbeard will surprise you.

Pirates.... UNITE!
Bloody Wesley Xavier