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Getting Started in Pixel Piracy

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

Pixel Piracy drops you into a roguelike ocean where losing your captain ends the run unless somebody carries the First Mate skill. Build a small hull with beds, hire cheap pirates from the town tavern while refusing anyone marked Traitor, Careless, Old, Seasick, or Depressed, and stock fruit, which needs no cook. Stick to low-threat tiles near the starting town until you have four capable fighters.

Starting a new game of Pixel Piracy throws you straight into the deep end. The game blends side-scrolling action with roguelike survival, meaning one bad choice sends you to a permanent grave. You need to build a ship, hire a crew, and explore a dangerous, procedurally generated ocean map. Surviving those first few hours requires smart planning and careful resource management.

Starting Choices​

Before you set sail, the game asks you to customize your run. These choices dictate your early game difficulty.

  • World Options: One question offers three mutually exclusive answers. Monsters raises the density of monsters and pirate encounters across the map. Mystery changes island generation and can spawn some strong things early. Drama gives you more ports, but more thieves in each and more troublesome crew. Neither Monsters nor Mystery is a safety pick, since Monsters raises hostile density everywhere. Two further question sets follow, covering world events and your father's story.
  • Starting Item: Your father's story is a single choice with three outcomes, and you only get one:
    • "He was a brave captain, his nickname was Curraaage" grants the Falcon Blade plus 50 gold. The blade deals 8 damage with a knockback of 3, among the highest in the game, and it cannot be bought in any store.
    • "He was a lazy alcoholic known as Horke the flatulent" grants an extra crew member, Horke, plus 50 gold. Horke is a liability: his morale drops fast and he refuses to clean up poop.
    • The cowardly sailor Peonpants grants +20 gold, so you start with 70 instead of 50.
warning

Horke and Curraaage are different answers to the same question, not a sequence. Picking Horke gets you the drunk crewman and no Falcon Blade. If you want the blade, pick Curraaage.

tip

If you want an easier first run, the real beginner lever is Sailor mode, which is peaceful and stops low-level raids. World options tune flavor, not difficulty.

  • Captain Stats: Vitality still buys survivability and feeds the Max HP formula, but patch 1.2.12 halved its effect, so it is no longer the runaway pick it once was. Strength at +5% melee damage per point and Agility at +1% attack speed and +3% dodge are both competitive. Intelligence is worth a look for a captain, since it raises Training Points per level and TP gates every skill you will want later.

The Core Gameplay Loop​

Pixel Piracy runs on a simple but punishing loop. You arrive at a town, hire pirates, buy ship parts, and load up on food. From the town, you open the world map and select an adjacent tile to travel to. Each tile holds an encounter.

  1. Travel: Sail to a new island or enemy ship.
  2. Engage: Fight hostile pirates, loot island chests, or plunder enemy ships.
  3. Upgrade: Use the gold you earn to buy better gear, skill books, and ship modules.
  4. Survive: Feed your crew and manage their morale to prevent mutiny.

First Steps in Town​

When you spawn in the starting town, do not rush to the map. You have work to do first. Visit the tavern to hire your first crew member. Look for pirates with high VIT and decent base stats. Avoid hiring pirates with high wage demands early on because gold is scarce.

Next, go to the market. Buy essential ship parts. You need hull blocks and beds. Build a small, functional ship. Do not waste gold on decorations yet, though plants are the one decoration that actually raises morale.

Then buy food and place it on the ship, where the crew will eat it on their own. Fruit like apples needs no cook, so a stock of it feeds the crew from day one without anybody holding the Cooking skill. Meat, fish, and stew do need a cook. Rum is a morale drink and not a meal, so do not count it as food.

note

Barrels no longer store food. They did until an Enhanced Edition patch in April 2015 removed it. What a barrel does now is add +5% plundered gold, and the bonus stacks per barrel.

Early Combat Tactics​

Your captain is your strongest fighter at the start, and losing the captain ends the run unless somebody aboard has the First Mate skill. Buy that book as soon as you can afford 500 gold and 15 Training Points. Until then, let your crew handle the frontline fighting. Select your crew members by clicking and dragging a box over them. Right-click an enemy to issue an attack order. Keep your captain safely behind the brawl, only stepping in to finish off weakened enemies.

As you win fights, your crew gains experience and levels up. Allocate their stat points carefully. A crew with high VIT survives longer, while melee fighters need Strength (STR) for damage. Buy basic skill books in town to teach them combat abilities, remembering that every skill costs Training Points as well as gold, and TP is the harder of the two to come by.

Stick to low-threat tiles near the starting town until you have a ship with beds and a crew of four capable fighters. Sail smart, keep food on the deck, and you will dominate the high seas.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What are the best starting stats in Pixel Piracy?

Vitality still buys survivability, but patch 1.2.12 halved its effect, so it is no longer the automatic pick it once was. Strength gives +5 percent melee damage per point and Agility gives +1 percent attack speed and +3 percent dodge. Intelligence is worth considering on a captain because it raises Training Points per level, and TP gates every skill worth having.

How do you get the Falcon Blade in Pixel Piracy?

During character creation, answer the question about your father with the brave captain option, whose nickname is Curraaage. That grants the Falcon Blade and 50 gold. Do not pick the Horke the flatulent option, which is a different answer to the same question and gives you a drunk crew member instead. The blade deals 8 damage with a knockback of 3 and cannot be bought in any store.

Should you turn on Monsters or Mystery in the world options?

Neither is a safety pick. Monsters raises the density of monsters and pirate encounters across the whole map, Mystery changes island generation and can spawn strong things early, and Drama gives more ports at the cost of more thieves and more troublesome crew. If you want an easier first run, use Sailor mode, which is peaceful and stops low-level raids.

How do you feed your crew in Pixel Piracy?

Place food on the ship and the crew eats it automatically. Fruit such as apples needs no cook at all, while meat, fish, and stew need somebody with the Cooking skill. Rum is a morale drink and not food. Barrels do not store food, having lost that ability in a 2015 patch, so do not bother filling one.

What happens if your captain dies in Pixel Piracy?

The run ends, unless a crew member has the First Mate skill, which costs 500 gold and 15 Training Points at the Bookstore. A random pirate carrying it becomes the new captain and your gold resets to 1000. It does not cover your ship being destroyed in a naval fight, which ends the run regardless.