This new update brings several extremely important changes to pirate101 gameplay. Many people are already discussing the ramifications of the updated hidden power (and whether or not it is "op"). In fact, from what I've seen, that's all people are discussing. However, I don't believe that the change to hidden is the most relevant change in this update at all. In fact, the biggest, most groundbreaking, most amazing change (at least in my opinion) is the improvement to the Bladestorm talent.

It... changes...EVERYTHING!

I had no idea how much I wanted this to happen until I saw it in update notes. The fact that bladestorm now triggers on criticals as well makes it a much more valuable talent than it was, especially for buccaneers and privateers. Why? Because privateers have team buffs for criticals, and almost every single companion in the game has access to bladestorm. double tap, or mojo rising. Suddenly companions without relentless or an equivalent power can be given bladestorm and suddenly they can attack again if they critical! For the first time bladestorm two is a valid option to give to a companion. Which brings us to the class most affected by the change to the talent: Buccaneers. By level 62 buccaneers have the option to acquire bladestorm 3 which triggers a sneak attack when the talent is activated. Before, bladestorm 3 was redundant, as oftentimes buccaneers will use their powers on a stronger enemy rather than finish off a wounded one to activate bladestorm. Now, buccanners can not only theoretically hit an enemy four consecutive times (5 if you count glancing blow), but each time will be a sneak attack. The new bladestorm is definitely a game-changer, and I can't wait for it to come out in live!

A somewhat related question- will Musketeers be able to use Double Tap if we get a critical on one of our AoE "trick shot" powers? From my testing, it doesn't look like this is the case currently.

I would find Double Tap much more useful as a Musketeer player power if a "trick shot"/Double Tap combo could work more like a Witchdoctor's AoE/Mojo Rising combo, where the original hit affects a group of enemies, and Mojo Rising is only targeted at one enemy from that group.

Another thing that might interest you:

Enemies get this update too.

Pirates aren't the only ones who have gotten an upgrade, any enemy with bladestorm/double tap/ mojo rising (i.e. everyone in marleybone and Aquila) will also attack again if they critical. Just something to think about.

Lordofwinter35 on Aug 24, 2014 wrote:

Another thing that might interest you:

Enemies get this update too.

Pirates aren't the only ones who have gotten an upgrade, any enemy with bladestorm/double tap/ mojo rising (i.e. everyone in marleybone and Aquila) will also attack again if they critical. Just something to think about.

Oh my ! Those Radical Dogs and their 'relentless 3' !

ValkoorTheVictorio... on Aug 25, 2014 wrote:

Chris, if he doesn't provide that sweetness (although, it should at least be in it's pedigree), we can certainly try again. Once that NSGWS hits adult, look for me in the Spiral and we'll morph that toothy tyrant with a 640 pedigree pet, w/ 8 Epics, multiple granted Powers/Talents (including Charming Gaze- Rank 2) and hopefully add to your already swashbuckly coolness!

Thanks, Valkoor! I got him to adult but no bladestorm, when you can come online, we can morph if you'd like :D

ChrisTheSwashy on Aug 26, 2014 wrote:

Thanks, Valkoor! I got him to adult but no bladestorm, when you can come online, we can morph if you'd like :D

Will do Chris. Also there is still the chance that grants bladestorm will be expressed when your pet reaches level 50, but the odds are not entirely to great. I'll look for you in the Spiral and we can try again. Oh, and grants bladestorm should be in that NSGWS pedigree now, so you should be able to morph with some of your own pets and possibly get it to express itself in one of them. But we'll meet up and hatch your 430(?)+ with my 640 and hopefully get you close to or over the 500 pedigree mark, with some great powers and talents for your pirate and your pet.

ValkoorTheVictorio... on Aug 26, 2014 wrote:

Will do Chris. Also there is still the chance that grants bladestorm will be expressed when your pet reaches level 50, but the odds are not entirely to great. I'll look for you in the Spiral and we can try again. Oh, and grants bladestorm should be in that NSGWS pedigree now, so you should be able to morph with some of your own pets and possibly get it to express itself in one of them. But we'll meet up and hatch your 430(?)+ with my 640 and hopefully get you close to or over the 500 pedigree mark, with some great powers and talents for your pirate and your pet.

Awesome, thanks Valkoor! And I think that pet is a 414 or 413 not entirely sure though.

So ready for this

zuto4011a on Sep 1, 2014 wrote:

Every 1/2 rounds my companions relentless spam unless they miss, relentless seems like a MUCH better investment

All Epic talents are good. They all build up the chance for Relentless and Bladestorm to trigger. What Lordofwinter35 seems to be saying is that Bladestorm has graduated from being among the least desirable Epics to becoming one of the most desirable Epics (and I agree). He didn't even mention that Bladestorm hits harder than a normal attack, like Relentless, Cheap Shot and Vengeance Strike.
Zuto, I think You're saying that Relentless is more reliable than Bladestorm. I'm not sure Relentless triggers more often in a given battle than Bladestorm anymore, but I doubt Relentless triggers significantly less than Bladestorm either. Someone would have to test that while farming, using some fairly large data sets to be sure. What I am sure of is that Relentless is more reliable regarding target selection and Burst Fire is much more reliable than Double Tap for targeting. So, for this reason I give the Relentless Epic talent suite the edge over the Bladestorm suite across the board. But I think Relentless is only slightly better now, not MUCH better anymore.Target choice is very important for defeating enemies quickly, and in some battles (Hydra) it becomes even more important.
Specific choices of Epic depend on play style, intended purpose of the companion, and the total damage the epics are expected to deal out and draw in. But in many cases, Bladestorm just became a preferred choice for many of my pirates.
Finishers always wanted Bladestorm1 because they are intended to finish off red-lined opponents (making a Bladestorm trigger more liklely). The idea of Bladestorm triggering before my finisher can Relentless3 a sitting duck into a dirt nap is actually a con to this choice, but my bruisers have filled the role of finisher ever since 3rd tier epics came out anyway.
Like Relentless, Second Chance, Repel Boarders, and Cheap Shot, Bladestorm hits any type opponent (Melee, Musketeer, or Witchdoctor). This nearly doubles its usefulness over Riposte, and vastly multiplies Double Tap's over Return Fire or Mojo Rising's over Counterspell.
The bruiser companions are the ones who deal out the most damage, and many of my bruisers just picked up Bladestorm suite Epics in test realm!