Pirates Online keeps getting better! And we need your help to test the latest update just released to the Test Server! If you have access to the Test Server log in now! If you don't have access, be patient - we'll be sending out more Test Server Invitations to players in good standing very soon. Plus, these great NEW FEATURES and other improvements are coming to the Live game very soon:

• Ships and Sailing have undergone significant improvements. You may see a boost in performance while at sea and slight changes to ship design and sail animations, depending on your graphics settings.
• Jolly Roger is now invading Tortuga. Pirates must keep Jolly Roger's undead skeleton army from invading Tortuga! We're running this event randomly several times a day but this is just for testing purposes. When the Invasions start in the Live game, Jolly Roger won't invade daily.
• A new lighting and fog system gives more atmosphere to the environments based on the time of day

Tips for Surviving the Invasion:  

 -  Divide and Conquer. Crew up then spread out to defend all the attack points.  Jolly's army attacks the town from three locations: 1) The main dock 2) the bridge in the center of town and 3) Port Royal beach (where the shipwright Darby Drydock is located).
 -  Experiencing Lag? Close ALL programs beside Pirates Online, this includes any IM application or a web browser. Try a 'Quiet' or 'Ideal' server. Try lowering your graphics settings.   

We're working to resolve known issues, but if you find any issue related to gameplay while on the Test Server please report them here.

 Marc Truefury: Winner of the Slay a Skeleton Competition

Now Jolly's armies are weakened, maybe we'll have a fighting chance of defeating them in the next wave of invasions! Fight on brave Pirates... here's the rest of those who excelled at skeleton slaying!  

Do you have a yearning to defeat lots and lots of those undead boneheads? If so, now's the time. Why? Thinning out Jolly's ranks is one way to slow the invasions and weaken his hold in the Caribbean. So why not make a sport of it? 

Help even the odds during the next invasion - defeat as many skeletons as you can!

Much like our popular Strongest Guild Competition, every Pirate must try to defeat as many undead skeletons as they can! It's fun but also, you'll be doing all the Pirates of the Caribbean a service by evening the odds in the next invasion. If you experienced the invasions - you know - there's just too many of them storming the beaches! So start planning today - and may the best Pirate win!
 
What: Slay a Skeleton Competition
When: Nov. 12 - Nov.17
 
The Details: We'll rank the top 30 Pirates. At the end of the competition we will recognize the Pirate who has defeated the most skeletons and he (or she) will have the honor of calling themselves the Skeleton Slayer of the Caribbean!

The winner of the competition and final standings will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Invasions haven't been going as well as we had hoped.  What's needed are more strong guilds to help lead the charges - the same guilds whose ranks are filled with hearty, fighting pirates! Now those are pirates to be reckoned with!

Captain Walter encourages you to prepare your guild for battle!

Calling McRaging, The Guardians, The Emerald Sea Gang, Black Bart's Krewe, Hawk's Talons, Fortitude Piratus, Brave Gladiators, Crew Quarters, Phoenix Rizing, Shining Fellowship, Loyal to the End, The Seasfurys, The Savvy, Sinker's Revenge, Ocean Gods, Retribution Iz Near, and Tha Warriors and all the guilds who competed in the Strongest Guild Competition a few months back!

Spread the word, mates! All Guilds are necessary to defeat the menace of Jolly's Undead Army! Get them into the battle before the invasions happen again because, they may have subsided, but the attacks are not over. Now is a good time to sharpen your skills and plot a sound strategy.  And the best strategy always includes strong Pirate guilds leading the way. If ALL the guilds don't join in the battle, we may ALL be serving in Jolly's Ranks.

There's still time to enter the Pirates Online Scariest Screenshot Contest! (Many hearty thanks to all pirates who've sent their screenshots in.) If you want to enter the contest do it now, the deadline is November 15^th 2009.

Win this creepy skull when you scare us with screenshots of your adventures!

Have you come face to face with Jolly during an invasion? Found your Pirate in a major battle with lots of enemies surrounding you?  Seen a ghostly figure? Send your screenshot to us - you could win a Pirates Online Collectable Skull with your achievement and Pirate name engraved on it to proudly display! Don't wait, enter today and remember... the scarier the better!     

Enter now!

Captain Cromwell haunts areas of Port Royal trying to make good in death what he did wrong in life. To release his spirit from the bonds of earth he must repay gold he stole that was intended to free an innocent man. Read more about Captain Cromwell and John Moses. 

Cromwell must repay the gold he stole to free his spirit from the bonds of earth.

Captain Cromwell now roams the earth looking for 'good, worthy Pirates'.  If you are one, tell Cromwell when you see him, mention the name of John Moses, or tell him 'I've come for Innocent John.' Cromwell will then give you a secret code that can be redeemed

for gold.

1. To redeem your gold code follow these steps: Open a chat window in game by pressing [ENTER].
2. In the chat window type /CODE followed by a space, then type the 21 character code you were given by Cromwell.
3. Press [ENTER] to redeem the code. You'll get an in-game pop-up message confirming the code worked and telling you how much gold you got.  

Example: /CODE TBTWYZLLARRNVLPCKFE22

Please note: When you're given a code, we suggest taking a screenshot (F9) of the code for future reference. Since some characters look similar (for example 5 and S) they may be copied incorrectly if you write the code down. If you write your code down, double-check it to make sure you've written down the code correctly. Codes are for one-time use. Once a code is used it cannot be used again. Codes are not case sensitive.

It struck without warning - the light of the Muertos Moon - and suddenly you were fighting against friends, guild and crewmates.  Don't be sorry mates... it was the curse.  You couldn't help yourself!

Now that the full moon has gone away, so have Jolly's tricks and terrors... or have they?

Since Jolly was forced to retreat so many times, he turned his vengeance to the moon, and cursed all the pirates to fight against once another.  That didn't work either, so what will happen next?  One thing is for sure... Jolly will return.  Count on it.  Don't imagine that because you fought him off this time he's given up.  Stay ready, and pray for more brave pirates to join the battle.