Be a Pirate! Beginner Guide: First-Battle Orientation

This is a first-battle orientation for Be a Pirate! on Steam, rather than a tested walkthrough.

Watch Both Land and Water

Each wave brings Crownsmen on foot and Crown Sloops along the river. The two routes behave differently:

• Land paths change as you build. Your structures reroute marching enemies.
• The river follows a fixed route. Changing the land path does not redirect the Sloops.
• Bridges create land crossings over water. Sloops pass underneath them unaffected, so a bridge does not stop the naval attack.

Watch both approaches as your layout changes. The tower reference explains routing and the known tower roles in more detail.

Know What Doubloons Upgrade

During a battle, you spend Doubloons on individual towers through four upgrade tracks: Offense, Range, Specialty, and Signature. Specialty is specific to the tower, while Signature changes how it fights.

Image: Steam / Noble Rogues

These battle upgrades are separate from long-term Armory ownership and tower Gem Levels. The tower upgrades reference compares those systems.

Your Captain Comes Aboard

Your active captain rides on your ship into battle. The wider crew includes 15 recruitable captains, each with permanent bonuses and individual upgrade paths.

Keep that longer-term progression distinct from the decisions in front of you: the land route your buildings create, the unchanged river route, and the tower upgrades you buy during the fight. Captain recruitment, Armory improvements, and the Captain's Compass give you progression beyond that single battle.