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Community Spotlight: Ubert le Danois
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| Ubert le Danois in person |
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Ubert le Danois joined our community in February 2008—not too long after the game's release. Since then he has developed quite a reputation.
Known simply as Ubert by friends and enemies alike, this month's Spotlight member is often on the General (Roberts) section of the forums, contributing to RvR (Realm vs. Realm) and boasting about French superiority.
Ubert has a number of accomplishments: Ubert has hosted PotBS gatherings in Copenhagen, he has fought over 500 Port Battles, he has written a fantastic Port Battle Guide, and he has won King of the Ball at the last Anniversary event.
In our interview below, Ubert gave us some great insight into his experiences with Pirates of the Burning Sea and with the community.
What drew you to Pirates of the Burning Sea?
I was given a reference to PotBS by a friend who knew I had a great interest in Naval History, and who knew I hosted pirate parties as a hobby.
As I investigated it, I immediately thought "oh no—a MMO" (which is not usually my genre), but I gave it a try none the less.
As soon as I got into my first ship fight, I was excited. And later, as the world of PvP, PB (Port Battles), RvR (Realm vs. Realm), and Politics opened up, I developed a passion for the game!
PotBS is now one of my primary hobbies. I don't regret a second spent on it—as it has been great fun all the way!
I've even been able to take lessons learned from the game out into RL, winning a great number of friends, and learning a lot in regards to organization, communication, and even language skills, making PotBS for me more than just a casual past time.
What is your favorite aspect of Pirates of the Burning Sea now?
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| Officially, the best dressed on Roberts: Ubert le Danois |
One thing that never fails to thrill me, even after so many years, is the Player vs. Player combat, both PB and OS (Open Sea) PvP. It seems you never stop improving and discovering new tactics and tricks.
PotBS is a skilled-based game—unlike other MMO's, where huge advantages are gained from rare equipment and having spent thousands of hours grinding XP and obtaining rare loot.
Your success in PotBS is really determined by how well you and your fellow captains handle your ships, use your skills, and how well you take split-second decisions under fire.
Furthermore, the type of PvP in PotBS is what is "high-cost," meaning that you lose something valuable, if or when you are defeated. This is great, in the sense it make people care, and thus organize and prepare for combat— instead of just" respawning and charging in once more," as in many other games.
Furthermore, I much enjoy the whole RvR aspect—from the economy and logistics of fighting and participating in the organization of the war, to the actual fighting itself. Even the politics on the RvR scene, I find exciting to participate in.
Last, I enjoy our rather unique community, filled with so many committed people and so many good old friends and enemies, gathered over the years. How much time we do not spend on those forums :-)
What is your favorite nation & career combination?
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| The Master Plan, as seen on Ubert's desk |
Well, my favorite nation is France, of course! Having served as one of the representatives of the proud Roberts-French nation for several years, and having worked tirelessly for the just French cause to prevail, this can hardly be a surprise to anyone :-)
I am and will always be French in my heart! I originally selected France by chance, but after so many years, it has become "home" for me.
That said, all Roberts nations are fun to play—having its share of characters, from great heroes to scrupulous villains. Whatever nation one chooses to call home, one is quickly bound to meet excellent friends to play with and excellent enemies to fight against.
Having played all classes (including the Pirate ones), I can safely say that I like the NO (Naval Officer) the best. Not because I really consider the NO the best class—they are all fairly balanced. But the NO has won my heart.
While lacking for 1v1 (it can be done), he is a good group fighter and an excellent PB class. I rarely play anything else but my NO, when it comes to fighting.
At this moment, the balance between the classes seems very good, and any class can be great fun to play.
How did you go about creating a Port Battle Manual?
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| The disbanding of Les Élites—one of the longest living societies on Roberts. |
Following the so-called "French exodus" in august 2008, when the majority of the Roberts-French players decided to move to Antigua to play, Roberts-France had to start all over.
Back then, I wrote a PvP manual and a PB manual for the Roberts-French nation to help integrate new players into our national RvR fleet. Also, I wanted to achieve some means of standardization and to give completely new players a starting base.
The manuals then lay dormant for more than a year, as Roberts France grew strong once again, and in the end, I removed them from the web, as they had become hopelessly outdated.
This winter and spring, I revived the PB manual as a tool to help primarily Roberts-Britain to get a homogenous PB fleet and a common vocabulary on nautical terms (names for formations etc.).
With the old PB manual as a base, I expanded it and updated it. As I was nearing completion, published it on the forums, both to get input for improvements, but also for all interested captains to read and use, regardless of faction or server.
The material in it, I have collected through experience mainly.
I've served under a great many of the renowned PB leaders and fought against even more. I've read many a great post on strategies and what-to-do and what-not-to-do's, and been heavily engaged in the organization of Roberts-French PBs for many years.
While I put together the manual, it contains wisdom discovered by and refined by many, many players.
I am hoping it can be turned into a useful tool for new PB attendees, and at least one final version is on the way very soon (fixing some factual errors, broken links and a lot of grammar).
I'll also include a few more nice illustrations, as I've had a lot of positive feedback on those. I'll also have to give it an overhaul following Power & Prestige, I guess.
Once done with the above, I hope to rework the old OS PvP manual, likewise as a tool for primarily new players to overcome the huge obstacle of forming a new OS PvP capable team to go against the established ones.
No manual or treatise can ever substitute experience, but a good manual is a starting point and reference guide. While the PB manual is far from perfect, and certainly can be improved upon, I would have liked such a document to be available when I started to attend PBs.
Tell Me about RockPiraten
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| Flyer posted on the forums for The Rock Pirate III |
Yaaargh—one of my favorite subjects.
RockPiraten is a non-profit group that arranges out-of-the-ordinary pirate inspired events in Denmark.
Besides the yearly big party in September (on or close to the International Talk like a Pirate Day), we arrange a smaller party during May, as well as small events throughout the year.
Events such as our TreasureCrawl (Treasure hunt + Pub Crawl), Pirate StandUp comedy, and even commandeering unsuspecting tourist boats in the Sound outside Copenhagen (always need extra crew—X up).
At the parties, we find bands that specialize in Pirate inspired music (yes—such bands exist). We launch the parties in the dungeons of what was once the medieval Town hall of Copenhagen. We decorate the venue in the best Caribbean Den of Sin style, and throw a party that lasts from early evening until noon the following day.
Depending on the season, we have around 500 – 800 pirate guests attending and around 50 crewmembers to make everything run smoothly. And yes, we do fire real cannons from the stage :-)
In March 2009, I decided to put an open invitation out on the PotBS forums, thinking that perhaps nearby (Norwegian, Swedish, German, and of course Danish) PotBS players would find it fun to participate in the upcoming RockPiraten party. To my surprise, PotBS players from all over Europe signed up for the event :-)
Because of this overwhelming interest, it quickly turned into a kind of unofficial PotBS gathering.
We arranged it so that instead of just the party, there would be sleeping arrangements for PotBS guests and a sightseeing tour around in Copenhagen (where we also visited the Naval museum, containing 4 foot models of the ships behind the "Wenden", "Raa" and the "Trinity" - originally Danish ships).
Jabberdau (the modeler behind ships such as the Raa and the Poseidon) also attended, and explained about the modeling process.
Then we held a big dinner for all PotBS guests, with piratical bar-maidens serving roasted beef en-masse, as well as beer and Grog—before finishing by going to the RockPiraten Party itself.
It was a good day! In the following years, many who attended the original unofficial PotBS-gathering, have kept coming back for the parties. I hope one day to launch another big unofficial meet up like the one in May 2009, as it was great fun to see the faces behind the screens! :-)
More information about RockPiraten:
- Information in English
- Pictures from the original meet up
- More meet up pictures
What sort of advice can you give to a new player?
When you join the game at first, simply have a bit of fun doing the missions and getting to know how the interface works. The game has a lot of well-written missions and some nice story lines, and it will entertain you for quite some time.
Ideally, you enjoy taking your first toon to level 50 at your own pace, resisting the temptation to get power leveled by a well-meaning society.
Then, having leveled a toon, get into a good society! Find one that matches your time zone, language and play style. There are societies in each faction, which should closely match your desire, in regards to spoken language (English, German, and French mainly), your time zone (EU, US, or Far East) and play style (PvP, RvR, PvE, and/or Economy).
Your society will likely contain a mentor who will see to it that you become a fine captain. Accept that players who have been around for years know many things you don't, and try to listen to their advice. It will vastly increase the speed with which you yourself grow as a player.
Depending on your play style, engage in the RvR scene! This is where the game truly comes to life, in my humble opinion. New players may enjoy fighting the enemy on the seas, in Port Battles, on the economic front, as well as through diplomacy.
New players should start by setting goals, and trying to fulfill them—they will make great friends and enemies along the way.
As your experience grows, lead groups and/or Port Battles, enter the organizational scene appropriate for your nation (attend/lead council meetings etc), make plans to strike at the enemy's heart - and help to bring (French) justice to the Caribbean! :-)
In your opinion, what makes a good Pirates of the Burning Sea community member?
Someone who cares, takes responsibility, and takes on the self-appointed task of making things happen in the game.
There are many people throughout the nations organizing RvR efforts. The community needs those who take off time to teach new players the skills they need.
Members can also contribute by modeling ships and spending time on the forums, constructively debating the game engine and testing new releases.
In all of the games that I've played (and there have been a few), I've never seen such an excellent community as the one surrounding PotBS.
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