Jack Raidsteel's Guide to the Sword

The sword. It's a classic pirate weapon. In pirates online, it's one of the most important.

You first get your sword from Will Turner on Rambleshack, but you must leave when skeletons attack Will. When you exit, you can defeat an Undead Bandit and an Undead Gravedigger before leaping aboard Bo Beck's Grim Reaper.

There are three kinds of swords, Cutlasses, Broadswords, and Sabres. Cutlass is the first sword you ever get and has hacking attacks. The cutlass, in real life, was used because it's curved blade didn't get tangled in ship's ropes. The broadsword is a hefty, powerful weapon, and you can unleash devastating chopping attacks on the toughest of enemies. The sabre is a tough weapon to master, and it's weak attack only because it's attacks are so fast. Different pirates may prefer different swords.

The sword is a melee weapon, which means it's for close quarters. Depending on what enemy you are attacking, you may want to choose another weapon. First, I should say what attacks you have with the sword. These are activated by clicking on the icon or by hitting it's number on the number keys.

Sweep- an attack where you jump in the air and twist around in a circle. Hits all nearby foes, so it's not a good idea to do this where a lot of enemies in close proximity. The first skill you ever get, too.

Brawl- pirates don't have to fight fair like "dignified" navy guys. This is where your pirate headbutts the enemy and stuns him for a couple of seconds, so he can't attack until effect wears off.

Taunt- a move that infuriates the enemy, makes him look dumb, and makes it less likely for him to hit you.

Bladestorm- a series of slashes that will rip off a huge chunk of enemie's health.

Some enemies you may want to reconsider using a sword. Enemies who use swords and daggers may be bad news, but enemies with grenades are fine as long as you stay close to them. Unfortunately they can use a glitch to back inside a wall and lob grenades at you. You may have to use the targeting sight on a pistol to find them. Also watch out for Navy guys who use bayonets, where although the bayonet stab isn't terrible, the bayonet bash is nasty. Of course, you could just find a sword that wastes enemies before they know they're dead.

Swords are either crude, common, rare, famed, or legendary. Crude weapons are the weakest swords and ussually are used only by low-levels or basic access. There are exceptions. The Pirate Blade is the best crude weapon you can get. On the other hand, legendary weapons are for beating El Patron and stuff like that.