After completing The Black Pearl Crew Story Quest, you must then complete your first Boss Battle. This is also the first and only Treasure Map that the game has for pirates. However, there are many other types of Boss Battles throughout the game, such as the El Patron Boss Battle.
Black Pearl Island
Having gathered the crew and forged papers needed to slip aboard, the mission starts with two navy soldiers, Mullroy and Murtogg, getting distracted while you and your crew sneak onto the Pearl. The Pearl is located in a Navy fortification on a secret island known only as the Black Pearl Island. The pirates now have to break out of the island, facing the Goliath and its 18 powerful cannons, which the two cadets, Murtogg and Mullroy, have clearly pointed out. However, if there is a Treasure Fleet at the moment, the map will show the fleet route past the island. But it is not known if this is at the beginning or end or the fleet's route.
The Battle
Stage One
Before you can captain the Pearl, you must eliminate the Level 28-40 Navy Officers guarding her deck. There are about 5 to 7 of them.
- Hint - At least one pirate should use voodoo staff or Broadsword to attack all of the officers at once. Also, one or two higher levels could volunteer to use voodoo dolls to help keep party members healed.
After all guards are defeated, you will need to choose a highly skilled sailor to take the Helm of the Black Pearl.
Stage Two
As the Pearl sails towards the bridges, four Royal Navy Panthers with unusually stronger hulls will appear and grapple you. The Pirate sailing will not be able to keep a hold of the wheel and should take a cannon, because of this, there will be no broadsides.
They are not hard to sink, but they can do a lot of damage if you're not quick. After the last one is sunk, you can take the helm again. But, the forts will immediately open fire.
- Hint - By turning sideways each time, you can bring the broadsides to bear and, if need, switch sides to protect the hull.
Stage Three
This is, by far, the hardest part of the Boss Battle. Now, you must fight your way out of the harbor. There are two bridges and three Forts blocking the path. The two forts supporting a bridge must be destroyed to cause the bridge to collapse (meaning the middle fort and the left OR right fort must be destroyed). Also, numerous forts appear along the way and will shoot Firebrand rounds at the Pearl. You can bypass them, but they can attack you from the other side of the channel. Most often, it's best to destroy them before moving on. A good strategy is to wait for Open Fire and Take Cover skills to recharge before moving on to the next set of forts. The enemy forts must open fire on you for your cannon attacks to cause damage. Thunderbolts from long range deal no damage.
There is one last set of drawbridges to get past. These two forts have a large number of cannons that fire round shots. Once the bridge has collapsed, the Pearl will be free to reach the sea.
- Hint - Having all gunners stay on one side, they can focus their firepower on the forts while protecting the far side of the Pearl's hull. Take Cover is very useful here, along with Open Fire to help your guns work faster. However, either one cancels out the other.
- Hint - Using Open Fire and then quickly having all your crew use Explosive is a good strategy, then do Take Cover.
Final Stage
Once you are clear of the island, you will see the Ship Of The Line Goliath coming at you from behind the rocks. This powerful Ship will appear on your port side so make sure all your gunners are ready and waiting on the correct cannons on the correct side. It will take a lot of fire power to take down the powerful boss ship of the line. But, once she's done in - the Pearl is in the clear. Congratulations! After you have finished the Black Pearl Boss Battle you are required to go to Joshamee Gibbs and you get the Leadership skill for sailing the Pearl.
Unlike the El Patron Boss Battle, you can play the Treasure Map multiple times. Once you've gathered the crew and marooned Captain Montrose a second time, a new option will appear in the Lookout section of your Sea Chest: Treasure Map. Selecting this will allow you to play the boss battle again. If you have reached the end of the quest and join another pirate's treasure map, victory will gain you the Leadership skill.
Other Tips and Hints
- The first battle right out of the cut scene happens very quickly. Be prepared for combat as soon as you appear.
- You should take some stronger players with you. And be prepared to try this several times as it is not an easy battle and almost impossible to do alone. However, the degree of difficulty can actually increase if you have a large crew of high level players.
- When the Goliath comes out you should get far away from it and then have gunners fire at it from far away and you can sink it (use thunderbolt because it has the longest range) before it even gets to fire at you.
- Also when fighting the Goliath, you can shoot down its masts to stop it from moving and then finish it off from the front.
- Right when she comes out have the sailor use Ramming Speed so she can't hit you off the bat. Note: under Full Sail she can hit you with the on deck guns
Known Glitches
- After sinking the Navy Panthers, the Black Pearl may be unable to move and the forts will not open fire. You cannot destroy the forts either. If this glitch occurs, its best to log out (This may be caused by firing on the forts before all of the Navy Panthers are sunk.)
- There is a glitch in this stage that if the pirates do not fight the Navy and escape their clutches, the soldiers will just remain onboard, unable to do anything unless you get in their range or attack them. This can happen even as the Black Pearl takes on its remaining enemies.
- Often, after the cinematic scenes, crew members may find themselves below the deck or in the ocean. They should be able to run back to the deck take back their post.
- If you glitch during the battle with the Goliath, a Legendary Ship banner appears on the Black Pearl.
Game Note
After completion of the Black Pearl Boss Battle, there is a recurring chance that you will find a potion, which includes a rare, unique pet potion called the Summon Chicken potion. This, as the name implies, summons a chicken when you use it.
Music
Below is the soundtrack played while battling the Goliath.