Pirates are the core of your crew. They come from different populations across the galaxy, each with unique lifespans. Some pirates are born with special traits that give them powerful abilities.
Populations
The galaxy is home to seven populations. Each has a different lifespan, which affects how long a pirate stays in their prime and how much you can get out of them before they retire.
| Population | Age Range | Best Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human |  |
16-65 | Balanced, regional height variations |
| Yardalaim |  |
35-120 | Strength, Brawl |
| Polpett |  |
14-41 | Aggression, Steal |
| Juppa |  |
50-110 | Long Range |
| Galdari |  |
80-220 | Vision, Charisma, Steal |
| Pupparoll |  |
6-45 | Vertical, Rebounds, Brawl |
| Octopulp |  |
3-18 | Close Range, Steal, Brawl |
A pirate's age affects their hiring cost: younger pirates (relative to their population's lifespan) are more expensive because you'll get more years out of them. Pirates hit peak performance at about 70% of their lifespan.
Special Traits
Some pirates are born with a special trait. These are rare, make the pirate more valuable, and synergize with specific crew roles.
Killer
A natural brawler. Killers are better at fighting during games based on their reputation. They also boost the team's Weapons bonus by 25%, making them a great pick for Engineer.
Relentless
Never gets fully exhausted. A Relentless pirate's tiredness caps out at 80% instead of 100%, meaning they can keep going when others need rest. They boost the team's Tiredness Recovery bonus by 25%, synergizing well with the Doctor role.
Showpirate
A crowd favorite. Showpirates attract bigger audiences to games based on their personal reputation, and they're more likely to dunk. They boost the team's Reputation bonus by 25%, making them a natural fit for Captain.
Spugna
A legendary drinker. When a Spugna drinks Rum, their morale instantly goes to maximum. It is said that a drunk Spugna pilot could bring you somewhere unexpected... They can keep drinking even at max morale.
Crumiro
The legendary trait of the Emperor's crew. Crumiros have a floor on their morale (it won't drop below 15%) and their tiredness caps at 85%. However, they cannot be trained and their reputation is fixed at 0. You won't find these in the wild.
Hiring Pirates
Free pirates can be found on planets and hired from the Pirates panel. The hiring cost depends on:
- The pirate's average skill level
- Their age relative to their population's lifespan (younger = more expensive)
- Their reputation compared to your team's reputation
- Whether they have a special trait (traits increase the cost)
Training
You can set a training focus for your crew from the team panel. Training focuses improve specific skill groups:
- Athletics: Quickness, Vertical, Strength, Stamina
- Offense: Brawl, Close Range, Medium Range, Long Range
- Defense: Steal, Block, Perimeter, Interior
- Technical: Passing, Handling, Post Moves, Rebounds
- Mental: Vision, Aggression, Intuition, Charisma
Training speed is affected by the Doctor's Training bonus.
Drinking and drunkenness
Pirates can drink rum to keep their spirits up. From a pirate's panel, the Drink action (D) downs one liter of Rum for a big morale boost, but it also raises that pirate's drunkenness.
The drunker a pirate is, the higher the chance the next drink leaves them wasted: their tiredness shoots straight to maximum and they pass out drunk. They recover no tiredness while drunk, so they stay knocked out until they sober up, after which their tiredness wears off as usual. High Stamina pirates hold their liquor better and get wasted less often. Drunkenness otherwise wears off slowly over time.
Drunkenness matters in games too: drunk pirates on the court raise the chance of a brawl breaking out, so a tipsy lineup is a rowdy one.
Pirates also drink on their own during games. Your team's in-game drinking setting controls how much rum the crew brings to a match and how readily benched pirates take a swig, with low-morale pirates drinking the most. The same wasted risk applies, so a pirate can drink themselves out of the rest of the game.
The Spugna trait is the exception. Spugnas get drunk ten times more slowly, their morale jumps straight to maximum whenever they drink, and a Spugna Pilot who gets wasted while travelling or exploring can open a portal to a random planet.