Where to go from here?

[Basil Dreadflint]

After messing up my first pirate, and finishing the Pearl Quest at level 25, then having nothing left to do but grind weapons and side quests, I decided on the following guide for MYSELF.

At Not level 20 I should be about 15% done with the Pearl quest.
At Not level 25, 25%.
At Not level 30, 40%.
At Not level 35, 50%.
And finally, I try to pace the rest in such a way as to be ready to finish the Boss Battle just about the time I reach level 40.

It doesn't always work out that way for me, tho. I did one pirate all the way to full Master without doing ANY Pearl Quest, but that was because I just wanted to see if it could be done.

One side note: All weapons and skills have an important place, and I feel that is at level 12. Every weapon and skill has a good feature unlock at 12. And, of course sailing at 15
.

Of course I agree with Grizz.