The Roles On A Pirate Ship, Explained

Summary

• The Captain plays a vital role as the head and leader of the pirate crew, often being the strongest and most ambitious member.
• The Second-In-Command, or First Mate, assumes command in the Captain’s absence, maintaining authority and speaking for the crew.
• The Cook keeps the crew healthy by providing nourishment, with examples like Sanji being powerful fighters in addition to culinary experts.

In case it isn’t clear from the premise or the story itself, pirates are the central faction of the entire One Piece series. The narrative follows the Straw Hats but every single pirate crew in the series functions around the same parameters, with each character filling a certain niche or specialization within it. Without the inclusion of these characters to fit their roles, a pirate crew wouldn’t be the same.

However, although some in One Piece seem to be outliers, the general rule of thumb when it comes to a pirate crew and the role each person serves is fairly unanimous. Most of them have designated positions that characters fill out, so let’s look at the roles that these pirate crews share, breaking down what they do, and some notable examples of each of them.

The Captain Is The Most Important Role

The Head of a Pirate Crew

The Captain is the most important member of the crew and serves as the figurehead for the team. Often, the crews are named after those who lead them, with them having the highest bounty out of everyone since they are seen as the banner that all others have rallied under. These characters also tend to be the strongest fighters, whether through the mastery of their Devil Fruit powers or proficiency in Haki.

A crew that loses the respect for their Captain is sure to collapse!

Captains are also the most ambitious of everyone under them, so in the New World, most of them are users of Conqueror’s Haki, which places them as some of the strongest characters in all of One Piece. In practicality, they don’t serve a specialized role like the other members of the crew, but they’re the ones who tend to be the reason behind everyone else’s dreams and the ones their subordinates look up to the most.

The Second-In-Command

Also Known As The First Mate

The characters with the most authority in the entire crew after the Captain are the second-in-command. Just like Captains, these characters don’t have as much of a specialized position within the crew itself but also serve a leadership role, especially in cases where the Captains themselves aren’t around. Due to their standing, they speak with the Captain’s voice upon matters and everyone below them must heed all of their commands.

If I can’t even protect my Captain’s dream, then whatever ambition I have is nothing but talk!

Many of the One Piece characters who embody this role seek to have a relatively more serious disposition as compared to their Captains, often even needing to keep them and their attitude in check. An example of this is when Zoro laid down the conditions for Usopp’s return after Enies Lobby, where he told Luffy to act more maturely as well as when he kept everyone from going to save Vivi. Furthermore, these characters are also considered ‘first mates ‘, which seems to put them as the muscle of the crew despite generally being weaker than their Captain.

The Cook Keeps The Crew Healthy

They Keep The Crew Fed and Healthy

As the name suggests, the cook is the one responsible for providing the crew with sustenance. Sanji is a notable example who uses his passion for food and his years of experience to create the most delicious dishes that not only provide the perfect nourishment, but also help to rejuvenate the crew. Although this seems to be a trait that should be unanimous, some cooks, such as Streusen, do the bare minimum and make tasteless food.

Cooking is a gift from the gods…

Moreover, despite being a specialized role, many cooks are incredibly powerful as well. Sanji is also considered to be the ‘second mate’ of the Straw Hats since he is an incredibly powerful fighter on top of being the cook. Another example of this is Lucky Roux of the Red Haired Pirates, who is one of the fastest characters in all of One Piece, making him a formidable fighter as well.

The Navigator May Be The Most Important

The Reason Why The Crew Gets Anywhere

Although the Captain is the highest ranking and the most important of all the crew positions, the navigator is perhaps the most crucial in terms of practicality. The world of One Piece is massive, so the ability to get to the various islands located on the tumultuous seas is of the greatest importance, which is what the navigator specializes in with their knowledge of the ocean and the cardinal directions of the world.

Luffy says he will be the Pirate King. I can’t be satisfied with being an ordinary navigator!

Without them, the crew would just be completely lost. In fact, the role of the navigator is so important that it’s customarily given the title of second mate over everyone else. The various Log Poses for the islands are typically entrusted to the navigator, who then proceeds to chart the best course for the crew to follow, sometimes even making tough decisions about going elsewhere if they deem something too dangerous.

The Doctor Plays A Vital Role

Characters In Charge Of Keeping Everyone In Top Shape

Perhaps the most straightforward of all the roles on the crew, the doctor is in charge of keeping everyone in the best health as well as fixing any injuries that their crewmates suffer. In Chopper’s case, he is especially gifted in his pursuit and knowledge of medicine, since he is able to craft the perfect cures and remedies for sicknesses on the spot, no matter how tricky they may seem at first.

I’ll become a doctor who can cure any disease! Because… because there is no disease in the world that can’t be cured!

On the other hand, many of the other doctors that have been shown in the series rely on their Devil Fruit powers to treat their crewmates. For example, Law can use his Ope Ope no Mi’s ‘Room’ ability to take people apart and physically remove any illness or sickness from them, whereas Marco, with his Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix, can heal any ailment by cleansing it with his blue flames, making him the perfect healer in the series. While the methods differ, the main idea is that doctors serve as the healers of their crews.

Shipwright Keeps The Ship In Perfect Condition

The One To Look After The Ship

Although this is also one of the most important roles on a pirate ship, there haven’t been many examples of pirates who have undertaken this job. Just as the doctor takes care of the health of all the crew members, the shipwright does so for the ship itself. The seas are incredibly dangerous and one can’t travel on them without an adequate enough ship, so they make sure that the vessel is always in optimal condition for the crew to sail in.

When a man makes a ship, he makes it part of himself with a DON!

If a ship is taken care of well enough and is kept in the best of conditions, it is said that a Klabautermann will appear, which is essentially the spirit of the ship itself. Franky has designed the current Straw Hat vessel, the Thousand Sunny, from the best materials on the planet and outfitted it with all the bells and whistles needed, making it the greatest possible ship for a crew to have.

The Sniper Provides Long-Range Protection

An Important Combat Role

The sniper role is one that isn’t as essential compared to the ones that have been listed before because many pirate crews can and do exist without a sniper in their ranks. This is essentially a position taken up by anyone who is adept at using long-range weaponry to provide cover fire for their allies or to fight others at a safe and far-away distance.

I’m the sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates! Don’t underestimate me!

Usopp is the best example of this, but can also be considered a weapons specialist, owing to his creation of the Clima-Tact and his own slingshots. At higher levels, it seems that snipers can infuse their bullets/projectiles with Haki, as Yasopp was shown to have done to destroy the Going Luffy; the flagship of Bartolomeo’s pirate crew.

The Helmsman Drives The Ship

The Pilot of the Crew

The helmsman is a role that is paired with the navigator of the crew. This is because these are the characters who are unparalleled when it comes to steering or controlling the ship, making them the perfect candidates to get a heading from the navigator to take the crew wherever they need to go. The best example of this is Jimbei, who was able to make the ship ride the waves in a way that no one else could have the very first time he got on the Thousand Sunny. This was so impressive that the other members of the crew commended him for it.

If you can control it well, this ship is invincible!

However, this isn’t as specialized as some of the others are. This can be seen by how the Straw Hats somehow managed to get all the way past the Wano arc without a designated helmsman, steering the ship on their own. Although not everyone can control the ship as perfectly or well as a helmsman can, this role isn’t exactly a crucial one in the same way some others are.

The Archaeologist And Musician Aren’t Very Important

But They’re Still Great To Have

Unlike the others, the roles of archaeologist and musician are the only ones that aren’t necessary to have. In fact, the Straw Hats are the only pirate crew to have an archaeologist and one of the only ones to have a musician as well. For Robin, she found herself as a part of the crew on her journey to find out the true history of the world, which just went perfectly alongside Luffy’s journey.

Fools who don’t respect the past are doomed to repeat it.

As for a musician, it was clear that Luffy wanted one more than anything else since he started his journey. His wishes were finally answered with Brook, who is not only an incredible musician, but also someone who is deceptively strong.

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