Is there anyway I can get rid of it all together, or atleast tone it way down?
Yup; before you start a game, go to "game options" and set pirates to "off". This is highly recommended when first learning the game. They can be quite annoying to deal with even for veterans, and totally overwhelming for beginners. Also ensure you've patched to the most recent version; the pirates have been weakened since then.
I finally got the ability to pay them to attack other factions but it says I don't have enough credits (I had about 5K at the time I tried)
There are two types of pirate raids. The pirate missions you purchase are one-shot events and you can call them any time, but they can be grossly expensive. The other type of pirate raid occurs once every 15 minutes like clockwork, and the faction with the most bounty on their head at the time is targeted by the raid. All you need to do is ensure you are not the player with the most bounty.
Also, I seem to be limited to selecting "small games". Is there another type of game I'm missing?
Yes, click the "change maps" to cycle through the different map lists. The maps are organized by the number of players (2-3, 4-6, 8-10) and you'll find a range of different selections in each category.
