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Woodrow Wilson

ThesblahThesblah Member Posts: 56
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Does Wilson have any interesting banter with other characters? I'm considering replacing Aerie with him. I'm assuming he's more interesting and useful.
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  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    I could believe that he's more interesting, but being more useful than a C/M is a high bar in BG2.
  • ThesblahThesblah Member Posts: 56
    I'm wondering if he has any dialogue parts with other characters, or rather, do other party members comment on the bear?

    Also, I must be using Aerie wrong because she levels slowly, is nowhere near the mage that Edwin is, is nowhere near the cleric Viconia is, can't really melee well (unless she uses her cleric buffs), and seems overall weaker than everyone else in my party. Jaheira even seems more useful.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    Aerie is not quite a powerhouse, (though plenty would disagree and even go as far as say that she is overpowered), but she does bring a lot of versatility to the table. I liked to use her in a support role... buffing allies (Chant, Defensive Harmony, Haste etc), healing and helping to take down enemy defences (Breach, Greater Mallison etc), i.e. stuff where her slower level progression doesn't hurt her utility too much. She almost always has something useful for a given situation.

    As for Wilson, I've never used him myself, but I think he is basically just an Easter Egg, like Baeloth in BG1, I would be very surprised if he had much content. Mechanically he is pretty useless due to all the item restrictions, and certainly much weaker than Aerie.

    If you want a powerhouse to replace Aerie, I'd recommend Anomen if you don't already have him.
  • ThesblahThesblah Member Posts: 56
    Heindrich said:

    Aerie is not quite a powerhouse, (though plenty would disagree and even go as far as say that she is overpowered), but she does bring a lot of versatility to the table. I liked to use her in a support role... buffing allies (Chant, Defensive Harmony, Haste etc), healing and helping to take down enemy defences (Breach, Greater Mallison etc), i.e. stuff where her slower level progression doesn't hurt her utility too much. She almost always has something useful for a given situation.

    As for Wilson, I've never used him myself, but I think he is basically just an Easter Egg, like Baeloth in BG1, I would be very surprised if he had much content. Mechanically he is pretty useless due to all the item restrictions, and certainly much weaker than Aerie.

    One of my biggest problems with Aerie is that she has so few spell slots. Granted, I have three other casters in my party, so she's a little superfluous and that might be why I don't see her as very useful. My party costs of CHARNAME (blackguard), Korgan, Jaheira, Viconia, Edwin, and Aerie.

    Jaheira and Viconia round out divine spells better than poor Aerie. Edwin is light-years ahead of Aerie.

    I suppose if a team didn't have many casters, she would be useful. However, why would a team not choose the better options?
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited March 2015
    Thesblah said:

    Does Wilson have any interesting banter with other characters? I'm considering replacing Aerie with him. I'm assuming he's more interesting and useful.

    I played through wilson through SoA. He doesn't really say much. Also he is a drag on the party. He does a lot of damage but he is actually bugged at the moment and runs too fast. So he (along with Rasaad and anyone with boots of speed) tends to run into battle first (where he subsequently gets attacked).

    He also is extremely weak against Mind Flayers (1 hit kills him) and vampires (his level determines his effectiveness to a much greater extent than a normal fighter). Basically he requires a lot of micromanagement. Much more than most fighters. He is fine for a novelty run (or like a nature roleplaying run) but I can't say I'd recommend him over any of the other NPCs.
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    Wilson is just there for his epic epilogue, as well as his roleplay possibilities (perfect companion for a druid or a ranger (especially beast master)). And he is still better than Cernd or Nalia.
    As a fun fact, if you check his spellbook, he has all three Wild Mage spell. It is utterly useless but I noticed it.
  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    Don't sleep on
    elminster said:

    He doesn't really say much.

    That alone puts him ahead of some other NPCs in my book.

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  • CaptRoryCaptRory Member Posts: 1,660
    Aerie is not as strong a single class of either class (Mage or Cleric) but she brings a lot of broad power, and not just because she's a woman (unintentional punning ftw). She doesn't get as many super-ultra-uber spells as a single class, but she always has something to contribute to the fight. She has a lot of "Magical Endurance" since she memorizes spells of both types and can keep casting for a long time. She's an excellent backup caster for the party. Treat her like a mage with a helmet and twice the spell power.
  • CaptRoryCaptRory Member Posts: 1,660
    typo_tilly said:

    Ohmygosh, yes! Make him a cleric and he can replace Anomen. :D

    A pet rock could replace Anomen. It has three times the personality, is one-tenth as annoying, and has about as much combat power. Plus it could play with Boo.
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  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    Make Anomen cast Magical Stone, then tell him he's been made redundant.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    Poor Anomen... I genuinely don't get the hatred. I mean yeah he does start off a bit of a douche, but frankly, I know real people who are worse! Unlikely the real people I know, Anomen gets a lot better and he is an absolute beast mechanically.

    Then again, I've never seen his romance.
  • CaptRoryCaptRory Member Posts: 1,660
    Heindrich said:

    Poor Anomen... I genuinely don't get the hatred. I mean yeah he does start off a bit of a douche, but frankly, I know real people who are worse! Unlikely the real people I know, Anomen gets a lot better and he is an absolute beast mechanically.

    Then again, I've never seen his romance.

    It was the only female romance without cheating! I hired a prostitute just to piss him off. And I was a female PALADIN.
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  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    typo_tilly said:

    As for Wilson, I'm sure a determined player could keep him magically buffed and safe and violently effective. n_n

    I'm doing that in my current run. Keeping him sufficiently buffed and safe wasn't difficult in SoA, but now I'm in ToB and it's becoming harder work to keep him alive. I'll finish the game with him somehow, but he's worryingly squishy for ToB.
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    Gallowglass: he still has a fair amount of HP and the Hardines HLA. I would say it is easier to keep him alive in ToB thanks to this. And if he dies it is not so much of a problem for you simple have to resurrect him and he ll instantly be back to full potential.
  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    @Arunsun - yes, obviously Hardiness helps Wilson in ToB ... in fact, it's pretty essential, he'd be in severe trouble without it. But even with Hardiness, it's more work to keep him alive than any other character. So far it's continued to prove do-able, but I've come close to having to resurrect him a couple of times.

    Part of the problem is that in addition to weak AC, he's also got weak saving throws (and obviously can't use any save-boosting equipment or potions), so he'll quite often be caught out by a hold/stun/etc. (Of course the Resist Magic HLA helps, but only some of the time.) When this happens, others have to stop what they're doing and help Wilson, or he'll be dead meat.
  • ThesblahThesblah Member Posts: 56
    CaptRory said:

    Aerie is not as strong a single class of either class (Mage or Cleric) but she brings a lot of broad power, and not just because she's a woman (unintentional punning ftw). She doesn't get as many super-ultra-uber spells as a single class, but she always has something to contribute to the fight. She has a lot of "Magical Endurance" since she memorizes spells of both types and can keep casting for a long time. She's an excellent backup caster for the party. Treat her like a mage with a helmet and twice the spell power.

    It may be my fault, but she isn't utilized much in my party. In fact, she mostly doesn't cast any spells in a lot of fights--she just uses a sling poorly. I find a lot of her cleric spells to be useless since she never tanks. Viconia and Jaheira covers summons and the occasional death ward or negative plane protection. Edwin just about has more wizard slots than Aerie has wizard and cleric spell slots combined. I also have to keep giving her potions of genius in order for her to learn spells.
    DreadKhan said:

    Aerie gets a big boost over time compared to single class. With her stats and the unfortunate 'not being a gnome', she is hard to use early I would agree, but there is DEFINATELY no shortage of spell slots for Aerie.

    I usually gave her that 18str mace, unless Viconia needs it (use the Strength wizard spell in that case), a good shield and whatever helm will work. You can put Cleric spells into her sequencers/contingencies/triggers btw. At high levels, Aerie has heaps options, drawing HLAs from 2 pools. She's in the running for most powerful NPC at high levels, but is a bit of a underwhelming at first. She has a good personality imho, try bring Haer Dallis as long as you aren't romancing her.

    Vic has the mace. The cleric spells in sequencers are nice. Perhaps she does come into her own at high levels. However, she takes a much longer time getting there than the other party members. Also, imo, her personality is obnoxiously needy and self-centered. The girl has is not remotely conscious her surroundings. However, it is funny having her in a group of evil characters. She stopped me from extorting the mayor of Imnesvale. I had no option around her objection. lol
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Gallowglass said:

    @Arunsun - yes, obviously Hardiness helps Wilson in ToB ... in fact, it's pretty essential, he'd be in severe trouble without it. But even with Hardiness, it's more work to keep him alive than any other character. So far it's continued to prove do-able, but I've come close to having to resurrect him a couple of times.

    Part of the problem is that in addition to weak AC, he's also got weak saving throws (and obviously can't use any save-boosting equipment or potions), so he'll quite often be caught out by a hold/stun/etc. (Of course the Resist Magic HLA helps, but only some of the time.) When this happens, others have to stop what they're doing and help Wilson, or he'll be dead meat.

    He does have his animal rage for hold/stun spell protection. But I agree with everything you wrote. I actually ended up dropping him for Sarevok because I knew I would just be carrying him through ToB (and I looked through his dialogue files before I did to see if I was going to miss something).
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    @Gallowglass @elminster I'm not saying he is the best NPC. Of course Sarevok is better. Wilson is basically a viable character, and a fun one as well. With animal rage and hardiness he actually is quite good in fight(he really has decent damages), though he is still lightyears behind Sarevok.
    But just test it yourself: max level Wilson with IH is perma 10APR. Just take critical strike and hardiness as HLA, then come and tell me that Wilson is that bad.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Arunsun said:


    But just test it yourself: max level Wilson with IH is perma 10APR. Just take critical strike and hardiness as HLA, then come and tell me that Wilson is that bad.

    NPC's being good after you max level them could be said about any NPC. However that doesn't change how many issues he will have getting to that level.

    Plus his attacks can't bypass stoneskin (pretty essential for a warrior character) and his attacks won't work against creatures (like liches) that cast Improved Mantle until he hits level 19 (2.75 million xp).
  • ThesblahThesblah Member Posts: 56
    Maybe we could petition Beamdog to make some changes to Wilson in order to make him slightly more viable? Perhaps he could be allowed to use *some* equipment.

    They already spent time structuring the character's ability advancements as he progressed in levels. I don't see why they couldn't take a moment to make a few adjustments to the character.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Thesblah said:

    Maybe we could petition Beamdog to make some changes to Wilson in order to make him slightly more viable? Perhaps he could be allowed to use *some* equipment.

    They already spent time structuring the character's ability advancements as he progressed in levels. I don't see why they couldn't take a moment to make a few adjustments to the character.

    Things like this are going to be pretty finalized but I did post some basic improvements that could be made.

    http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/38244/suggested-simple-wilson-improvements
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    One great strategy with Aerie:
    - at least level 9 cleric (450k xp)
    - Minor Sequencer with Draw Upon Holy Might and Shocking Grasp
    - Polymorph Self -> Spider Form
    - Target Self with Minor Sequencer
    - Have Edwin cast Haste or Improved Haste

    Result:
    19+ strength spider attacking 5 to 8 times round with Flail of Ages or your favourite Sling.

    Adding Spell Sequencer and Spell Trigger later only improved this (Righteous Magic for max damage and 25 strength, yes please!). In ToB you can do it with Shapechange as well which opens up a whole new set of special abilities.

    Alternatively, use the Minor Sequencer to cast a double Doom or similar on tough mobs before having another caster hit them with a disable.
  • ThesblahThesblah Member Posts: 56
    Wowo said:

    One great strategy with Aerie:
    - at least level 9 cleric (450k xp)
    - Minor Sequencer with Draw Upon Holy Might and Shocking Grasp
    - Polymorph Self -> Spider Form
    - Target Self with Minor Sequencer
    - Have Edwin cast Haste or Improved Haste

    Result:
    19+ strength spider attacking 5 to 8 times round with Flail of Ages or your favourite Sling.

    Adding Spell Sequencer and Spell Trigger later only improved this (Righteous Magic for max damage and 25 strength, yes please!). In ToB you can do it with Shapechange as well which opens up a whole new set of special abilities.

    Alternatively, use the Minor Sequencer to cast a double Doom or similar on tough mobs before having another caster hit them with a disable.

    That sounds awesome. I especially like the double Doom. I just think it might be an exploit to have a spider wield the flail of ages.
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    While you might find her Annoying, I don't think anyone as implausibly Lawful Good can be seen as self-centred, perhaps I missed something?

    She really needs scrolls when you get her, but Aerie has some strong options other casters don't. Aerie is powerful the way Jan is, and has an equally live/hate personality. Heck, the ability to cast Smite Good is probably good enough to put her well above Viconia. Very very handy spell, not gamebreaking but solid.
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