Is Bernie actually good at other things?

[dubious little]

I like Wendy's gimmick of having Abigail, but I prefer Bernies execution more (having low sanity and pulling him out of your inventory) so I was thinking of trying out Willow as I've barely played her and it would make the game harder while still letting me have a companion, BUT I need to know if Bernie is useful. From what I've seen he basically is "farm nightmare fuel" but can he be used for more than that? For example will he help distract enemies like the Krampuses (Krampi?) Klaus summons? Does he actually stay alive for a good bit or does he just get destroyed? Is he even viable to pull out on bosses? Basically I just wanna know if he's good at more than distracting nightmare creatures since you can pull him out and in as much as you want by using blue caps and cooked green caps while with Wendy there isn't much reason to not always have her out. Any useful big Bernie info is welcomed.

[Soulo]

I main willow and can say Bernie is useful in some situations, or I should say BernieS. With 2 Bernies and 2-3 sewing kits you can steamroll through the runes with no issue. Blue caps act as healing, food and keeps your sanity low so Bernie will always be active. As soon as one dies drop another Bernie and repair the damaged one. Bernie also makes bee queen solo with Willow a lot easier Cause Bernie distracts all grumble beed for the first half of the fight. You just need a lot of Bernies cause the grumble bees melts him so you don’t have to keep repairing him whe he dies. I haven’t really tried out Bernie  in other bosses tho. You can just pull out Bernie in a pinch to heal, manage inventory, etc. and he does tank a lot of damage. He’s almost 3x Abigail health i think but only targets one enemy. 

Btw the video of the bee queen w. It was my second attempt so it wasn’t perfect 

[ArubaroBeefalo]

he is like the typical taunt tank from rpg games which is useful for atracting mobs to him but the downside is that, being insane, also adds enemies to whatever you were fighting so it might die faster which isnt the biggest problem if you have with you winona's duck tape or sewing kit

for ruins cleaning is fun and kinda useful, for hounds can help but it will die fast, for some bosses like deerclops it will add few dps, etc

having a nightmere amulet helps you to control his summoning

dont expect something automatic like abigail, he is just a tank that deals few damage. Use it as distraction so you can hold F

[Crestwave]

Yes, bernie taunt works on regular mobs which makes him extremely good for mobs like hounds, frog rain, shadow monkeys, clockworks—he renders bishops pretty much useless, he snipes aggro from a good distance and they take hours to kill him—and more. He instantly pulls all the aggro then you can hold F to mow them down pretty safely.

Note that his damage is pretty much useless so don't expect anything of it, he is solely a tank.

Generally you should carry 2 bernies so the other can shield you while you'e repairing a dead one. Trusty tape is incredibly powerful for him as you'e essentially carrying 80k HP of healing in a single slot, and it's applied very quickly with 2k health for a single repair animation.

He doesn't tend to be useful for non-summoner bosses since there's no groups for him to taunt, but he does still distract shadow creatures. I like that I can mash blue caps/glommer goop for infinite healing without worrying about sanity (not to mention sanity auras like deerclops') so I often end up summoning him.

Overall I pretty much spam him as much as Wendy players spam Abi. I've actually stopped playing Willow because bernie doesn't work in enlightenment, which can easily kill you when doing the CC questline if you rely on him for hound waves and such.

[Dextops]

he's eh i guess he really just shines for if you just bought the game and have trouble dealing with insanity but falls flat after you learn better methods and become more skillful at the game. he could be tank but i don't have much experience on that and his distraction capabilities are also eh

[dubious little]

2 hours ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

he is like the typical taunt tank from rpg games which is useful for atracting mobs to him but the downside is that, being insane, also adds enemies to whatever you were fighting so it might die faster which isnt the biggest problem if you have with you winona's duck tape or sewing kit

for ruins cleaning is fun and kinda useful, for hounds can help but it will die fast, for some bosses like deerclops it will add few dps, etc

having a nightmere amulet helps you to control his summoning

dont expect something automatic like abigail, he is just a tank that deals few damage. Use it as distraction so you can hold F

Ah okay, thanks for the useful information! I'll try out Willow then as this sounds pretty similar to what I expected.

2 hours ago, Soulo said:

I main willow and can say Bernie is useful in some situations, or I should say BernieS. With 2 Bernies and 2-3 sewing kits you can steamroll through the runes with no issue. Blue caps act as healing, food and keeps your sanity low so Bernie will always be active. As soon as one dies drop another Bernie and repair the damaged one. Bernie also makes bee queen solo with Willow a lot easier Cause Bernie distracts all grumble beed for the first half of the fight. You just need a lot of Bernies cause the grumble bees melts him so you don’t have to keep repairing him whe he dies. I haven’t really tried out Bernie  in other bosses tho. You can just pull out Bernie in a pinch to heal, manage inventory, etc. and he does tank a lot of damage. He’s almost 3x Abigail health i think but only targets one enemy. 

Btw the video of the bee queen w. It was my second attempt so it wasn’t perfect 

Yeah this is pretty much what I wanted, thanks for the help and the video.

[Mike23Ua]

2 hours ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

he is like the typical taunt tank from rpg games which is useful for atracting mobs to him but the downside is that, being insane, also adds enemies to whatever you were fighting so it might die faster which isnt the biggest problem if you have with you winona's duck tape or sewing kit

for ruins cleaning is fun and kinda useful, for hounds can help but it will die fast, for some bosses like deerclops it will add few dps, etc

having a nightmere amulet helps you to control his summoning

dont expect something automatic like abigail, he is just a tank that deals few damage. Use it as distraction so you can hold F

But he can be used like Abigail, the only difference is he doesn’t do AoE damage, I always carry around at the minimum 2-3 Bernie and a few sewing kits, 1000hp Bernie and a Sewing kit heals him to full HP for 5 uses so that’s 5000hp pair that with just one additional Bernie & sewing kit and that’s 10,000 hp. There’s not a lot in the game (other then swarm mobs) that having 10,000 hp won’t beat…

The difference between Bernie and Abigail however is that Bernie is a single target attacker where as Abigail is an AoE swarm Mob attacker.

Abigail will also target mobs automatically where as when playing Willow you will need to play like DS Solo Wendy: Aka lure the mobs you want dead to Bernie like you used to have to do with Abigail.

Just run under his feet should do the trick. Bring a doll collection to Dragonfly’s fight and you can effectively let Bernie’s kill her while all you do is run around sewing kit repairing the ones not in combat 

Basically: Set them up in a circle around/near the boss so that when one dies.. another instantly activates to take his place leaving you free to heal up the dead dolls.

Willow is one of my favorite reworks  

Also you don’t really even need Nightmare amulets and all that other end game stuff to trigger/recall Bernie.. you have a lighter that instantly cooks mushrooms just eat those.

if playing alone like I do- there’s more then plenty of Mushrooms.

1 Bernie and 1 Sewing kit has more HP then Deerclops & on par with EoT.

 good luck, have fun.. don’t die guys!

[dubious little]

11 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

But he can be used like Abigail, the only difference is he doesn’t do AoE damage, I always carry around at the minimum 2-3 Bernie and a few sewing kits, 1000hp Bernie and a Sewing kit heals him to full HP for 5 uses so that’s 5000hp pair that with just one additional Bernie & sewing kit and that’s 10,000 hp. There’s not a lot in the game (other then swarm mobs) that having 10,000 hp won’t beat…

The difference between Bernie and Abigail however is that Bernie is a single target attacker where as Abigail is an AoE swarm Mob attacker.

Abigail will also target mobs automatically where as when playing Willow you will need to play like DS Solo Wendy: Aka lure the mobs you want dead to Bernie like you used to have to do with Abigail.

Just run under his feet should do the trick. Bring a doll collection to Dragonfly’s fight and you can effectively let Bernie’s kill her while all you do is run around sewing kit repairing the ones not in combat 

Basically: Set them up in a circle around/near the boss so that when one dies.. another instantly activates to take his place leaving you free to heal up the dead dolls.

Willow is one of my favorite reworks  

Also you don’t really even need Nightmare amulets and all that other end game stuff to trigger/recall Bernie.. you have a lighter that instantly cooks mushrooms just eat those.

if playing alone like I do- there’s more then plenty of Mushrooms.

1 Bernie and 1 Sewing kit has more HP then Deerclops & on par with EoT.

 good luck, have fun.. don’t die guys!

Oh wow, this is really encouraging me to play Willow actually, I didn't know Bernie(s) could effectively be used sorta like a swap in and out army. Seems pretty fun.

[ArubaroBeefalo]

40 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

But he can be used like Abigail, the only difference is he doesn’t do AoE damage

yes but as you explained isnt a free thing and not only he doesnt do aoe but his atack speed is slow plus no shield

if you ask me is kinda stupid that abi can tank more than bernie because of her free shield taking in count he is suppose to be the "tank" archetype but i guess is because bernie can be repaired so i guess he still being better for that

[Mike23Ua]

13 minutes ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

yes but as you explained isnt a free thing and not only he doesnt do aoe but his atack speed is slow plus no shield

if you ask me is kinda stupid that abi can tank more than bernie because of her free shield taking in count he is suppose to be the "tank" archetype but i guess is because bernie can be repaired so i guess he still being better for that

Really I feel like the shield on Abigail just prevents her from being Stun-Locked to death by Frog Rain, Spiders or Bee’s.

Its not very helpful (at least for me it isn’t) in situations where she’s fighting mobs that don’t group up in Swarms to attack.. 

What I mean by this is that Abigail will survive 1 million frogs raining out of the sky because of her shield protocol when being attacked multiple times in a row by multiple opponents.

However: When she is fighting single target or only 2-3 enemies at a time that all don’t try to hit her all at once (such as a Tallbird, Depth Worm, MacTusk etc..) she’s not being hit multiple times in a row to activate this shield.

There is never a time for me that outside of being attacked by 4 or more enemies at roughly the same time: That the shield has ever played an important role for Abigail.

Bernie doesn’t have a shield because unlike Abigail who if she dies drops back down to 150hp from her max of 600 & loses any potions you applied onto her, When Bernie dies a single sewing kit gets him right back up and fighting at 100% again.

I feel like this perfectly balances Abigail and Bernie’s Roles.

Another thing that might be important to note is that In addition to Bernie, Willow also has a lighter, fire immunity etc..

Where as Wendy’s entire gameplay revolves around just Abigail and Abigail alone, building the Sisturn only helps Abigail, doing quests for Pipspook only helps Abigail etc..

Meanwhile: Since Willow will ALREADY be carrying around sewing kits in her inventory to repair Bernie, she will also be able to use those sewing kits to repair Thermal Stones, Winter Gear, Eyebrella etc-

And if she’s using Winona’s Duct Tape: It can be used to repair Boat Leaks in addition to all that other stuff.

Willow has some extra stuff where as Wendy’s entire gameplay is Abigail.

The two characters are different enough to not feel the same.

But- there’s also people who claim Webber and Wurt are the same.. lol (they’re not.)

ALSO Op Bernie can be held in the Hand Slot and Willow will “Cuddle” Him it costs durability on him but it provides her with Warmth.

A Willow that is standing in a single burning tree (preferably one that isn’t going to spread) while cuddling Bernie will regain sanity while doing so.

Theres a lot of fun to be had with fire immunity as well (yes Willow and Bernie are completely immune to fire) You can stand in the middle of fire hounds and kill them laughing as all non-Fire hounds catch themselves on fire and die trying to get to you.

Willow is really really fun to play as..  

[astroapyr]

BERNIE! can fight the Ewecus for you and for some reason Ewecus won't attack you when BERNIE! is close, but you may need to clear nightmare creatures from attacking him.

You can use him to tank DF too, he won't do much damage but can take some hits, I use a Bone Helm to summon him on command and repair him while DF is spawning her lavaes and a Beefalo to save the Bone Helm's durability.

He's a very helpful distraction to use a Willow sanity station too.

Seriously, he would have a lot more uses in fights if nightmare creatures wouldn't attack him when wearing the Bone Helm but it could be too OP to be able to carry more than 3 almost unstoppable bears in your pockets.

[SuperDonuts]

Can you put armor on Bernie’s head like pigs or bunny men?

[GenomeSquirrel]

14 minutes ago, SuperDonuts said:

Can you put armor on Bernie’s head like pigs or bunny men?

No

[dubious little]

6 hours ago, SuperDonuts said:

Can you put armor on Bernie’s head like pigs or bunny men?

Even if you could it wouldn't be very useful considering how many hits Bernie takes tbh.

[Filip_G]

I don´t like reworked Willow at all, the only good thing is no random fires.And the Bernie now looks, I don´t know, like it does not fit into the games´ concept. I would leave it just as an item exlusive for her that restores sanity to her and maybe she can use it as the shield of terror with lower dmg.

[dubious little]

1 hour ago, Filip_G said:

I don´t like reworked Willow at all, the only good thing is no random fires.And the Bernie now looks, I don´t know, like it does not fit into the games´ concept. I would leave it just as an item exlusive for her that restores sanity to her and maybe she can use it as the shield of terror with lower dmg.

The thing is Bernie gives Willow much more depth as a character, if she was only fire resistant and weak to cold she would honestly just be a worse Wilson with a portable cooking source. Cold is way more common than the heat (rain and winter as opposed to only summer) and the light provided by the lighter is pretty much nullified by a lantern. Don't get me wrong, the downside isn't incredibly bad or anything and I still enjoy the fire/cold side of her character a ton but Bernie gives Willow unique options which people have already mentioned above (help with minion summoning bosses, help with fighting bosses like dfly with multiple bernies, ewecus without needing pigs, healing with glommers goop or blue caps basically being free, ruins rushing, etc). Even then removing Bernie takes out her multiplayer aspect which is nightmare fuel farming/protecting others from nightmare creatures. I just don't see any reason to remove Bernie even if you're trading it for other abilities since an exclusively pyromaniac character doesn't fit great in a multiplayer game really. I also think all the reworks have been great besides Wolfgangs whose would be fixed if he could just walk with his dumbells.

[Keller Max]

The only way to activate Bernie, is to be Insane. If you are insane, then you will have to fight with shadow creatures too. Now you fight 2 enemies at once. I feel like they should upper her Big Bernie sanity threshold. You must be able to activate Bernie transformation before you become fully insane. I just want to use big Bernie without forcing myself into full insanity. Fighting bosses and terrorbeaks at the same time is too much to pay for Bernie companion.

[Bird Up]

Bernie is very good for farming shadow monkeys. He grabs all their aggro, and you can then easily kill all the monkeys yourself for tons of morsels, bananas, beard hair, and nightmare fuel

[dubious little]

7 hours ago, Keller Max said:

The only way to activate Bernie, is to be Insane. If you are insane, then you will have to fight with shadow creatures too. Now you fight 2 enemies at once. I feel like they should upper her Big Bernie sanity threshold. You must be able to activate Bernie transformation before you become fully insane. I just want to use big Bernie without forcing myself into full insanity. Fighting bosses and terrorbeaks at the same time is too much to pay for Bernie companion.

Kind of agree, I dislike that you basically need to use multiple Bernies and a sewing kit if you wanna get anything significant done with him, it's not bad or anything but its less fun than I thought it would be.