Bernie-Centric Playstyle

[Jussatoon]

@Gashzer This post is pretty much a place where you can explain yourself with as much detail as possible. Share your skilltree layout, explaining each and every skill choice and why you like it, as well as any additional tips you care to share.

A skilltree playstyle where you're making use of Bernie as much as possible is interesting to me, due to being against the usual status quo if anything, and it's something I may consider trying in the future. I could've DMed you, but perhaps there are others who might care to give your advice a try as well. 

[Gashzer]

Oho, sure thing buddy. The benefit of a bernie centric playstyle which is the best way to play willow tbh is the convenience of being able to have big burning bernie out 24/7 ready to fight any and all horde mobs that you come across, akin to an upgraded Abigail, whether it be Dangling Depth Dwellers, nightmare phase shadow monsters or hounds!

The core advantage of this playstyle over using combustion/lunar flame is that burning bernie can effectively slaughter hordes of mobs the same as lunar flame without the need to grind 100s of embers every 5mins or prevents the bad habit of avoiding using lunar flame because you dont want to "waste" the embers. This makes using burning bernie incredibly convenient and fun while being available day 1!

Shadow creatures are the biggest source of damage to big bernie so the shadow bernie skill is a no brainer as it reduces the damage bernie takes from shadow mobs, recoil damage from burning bernie far exceeds the extra damage that lunar bernie provides so focusing on boosting bernies defence is key.

Accelerant 2 is another core bernie skill people disregard, it is so important that big bernie can consistently outrun the crawling horror that chases him while also keeping up with a cane/mag Willow or beefalo mount.

The excessive amount of nightmare fuel you farm makes your Magiluminescence and dark swords infinite so if you enjoy a backpackless playstyle, bernie-centric mode is for you!.

There are 2 builds, both are very similar but the small changes greatly effects overall convenience or boss fighting power.

Image quality is ass, captured off my switch 2.

• Skill build 1 burning frenzy:

Burn duration with burning frenzy allow you to buff willows damage during boss fights, this includes beefalo damage! Willow is Wendy 2.0! Flame cast can light bernie on fire if you are not close to him. Small amount of ember grind is required for burning frenzy. Tough stuffing 2 is swapped for hot headed, this just allows bernie to be used in most situations.

• Skill build 2  brighter lighter (my fav willow loadout!)

Brighter lighter 2, my god, lowkey is the best willow skill. This skill description is wrong, it should read "adds two inventory slots, reduces weapon switching by half, increases overall inventory management and convenience by 400%" using willows lighter as a full time light source means you can always have it equipped ready to ignite bernie without fumbling around weapon switching when going into combat i.e lantern to willows lighter for igniting bernie then weapon to fight.

Brighter lighter build complements the bernie-centric playstyle and is the best way to play Willow.

Edited Tuesday at 02:34 PM by Gashzer

[Parusoid]

how much damage does lighter do when used as weapon? 

Bernie attack speed is quite low, how long does it usually take to kill anything? 

how doea typical survival and combat look like with these builds? 

do you carry multiple bernies with you or repair kits / tapes? 

[David808]

18 hours ago, Gashzer said:

Oho, sure thing buddy. The benefit of a bernie centric playstyle which is the best way to play willow tbh is the convenience of being able to have big burning bernie out 24/7 ready to fight any and all horde mobs that you come across, akin to an upgraded Abigail, whether it be Dangling Depth Dwellers, nightmare phase shadow monsters or hounds!

The core advantage of this playstyle over using combustion/lunar flame is that burning bernie can effectively slaughter hordes of mobs the same as lunar flame without the need to grind 100s of embers every 5mins or prevents the bad habit of avoiding using lunar flame because you dont want to "waste" the embers. This makes using burning bernie incredibly convenient and fun while being available day 1!

Shadow creatures are the biggest source of damage to big bernie so the shadow bernie skill is a no brainer as it reduces the damage bernie takes from shadow mobs, recoil damage from burning bernie far exceeds the extra damage that lunar bernie provides so focusing on boosting bernies defence is key.

Accelerant 2 is another core bernie skill people disregard, it is so important that big bernie can consistently outrun the crawling horror that chases him while also keeping up with a cane/mag Willow or beefalo mount.

The excessive amount of nightmare fuel you farm makes your Magiluminescence and dark swords infinite so if you enjoy a backpackless playstyle, bernie-centric mode is for you!.

There are 2 builds, both are very similar but the small changes greatly effects overall convenience or boss fighting power.

Image quality is ass, captured off my switch 2.

• Skill build 1 burning frenzy:

Burn duration with burning frenzy allow you to buff willows damage during boss fights, this includes beefalo damage! Willow is Wendy 2.0! Flame cast can light bernie on fire if you are not close to him. Small amount of ember grind is required for burning frenzy. Tough stuffing 2 is swapped for hot headed, this just allows bernie to be used in most situations.

• Skill build 2  brighter ligher (my fav willow loadout!)

Brighter lighter 2, my god, lowkey is the best willow skill. This skill description is wrong, it should read "adds two inventory slots, reduces weapon switching by half, increases overall inventory management and convenience by 400%" using willows lighter as a full time light source means you can always have it equipped ready to ignite bernie without fumbling around weapon switching when going into combat i.e lantern to willows lighter for igniting bernie then weapon to fight.

Brighter lighter build complements the bernie-centric playstyle and is the best way to play Willow.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm intrigued to play this next time I open dst.

[Gashzer]

1 hour ago, Parusoid said:

how much damage does lighter do when used as weapon? 

17 plus fire tick, lighter attack is a good opener to any fight tho because of fire panic to regular mobs or for turning bosses into light sources. This is another reason why brighter lighter 2 is much better than people think it is. While burning bernie is killing hordes of spiders at a spider quarry you can spam lighter attacks on the spiders to gain embers for refuelling the lighter. Since you are not using spells this supply lasts a very long time.

1 hour ago, Parusoid said:

Bernie attack speed is quite low, how long does it usually take to kill anything? 

Bernie's attack speed is low but burning bernie's recoil damage has unlimited attack speed, so burning bernie kills hordes incredibly fast and more consistently than you using lunar flame which you can get knocked out from.

1 hour ago, Parusoid said:

how doea typical survival and combat look like with these builds? 

Rush caves, brighter lighter 2 plus a fully powered up burning bernie means you can tackle any cave/ruins threat from first spawn in, without science machine or weapons. 

Regular combat becomes trivial, boss fights are indirectly boosted from the insane amount of nightmare fuel you passively farm, meaning rapid access to ruins gear/shadow manipulator gear which heavily reduces prep time for boss fights even tho you have no special abilities. Burning bernie can farm nightmares during boss fights while you can be fully insane, maximizing the regen of dreadstone armour, or able to spam blue caps without a downside.

1 hour ago, Parusoid said:

do you carry multiple bernies with you or repair kits / tapes? 

If you are not rushing caves then while having bernie out 24/7, he should regen overtime any damage he receives, not many regular mobs on the surface can rapidly take down big burning bernie so no need for 2 bernies/tape

if rushing the caves (which you should as willow! She is designed for it!) this allows you to quickly find blue mush biome, chopping webbed blue mush trees while burning bernie deals with the dangling cave dwellers then hammering the nearby bones for hounds teeth gives you all you need for a sewing kit. Then continue to lunar grotto for living logs.

I do recommend a sewing kit if you plan on taking big burning bernie to ruins, check on bernies health after every big fight (horde of splumonkeys, clockworks or the nightmare creatures at full ancient science station) i would prematurely heal him if hes below 20% hp just so he doesnt die in the middle of fighting. Ruins has too many high damage dealing mobs to sololy rely on bernie's patch up 2 regen.

Later on craft a second bernie if you wish, have 2 bernies and 1 tape.

[mima_]

i should give this build a chance someday, nice explanation too 

btw, Klei hear me out, can we burn small bernie to summon burning BERNIE! that would be super cool 

[Gashzer]

38 minutes ago, mima_ said:

btw, Klei hear me out, can we burn small bernie to summon burning BERNIE! that would be super cool 

Thats a good idea.

Hot-headed is such a bleh skill and your idea would allow Klei to scrap hot-headed completely for something better like a patch up 3.