Old Man Bill joins your group fairly early on in Hard West 2. You’ll find him in the Abandoned Farm in Chapter 1, whereupon he’ll surprise the group upon being unearthed (he’s actually a zombie). Eventually, he’ll become one of the most integral party members in battles. Here’s our Hard West 2 Old Man Bill guide to help you with the best card skills and weapon loadout for him.
Note: For more information, check out our Hard West 2 guides and features hub.
Hard West 2 Old Man Bill best card skills and weapon loadout guide
Main skill: Deadman’s Revenge – Deals 2 base damage to all enemies in Bill’s line-of-sight, as long as they’re within 12 spaces of him. Extra damage is also dealt (+1 for every 4 HP that Bill has lost so far). This is a ridiculous ability that can turn the tide of battle due to how many hostiles you can take out in a single action.
Weapon loadout: Handguns or Shotguns – Having line-of-sight usually means getting close to as many enemies as possible, which often makes handguns or shotguns more reliable due to close-range combat.
Below, you’ll see the card skills for Old Man Bill in Hard West 2. As usual, having a better poker hand equipped means unlocking all the lower-tier skills.
| Skill | Requirement | Effect |
| Pistolero | Default | +1 damage with handguns |
| Horseback Riding | Default | Movement bonus and Burning/Crippling resistance when mounted; -25% reduced chance of getting hit |
| Refreshing Wounds | Loyalty – Ally | +10% bullseye if Bill’s HP is below 50% at the start of the turn |
| Post-Mortem | Loyalty – Friend | +1 weapon damage if Bill’s HP is below 25% at the start of the turn |
| Deadman’s Revenge | Pair | Deals 2 base damage to all enemies in Bill’s line-of-sight; +1 damage for every 4 HP that Bill has lost |
| Bullheaded | Two Pair | Resistance to Dazed and Drunk status |
| Winner Takes All | Three of a Kind | +1 bullseye damage multiplier when you have 100 Luck |
| Bloodless | Straight | Resistance to Bleeding |
| Warrior | Flush | +1 damage with melee weapons |
| Deadman’s Revenge II | Full House | Deals 3 base damage; range is increased to 18 |
| High Noon | Four of a Kind | Gain the Duelist status at the start of your turn if you’re not in cover |
| Fireproof | Straight Flush | Resistance to Burning |
| Come At Me, Bub | Royal Flush | If Bill has the Duelist status, he can counter-shot an infinite number of attacks |
| Deadman’s Revenge III | Five of a Kind | Deals 4 base damage |
Card suit and character usage: To have the best card skills for Old Man Bill in Hard West 2, you’ll want to have a Pair to unlock Deadman’s Revenge. From there, you’ll want a Full House for the upgrade, and a Five of a Kind later in the game to maximize the damage. The Five of a Kind also unlocks the Royal Flush perk anyway, which is a powerful tool during a fight since it lets you counter-shot enemies that fire at you.
In terms of card suits, Hearts are your go-to option for Bill due to the +HP boosts and survivability. Ideally, you’ll bring him to the frontlines to soak the damage and take the hits. This will also increase the damage dealt by Deadman’s Revenge.
It’s possible to do these kinds of tactics to set up Bill’s nuke:
- Have Flynn get to a position with clear line-of-sight. Use Shadow Swap on Bill prior to activating Deadman’s Revenge.
- If Lazarus gets mauled and is in critical condition, use Transfusion so that Bill ends up with lower HP (and improved Deadman’s Revenge damage).
- Enemies that don’t get killed by Bill’s ability can get mopped up by your teammates for those sweet Bravado chain kills.
Hard West 2 is available via Steam.
Published: Aug 4, 2022 03:15 pm