The concept of these techniques is pretty simple, but they’re highly situational and are still tricky to pull off in a real match. I suggest trying them out for yourself in sandbox mode first or you could watch someone else do a demonstration, but like I said before, doing rather than watching is the key to mastering Woodie. But even just knowing how to do them can be very useful in a real match in a case where you do pull it off. And it is oh so satisfying!

If you read part one, you'll know all about cancels and how to do them perfectly, yea? No pressure, haha. Well, there's still a bit more to know about Cancel Culture. Ever wondered how to keep track of cancels when you have Maxwell's shadows or Wigfrid's battle cry interrupt you? Well, there is a way to work around the randomness of the interruptions. This is when things start to get technical so bear with us. All credit goes to ECS for this explanation for Maxwell's shadows!

Here's how it works: The difference between timing cancels without interruptions is that apart from counting grunts, axe swings, or whatever your method is, it's about reacting to the other player. Particularly if it's Maxwell's shadows. The reason for this is because everyone's rapid speed is different. One thing to note is that Maxwell's shadows will spawn every 300 damage dealt which is around 10 fireballs with the meteor staff. Too much to keep track of? If tallying damage isn't your thing, you can still do the count grunt/flinch and cancel pattern. Every mob has an attack timer which is consistent no matter what. The best way to put this is that you can count the grunts/flinches in your head even if they don't happen. This applies to every single mob so if you know the attack patterns off the top of your head that makes things much easier.

Direct quote from ECS: "You can count his grunts, but even when he doesn't grunt, you can still imagine them happening and keep counting, it's like a rhythm. Depending on when the shadows happen and the grunt count in your head, you'll know if you need to cancel.
It's 1 attack every 3 grunts, so if he [GFB] grunts 2x and then shadows happen, they hit him too early, so after the shadows he'll attack. If you count 3 grunts and then shadows happen, then they're more likely to cancel him. If shadows happen right after his attack, keep the rhythm, count as if he was still grunting, then resume the counting when the shadows end.
As random as the shadows might be, his attack timer doesn't change, so if you keep track of that, you can take account of when the shadows happen compared to how close he is to attacking."

As for Wigfrid, things get a little...... complex. There are so many possible combinations that I won't be able to list them all. But I'll go over the most common character comps. Here are the weapons that Wigfrid can use that will effect the timing:

• Scattertooth (Wormwood required)
  
• Blacksmith's Edge
  
• Spiral Spear
  
  Note: It's not common for Wigfrid to use the Blacksmith's Edge in most meta games but the battle cry will affect whoever is using it.
  
  I won't get too technical since this guide is about Woodie after all but I will discuss how each of the mentioned weapons will affect your timing due to the battle cry being activated at different times. As far as I know, the battle cry is based on damage given by Wigfrid. It's unrealistic to be able to keep track of that as well as timing your own cancels but having a general idea on timing can help a lot.
  
  The Scattertooth itself isn't really the problem, what matters is how fast it affects the player's sword jump and/or spear poke animation. You're going to want to always be at the ready since it'll activate pretty quickly thanks to the quick bursts of darts it fires. So in short, it's whoever is using the Blacksmith's Edge/Spiral Spear you need to be paying attention to. Assuming that Wigfrid goes melee and uses the Spiral Spear you'll have to pay attention to her and the main tank. But since the battle cry is activated only by Wigfrid you'll really only need to focus on one. I find watching the sword user the easiest. Sounds pretty complicated huh? Well, the way I just do it is multitask. Count grunts/flinches and just keep an eye out for when the battle cry is activated indicated by the bird icon above the affected player's head. Easier said than done but the more you do it, the more it'll come to you.
  
  Worst case scenario, you have a Maxwell AND a Wigfrid. At this point it really is pretty much about reaction time. If you're concerned about not being able to multitask it's alright to miss a few cancels, nobody is perfect. And you can always chuck Lucy at the haters. Ok, I'm just kidding about that last part, don't actually do that (ECS: Unless Friendly Fire is on, in that case go ham! (Rissa: ECS pls don't encourage them! :awkward:)). But if there's too many things to keep track of, just try reacting instead. You're bound to get something. And like I said before, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.
  

Sometimes demonstrating is easier than putting it into words but in this case, I'm not that great in either way haha. But I'd like to think I'm getting good at it. I'll only be demonstrating this on the GFB here.

Maxwell's Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrisY7fr37M

Wigfrid's battle cry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7J13W3ZCwA

Maxwell, Wigfrid, tank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPkkY1F6ZqA

I’m going to say right off the bat that you cannot do this with the Steadfast Stone armor without the Feathered Wreath. You need to have at least a normal walking speed for it to work. There’s a few different armor choices that you can use for this trick but again, this is highly situational due to what the tank is using and what drops you're given at the current wave. Refer to the chart below to determine the armor combinations that are viable for this technique:



Ok, I know this looks confusing but to put it in words: Don’t do this in Steadfast Stone without the Feathered Wreath. Everything else you should be fine in but it’s recommended to use a speed boost anyway for extra precautions. Especially if you have lag, using a speed boost can make a big difference.

Here’s how it works: Just before the boarilla swings at you, run to either side to get behind him.
What? You expected more? That's all I got. ECS has a much better explanation.

ECS: It helps to try staying near one of his arms, then running towards the other as he's about to attack. His punch is angled, so it'll hit the area around and in front of the arm he uses to punch.
Make sure you do the running at an angle, moving away from the arm he's using to attack, or he’s going to hit you anyway. Try to not get further away from him, but instead just move around him. The punch hits a wide area, so if you just move away he's most likely going to hit you.
The timing is pretty tight, especially if you don’t have a speed boost. Also do note that he might still turn towards you before punching if you start running too early, you need to time it right to bait the attack then avoid it. Getting the hang of his attack timing will help circling around him successfully.
Also, do remember you gotta keep aggro, so try to throw the axe after 1 or 2 Boarilla attacks at most, otherwise he'll change targets.

Thanks ECS! If you plan on cancelling normally you probably won’t need to do this, especially since you’re probably going to have the Steadfast Stone and Flower Headband, which already makes this strat nonviable. This is when running becomes useful. Instead of running around the arena like a madman this will let you stay in one place while still being able to keep the boarilla occupied just the same as cancelling. Think of boarilla circling as a combination of running and cancelling.

ECS: And honestly, i just like to try this when i'm bored of staying in the same place and cancelling. Also this is very useful when you're playing as other characters, since they don't have Lucy to cancel. This can be used to avoid getting hit, as long as you can keep aggro.



Woodie: Did you get any of that? When you run around this hoser, you need to turn sharp enough to get behind him but not too sharp that you’ll get stuck on him. I guess I can show you how it’s done in a minute, eh? I'm more of a shower than a teller, ya get me?

To be honest, you probably won't do this strategy often, if your focus is on cancelling, unless you’re playing 4 Lights, to avoid blue light, or Reverse, since it gives weaker armor. (I won’t be covering either of those modes). Even still, this a fun way to fight rhinos if you get bored of just cancelling normally, and it can be very useful in avoiding damage taken should you feel off on your cancels.

Just like the Boarilla, you’re going to want to run around him at an angle or you’ll get hit anyway.
This is significantly easier than with Boarilla, since the window isn’t as small, so you have a better chance of not getting hit. It's crucial that you don't get further away from him. Just run around him, if you get out of his melee range he will charge at you!
Also, it is possible to circle the Rhinos with just Steadfast Stone Armor, but i wouldn't recommend it as it becomes pretty hard to do. Normal walking speed should do just fine, but speed boosts are always a plus.
Just note that you're still going to need to chuck Lucy every now and then or you could lose aggro. I found that out the hard way...

The armor combinations are pretty much the same as the boarilla except that you probably don't want to be using the Splint armor here (ECS: Unless you're me). The lack of knockback resistance can quickly spell death should you get hit by a charge attack.
The most optimal armor combination is probably the one you're going to have by default (Steadfast Stone and Blossomed Wreath), or the Steadfast Grand if your tank is feeling generous (ECS: That is, the tank is me).

ECS: This is actually much more of a main tank strategy, since if you miss a parry you'd be guaranteed to take 2 hits before the parry recharges. Circling them allows the tank to avoid that damage entirely!
As a Woodie, even if you miss your current cancel, Lucy's cooldown would be ready for their next attack anyway, so you can just try to cancel again. It's still nice to know though.

Author's note: In combination with normal cancelling this is a pretty good technique to avoid taking a lot of damage if your timing is off on cancels or if you don't want to cancel the normal attacks.

Rissa: Have you ever played a match where a rhino will just keep running in circles but not hitting anything? Most often this will happen when you have a Willow in the team, and she dies as the Rhino is attacking Bernie, because Bernie is invulnerable when Willow dies. That can be extremely helpful but it’s also very situational. If you read part one of my guide, you’re probably asking yourself, “Didn’t you just tell us to never run the rhinos?” Well, yes. Running around randomly will get you and your team killed. But if you are able to get a rhino caught in a running cycle (and not die to it) it can buy your team some time if you’re struggling on this wave. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that the armor that’s the most viable is anything with a speed boost and that Steadfast Stone alone won’t work. I can’t emphasize this enough particularly for this trick. These mofos are super fast. All credit goes to ECS for the explanations, shown below.

ECS: While it is possible to pull this off with default speed, i strongly recommend having at least 10% for it, it's very precise, and having extra speed gives you more room to get it successfully. It's pretty hard to explain this with words, so i recommend also checking the gameplay video, as a visual example is easier to help understanding what's being said.

Here's how it works: You need to be a specific distance from the rhino to even get this to work, which is about half the screen away from it, this will ensure you can dodge his charge while he turns towards you. This is important because the charge attack makes the rhino's entire body a hit area, if you're too close, he'll hit you before you can even move, and if you're too far away, he'll be able to adjust his angle to hit you.
However, keep in mind you can't just walk away from him, since he'd just charge at you and ruin everything. In order to pull this off, you have to have the Rhino distracted somehow, either have him sleeping or petrified, or having him in the middle of a buff or when he drops to his knees. Once you see him distracted, run to the correct distance and get ready.

Once you are at the correct range, you need to have the rhino charge at you and immediately move perpendicular to him as he moves towards you. He'll start to curve to try hitting you, but if you did it just right, he'll barely miss, then you start curving towards him. Then, as he misses, he'll immediately turn around to try hitting you, and you have to keep circling with him, to keep him from reaching you, making a sort of spiral motion with him. As long as you stay circling with him, he won't be able to hit you.

This works because the rhino's charge attack doesn't stop until he hits his target, so as long as you can keep him from touching you, he'll stay stuck charging and can be easily manipulated.
The charge attack also has a high priority, and keeps the rhino's aggro on the same person, so as long as you can keep him in the running cycle, he will not change aggro to another player, he will also not try to initiate other attacks, and will even ignore his partner if he calls for a buff (which can potentially keep both rhinos busy for a while, should the second Rhino get stuck trying to buff). But do keep in mind the rhino will break the cycle to revive his partner, so you can't use this to prevent the revives.

Also, do keep in mind, the team should not try to interfere in the looping when it's being done! The looping player should be able to handle the Rhino alone.
Attacking the Rhino with normal attack is okay (for ranged players, that is, since melee would just get damaged), but using specials on him that interrupt or guard break will break the cycle and ruin the strategy! This includes having the Rhino walk into a heal circle or Petrify spell, as those also stop him from the charge.














Woodie: This isn’t something that’s limited to just me. Anyone with a speed buff can pull this off. It’s just more convenient since I'll be able to draw aggro the easiest. And I would only do this in an emergency situation. Say, if half the team was down and you need to buy time for revivals.

This is a series of clips of how to circle the Boarilla, Rhinos, and how to loop the rhinos. We circle the Boarilla twice so you can have two points of view and to compare the subtle differences in our methods.

Boarilla Circling

My demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JksySiTn8Lg

ECS' demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro_HDMjkHi8

Rhino Circling

ECS and I do this at the same time since it's less complex than circling a Boarilla.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEv7gNIfWTA

Rhino Looping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NerTrwtA4s

This is something that I haven't really been able to get consistently so I had ECS do the demo for me while I chilled out in godmode and distracted the other rhino. In a real game, someone is going to have to occupy the second rhino while another player is looping the first. If either rhino is able to hit the runner the loop will be broken.

Now we’re getting into the good stuff. These challenge modes as a Woodie can be pretty tough and the matches can be very long and grueling depending on what the game mode is. A successful run of any of these challenges mentioned from this point forward are probably going to take no less than 30 minutes so you better have a lot of time on your hands before trying this. Slow and steady wins the race, ya know.

Woodie: I'm tellin' ya now that some of these waves are gonna take a long time. The snortoises in particular. Just keep choppin'!

This mode is a normal forge match with no settings changed except that it’ll just be you and two other players: Healer/mage and Tank.
Winona as the tank is recommended over others due to her CD reduction perk, starting with a hammer, which allows her to draw aggro from multiple enemies at once, as well as her ability to use darts, which can help a lot on Snortoise and Scorpeon waves.
Wickerbottom is recommended as healer/mage due to her amplify ability, which not only gives her stronger healing and cataclysm spells, but also allows her to petrify mobs for longer than normal, making it possible to crowd control mobs with just a book.
As for you, this is when cancelling mobs becomes important, particularly in the beginning. These strategies are not set in stone and there are multiple ways to win a three man run. This is just the framework. You and your team can elaborate in detail when the time comes. This section will cover the main changes and the major points such as armor, as this can vary greatly in a three man.

You can watch my three man runs here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzAQS3w5JUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTBX84N8vQ&t=4s

Average time: 40 - 50 minutes

• Pit pigs (Wave 1 - 4): All players will meet in the middle and Wickerbottom will petrify them. Pick them off one by one. Do not underestimate pigs! If they swarm your team before the heal staff drops then your run is as good as dead. It's up to you, as the Woodie, to try to cancel as many attacks as you can, especially the dash attack as that can damage everyone. But it's also ok to let the others take a few hits if you're low on health. The tank should be able to hold their own and Wicker should be able to take some hits.
  
  Armor: If you're lucky, you might get the CD drops early, which will go to Wickerbottom, to help make the petrify timing less tight. If not, you or Winona can use the DPS gear. (It's always fun to be WooDPS every now and then.) If you don't get the Silken armor, Wickerbottom can have your Wood Armor once one of you get the Jagged Wood.
  
  
• Crocs (Wave 5 & 6): You and the tank are going to stand at opposite ends of the arena to lure the crocs into Wicker’s pet or heal. Whichever they decide to do first. And make sure that you always get the banners! As soon as you lure your croc into the pet/heal and take down the banner, meet in the middle. It doesn't really matter which mobs you take down first but I like to kill the crocs first mainly because banners are annoying. And if you've read part one, you'll know that the pigs' aggro is attached to the croc they spawned with. Use this to your advantage. Even though you'll have the healing staff at this point, you still need to be careful. I've had runs end here due to Wicker getting swarmed while trying to cast a heal.
  
  Armor: Some time between these waves the Stone Splint Mail will drop. Either you or Winona will get this armor, depending on who's most actively tanking and taking damage.
  
  
• Snorts: Apart from the boss waves, this is probably going to the most tedious and the most boring due to how long this wave is going to take. The good news is that they're slow so all of you are able to outrun them. I think it's better to be patient and pick them off one by one to avoid having too many spin at once. This takes longer but it is safer. Another way of doing this is having Winona use the Hearthfire Crystals to constantly bomb them all to keep them out of their guard state. Just be prepared to cancel a lot of spinners if you do this.
  This is also a great time to clean up the arena. There's bound to be piles of discarded armor and weapons lying around. Pick up whatever you're not using and put it in a corner.
  
  Armor: At this point, the grand whispering armor should have dropped. Unless Winona wants it, feel free to grab this for the extra HP. Otherwise, just keep the Splint armor.
  
  
• Scorps: Here is where things start to get confusing. Communication is key. The most common method is to "kite" them. All three of you are going to group them up and walk them around the arena, attacking and using abilities as you go. At this point you can use the hammer to attack large groups (be sure to back out after you hit them) since Winona will most likely be healing for this wave. If not, Winona will be using darts and Wicker will juggle staves. It's crucial to be able to dodge acid here as there probably won't be as many heals like in a 6 player game. It's ok to not attack as often now, since you're melee, Winona and Wicker will be doing most of the damage.
  
  Armor: You can grab the steadfast stone since you're going to need it later anyway, but do note that it'll be harder to outrun the acid attack. If you want to keep your normal walking speed you can hold off until next wave, in which you will absolutely need the steadfast stone.
  
  
• First wave Boarilla: Try to land as many cancels as you can. Wicker is going to be occupied dealing with small mobs with Winona rather than focusing on healing. Make sure you're away from your teammates so that small mobs won't bother you, yet not too far so that they have to run the entire arena to assist you. If all goes well, you might even end up killing the boarilla on your own. If this happens, you can assist your teammates with the small mobs.
  
  Note: If you're low on health and if you can control your boarilla well, don't be afraid to step into a heal. Just be very careful and make sure he won't aggro anyone else.
  If not, hopefully someone can get a heal to you.
  
  Armor: From this point on, your armor is going to be the same as in a regular 6 player match.
  
  
• Second wave Boarilla: Again, hold your Boarilla and take as little damage as possible. If things go south (like your Boarilla is almost dead and there are still mobs left) you can try the running strat to reduce damage to the Boarilla. You just need to be quick in switching out armor. Worst case scenario, the GFB spawns early. If this happens, don't panic. Focus on killing the Boarilla while the team does the work. Winona will handle GFB and Wicker will take care of the small mobs.
  
  
• GFB: The best place to be is at the player spawn for this one. Once the GFB is the only mob to focus, cancel these attacks like no tomorrow. It's essential to keep your team as safe as you can while also not getting hurt. Won't help if you're dead. Don't be afraid to have the GFB sleep often if you need to. The pig wave is definitely going to be the trickiest part, but Wicker should take care of that (she might need assistance from Winona, so be ready to take GFB alone). All three of you are going to keep attacking the Boarior until Wicker has amp to land the meteor. It's good to have the hammer nearby so that you or Winona can use it in combination with the meteor. Once you clear the pigs, carry on with the cancels, the hardest part is done, but it's still not an easy fight.
  
  
• Rhinos: You and Winona are going to take a Rhino each. Cancelling the buffs is really critical here, so you can keep damage low, as well as defeating them at the same time. Don't be afraid to let them sleep and try to not get low on health. If you need to pull a Rhino away, the person with the best armor or with more health should do it, since you'll most likely get hit while trying. Once you get past the Rhinos, it's pretty much smooth sailing (for the Woodie) from here.
  
  
• Swineclops: This is just like a normal match, except it's only three of you. This wave is mostly dependent on the tank, but this ain't a tank guide so moving on...
  You really need to pay extra attention to when the infinite stage starts to keep Winona alive, there's no one else to cancel it here. Cancelling normal combos is also useful if you see she's low on health. If either of you die here the run is as good as dead. I didn't mention this in part one but if Winona is struggling, you can cancel regular attacks as long as Swineclops is in offense mode.

Woodie: No sword? What did I tell ya? Lucy is the best there is! Just time the cancels right and you’re good to go.

(ECS: Just making it clear here, i'm against this mode :eyes:
Blacksmith's Edge > everything else) (Rissa: Yea, yea, yea. Everyone knows Lucy is the superior weapon :eyes:) (ECS: ... if you don't know how to use the Blacksmith's Edge ;) )

This is relatively simple compared to what was discussed before. Until you get to the bosses that is. Yes, Woodie is capable of using the Blacksmith’s Edge but for this challenge you’re not going to use it at all. This is a challenge made purely for cancels. Note that even if you’ve mastered Woodie you also need to make sure the other Woodie knows how to do this as well or this will not work. What makes the challenge particularly interesting is deciding who cancels what and when. Plan ahead with the other Woodie in advance. You’re also going to want to plan which Woodie is going to get which armor. The less experienced Woodie or one who lags should opt to get the Grand Steadfast and the Blossomed Wreath. Basically the Woodie who could miss cancels the most.

Disclaimer: In order for this run to be possible the game mode needs to be on Forged Forge, not Reforged. The reason is because Swineclops' behavior is much easier to manage in this mode than in Reforged. In the Forged Forge setting you can successfully kite the Swineclops in offense mode while in Reforged you can't because he jumps. You're also going to want to avoid having a Maxwell or a Wigfrid due to the interruptions. This way you can maximize your chances of cancelling successfully but it can be done.

You can view my Double Woodie run here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa4BVL-NgDw

• GFB: If you’ve read part one of my guide, you’ll know that if you cancel one of the Boarior’s fissures he’ll attack immediately afterwards. This can be prevented with a second Woodie. One Woodie will be designated to cancel the main attacks while the second will cancel any attacks missed by the first Woodie. In theory, if done correctly you won’t be hit at all.
  
  
• Rhinos: Nothing really changes for the rhinos. But at least now you have two chances of cancelling the buffs now. If you must pull a rhino away, have the Woodie with the grand steadfast do it.
  
  
• Swineclops: This is when things go from 1 to 100 real quick. Forget everything you know about fighting Swineclops for this part. You and the second Woodie are going to Lucy chuck like no tomorrow. This includes during heals so there won’t be any sleeping on this guy.
  
  Here’s how it works: As soon as Swineclops spawns the mage is going to cast a meteor on him in order to break his guard. Right after that one of the Woodies needs to chuck to cancel his jump. From that point forward you and your twin are going to chuck Lucy after every flinch. You’ll get about 3 or 4 cancels in before he jumps. Rinse and repeat for the rest of the match.
  

What else can I say that can only go downhill from here? I don't mean to sound pessimistic but that's how hard this is. But! It is beatable. This is for the Woodie Masters, as I call them. If you think you know everything there is about Woodie then you're ready to try it. If you haven't mastered cancelling, I highly recommend practicing more.

DISCLAIMER

I have yet to conquer this challenge myself. So, how am I getting this information? Well, I’ve played and failed, enough to know how to play decently and I can anticipate what will happen in the waves I haven’t gotten to based on what I know from meta Forge (ECS: Also with some help :eyes:). I have also done some testing for some of the challenges in sandbox. So I'm not just making stuff up. If you can or have done these challenges already you have my respect as a Woodie main!









Woodie: Why must you do this to me?! Please make it stop!

This is just like a normal match except it'll be you, Woodie, and a healer (Wickerbottom). Be prepared for a long game and many retakes. This is arguably the hardest Woodie challenge I can think of. Even if you and Wickerbottom play flawlessly there's still a chance you could slip up due to unlucky RNG. Cancels are an absolute requirement! Do not try this challenge if you haven't mastered cancels yet. And since there's only two of you, there is a ton of flexibility in armor choices for you. You and your teammate can decide on the drops as you go. I'll just be going over the armor combinations I like to stick with. There will be a lot to cover due to the sheer difficulty of this challenge so bear with me.

ECS: Despite being a Woodie guide, i'll be the Wickerbottom here! So i'll be judging your every move :eyes:
The advice i have is important, this is a team effort, teamwork is crucial!

Estimated time: 1 hour +
Personal best: Boarilla wave 2

Note: In the earlier waves in particular, try to pay attention to when Wicker has amp. If you're nearing the end of a wave and she doesn't have amp, slow down. Starting another wave without amp can cost you the game. (ECS: And we really mean it, it's amp or nothing, buddy!)

Pit pigs: Similarly to three man, you're going to meet in the middle and have Wickerbottom petrify all of the pigs. Pick them off one at a time. It's best for you to draw aggro first to protect Wicker as much as you can, but don't kill yourself while doing so, Wicker can take a few hits. I learned this the hard way. Choose targets quickly; petrifies don't last forever. (ECS: It's best to stay near the pig you're going to attack, it really helps me to go straight for the target after the petrify)

Best case scenario, you get CD equips for Wicker. (ECS: H e a v e n. With 15% CD it's enough to crowd control them with petrify + heal without needing to amp the petrify) If not, take what you've got and if it was a body armor, Wicker can have the Wood Armor. Also try to pay attention if Wicker has amp. That can really be a game changer. (ECS: Please don't kill the last pig while i'm trying to get amp. P l e a s e)

Crocs: You are going to pick a side and lure the crocs and its pigs into the pet or heal. Since Wicker will be busy casting you need to get the other banner and meet in the middle ASAP. I know I said in Three Man picking which mob to kill first didn’t matter but here it does. Eliminate the pigs first. Sure, banners are annoying but a swarm of pigs can really be a pain. (ECS: I can deal with one croc attacking me, but not with 3 pigs...)
Do this for both croc waves. Remember if you see any pigs targeting Wicker you can Lucy chuck at the croc to lure them away, which is another reason to keep the croc alive.

Armor: During this time (pigs and both croc waves) you have a chance to receive one, both, or none of the CD equips for Wickerbottom. If you’re unlucky, you can grab any DPS armor that drops. With it just being the two of you, you always take the DPS armor early to maximize damage output. If Feathered Wreath drops I recommend letting Wicker have it for now, if the Crystal Tiara hasn’t dropped. (ECS: Being speedy isn't ideal, but hey, if it helps survive pigs, i'm in!)

Snorts: Here you and Wicker can take a breather. You can also use this time to clean up as much as you can. You can either pick one off at a time or you attack them all. Like I said before, you will have to cancel more spinners if you do it this way. But if there’s more than two spinning at once I just let them spin since at that point it’s easier to just dodge. There's no easy way out of this, just attack and have a lot of patience.

Armor: You can grab Grand Whispering Armor for extra HP if you would like, or you can use DPS to maximize damage output. If you choose to use grand whispering armor, it's best to have the Nox Helm.

Scorps: Here you’re really going to need to avoid any and all acid attacks or it can spell game over. Well, for you anyway, Wicker has a better chance due to being ranged at this point. If you do end up getting stuck in a chain of acid, don’t panic if you die. Wicker can cast a heal or petrify them in order to revive you. I won’t lie, even with heals and petrifies the timing can be tight on the revives. Another reason to try to avoid dying is because from this point on, Wicker is going to be really busy juggling between heals, fire staff, and books. (ECS: Yea, this is when the madness starts. I'll be doing most of the damage anyway, so just try to be safe.)

I feel like the best way to handle this wave is by grouping them and walking them around the stage while doing Lucy chucks. Straight up melee isn’t worth it unless you’re only targeting one at a time. A well timed Cataclysm is one of the best bets for this wave.

Armor: I feel like here it's risky to have your movement slowed with a bunch of these mofos around so you can stay with the Splint Mail or the Comp armor for now. When there's one or two scorps left you can pick up the Steadfast.

First wave Boarilla: Now the real fun begins. As in, holding your Boarilla for the entirety of this wave. Time to use everything you know and learned about handling the Boarilla. All you can do is chill out with your Boarilla and hope that Wicker can handle the small mobs. Try to distance yourself away from the other mobs but close enough so you can get healed if needed. (ECS: Stay in control of your dude while i stay in control of mine. We'll be both very busy here, but some helps comes your way should you need it as long as it's not too often)

Second wave Boarilla pre-reinforcements: You are going to need to hold both Boarillas with the Blacksmith's Edge while Wickerbottom deals with small mobs. The best place to be for this wave is the middle enemy spawner. Start at the center of the stage and lure them. This location is more optimal than player spawn because Wicker will be able to heal you as well as deal with the mobs that spawn without having to run back and forth. Pick one Boarilla to take down first. There is a slight difference between the two. One has double-plated armor and the other has cracked armor. (ECS and I always go for the cracked armor one first). You’re going to be attacking both in order to keep aggro on you. The way I like to do this is to try to perfect parry the double-plated armor Boarilla and consistently attack the other. This is because a perfect parry counts as an attack so the Boarilla is still going to be aggroed onto you. This isn’t foolproof so be careful! (ECS: Your priority here is make sure they don't attack me, and not die while trying. I have a lot in my hands, and will be responsible for most of the damage, at least when not dealing with all the small mobs).

Second Boarilla wave reinforcements: As soon as those first reinforcements spawn, get the heck out of that corner! Let Wicker tank the croc and you hold the Boarillas. If you’ve been targeting a single Boarilla he should be close to dead by now, so Wicker should come for the finishing blow.
Once you’re down to one boar, it gets much easier. At this point I like to swap the sword out for Lucy so I can run/cancel. At this point you want to slow down on doing damage to the other Boarilla or GFB could spawn early, Wicker has to deal with all reinforcements by herself so this will take a while. Worst case scenario, GFB spawns while the Boarilla and reinforcements are still present. This won’t mean the game ends here, but you should make sure to hold both of them while Wicker finishes off the reinforcements. If you’ve made it this far then congrats! (ECS: This is where i have my hands full. Really full. I'll try to help as i can, but you should hold your own weight here, you have your baddies to hold and i have mine to kill)

Armor: Grab the Grand Steadfast Armor. You'll either use the Blossomed Wreath or the Flower Headband. Also, be sure to keep Steadfast Stone nearby. This will be important!

GFB: Surprisingly, if you can nail parries and cancelling, this is probably the easiest wave since snorts. Even though the Blacksmith's Edge drops, you still have the option to use Lucy to cancel if you're not super comfortable with tanking with the blacksmith's edge as long as there are no small mobs alive. It's also possible to juggle between Lucy and the sword if you would like to. The best thing to do is to go player spawn and parry or cancel to your heart's content. You're also going to need to keep the aggro on you at all costs. If a fissure hits Wickerbottom then it's a game over. (ECS: This is a wave both players need to be responsible. You should try to protect me, but i also have to be sure to not put myself in danger)
When he calls for pigs, hold him and let Wick do her thing. This is when you hope and pray that your teammate knows how to handle the pig wave alone. (ECS: Shameless bragging Good thing Rissa never needs to worry about this part, heh. (Rissa: Oh, stop, you're much too kind :]).
But really, if Wicker can't handle pigs alone, the match is over right here)

Rhinos: Honestly, these mofos are the reason two man runs scare me so much. (ECS: I fear no man... but these bros... these scare me!)
Even Swineclops doesn't scare me as much as these guys. But lets talk strats. I know of two ways that you can do this wave, each having pros and cons. If you can come up with a better method do feel free to share! Although this wave is going to be a pain in the butt no matter what strategy you use because that's just how rhinos are I guess. *cue fist shake emote*

The most common way of doing this is to parry both rhinos at the same time. I recommend doing it this way if you're confident in holding both rhinos for long periods of time. The armor you'll be using for this method is the grand steadfast and blossomed wreath for sure. You have to protect yourself (and Wicker!) from those buffs as much as you can. But if you're confident in parrying both rhinos consistently you don't need to worry about the buffing and just parry.

• Pros: You'll have a better chance at maintaining aggro thanks to the sword. Parrying is also typically better than cancels because even if you miss a parry you're still protected until it wears off. Doing this strategy you won't have to worry about evening damage as much since that'll mostly be Wicker's job. Just still be mindful about how much damage you're dealing to each one.
  (ECS: This takes a huge weight off my back since i can just stay safe and attack them. I still have to keep track of the damage and be sure i get the kill just right, which requires a good deal of focus. There's no other players to mess up my damage count, but this also means this wave will test our endurance.)
  
  
• Cons: You're going to have to let them buff which can spell game over if you miss a parry and/or they change aggro to Wicker. And this can happen thanks to rhinos being weird with their aggro, especially after a petrify or buffing. There's also a very specific spot you have to stand in or they'll hit you from the back. This spot changes every time they buff because it causes them to move around. We demonstrate this in the clip below.
  (ECS: Keeping you alive is my priority, and with the buffs and the fact they both like to attack you at a weird angle, that's not going to be easy. We do mean it when we said to only try this if you're comfortable parrying them both, otherwise this will be harder for both of us.)
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6PzJFtWQIY
  
  The other lesser known and more risky way is to have Wicker tank one of them by circling the Rhino. (See Rhino circling for more information). That means you'll be using the steadfast stone and blossomed wreath while Wicker has grand steadfast. This is the true test of trusting your teammate. I don't recommend this unless your teammate is entirely confident that they can do it, since you'll be occupied with your own rhino and won't be able to help if they can't survive. If all goes well, Wicker should be able to cast spells between attacks. If you plan to do it this way, lead the rhinos to player spawn and have all of your equipment ready. None of you will have time to bring your stuff to the designated area after they spawn. I highly recommend this in sandbox before trying for real.
  
  The choice is yours whether you want to start with the Blacksmith's Edge or Lucy. Or you could just use Lucy for the entirety of this round if you prefer. I don't recommend that due to the damage imbalances though. Stay at a distance where you're close enough to get healed but far away enough to not collide with your teammate. If you choose to juggle weapons keep them close to you so you don't have to run and risk them charging you. But no matter what way you pick, always try to cancel the buffs. You can tank a few but Wicker can't take as many even with the Grand Steadfast. (ECS: Yea, i have no way of parrying or cancelling them so bear with me, please. I can even recover from low health by using the full extent of my amplifies, but the more time i have to spend keeping myself alive, the less time i'll have to damage them)
  If you can cancel and parry well, you really shouldn't get hit at all. You can watch our demonstration shown here:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvTExVPe-ec
  
  
• Pros: This way you'll be able to use either the Blacksmith's Edge or Lucy, you'll be able to cancel the buffs and you'll have more control since you're dealing with one Rhino instead of two.
  
  Note (Rissa): What I like to do is juggle between the blacksmith's edge and Lucy in order to try to cancel buffs and even out damage. (ECS: What i like to do is suffer.)
  Your Rhino is going to get bruised the fastest most likely especially if you're using Lucy more often. (ECS: Don't worry though, your Rhino is supposed to get bruised first, since you can stop attacking and still manage to hold aggro, unlike me).
  When I get my rhino bruised I start to use the blacksmith's edge and intentionally miss perfect parries to not inflict anymore damage. When the sword's parry runs out I switch back to Lucy. At this point I'll be attacking as little as possible until Wicker's rhino is bruised. Although juggling gives the rhinos more chances to buff when you juggle if you don't time it correctly.
  
  
• Cons: Having Wickerbottom tank a boss is probably one of the highest risks you can take in a two man. There's a chance that Wick could get stunned before being able to cast any spells. The damage will also be more uneven doing it this way. But if someone can keep track of the damage dealt that'll help. (I leave all calculation things for ECS; I'm not good at math).
  (ECS: Math guy at your services! Also yea, this is super risky as the Wicker because i have to be very mindful of the damage i'm dealing, the damage i'm taking, as well as the spells i'm using.)
  
  And no matter what strategy you pick, be prepared to do this for a long time. Heaven forbid if you get caught in a revival loop.
  
  Swineclops: If you made it this far, amazing job! But you're not out of the woods yet. (No pun intended)! You're going to need to solo Swineclops using the blacksmith's edge and parry like no tomorrow, even if your health is high! Things can change very quickly, especially if you miss a parry, which I hope for your sake, won't happen.
  You'll also have to able to perfect parry on his infinite stage in order to cancel it, since you won't have any outside cancels to do it for you unless you want to risk Wicker using the meteor or petrify. Sounds impossible right? Well, there's actually a small window to parry between your hurt animation and the next time you get hit. Spam clicking typically doesn't work, trust me, tried it myself. Also note that the better ping you have, the greater your chances are at getting interrupts. But it can be done with a high ping with lots of practice and a little bit of luck. I'm looking at you, Master Tank! (ECS: ;D )

Huge thank you to my friend and in this case, coauthor and tester, ECS! Also shout out to xenocythe, skyistheground, and Helwdrokin for being my volunteers for recording the demonstrations!
Couldn't have done this without you. And you all for reading the guide. Now go get 'em!

And I know this took WAY too long to get done so I'm sorry about that. Mainly due to me taking a Forge hiatus and laziness but it's finally over!















Woodie: All of you guys are awesome! Now go show them hosers what for!

Here's a behind the scenes video I saved! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mMLgnSJL1c