Baldur's Gate 3 has 10 beloved companions, 6 from playable backgrounds and eight with their own romance routes. With the game being so popular, it's strange to think that one of the companions with these two attributes would be the one often left out. Although Minthara is the least flirtatious character, Wyll is often ranked as the worst companion.
One of Baldur's Gate 3 The strong point is the deep stories of the characters, so it is inevitable that some characters are a little less popular than the others. But when it comes to Wyll, a large proportion of fans don't like him. However, there may be a reason why he is so sidelined despite being a main character related to his development time. Could Larian have saved Wyll's popularity?
Wyll had a big change after early access
Wyll was originally written with a very different personality
Those who played Baldur's Gate 3 although he was in early access, he could remember Wyll in a very different light. In the game's official release, Larian made major changes to Wyll's personality, which also involved changing his voice actor from Lanre Malaolu to Theo Solomon. However, this had more to do with Lanre not being available to record the new lines after the rewrite. Although in the current game Wyll is a kinder and more open character, it would originally be more aligned with the Dungeons and Dragons stereotype of a cunning and charismatic sorcerer.
Larian made these changes to Wyll due to feedback received after early access, where players noted they didn't like his personality. The current Wyll is based more on "Prince Charming"archetype, while the original Wyll was more flawed. It's a shame that Wyll's character had to suffer this, as it's likely that he would have simply followed the same type of storyline as the other characters. Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart also start the game with a somewhat difficult relationship with the player, but can be influenced to become better people.
Many Baldur's Gate 3 players noticed that Wyll has significantly less content than the game's other recruitable characters. Wyll is often considered the worst romance path simply because of its distinct lack of substance. He and Karlach have the fewest scenes, with Wyll only having two romantic scenes. This is nothing compared to characters like Astarion, who has six romantic scenes. Karlach was also planned to have more content in Avernus and the Upper City, which were both scrapped, so it's likely this disparity is due to shortcuts.
There were many cuts to Wyll's storyline
These big changes forced Larian to cut costs - Wyll's popularity was doomed from the start
A comprehensive Youtube video uploaded by InventoryDissever showcases much of Wyll's original content. In theory, Wyll should be the companion with the most connections to other areas of history. As the son of a duke in Baldur's Gate, in a pact with one of Zariel's closest confidants, Wyll was to shine in BG3third act. However, many still prefer characters like Halsin, who can only be recruited after a difficult quest and is only romantic in Act 3. However, this video shows Wyll with many more ties to the overarching story from the beginning.
In early access, Wyll had more to his story that players could explore. He distrusted the Flaming Fist and a more complicated relationship with his father, as well as resenting his pact with Mizora. Players saw a morally gray side to Wyll. When asked why he left the high life behind, he would tell the player that he had "sticky fingers" and stole something he shouldn't have. In retaliation, Ulder Ravengard then sent him to work with the Flaming Fist to try and mold him into yet another frontier model.
My father sent me to the Flaming Fist. I thought they would teach me some lessons. I learned some, okay. Just not the ones he expected. - Wyll Early Access
Players will likely remember Fezzerk as the goblin chieftain who captures Barcus Wroot, but the scene where players first meet him would originally be quite different if Wyll had accompanied them. Fezzerk would have some history with Wyll. In early access, seeing it filled Wyll with "paralyzing rage"and he insisted on extracting information from him regarding the goblin who originally took out his eye, Spike, and on freeing Barcus later, a stark difference from Wyll's compassionate and level-headed players.
Could Wyll have had a chance in the popularity polls?
With so little content, Wyll struggles to keep up with the rest of the cast
The main complaint many players have about the current Wyll is that he feels "bland" or has a boring personality. This could be due to players not giving him many chances; After all, your quest is directly linked to the Emperor and ends with the fight against an ancient skeletal dragon, but its lack of content certainly doesn't help it in that regard. It's unfair that Wyll is sidelined in favor of characters who have more potential to be "bad,"but of course the BG3 the fanbase loves companions who follow this narrative structure.
Besides not being part of the evil BG3The fact that Wyll has fewer romance scenes in the game definitely hurts his popularity, given that romance routes are some players' main motivations for playing the game. Another thing that was different about the Early Access Wyll story compared to the release was his relationship with Mizora being more intimate - she was originally going to intervene in his romance route in a scene cut in the full release. This implies that more content could have been planned to develop a relationship with Wyll that didn't make it into the final release.
It's hard to say whether Wyll's character should have continued going in the direction he took in Early Access. Wyll today Baldur's Gate 3 is iconic, and the cast could have felt repetitive if their story had been more similar to the other characters. Wyll and Karlach's bond is quite significant to their plots, and players might have missed this if they had a colder Wyll. If one thing is certain, though, it's that Wyll nailed it Baldur's Gate 3 and deserved a little more attention.
Source: ContrivanceDissever/Youtube