Wilbur is a game changer in the raids, and here are some tips that you can use:
Before you activate Wilbur:
Use Wilbur’s defence buffing/debuffing to override enemy buffs and your debuffs. So, if you see enemy defence buffer/debuffer ready, wait until they fire and then activate Wilbur to instantly override them.
Don’t activate Wilbur if you see Rigard or Vivica ready, because they will remove defence debuff.
Don’t activate Wilbur if you see Zeline or Sabina ready, because they will remove defence buff.
Don’t fire Wilbur if one of your heroes is almost dead, because spirit link will definitely kill them. Wait until your healer is ready, heal and then activate Wilbur.
Wilbur’s usefulness increases when number of enemy heroes is low, so kill one or two heroes with snipers before triggering Wilbur. Biggest threats are: Defence buffers, Healers and Dispellers, so kill them out first if possible.
Don’t take low-defence heroes into your party, because they can be a weak point, damaging more defended heroes through spirit link. Make sure your heroes are relatively even leveled.
It is very wise to trigger Wilbur right before heroes with vampiric abilities (Elkanen, Leonidas) use their special. Defence buff and spirit link will reduce the damage (and amount of HP healed) dramatically.
Under WIlbur’s effect enemy snipers can’t kill, so use it when enemy snipers are ready.
After you activate Wilbur:
When your single-target sniper is ready (Magni, Joon etc), select hero with the lowest possible defence stat.
When you have a hero that hits 3 targets, make sure that you hit as many enemy heroes as you can.
You can relatively safely attack targets covered with a Riposte effect under Wilbur’s spirit link, the effect of Riposte will be divided by the number of enemy heroes. so if 5 enemy heroes are under spirit link, attacking one with Riposte will only return 20% of damage to your heroes.
If you want to break spirit link on some heroes for some reason, you can target them with a dispeller. Dispel breaks the spirit link, but leaves the defence debuff.
Spirit link enhances all effects that depend on the heroes being hit (like Khiona, Brienne, Black Knight, Athena and Namahage), since it spreads hits all over enemies and allies. For example, if you have Spirit Link and activate Brienne, each single hit from enemy will count as a hit for every hero, increasing their attack. AoE effects will multiply hits, so if you have 5 heroes under Spirit Link and enemy attacks you with AoE, each hero will receive 5 hits instead of 1. This is very important when fighting against Minions/Fiends, since their hits are also multiplied.
Conclusion
Wilbur is quite versatile hero if you use him right. Here is how he can change the game:
- diminishes Perfect Riposte effect
- diminishes snipers’ special (turns them into AoE)
- diminishes vampiric abilities (except for Morgana)
- combines both defence buffs/debuffs of Vivica and Isarnia with average mana speed
- multiplies hits for buffs/debuffs that depend on number of hits (like Khiona or Athena)
All of those advantages are also his disadvantages. Under Wilbur’s effect, your snipers, vampires and riposte heroes won’t work well. If enemy gets buffs or debuffs defence after triggering WIlbur, the situation will get turned around.
What you have on your side is that you can control when you trigger Wilbur, so you can get maximum effect. Use the timing wisely.
So, good luck with this very awesome hero!