Will

Will
Appearances	Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Specialty	Direct-Attack Ground Units
Affiliation	12th Battalion, Rubinelle (Formerly)
CO power	Rally Cry
CO Zone	2
Hits	Brenner, Isabella
Misses	The Beast, Greyfield, Caulder

“A former Rubinelle military cadet who join the 12th Battalion after being rescued by Captain Brenner--whom he idolizes.

"Never give up!"”
—Advance Wars: Days of Ruin CO Description

Will (Known as Ed in the Japanese and European versions, full name William) is a CO of the 12th Battalion and the main character of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. The game begins with Will talking to himself after the apocalyptic event that was the meteor shower that hit the Earth, an event which began the series of events that panned the game.

Story[]

After the meteor shower, Will found himself in the ruins of the Military Academy he had previously attended. After searching around in the rubble, he soon discovered that all his former teachers and classmates were dead and for the most part, buried among the ruins surrounding him, and also found out later that his parents were dead. He survived for weeks without food, wondering if he were the only one alive.

Not long after finding himself in that nightmare, Will was attacked by a small bandit group led by The Beast, who, to his surprise, also survived the meteor shower. It was then that Captain Brenner and Lin found him and protected him. He fled to safety before they finished the battle. After saving Will, he was accepted into their company, a small group of former soldiers who were searching for survivors.

Will grew attached to Brenner, who never gave up. Brenner told Will, "As long as there's life, there's hope." And in that, he started to help with finding survivors. During a battle, he found a girl buried in ruins with no memory of her past. He told her it was going to be all right, and from that on, she believed him, just as a newborn chick followed its mother. Will introduced her to Brenner and Lin, quickly filling in that she had lost her memory. Since she did not remember her name, Will named her Isabella, after the flower Cattleya Isabella. Isabella at first wanted to be named Cattleya, but Will suggested Isabella instead, and she loved it.

Brenner tried to let Will and Isabella stay in town, with the other civillians. The mayor denied, saying there were too many people already. Will didn't want to go either, so Brenner had to let them stay.

Soon afterwards, Isabella was diagnosed with Creeping Derengea, which scared Will off and caused him to run from her. He apologized, but he wasn't allowed to see her if and until she was cured. Isabella knew military information, which at first troubled everyone, but it was a big help to everyone when she told them of a base where they could hide out in for a while. She was cured quickly after being there.

WillCommanding — Will stepping up to become commander in Hope Rising.

After Brenner's death, Will was devastated. Again, Isabella helped him get out of a tough situation. She told him that him being sad made her sad, and she wanted to be happy. It put him in the right place and made everything clear to him again, as when Brenner saved him, he knew he had to repay the debt, making things clear for his future. Lin appointed him as "Commander", or so the others believed. She was truly Commander, but she didn't need any more trouble for that than what had already been caused.

Will remains the main character for the entire game, traveling with the company while facing the bandits, the remnants of the Lazurian Army, the New Rubinelle Army led by Greyfield, and later Caulder.

Personality[]

Will is very strong-willed person, he greatly idolizes Captain Brenner who saved his life after the meteor shower occurred. He aspires to be like Captain Brenner by saving people and he adopts Brenner's motto as his own upon Brenner's death: "Where there is life, there is hope."

Will is also a very straight forward person, and very stubborn. He often charges right into conflict without consideration, although he is often burdened with any resulting failures. He has very strong moral convictions, which Caulder says 'were imposed on him by Brenner' but Will responded to that that was fine by him. These moral convictions make him value life greatly.

Will also, over the course of the game develops feelings for Isabella, who it is later revealed is a female clone of Caulder. Will looks past this fact however, saying that 'it is not how you are born that defines who you are.' At one point in the game Will sets out, alone, to rescue Isabella, and upon finding her she expresses her desire to 'live with him forever'. This desire is revisited in the ending scenes of the game a few times as well.

Appearance[]

Will is a young man, seemingly in his late teens, with mid-length brown hair and defined eyelashes. He dresses in a Rubinellan military cadet uniform similar to Brenner's, save for that his jacket is open and he has the addition of a blue tie and red fingerless gloves. He also wears a white t-shirt with navy blue trim under his jacket. It is not known or ever mentioned whether or not this is standard military issue.

CO Abilities[]

Will's_Theme — Will's Theme

We Will Prevail

CO Zone[]

+20% ATK to CO unit and any direct attack ground units within 2 spaces of it.

CO Power[]

Rally Cry^{(Days of Ruin)} - New Era^{(Dark Conflict)}

+2 movement for direct attack ground units.

Strategy[]

Will's strategy, like his personality, is headstrong and straightforward leading from the front. This approach is relatively simple and easy to understand, but there are a few details to keep in mind.

Bonus movement is very valuable, as it offers you more opportunities to focus your firepower where it will hurt opponents the most. Tanks can slip through the lines to crush indirects or pick off retreating units. Unlike previous Advance Wars, Days of Ruin COs - like Will - boost foot soldiers just the same as other direct-attack ground units. Doubling a Mech's movement turns it into a pseudo-tank for 1 turn for a fraction of the cost. Take plenty into battle alongside your actual tanks and anti-air for a major surge with your CO Power, making the most of the movement range of all your units.

Since Will's stat boosts lack defense, it is often better to aggressively push his boarded unit forward rather than play it safe. Consider adding him to your first units of the game to help with capturing, and don't forget to deploy indirect units where they make sense, since they are still decent.