It’s a Bully
It’s a Bully doesn’t chase you, doesn’t hunt you and doesn’t make noise. He just stands in a hallway and refuses to move until you hand over an item. That makes him the character who costs you the most resources over a run of Baldi’s Basics Plus. Here is how he picks his spot, what he takes and how to get past him without paying.
How he works
The Bully stands still near the start or the end of a hallway, and sometimes moves to block the path completely. He only ever blocks one hallway at a time. When you walk up to him, he takes a random item from your inventory, disappears and lets you pass.
- The item is random. He can take anything you carry, including your best item. If you walk up to him, assume you might lose whatever is most valuable.
- No items, no passage. With an empty inventory he keeps blocking the hallway, and you have to find another route.
- He gets bored. If he spends more than 180 seconds in the same spot, he leaves on his own, saying “I’m bored…”.
Ways past him
| Method | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pay him | He takes a random item and vanishes | One random item |
| Faculty Nametag | You pass without giving up anything | The Nametag’s time |
| Take another route | Use the map to go around his hallway | Time |
| Wait him out | He leaves after 180 seconds in one spot | A lot of time |
| Let the Principal catch him | If the Principal sees him taking an item, he goes to detention and the path opens | Luck |
If you have to pay, choose what you offer by what you carry. Put your most valuable items in the storage locker first (there is one on every level as well as in the Pitstop) and walk up to him with only things you can spare.
What doesn’t work on him
The Bully ignores most of the tools that work on other characters:
- BSODA can’t push him, and he stops anyone else caught in the spray.
- Gotta Sweep doesn’t push him either.
- Beans’ gum has no effect on him.
- Cloudy Copter’s wind doesn’t affect him.
- The Grappling Hook can be blocked by him.
Don’t waste items trying to move him. Either pay, wear the Nametag or go around.
He and the Principal
The Principal of the Thing doesn’t like bullying. If he sees the Bully demanding an item, he sends him to detention, and the hallway is free. After that, the Bully doesn’t return until a 90-second cooldown has passed. The Principal won’t do this while he is chasing you, and if you are standing right on the Bully’s spot, the Bully can still take an item before he leaves.
You can’t count on this happening, but if you see the Principal coming down the hallway behind the Bully, waiting a few seconds may save you an item. Our Principal of the Thing guide explains the rest of his rules.
A wall that helps you
The Bully blocks more than your path. He also blocks line of sight, so characters such as Baldi ignore you when the Bully stands between you. That can turn him into cover: with Baldi at the other end of the hallway, a Bully in the middle hides you from him. Just don’t walk into the Bully by accident while you use him.
How much he costs you
Over a full run, the Bully is often the reason players arrive at levels 4 and 5 with an empty inventory. Every item he takes is one you found, bought or won on a field trip. A few habits keep the cost down:
- Check the map for another route before you pay.
- Keep your best items in the storage locker until the level where you need them.
- Save a Faculty Nametag for a level with a lot of hallways to cross.
- Carry a cheap item you don’t mind losing, such as a spare Quarter, but remember he picks at random.
- Don’t waste a BSODA or a Nana Peel on him.
Other things to know
- He doesn’t go to the Party event, together with Chalkles and The Test.
- He is one of the characters that can stand on your route when Mrs. Pomp calls you to her class.
- A whirlpool from the Flood event can move him, and since version 0.14 the navigation around him updates correctly when that happens.
Plus and Classic
The Bully was already in Baldi’s Basics Classic, blocking hallways and taking items. In Plus the levels are generated every run, so his hallway is never the same, so you can’t learn his spot by heart. Plan your route with the map instead of memory.
FAQ
Can I choose which item the Bully takes?
No, he takes a random one. You can only control what you carry when you walk up to him.
What if I have no items?
He keeps blocking the hallway. Go around him, or wait: he leaves after 180 seconds in the same spot.
Can BSODA push him?
No. He can’t be pushed by BSODA, and he even stops characters the spray is carrying.
See how the Bully compares to the rest of the school in the Characters section, and find out which items are worth protecting from him in our item ranking.
