Walter (Don't Starve Together)

Walter

DST

Origin

Quotes

Gallery

See also: Woby

Walter starts a new world with a Trusty Slingshot, a Pinetree Pioneer Hat, and 10 Pebbles.

• Walter has Woby as a companion at all times. Woby functions similarly to Chester and Hutch, but is completely invincible and never targeted by monsters. She has a Hunger stat that can be replenished by feeding her Monster Foods, and at 50 , she temporarily transforms into a giant form and can be ridden like a domesticated Beefalo, with no need for a Saddle.
• Walter can command Woby to do various tricks such as Stay (can be toggled on/off) and Pet as default. With Big Woby, Walter can tell her to Stay, Transform her back to small form, Mount/Dismount and Open her bag while mounting.
• While mounting Big Woby, Walter gains 180 winter isulation.
• Walter is completely immune to negative Sanity auras and can be near their sources with no penalty. However, he is not immune to the Sanity cost from magic items or effects that instantly drain Sanity.
• Walter cooks food in half the normal time, at 0.5 seconds, and can use Willow's Lighter to cook food.
• If there are more than five Trees within a 2.5 tile radius of Walter, he gains a positive Sanity effect of +6 /min, and his Sanity drain from taking damage is reduced by -50%. This does not stack with the Pinetree Pioneer Hat, which takes priority.
• Walter loses Hunger at a reduced rate than normal while sleeping, at a rate of -0.5 /s.
• During nighttime, Walter can right-click on a Campfire to begin telling a random scary story. This generates a positive +15 /min aura for himself and nearby players.
  • Walter himself will now gain 50% extra sanity from storytelling if he has an audience.  This scales up to a maximum of 75% extra sanity with a bigger audience.
• Walter's favourite food is Trail Mix, which restores an additional +15 than usual.
• Walter has a unique crafting filter that can be used to make various ammunition for his Trusty Slingshot or some other special items:

Item	Effect
	Ranged weapon that can be used to fire various ammo. Its attack speed is 50% slower than melee weapons, and its shots do not draw aggro if the target is preoccupied with fighting someone else.
	Equipped in the Head slot. Restores +2 /min, provides +20% Wetness resistance and +60 Overheating protection, reduces Walter's Sanity loss from receiving damage by 50%, and reduces his Sanity drain from being injured by 25%. Durability of 10 days.
	Can be placed to make a Camper's Tent, which functions identically to a Tent, but with a durability of 10 uses. Can be dismantled back into a Tent Roll and ported elsewhere.
	Deals 17 damage.
	Deals 34 damage.
	Deals 51 damage.
	Forces the target to lose aggro. Does not work on Giants.
	Freezes the target equivalent to two Ice Staff hits.
	Deals 17 damage and decreases the target's movement speed by 33% per round, stacks up to 3 times multiplicatively, and lasts for 30 seconds. Has a visual effect when mobs are slowed. Does not stack with Ickies round.
	Deals 51 damage and has a 50% chance to summon Shadow Tentacles on hit.

Disadvantages

• The one thing Walter does fear is getting hurt:
  • Whenever Walter takes damage, he loses Sanity equal to double the Health lost. For example, a Spider bite deals 10 damage, so Walter will lose -20 whenever a Spider hurts him and deals full damage. Armor can help reduce the Sanity drain by reducing damage.
  • Whenever he isn't at full Health, Walter suffers from a negative Sanity effect equal to -0.2 /min per 1 missing, capping at -12 /min.
• Walter is not interested in fashion. Clothing items do not affect his Sanity, whether positively or negatively. This means that the player must find other methods to regain Sanity.
• Walter is allergic to bees, taking +10 damage from all bee-related enemies. The extra damage bypasses armour and cannot be reduced in any way.
• Because Walter already has Woby, he cannot adopt a Critter from the Rock Den.
  • But if the player has a pet before swapping to Walter, they can have their pet and Woby at the same time.

Skill Tree

See also: Insight

Ammo

Skill	Prerequisites	Description	Notes
Shattering Rounds	Available from start	Learn how to craft Stinger Zingers and Moonshots. These ammo types shatter into an area of damage.	×20 Walter will need to prototype the Moonshots recipe from the Celestial Altar or the upgraded Celestial Orb. ×20
Utility Rounds	Available from start	Learn how to craft Stickies and Shockscrap Shots. Stickies slow targets hit, and Shockscrap Shots deal electric damage with a higher rate of stun.	×20 ×20
Lucky Rounds	Available from start	Learn how to craft Kablooies and Dread Pebbles. These ammo types rely on lucky shots to do more damage or not break.	×20 ×20
Shadow Slinger	Defeat Ancient Fuelweaver. Have no "Lunar Slinger" or "Lunar Woby" skill.	The Queen will reward your loyalty by teaching you how to craft Ickies and Pure Horror Rounds: a slow-down and damage focused ammo, respectively.	Unlock 2 new prototypes rounds from the Shadowcraft Plinth for Walter: ×10 ×20 Walter will get +10% bonus damage to Lunar Aligned enemies and +10% protection from Shadow Aligned enemies. This do not stack with damage effect from "Shadow Woby" skill
Lunar Slinger	Defeat Celestial Champion. Have no "Shadow Slinger" or "Shadow Woby" skill.	The Cryptic Founder will reward your curiosity by teaching you how to craft the Pure Brilliance and Brightshade Husk Rounds: a debuff and damage focused ammo, respectively.	Unlock 2 new prototypes rounds from the Brightsmithy for Walter: ×20 ×20 Walter will get +10% bonus damage to Shadow Aligned enemies and +10% protection from Lunar Aligned enemies. This do not stack with damage effect from "Lunar Woby" skill
Ammo Smith	Learn 2 Ammo skills to unlock.	Learn how to craft ammo faster and more efficiently for better yields.	Walter will craft ammo twice as fast and yield 50% more ammo.
Ammo Hoarder	Learn 2 Ammo skills to unlock.	Learn how to craft an Ammo Pouch for carrying your excess ammo.	×4 ×6

Customizer

Skill	Prerequisites	Description	Notes
Basic Customization	Available from start	Learn to craft the Slingshot Field Kit and some basic parts for customizing your Slingshot.
Advanced Grips	Unlock "Basic Customization"	Learn to craft advanced grips that enhance your Slingshot by increasing the firing rate, and providing additional bonus effects.
Advanced Bands	Unlock "Basic Customization"	Learn to craft advanced bands that enhance your Slingshot by increasing its firing distance, boosting projectile speed, and may have additional bonus effects.	Additionally, putting the Flailing Slingshot Band into the Ornery Chest and killing it will convert it into a Possessed Slingshot Band, even without the skill. However, Walter can't use the slingshot with that attachment if Walter doesn't have the skill.
Advanced Frames	Unlock "Basic Customization"	Learn to craft advanced frames that enable a secondary, alternate Slingshot attack, and may have additional bonus effects.

Scouting

Skill	Prerequisites	Description	Notes
Twine Twirler	Available from start	Learn how to craft rope faster and more efficiently at a lower cost.	When Walter has this skill, this recipe will replace the normal Rope recipe. Also, you don't need to open the recipe. Also Walter will craft rope 50% fasster.
Pioneer's Panache	Available from start	Improves Pinetree Pioneer Hat stats, including reduction to the sanity loss when getting hurt.	Upgrade the stats of Walter's Pinetree Pioneer Hat: Increase wetness protection from 20 -> 35%. Increase heat insulation from 60 -> 120 points. Decrease sanity loss from getting hit from x1 -> x0.5 multiplier.
Special Treat	Available from start	Learn how to craft Woby Snacks, a non-perishable food for Woby.
Field Medic	Available from start	Learn how to use healing items faster and with a 50% bonus to their effects, and learn how to craft the Flutter Strip.	This skill improves your ability to heal from Tillweed Salve, Honey Poultice, Slimy Salve, Flutter Strip and Healing Salve: Walter will heeal 50% faster Walter will get 50% more heal Walter with "Field Medic" skill will restore +10 after using the Flutter Strip.
Campfire Enthusiast	Available from start	Learn how to craft the Portable Campfire, and improve storytelling around any campfire.	×4 Walter's campfire story will boost his sanity by +40/ min.
Let's Rack and Roll	Available from start	Woby's pack will get a drying rack attachment.	Woby gets 3 slots where she can dry food like in Drying Rack, but it only starts drying when Woby is big.
Woby Here, Woby There	Learn 3 Camping skills to unlock.	Send Woby to another player, or to drop off items at chests near a designated location.	Give Woby 2 new commands: Deliver and Mark Spot. Both Walter and other players need to hold a compass or be near an Ocuvigil to send Woby to deliver to them. When Woby arrives, the player can access to Woby's inventory, and Woby will stay until Walter call her back. Walter can also mark a location first and then send Woby to deliver to the marked location. She will drop the items into Chests and Backpacks until all the storage are full. After that, she will go back to Walter. The time that Woby travels depends on the distance.

Woby

Skill	Prerequisites	Description	Notes
Pep Pup	Available from start	Woby gains +1 speed when running or sprinting, and all hunger costs are reduced by 20%.	Woby gains +1 speed when running or sprinting, and all hunger costs are reduced by 20%.
Roaming Retriever	Available from start	Woby will collect items for her backpack and retrieve ammo for you.	Unlocks "Retrieving" command for Woby, which can be activated and deactivated. When it is active: Woby will pick up anything that can be picked up by The Lazy Forager and put into her backpack. When Woby picks up Dread Pebbles, she will deliver the ammo to Walter.
Furry Forager	Available from start	Woby will forage alongside you, picking one extra food item from the same plant you are harvesting.	Unlocks "Foraging" command for Woby, which can be activated and deactivated. When it is active: When the player picks food plants, Woby also forages the same plant and produce one extra food item. These food plants includes Berry Bush, Juicy Berry Bush, Banana Bush, Cave Banana Tree, Mushrooms, Cave Lichen, Cactus, Lesser Glow Berry, Gloomthorn.
Helping Horns	Available from start	Woby will use her hardy horns to assist in chopping and mining.	Unlocks "Helping Horns" command for Woby, which can be activated and deactivated. When it is active: Woby will help Walter to chop and mine, except for Gloomthorn and Sproutrock. Please be aware that Woby also mines Glommer's Statue. This only works when Woby is big.
Scruffy Sprinter	Learn 2 Woby skills to unlock.	After Woby runs for 3 seconds while mounted, she will start sprinting at a higher fixed speed until interrupted.	Unlocks "Sprinting" command for Woby, which can be activated and deactivated. When it is active: After Big Woby runs for 3 seconds while mounted, she will start sprinting at a higher fixed speed until interrupted. When sprinting, Woby will lose hunger 50% faster.
Dashing Doggie	Unlock "Scruffy Sprinter"	Woby dashes on command by double tapping any movement controls.	Woby will dash on command by double tapping any movement controls (WASD or double right click on screen). This does not give Woby invulnerability frames. Also does not allow to dash across structures.
Shadow Woby	Unlock "Dashing Doggie" Defeat Ancient Fuelweaver. Have no "Lunar Slinger" or "Lunar Woby" skill.	Woby's dash becomes a short distance teleport.	Walter will get +10% bonus damage to Lunar Aligned enemies and +10% protection from Shadow Aligned enemies. This do not stack with damage effect from "Shadow Slinger" skill Woby's appearance changes to reflect her shadow alignment. Unlocks "Umbral Dash" command for Woby, which can be activated and deactivated. When active, Woby's dash becomes a short-distance teleport. Each use consumes 4 hunger.
Lunar Woby	Unlock "Dashing Doggie" Defeat Celestial Champion. Have no "Shadow Slinger" or "Shadow Woby" skill.	After dashing, Woby can immediately start sprinting at +1 speed. When Woby is under moonlight on the surface, or in any area of Enlightenment, she has no additional hunger drain for sprinting or dashing.	Walter will get +10% bonus damage to Shadow Aligned enemies and +10% protection from Lunar Aligned enemies. This do not stack with damage effect from "Lunar Slinger" skill Woby's appearance changes to reflect her lunar alignment. After dashing, Woby can immediately start sprinting at +1 speed and Woby will lose her hunger 20% slower. When Woby is under moonlight on the surface, or in any area of Enlightenment, she has no additional hunger drain for sprinting or dashing.

Campfire Stories

Bog Monster Story "Ever heard of the bog monster?" "Nobody knows what it really looks like..." "nobody who's seen it up close ever made it back." "People say it can disguise itself," "to look like a mossy rock," "or an old stump," "or even a patch of mud under your feet." "The only way to really tell it's there" "is if you look out of the corner of your eye..." "it'll sometimes let its disguise slip," "and you'll see it start to smile..." "with its six mouths full of RAZOR SHARP TEETH!" Lurker Story "Alright, want to hear a REALLY scary story?" "It happened on a night just like this." "A group of friends were camping out in the woods," "when suddenly they heard noises all around them." "Howling and scratching," "from the darkest depths of the forest." "The friends huddled close around their campfire," "hoping its light would save them from what lurked beyond." "But what they didn't know..." "was that it was already..." "too..." "LATE!" "..." "I said... LATE!" "Woby! You were supposed to jump out and scare them!" "Oh well, we'll work on it." Werebeaver "Did I ever tell you the tale of the Werebeaver?" "I went looking for him myself, you know." "They say he was once the owner of a big lumber company," "who gave the order to clear-cut an entire forest" "against the wishes of the people who lived there." "For this, they say he was cursed..." "If he or his company cut one tree too many," "he would turn into a hulking, hairy beast," "with axe-sharp front teeth." "He lost everything, and hid himself away in a small cabin," "deep in the heart of the woods." "But it was not enough to satisfy the curse." "People say he's still there, roaming the wilderness," "gnashing his long, fearsome teeth!" "..." "Well, that was the story I heard anyway." "Mr. Woodie's never told me if it's actually true..."

Hook-hand Man Story "Alright, so there's this guy..." "and he has a hook for a hand!" "But wait," "shoot..." "you're not supposed to know that yet..." "let me start over." "So there's this guy," "and he lives way out deep in the woods," "making clocks." "They say that he has a clock" "for every one of his victims..." "stopped at the exact time they take their last breath." "You'll know he's coming when you hear the" "click... click... click..." "of his hook hand tapping on his watch..." "to let you know your time is up!" "...But don't worry, the hook man can't get you out here!" "The only things in this forest are Beargers and Moosegoose" "and Hounds and Dragonflies and Treeguards..." Creeping Ooze "Have I ever told you about... the Lord of Gourds?" "They say that during Hallowed Nights he roams the land," "searching for the perfect carved pumpkin" "to replace his missing head." "If your pumpkin is chosen," "he will reward you with riches beyond your imagination!" "But beware..." "if he doesn't find one that pleases him..." "he'll take YOUR head instead!"

Tips

• Walter provides a unique playstyle compared to the other characters: he is effective for exploring and collecting items on the move, and can be self-sufficient for long periods of time thanks to his fast cooking speed, access to Woby's big form and inventory slots, immunity to sanity drains from dusk/darkness or Worm Holes, and ability to camp overnight with less hunger drain using a portable Tent Roll. This allows him to explore large parts of the map from the get-go, and he is the most effective character for nomadic playstyles or long-duration expeditions away from base.
• On the flipside, Walter is terrible for combat, as his sanity loss from taking health damage can quickly stack up even when armored; taking a few hits while unarmored will often mean going insane. If combat is attempted as Walter, the player should ensure that they have spare armors or foodstuff that can regain health and sanity (such as Cooked Green Caps), as the aftermath of a fight can leave Walter's sanity ticking down quickly.

Sanity

• Sanity can be difficult to control willingly as Walter: while he is effectively able to stay at the same sanity if his health is high, adjusting his sanity cannot be done easily outside of eating certain foods or taking damage, as Worm Holes and sanity-draining auras have no effect. Regaining sanity also takes very long if he only depends on his innate perks. Green Caps are the most effective for adjusting his sanity quickly with minimal changes to his health.
• If Walter is not healing his sanity with foods, he needs to stay in place for extended periods in order to regenerate sanity (eg. staying near many trees and telling campfire stories/sleeping in his Camper's Tent). Be mindful of this before attempting any fights, as the following day/night may be spent just waiting for his sanity to regenerate.
• More than anything, Walter requires some form of armor even during minor engagements, due to how harsh the sanity loss can be. Always be prepared with an extra set of armor if needed.
• Be very careful when at low sanity and health: if Walter's sanity drops below 30 while at low health, his sanity drain means that even if he's killing Shadow Creatures, he will quickly drop past the sanity threshold and make them aggressive again, causing a constant loop of going insane. While this can be useful to farm lots of Nightmare Fuel, it should only be attempted if the player has healing sources for health and sanity.
• Planting several Trees at base is a good way to mitigate sanity loss from missing health: Walter gains +6 /min from having 5+ trees around him, which will cancel out the sanity loss from missing 60 health (since trees halve the sanity loss from missing health).
• If missing sanity, Walter can simply tell a campfire story to himself at night to regenerate some. Ideally, he should tell stories at a Fire Pit that has trees planted around it to get additional sanity gain, and to provide Wetness and Overheating protection while the pit provides light.
• Fights can be initiated around trees to reduce sanity loss during fights. A good example would be the Deerclops, as it can be led to a Forest to fight Spider Dens and chop down large amounts of trees.
• Walter's fearlessness lets him take advantage of several things:
  • Walter loses no sanity from Worm Holes and thus can take them for free.
  • Foraging or chopping trees can be done at night at the very edge of a light source with no penalty, so long as Walter peeks into the light every so often to prevent Charlie from attacking.
  • Caves can be explored with no sanity drain.
  • Bosses can be fought at melee range without fear of their sanity-draining auras.
  • At night, light sources with fuel can be preserved by "flashing" them since Walter loses no sanity in complete darkness - turn them off till right before Charlie attacks, then turn it on again.
• Because Walter is not affected by sanity auras from non-magic equipment:
  • Certain items are pointless for him outside of crafting structures or temperature protection (eg. the Dapper Vest's sanity gain does nothing to him apart from minor insulation, so it should be substituted for the cheaper Breezy Vest).
  • He does not need to dedicate the head or body slot for sanity-regaining equipment, meaning he can wear armors as a default while exploring.
• Followers such as befriended Pigs will still give a sanity over time effect. Walter can make a base near Pig Houses to take advantage of this, along with planting groups of trees.
• Trail Mix is Walter's Favorite Food and is very useful for him: not only is it easily acquired from general exploring/foraging (which is what he excels at), it also keeps for very long (15 days) and restores large chunks of health, allowing it to be used as a dependable healing option to prevent sanity loss, alongside its decent hunger gain (27.5 for Walter). The only downside is that it requires Birchnuts, which do not drop in Winter; ideally, the player should stockpile a stack of Birchnuts to use over the course of Winter, with an unharvested Berry Bush farm ready.
• The Tent Roll should be crafted when able to: while it costs a pricey 15 Cut Grass total to craft, it is much easier to obtain than the Tent, is fully portable with the same amount of uses and healing factor, and is one of Walter's only effective options for regaining sanity if he lacks sanity-regaining foods. It also lets him heal up overnight to prevent high amounts of sanity loss.
  • The Tent Roll should be prioritized instead of building normal Tents when playing with others due to its cheap recipe.
  • As the Tent Roll lets Walter sleep wherever he wants, it can be used as an emergency option if the player happens to run out of light sources at night (or wishes to conserve fuel items).
• The Pinetree Pioneer Hat should be worn when missing health, as it slows down Walter's sanity drain. Otherwise, it should not be equipped outside of using it for protection against rain or overheating, as it will lose durability while worn. In combat, the hat's reduced sanity damage is a good option should the player not have easy access to Football Helmets, but head armor should be always be prioritized if one has it, since the Pinetree Pioneer Hat provides no armor and will result in taking more damage (meaning more sanity drain) despite its perks.

Other

• Walter's fast cooking speed lets him cook large amounts of spoiling food if needed.
• Woby gives Walter the most inventory space out of all early-game characters if they do not find the Eye Bone during the first few days. Taking advantage of this along with a Backpack lets the player hoard items for a base while exploring the map early on.
• Woby can be used as a Monster Meat dump if the player does not have access to a Birdcage.
• The game prioritizes feeding Woby instead of opening her inventory if one has Monster Meat items held, so if one wishes to store Monster Meat items in her inventory, they should open her inventory while holding other items. (By default, normal Woby is fed with left click, and Big Woby is fed with right click.)
• While Big Woby is a great exploring tool, using her to escape from mobs can be risky unless Walter is already riding her, as any damage taken will fling him off and leave him open to attacks.
• As Bees will do 30 damage to Walter even if he is wearing armor, care should be taken when handling Bee Boxes or going past Killer Bee Hives, as Walter can easily die or lose large amounts of sanity (for context, Spiders deal 20 damage to an unarmored character). For the same reason, the Bee Queen is an exceptionally difficult fight that should not be attempted alone or without food for health or sanity.
• Upon spawning, the player should load Walter's Trusty Slingshot with the Pebbles from his inventory, as this frees up an inventory slot.
• The Trusty Slingshot grants Walter a cheap early-game tool for hunting mobs such as Birds and Gobblers, which otherwise require using other more expensive tools to catch/kill.
  • Gobblers will not react to being shot at, which lets Walter pelt them to death for easy Drumsticks.
  • It can be used to grab aggro from distant mobs such as Koalefants or Krampus, which usually requires time to corner (or a Boomerang ready).
  • The default Pebbles ammunition don't do enough damage to instantly kill Rabbits or Birds; Rabbits can simply be chased away from their burrows and shot again, but birds will require at least Gold Rounds.
• Once resources are found, the Trusty Slingshot continues being effective in mid-game, as the variety of slingshot ammo and amount crafted per recipe lets Walter play a support role in combat, either by pestering mobs from afar, or hindering them with debuffs. It does fire slowly compared to other weapons, so it should be used with caution.