My thoughts on the NEW Walter skill tree

[Giovirtual79]

Hello everyone, it's me again. Today, I wanted to Yap about the Walter skill tree for a bit now that it's finally been updated and after letting it settle. There have been some other changes that happened recently (like literally 3 hours ago as of typing this), so I will go over the more important changes later on. I actually did make a post about Walter's skill tree in the past. If you want to read it, you can right here:
 

In this post, I highlighted my problems with the Walter skill tree, that being it's over reliance on making skills about the Slingshot. I felt like this design sorta stifled any potential Walter had, especially since I felt like he more fit the role as a support. Because of that, I was hoping the updated tree would fix these issues without getting rid of the slingshot skills, since all of the slingshot skills were needed to make the thing usable. So, without further ado, let's get into this analysis.



I am honestly very happy when I saw the updated skill tree. In my post about Walter, I mentioned how Klei should think about merging a lot of the slingshot skills to make room for the new skills. And, as you can see, they did go through with this idea and combined both the ammo skills and the slingshot skills, reducing the points needed. I felt like both the ammo and the slingshot skills, specifically the slingshot skills, were necessary in order to fix how bad the slingshot is in normal use. Because of that, I'm super happy they weren't scrapped or replaced and were instead combined. These skills are a must have for any Walter players, so bring all off the customizer skills.


Similar to the Customizer branch, a lot of the ammo skills were combined to make more room for the skill tree. The AOE rounds (Moonglass and Stingers), damage rounds (Gunpowder and Dreadstone), and the utility rounds (Honey and Shockscrap) were all combined into 3 skills instead of 6. Additionally, the two ammo crafting skills also got reduced down to 1 point and the amount of ammo points needed to get this skill got reduced to 2. In addition to allowing you to craft 30 ammo instead of 20, you also craft Ammo faster, which is cool. They also added an Ammo Pouch that Walter can craft, so I guess Klei sorta went back on their word not to give Walter one. The Ammo pack is really cool, though, as I feel it allows Walter players to carry around cheaper rounds for every day activities. This helps Walter players save on their more expensive ammo for the Giants of the constant while you snipe birds and butterflies with your Gold rounds. Honestly, I'd say take the skills you feel like you'll have the most fun with. I think a lot of these skills are cool, but I feel the newer skills are way more fun than these skills. That doesn't mean they're bad, though. It's just I feel the other skills are worth bringing.


Now, we get into the meat and potatoes of this update, the new skills that were added. In addition to revamping the Woby branch, they finally implemented that long awaited Scouting branch for players to choose from. What I love about this branch is the support potential Walter has with these skills. Sadly, the Flutterstrip healing did get nerfed down to 24 for other survivors and 36 for Walter. This means that the Flutterstrip heals others the exact same as 3 butterfly wings and heal Walter the equivalent around 4. Now, I wouldn't count this skill out on Walter, since this affects all forms of healing for him. This means Healing Salves will heal Walter for 30 hp instead of 20 and Honey Poultice will heal Walter for that 45 hp Flutterstrips used to heal him for. There's also a portable campfire skill that allows Walter to craft a portable campfire to place down. Now, this would be really cool and have some really good support aspects, however other survivors cannot interact with them. Only Walters with this skill can pick up and deploy the portable campfires, which is a shame. Overall, I went with the field medic skill because Flutterstrips are still non perishable healing, which is good early game and the healing buff Walter gains. I also went with the drying rack skill since having portable drying racks to produce jerky for myself and the team is awesome. I also went with Dog treats since they allow you to turn Woby big quickly while also being non perishable as well. They also need Monster Jerky to craft, so that gives more of a reason to bring the drying rack skill. Finally, I brought the Woby Delivery skill because this skill is honestly amazing. it allows Woby to deliver items you gathered to an area you mark down, allowing her to drop off any items you are carrying without going back to base immediately. Additionally, you can also send Woby to other players, which is something I'm not sure how works. However, I think the simple reason that Woby can deliver and clear your inventory alone makes it worth it.



Finally, the Woby skills, which went from being mediocre skills to the best skills in the game. These skills alone allow Woby to finally stand tall alongside Beefalo and makes her a viable option. Everything about this branch, from the added speed to the dash, the teleport to working alongside you, foraging and collecting, there is so much flexibility to Woby now that I love. These skills also has an affinity branch, with Lunar affinity making Woby go at mach speed while the Shadow affinity gives Woby a short distance teleport, similar to Wigfrid's Elden Spear. She also has revamped skills that allows her to collect items off the ground, pick extra food from wild plants you harvest, and chop/mine stuff when Big Woby. The best part about the foraging and collection skills is the fact that they also work with Big Woby, something the past iteration of these skills didn't. It was very hard to choose which skills I wanted, but I eventually settled on the shadow side and to grab everything but the collecting skill.

Side note, but I love the fact that you can both call for Woby and turn off these skills at any time with the new command wheel. The whistle Walter does when he calls for Woby is so adorable and being able to turn off these commands when you feel they will be annoying is the customization that is awesome to see. On that note, that's all my thoughts on the skill tree. I am extremely happy with how this skill tree has turned out and do believe this has become one of the best skill trees to have released. Are there still things that could do with some work? Yeah, I think so. However, I am extremely satisfied with this skill tree and can't wait for it to come to live servers. With that said, that's all I wanted to say. Let me know how you feel about Walter's skill tree and I hope you all have a good day.


sidenotebutohmygodtheyreleasedanewwendyskinanditlookssopeakohmygod

[_mylilsunshine_]

saw you only taking one ammo perk and immediately i was like whaaaaaaaaaaat!? and then i peaked the rest of the skill tree and yeah we have a woby connoisseur over here

5 hours ago, Giovirtual79 said:

 Now, I wouldn't count this skill out on Walter, since this affects all forms of healing for him. This means Healing Salves will heal Walter for 30 hp instead of 20 and Honey Poultice will heal Walter for that 45 hp Flutterstrips used to heal him for. There's also a portable campfire skill that allows Walter to craft a portable campfire to place down. Now, this would be really cool and have some really good support aspects, however other survivors cannot interact with them. Only Walters with this skill can pick up and deploy the portable campfires, which is a shame. Overall, I went with the field medic skill because Flutterstrips are still non perishable healing, which is good early game and the healing buff Walter gains. Finally, I brought the Woby Delivery skill because this skill is honestly amazing. it allows Woby to deliver items you gathered to an area you mark down, allowing her to drop off any items you are carrying without going back to base immediately. Additionally, you can also send Woby to other players, which is something I'm not sure how works. However, I think the simple reason that Woby can deliver and clear your inventory alone makes it worth it.

spider glands also heal for 12 now, which is amazing with how easy it is to amass compared to healing salves. glands and flutters are my main healing in the early game, especially in winter i rely on glands more. honestly i disagree with letting other survivors dismantle the campfire, makes it too generic. my headcanon is that it's a special boyscout skill that walter has exclusively (i wouldn't mind woody being able to interact with the campfire though).

and honestly i didn't even consider letting woby drop off stuffs while you work! i was so tunneled vision into the multiplayer aspect that i did not think as creatively. same with the flutter strip as i tunneled vision into single player that i didn't think about giving it to other players lol. goes to show just how versatile walter's perks can be

[Giovirtual79]

5 hours ago, _mylilsunshine_ said:

spider glands also heal for 12 now, which is amazing with how easy it is to amass compared to healing salves. glands and flutters are my main healing in the early game, especially in winter i rely on glands more.

Yeah, I think what really makes this skill great is the increased healing you get from non consumable foods. It really helps in the early game and also makes some of the weaker healing items more valuable, such as Salves.
 

 

5 hours ago, _mylilsunshine_ said:

honestly i disagree with letting other survivors dismantle the campfire, makes it too generic. my headcanon is that it's a special boyscout skill that walter has exclusively (i wouldn't mind woody being able to interact with the campfire though).

It's definitely not a big deal that they can't. I just sorta thought it'd work like the similar to the portable tent Walter can craft, which everyone can dismantle and deploy. It isn't that big of a deal, though, and it can be helpful if you're traveling with a Walter with this skill. You can cook food on the go with this skill, so that's nice

 

6 hours ago, _mylilsunshine_ said:

and honestly i didn't even consider letting woby drop off stuffs while you work! i was so tunneled vision into the multiplayer aspect that i did not think as creatively. same with the flutter strip as i tunneled vision into single player that i didn't think about giving it to other players lol. goes to show just how versatile walter's perks can be

You can also place 1 or 2 chests in the cave entrance you're at when you go into the ruins and transport the stuff you just want to bring back, such as frazzled wires and certain gems. It saves on inventory space and allows Walter to bring back so much more loot than characters who need to really choose what they bring back.

Overall, I do think the Woby skills are what really make the skill tree for me. The ammo is fine, but I do think the versatility Woby has with her skills will make playing as Walter so much fun to play as, especially in co-op worlds where the ammo won't really matter. He can get around fine with thulecite rounds, so there's no harm with focusing in on the Woby skills.