Handler Walter - The Making of a Hero

[@threesofthree6100]

Nothing in the game broke my heart quite as much as hearing Walter say with his dying breath: "Look at you... 621... you found a friend..."

[@jhank0cean]

WALTER WAS OUR FRIEND 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@jumpofftheboat]

That whole fight with him I kept saying "I'm so sorry, Walter! I'm sorry!"

[@Bloodshield975]

Walter honestly embodies the term "Chained to a promise", he's tired, he just wants to rest but he made a promise to prevent the coral from spreading even if he may change his mind on it in the future and his final line shows that pretty well, he trusted 621, someone who was fucked up in early augmentation and got to see several sides of the conflict, choosing to save the coral and let it spread he's ok with that, he fulfilled his promise as best he could and treats Ayre as a person and not something abhorrent and he can understand the reasoning too. Amazingly written character for such a simple storyline honestly.

[@bricesonroy2350]

I felt so empty beating him. Like really empty.

[@arcangel0985]

What got me was 621 dashing away with the tank treds but his body was turned, looking at Walter as if watching a good friend fade away.

[@bclxprss]

I actually think that Walter deliberately chooses victims of early gen augmentations as his hounds. Not out of desperation, but to give them "a reason to live" as he says in the story trailer. To give them a slim hope to fix themselves or failing that, to give them a chance to strike back at "the carnival of horrors" that his father unleashed

[@SirBinding]

That, and on a more pessimistic view, could mean that they fight harder as they have nothing else to live for

[@MarvinT0606]

could be a sign of his guilt as well, seeing as though the earlier gen augmented humans were the worst victims of his father's work.

[@pokeng]

Or why leave them to suffer in a vegetable state, and instead allow them the chance to burn out brightly.

[@woodstock7063]

It's better to burn out than fade away

[@leobaron9417]

I feel like you're all correct somehow

[@richardrussel4567]

Biggest twist in armored core was walter NOT betraying 621. The game really made it seem like he would, when in reality it was 621 who would do the betraying

[@Christopher-eq1rn]

Wouldn’t even call it betraying, just taking a different path, one that Walter is happy with ironically

[@RenoKyrie]

​@@Christopher-eq1rnExcept 3rd ending He didnt mind you picking Liberation ending The 3rd ending is litteraly something he wants to avoid

[@aickavon]

Ironically enough he doesn't seem to sound angry or specifically betrayed... though we don't get much interactions with him during this route.

[@orangesoda4535]

Only if you're playing as augmented simp 621

[@kazuyakenzaki1320]

​@orangesoda4535 I hate the word simp so much, are you a fucking incel that the concept of fighting for others with simmilar goals is simping

[@Xelkyr]

Walter's emblem is also a subtle but fascinating insight into his character. It's a hand with leashes. But if you look closely, it's not a human hand. It's a puppet hand. And it's not actually holding the leashes. It's bound up in them. Like Walter, at first glance it seems domineering and dehumanizing. But the more you look at it the sadder it becomes and the more you realize what Walter considers himself to be.

[@jordanp4987]

A man shackled to his responsibility as much as it is shackled to him.

[@madgainz7871]

Interesting and I never really paid attention to his emblem! Great take

[@guilhermealves00]

And the emblem to Freud is rhe opposite of his!

[@MAGUS-666]

I always read his emblem like he is tethered, not to leashes, but to the cables of the augmented humans. His view of himself is indebted to these people because of his sense of responsibility for their lives and the bearing of his father’s sins.

[@xXRunDeathXx]

its the opposite of freud's emblem. i think walter's is supposed to represent a wounded hand

[@swiftstrike4044]

The amount of irritation Walter showed when Rusty mentioned 621 be a walking advertisement for Arquebus really caught me off guard. That was when I really became invested with his way of doing things.

[@heavyc4450]

???? When and how?

[@jakomaniac]

​@heavyc4450 attack the fuel deposit. He says it in the sortie briefing and after mercing the two pca members

[@larrymunn5279]

For me I think it was that mission to investigate the underground coral well. He says "I don't think (X) appreciates your value, 621. I'm gonna have a talk with them about that. You focus on the mission." That cracked me up a little he finally felt like my agent lol.

[@goathead4831]

You’re not their mascot 621 😠

[@Sorain1]

Advertisement for opportunities in destruction, not for Arquebus, Rusty is being subtle there.

[@andrewrogers3067]

Walter is probably the best written character in the entire game.

[@TheAmazingCowpig]

He's got the most dialogue, so I'd hope so.

[@ultraginge1990]

Yeah. Walter and Rusty are amazing. I wish you could save one of them once but there you go.

[@RedMoonLoop]

​@ultraginge1990 depending on the endings we don't actually see them die on screen. There's always a chance they survived. Or maybe that's just copium lol

[@apophisstr6719]

@@RedMoonLoop Copium x teary face.jpg

[@darykeng]

​@@apophisstr6719To be fair Rusty could survive. I mean, he _DID_ manage to escape after 621 torn the arm of his AC

[@RobotPanda15]

In the fight with Walter where Ayre basically screams at both of you to stop... thats one of the most impactful lines in dialogue ive heard in a long time. You've already done your job. The Xylem was disabled and crashing to the ground. The fight between Raven and Walter was pointless, and Ayre knows how meaningless it was. Truly a heartbreaking scene

[@Direwolf13PS3]

Walter wasn't going to stop because he was brainwashed into fighting you. He only relents after you beat some sense into him, all too late.

[@Poldovico]

​@@Direwolf13PS3Ayre doesn't know at first.

[@dakushirosaki9235]

I agree with you on that one. Just hearing her practically begging us to stop made my heart ache, but further my resolve to finish the fight as soon as possible. And once Walter gives up and let us live, if you listen closely, then you can hear how hurt and sad Ayre was when she called out to him and told us we had to go. Truly this game is roller-coaster of emotions. Never thought I would tear up and cry so much from a single video game.

[@Kenny_F91]

Those lines made me like Ayre more because she genuinely showed concern for Walter.

[@exzyyd392]

It's worse because at that point she knows what Walter wanted to do. She's desperately begging you to spare someone who was activvely trying to kill her and her entire 'family'

[@1wayroad935]

Wild how well everyone is characterized without ever showing what they look like.

[@thechunkmaster8794]

The STK drawings actually give us an idea of what several characters look like, including Carla and a young Walter.

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

Yeah, as much as a part of me thinks it's beyond time for AC games to feature some human models (both for scale in the missions and for characterization between them), it's almost tradition at this point that they don't, and AC6 really proves it isn't entirely necessary.

[@__bepis____bepis__308]

@@thechunkmaster8794don’t forget the story trailer shows a shadow of walter, he walks with a cane

[@kiki123456able]

​@@__bepis____bepis__308and he also appears to have hunched back in the shadow, which makes me think he's probably old as fuck, unlike most fanart the community has drew him

[@dragonhearted7761]

@@kiki123456able i mean hes at minimum 60-70 years old since the fires were 50 years ago

[@ashenhunter1]

It’s weird how people say this game doesn’t have much of a story, I was more invested in this story than I was in Elden Ring

[@kasuraga]

I feel like people who say this game doesn't have much of a story didn't actually beat the game and got filtered before chapter 4/5 and newgame + and ++

[@cvampaul]

Or any souls game, at least for me

[@Poldovico]

It's the least subtle storytelling FROM have done since Demons' Souls

[@runningoutofnames3CS]

Exactly, I literally forgot about elden ring (and by extension, all of the souls games) while playing AC6. Hell I even forgot about ER’s existence until reading this comment mentioning it

[@runningoutofnames3CS]

@@cvampaulit definitely is. I love the souls game but it’s lack of an obvious storyline is such a turn off for me

[@bendonatier]

An odd thing with Walter and Rusty, is that they really don't care what you want, just that you want it. Rusty demands you have a reason, and when you show one he is ready to stand at your side, or face you as an equal, proud to know that it's there. Walter wants you to help him and wants to take care of you so that you see him as a friend, and when he see's that you've found a friend, even if it isn't a friend in him, he's happy for you. I can't tell whether it's childish or wholesome just how happy for you they are that you've made a choice, even if that choice will kill countless souls.

[@onyxrose4349]

Carla and Chatty are the same. When you choose Ayre's path, they both basically congratulate you for choosing your own path, and Carla and Walter both make the connection of 621 having found a friend. The various heroes of the story, the good people doing their best for their various goals, all celebrate the idea of 621 having a goal of their own. Making their own choice. Carving their own path.

[@Jaydee8652]

Very few characters aren’t in some way proud of 621, a lot of redguns, even when you’re fighting them to the death talk you up and I think it’s interesting.

[@exzyyd392]

​@@Jaydee8652 Even Iguazu in his dying breath admits he always envied you. The game does a great job of constantly being like "You're the best and you've done well" even with all the terribly things happening

[@Raptor747]

I love how Ayre gives Walter respect and sympathy in the end. She understands why he would try to wipe out her people, how he views it as a tragedy made necessary by an unavoidable reality, and how, in the end, he is fighting to protect humanity like Ayre wants to protect the Coral. And when Walter ultimately decides to stop fighting, to encourage 621, and acknowledge Ayre as a friend of his friend, she sees how even someone who sought to destroy her and her people can still be worth trying to save (even if it is risky).

[@runningoutofnames3CS]

I also love how sympathetic Ayre is in general even to our enemies (with some exceptions) with the most obvious being the MIA mission where she sympathizes with G6 Red’s mental break and sounds pretty sad / disturbed at the whole massacre ALLMIND is pretty much committing on Arquebus’s soldiers during the whole thing. She understands why some are after us and probably doesn’t like seeing so many die so needlessly but she understands this is war so we’ll have to kill them before they do. The only time I can think of where she attacks someone that isn’t us during the FoR ending is when Iguazu kills us during the three way brawl where based on his dialogue, sounds like Ayre is attacking him somehow. Even then she doesn’t really sound like she hates him in the other encounters just kinda surprised of his tenacity and will to kill us

[@exzyyd392]

@@runningoutofnames3CS The part where the Arquebus people are opening the door and Ayre just yells "No, don't!" is great. It's like she knows there's a chance we'll ignore them but ALLMIND will 100% kill them.

[@anuragpradhan7500]

Your first line, is on spot. In the LoR ending, it is implied that he just a torso strapped into the HAL AC - even then, all he is screaming about is that we need to take all the money and reverse the augmentations. Because he has 4th gen augmentations done to him, he can see Ayre and thus, he realises why we are fighting against him. "Look at you, 621, you found a friend." Made me tear up slightly. It felt like a good bye from a respected teacher. He understood why we fought against his wishes, and I in turn, wish to understand why he made his choices - its the least he deserves from 621.

[@IronKeroro]

Not necessarily gen 4. Allmind identified earlier gen pilots susceptible to contact with coral. It also might have something to do with his father who went mad when developing prototype coral augmentation. Some sort of compatibility with the coral used in augmentation.

[@anuragpradhan7500]

@@IronKeroro In the Third ending, Walter wasn't caught by Arquebus, so they haven't had the chance to do anything to him. It is only in the endings where he gets caught (definitely LoR, quite possibly FoR) where he was experimented upon. In the ALLMIND ending, both the corporations are in ruin, and Walter himself is running about Xylem, protecting it.

[@amcname8789]

I personally feel a bit puzzled at that line's delivery. I actually saw the quote in a silent video before reaching the ending myself, so I thought the delivery would be more like "Huh, look at that 621, you aren't (or weren't) alone." Rather than the perhaps just as if not more reasonable exhausted. . .anger? Like the words hurt to say emotionally almost. Either way, it's Walter having one final realization that his lone hound isn't alone anymore, and won't be, without Walter.

[@Ben-ex1kv]

I may be off here but i felt like he had essentially defeated arquebus' brainwashing by the time he shows up as a boss. We're attempting to stop the vascular plant (controlled by arquebus at the time) being destroyed by the xylem in that ending, so it seems like he'd be fighting alongside us if they had been successful in brainwashing him.

[@kronkchopp]

He was just a torso? Wtf

[@jesterscircus.3490]

Every time I die to ibis, walter always says it shouldn’t end this way. Not exact words which tells me he’s more human than he wants to admit

[@1wayroad935]

He also hypes you up during Phase 2 of the same fight

[@Brobro7SF]

"No, 621! Dammit, not like this"!

[@aakarshasoka6335]

​@@1wayroad935 oh yeah. "621! You're the only one who can do this!"

[@dhruvo100]

Its cel, not ibis

[@ItchiestBum]

@@dhruvo100And? You knew what he meant and everyone calls him Ibis anyways

[@MountainKing88771]

When you mentioned Walter being fatherly, I'm surprised you didnt bring up an early line with the Redguns. "Gun 13? I'll stick with 621. Don't let the Redguns teach you bad manners." Genuinely a cute moment from him early on.

[@Hornet-06]

"I don't want you hanging out with that crowd anymore 621" 😠

[@ArheIy]

Redguns are a complicated topic for Walter. I'd also note that if we choose to kill Michigan instead of intercepting Vespers, he suddenly becomes very cold and says just to deal with it, not elaborating further. Most probably, that's another bottled up emotion - Michigan is the hero of Jupiter, and Walter grew up there after the fires of Ibis...

[@nguyen-vuluu3150]

​@@ArheIy you can tell they personally know each other even before the events of AC6 just from their dialogue alone. much less business and much more personal

[@Renfrost_x_JetstreamRen38]

​@@ArheIyWalter probably admires or respects Michigan.

[@virkallon1884]

@@ArheIy There is an old theory that Walter planned for 621 to be let go and permanently join the Redguns after the Coral war simmered down. But the plan gets thrown out the window either by you or Rusty via obliderating the Redguns plus Michigan himself.

[@aickavon]

Small correction. 621 isn't incapable of speech. They can talk. This is confirmed after meeting Ayre where Walter comments that we (off screen) told him we could hear a voice in our head. A lady in our head calls us studmuffin.

[@joshuasmyth3115]

Yet again, this might not be correct. I believe that 621 might just be using a text-to-speech system to talk, explaining why they say nothing during missions, why, why they make a choice, they select from a screen instead of saying something. 621 isn't capable of speech, but it seems they have found alternative means to communicate.

[@henryzweihander8282]

We also have Michigan's acknowledgement of our "warcry" to suggest 621 can indeed speak but is left silent for self insert purposes.

[@mau7522]

​​@@joshuasmyth3115nop, it's pretty much confirmed he isn't a bag as a lot of people think, he's capable of speaking like anyone else does, he just doesn't in game to keep the silent protagonist fromsoft usually goes for, we know that ACs are piloted from cockpits and every other augmented human does it so it'd be really weird if gen 4 are the only ones that seem to have their mind uploaded into a robot as people initially thought, also he literally crawls after being captured by snake, so he's got to have all of his limbs. Walter does call you something along the lines of "merc with a fried brain" or something like that at some point which some people understood as implying he has some form of actual brain damage when the only thing this is actually refering to is that the augmentation process in early gens cause some sort of loss of empathy

[@xresinance1290]

@@mau7522 we could also just have been accidentally lobotomized from the surgery, which explains the lack of speech and our bodies are just that much of a mess that we can't even walk around, so we're probably closer to a freeze dry bag of meat than a man

[@aickavon]

@@joshuasmyth3115 there is zero evidence that they have used any sort of work around to speak and several nods that they can communicate. I think it's simply silent protagonist for silent protagonist's sake. You'll notice that they also don't use any gendered pronouns for 621 as well, this is further to allow the player, whether they be boy or girl, to be immersed in the role.

[@CoolDude5633554]

Friendly reminder: Walter continuously sticks up for you, offers handing you over to the Redguns with Michigan (assumed to be a longtime friend of his) for a better life, and in the endgame fight with him, wants you to take all the credits to reverse the Augmentations to live normally. Best thing about him, is that he lets you exercise freedom in what you want to do. You can tell that in the Intercept the Redguns Mission where you take on Balam and G1 Michigan, that Walter just tells you to get it done and there’s nothing more for him to say. He knows you’ve taken the job to take out his friend, and he doesn’t want to stand in your way, and instead supports your decision despite how broken up he is about it. Even when going the ALLMIND route, he isn’t mad that you’re betraying him and his wishes. He knows you’ve made the choice, so he accepts it and gives you one last compliment about how you’re now his “biggest threat.”

[@jackl7778]

walter cannot be forgiven for killing rusty and wanting to kill ayre

[@CoolDude5633554]

@@jackl7778 Re-education does that to you, which makes Snail being the one to blame for Walter killing Rusty. As for Ayre, even in the FoR ending, Ayre would still be alive if she didn’t stand in our way. In the LoR ending, as I said, Re-education does that to you, so Snail is to blame.

[@Illuyankas]

Yeah Snail killed Rusty in that ending, he just used Walter to do it

[@angryjelly7025]

​@@CoolDude5633554Ayre very much would not survive Fires of Raven. Since she is a coral wave, if she simply let us destroy the coral, she would burn with it. And Ayre isn't the only sentient wave, so in Fires of Raven you actually commit two genocides - you burn the galaxy all over again, and you cause the extinction of an entire sentient species.

[@Koleuz2]

@@angryjelly7025In FoR you don't burn the whole galaxy, but only the solar system where Rubicon is located at worse. The rest of the whole galaxy and humanity as a whole (obviously with the exception of the Rubiconians) are all alive and well. Obviously, Coral as a whole also goes completely extinct, but from the very onset of the game, as we start to get to know Ayre, seeing how adept she was at messing with electronics, it was pretty safe to say how Coral can be a threat to humanity, in more ways than one. Especially considering how volatile it is, all it takes is a spark for Coral to explode violently across every single place they have "contaminated". If letting it spread for far too long, a single spark could mean the destruction of everything and everywhere Coral has managed to reach. Not only that, but wherever Coral is, even if it doesn't bring an immediate end to humanity through an even worse version of the Fires of Ibis, it still will cause untold horrors as wars over it will be fought everywhere. The phrase Walter tells us "where there's Coral, there's blood" isn't just for show. That, to me, solidifies FoR as the best ending for the game, as it is the only one that not only actually concludes the conflict, it also ensures humanities survival in general. In LoR, sure you won, and Rubicon is free. Humanity and Coral's potential are still there... but for how long? The corporations will surely come back. Ayre didn't had a plan for going forward after bringing down the Xylem. She even explains in the post credit that you went along with her SELFISH dream. She merely wanted to prevent the extinction of the Coral, which, considering how she is one of the waves born from the coral tide, it makes sense, but what about the Coral Collapse that is incoming? What's going to be done to prevent it? What about the corporations? Can the RLF even still put up a fight? Regardless, the conflict for the Coral will reignite sooner or later, if the Collapse doesn't come first (which is actually what will likely happen). In the ALLMIND ending, humanity as a whole, or a portion of it, are thrown into forced evolution as sentient undying machines in perfect symbiosis with Coral. People were forced into becoming gigantic machines of war, all without their consent. Pure body horror. And from Ayre's final words in that ending, it is pretty clear the result of Coral Release was not a peaceful resolution. Imagine waking up one day and being a machine with an unknown voice in your head, suddenly fighting for your life. In FoR however, we prevent the Coral Collapse from happening, which, despite not being outright explained what it entails by the game (but being pretty same to assume it is the danger of Coral propagating too far, and the consequences of its volatility being capable of leading to the complete extinction of humanity), it is pretty clear it is a solid and real threat, considering the greatest researchers of Coral that ever existed resorted to burning all that they could to prevent it. It wasn't a decision taken completely out of fear, but a decision taken by specialists in the area who saw the catastrophic consequences of a Coral Collapse for humanity as a whole to the point they decided sacrificing Rubicon and the nearby planets (after exhausting every possible option for preventing the Collapse through the deployment of the Ibis series) was preferable over letting all of humanity bite the dust. Not to mention OVERSEER, who have been monitoring and studying Coral for half a century who literally states that Coral seeping into space would be catastrophic in nature. In short, the Coral Collapse is a tangible and REAL threat that needs to be dealt with, one way or another, less humanity as a whole irreversibly suffer from it. And in burning the Coral, the conflict for the Coral is brought to a definitive close, especially considering how we have a narrator explaining the future events, and how Rubicon was declared a dead planet FOREVER. LoR is an ending that doesn't bring a meaningful and permanent conclusion, either to the conflict over Coral or the coming Collapse. Despite everything you did, the Collapse is still imminent and the corporations will still come back sooner or later. Its an ending that is pretty much a void. You won a hollow victory and achieved nothing concrete. In ALLMIND ending, you force all of humanity or a big part of it into evolving into symbiotic machine-coral organisms, pretty much stripping the humanity and free will from every single person involved and bringing about an age of chaos. You literally start fighting immediately after the ending concludes. In FoR you deal with the threat of Coral by completely burning it and saving humanity as a whole (at the cost of the sacrifice of Rubicon), and the conflict of the corporations over it is brought to a definitive close with Rubicon being permanently "exiled". And despite the tragedy of the millions if not billions of human lives lost in the fires, the vast majority of humanity continues to live their life, which to me sounds way better than whatever ALLMIND ending shows us. It is the only ending that perfectly concludes it all and brings a close to the game. Of course, if the next AC game follows on the same timeline, either LoR or ALLMIND ending will be the chosen as the canon by the developers, as they are the only endings I can see that could spawn a new game from it. In LoR, it could follow the continuation of the conflict for Coral, but spanning other locations in the galaxy as Coral continues to multiply and infect other places; in ALLMIND ending, it has the whole new machine-coral symbiose organism stuff to flesh out, with a whole new conflict arising from it. I personally would love for the next AC game in the same timeline to consider the ALLMIND ending as canon, I'd love to see what FROM could bring to us with that "new world" that spawned from that ending.

[@wither5673]

Walter is very much the ''i cant form an attachment to them even though i love them'' trope and we love him for it.

[@jimboslam]

If you get beaten by CEL he yells "Not like this!!" Which really surprised me the first (out of countless times) I heard it. It sounds like he was more upset about 621 being done in than the mission being failed. Walter was a solid dude even his emblem is interesting. A arm with bands wrapped around it. Like he "pulls the strings" or hes holding on to something and something is holding on to him. The amount of character development with such little but efficient dialog is something i am absolutely amazed by.

[@mikeswem]

Fairly certain those are supposed to be leashes, with his pilots being his "hounds" and all.

[@beaglator]

@@mikeswembeat me to it by a few minutes lol. Yeah pretty sure that’s what it represents as well

[@jimboslam]

@@mikeswem obvious now that I look at it, cool nonetheless!

[@humha7613]

To me, it's a double meaning. It could be that, or that it's because he had gone so far into finding the city, and getting so close to just order 621 to destroy the Coral Convergence, thay close to his goal. Only to be stopped by the machine that made to prevent the disaster, his mission. He also had no reserve pilot

[@humha7613]

What caught me off guard is when he said "What kept you 621? You're an elite mercenary now. Try to act like one." After the cave mission I imagine he went to sit next to 621 and does a father cheering their children.

[@procrastinatingphoenix5396]

So I think what the story trailer and Walter's "did what it took to get us here" was attacking a PCA base to draw their attention somewhere that isn't Rubicon's orbit. Make a lot of noise to distract them. Could be wrong but that's what makes sense to me. I love how Walter take little digs at Snail, calling him "deputy commander" just to remind him Freud can pull rank at any time. I think Walter might be a bit of a Michigan fanboy (good choice). Like how some people have particular sports players they love to follow. He just sounds more normal/casual when taking to Michigan and seems genuinely disappointed when you take the job to kill him.

[@bingusmingus2937]

Slight crackpot theory: in one of the logs we find regarding Prof. Nagai he mentions sending the boy (Walter) to “friends on Jupiter” and Michigan is known to be a veteran of the Jupiter Wars. I’d like to think that Walter was cared for by Michigan who may have trained him to pilot an AC (maybe was a redgun for a time who knows)

[@boredomkiller99]

​@@bingusmingus2937I can see it. It would make sense since the two clearly have a good relationship to the point that the switching sides during the dam complex mission is treated way too casually

[@rapidrotation]

@@bingusmingus2937 I definitely think it's implied that they know each other. Walter doesn't seem remotely happy about the mission to assassinate Michigan, even as he lets us take it anyway.

[@PsiChaos2701]

I feel like it's a little implied Walter and Michigan have a friendly history. In the Alt Attack the Dam Complex, Michigan doesn't really seem as upset as one should be that the hired help backstabbed them, they banter with each other after the mission about fees, Michigan still sending jobs Walter's way after he just got burned by us, and Walter seems genuinely upset when Michigan is ultimately killed. Then again, if your choice is forced between Michigan and Snail, then sign my the f up for the Redguns, because f Snail

[@NikolaiMihailov1]

It's also slightly hinted at that at the end of Walter's mission he would have sent us to the Red Guns.

[@brynshannon6692]

Walter was without a shadow of a doubt one of my favourite characters in all of Armored Core. Ayre too, actually, because she's UNUSUALLY nice for an AC character. I still wish there was somehow an outcome where Walter, Ayre, Carla, and Raven could have reached an understanding and made it through together.

[@larrymunn5279]

Fiona Jarnefeldt comes to mind. I actually really like the story of that game just because of that hint of care she had. A romance is just the touch that kind of game needed and it was kept subtle and wasn't overused.

[@MrMementoOri]

Ayre always struck me as similar/replacement to the raven handler.

[@brynshannon6692]

@@MrMementoOri Like, SO much! When I first heard her voice, I was like "I swear I've heard your voice somewhere before..."

[@FizzieWebb]

@@larrymunn5279 Kasumi Sumika, May Greenfield, and Wynne D. Fanchon are all really nice characters in the time period 4/FA take place in as well. Heck, May's description outright says she's well liked by almost everyone she fights alongside because of her cheery disposition. Kasumi/Serene Haze acting as the operator/mentor to Strayed in FA, is generally caring and polite even reassuring them during the ORCA path, and Wynne, despite her facade of arrogance clearly ends up considering Strayed a friend by the end of the Collared path.

[@raptorskilltor4554]

@@MrMementoOriShe reminds me of the handler of the white glint of armor core 4A

[@VictorIV0310]

It’s truly a shame that Walter and Ayre weren’t able to interact with each other until the very last moment. Ayre could’ve at least reasoned with him that starting another Fire is not the way to go. How that discussion would play out, we’ll never know.

[@justasimplegamer129]

Only downside was that he didnt have the augmentation to see Ayre. If he did put abit of Augmentation on himself before 621. That might have a bit of change with the story once he starts interacting more once he has some coral to see.

[@dredgewalker]

There was no reasoning as he was brainwashed to fight 621 and when he got broke control it was already too late. But he was happy seeing you finally found a companion and friend. I'm sure he was died happily knowing 621 wasn't alone anymore and was making decisions based on what 621 wants.

[@NotASuspicousPerson]

8:30 I'd argue that that's actually his caring side coming out. Bit odd sounding sure, but the thing he makes sure to point out is that it is thanks to them, that they are able to get to where they are. Like he is grateful for their services. He could have just said that they died, or maybe even add that they did their jobs to sound a little nicer. So to explicitly mentioned how "they did what it took to get us here", sounds like he wants to make sure that everyone knows of their achievements.

[@mikek9491]

Carla's pause before changing the subject suggests she's aware that he's upset about the loss but is putting on a mask, so she gives him a moment and doesn't push or tease further.

[@Sweld549]

I always interpreted it as less cold or dismissive, and more just a grim acceptance of reality. Anyone working as or with a mercenary would obviously understand that any mission could be a merc's last. It makes sense that Walter would be prepared to accept that potential eventuality regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. It just comes with the territory.

[@gpheonix1]

Carla's tone when she corrected walter's interpretation of her question was pretty interesting. I think carla might somewhat resent walter if looked at it from a certain perspective. First, it was her tone response to his remark that 617 and the others did their job. When walter talks about you instead of himself, it almost sounds like she chastises him. Like, "you're not supposed to be like that, you've been a cold bastard for so long why change that now." @@mikek9491

[@valikylemunais9866]

I dont know if you know this, but the Arquebus reeducation is literally a horrifying experiment at trying to have an Ai pilot an Ac with the Brain of a human. Its insinuated through the lore logs that Walter in the ending is literally just a brain in the AC at that point. Thats the horrifying realization of how evil Arquebus really is.

[@Jaydee8652]

To be honest I thought that’s how most pilots worked, I’m sure we can’t get out and walk around.

[@azure4622]

​@@Jaydee8652 We can at least crawl judging by the escape mission, and being a brain in an AC is probably better than being a brain that is also brainwashed in an AC

[@exzyyd392]

@@Jaydee8652 There's in-game drawings of most of the pilots outside of their mechs and they all look pretty normal.

[@IronForce-ff2qx]

I really like the twist on the ending choices. Normally on Fromsoft games, the ‘basic’ endings are reached by following orders without question while the the ‘good’ endings are where you forge your own path. But in this game, getting the ‘basic’ ending is also your own choice rather than following orders without question.(Which is something Walter wants you to do)

[@TheAmazingCowpig]

The "basic" ending I'm pretty sure is Fires of Raven, which you pretty much get to by following orders, so... At least if you consider "fulfilling Walter's wish to complete his mission" as still "following orders".

[@GravitonLance]

@@TheAmazingCowpig you still choose, same could be said about doing what arye wants

[@Medi_Aevum]

I love the fact that in the coral ending when walter doesn't take out 621 and falls, Ayre shows genuine remorse and concern for him, as if she saw him as a misguided friend aswell

[@GreatNaturalStupidity]

Regarding Walter saying "Time to wake the dog up", I think it's a play on the phrase "let the sleeping dogs lie" - do not disturb or interfere with situation otherwise there will be trouble. Which is exactly what Walter plans to do: cause a lot of problems on Rubicon 3

[@kurdtcoben]

Now that's clever, didn't see it that way before but this is definitely my new canon now!

[@tristangarcia632]

Another thing for the last bit of the video, I like to think that Walter realizes 621 is just like him Walter realizes that 621, that we, found a friend worth fighting for worth making sacrifises for,

[@anlize3422]

The first ending I got was the Fires ending. Not by mistake though. First comes that I really didn't want to betray Carla at that point. After Walter's message and she coming to help us herself... I didn't really had it in me to turn back on her and on Walter's wishes. He really grew on me as a character during the later chapters of the game, and to be fair, his message at the end of the Fires ending really made it worth. Part of the reason I hate Snail is that we see what he did to Walter after we get to the coral. Even after all that crap, during the fight Walter is shown to really care about us and that is a game changer for me. While I couldn't agree with his mission, that doesn't stop me from liking his character. That being said, the All Mind route leaves a bad taste in my mouth about exactly that. Funny though that in that route Walter is certain we are still alive, that shows how much he really care.

[@LTDRay]

me too, I did not want to betray Carla....May be its because Ayre is not physical...

[@m.ubaidaadam]

Yeah same here Ayre is a good soul but I couldn’t turn my back on Walter. Also the allmind ending, I feel I was completely manipulated through out even the end was a continuation of all minds goal. Unlike the other endings it didn’t feel like I really had control. Also killing everyone to only be betrayed at the end really did it in for me.

[@liquidrufus]

At least he dies free, and not brainwashed.

[@azure4622]

​@@m.ubaidaadamthe allmind ending is honestly really cursed to me. On one hand I'm interested in the potential coral and humans will achive. Then on the other it feels as if allmind manipulates not only the player, but also ayre, as she seems a lot more open to the idea that conflict is the only source of progress and that release is the only option.

[@zihard1]

You guys can burn me. But the first ending for AC6, I choose Walter's wish. He such a good "dad" for me, and I decided to follow his desire. It made the ending for Ayre much more impactful (actually dealing emotional damage)

[@misspelled3677]

I did too... It was tough fighting ayre but I needed to fulfill that wish... For Walter

[@Drenix]

I did pick that toox seemed like a "bad" ending snd wanted to clesr it first, lest I grow even kore attached to the waifu in our heads and then it's harder to pick the Fires of Raven ending

[@Desyphur]

I actually felt like doing the Fires ending first made the other endings feel way better.

[@ChristopherKennedy-f7l]

I originally did the "bad ending" because I felt that Ayre was just manipulating me, and I didn't want to betray Walter. I think the whole simping for anime girl Ayre [or at least that's the image people portray] is just silly. She is kind and caring, but she's also a brain parasite, hellbent on on saving some energy virus that will wipe everyone else out.

[@MixedBerryTea]

Yeah, I did Fires of Raven > Liberator of Rubicon. It felt more thematically appropriate to go from honoring the ghosts of the past to searching for a new way to live.

[@TheKing-qz9wd]

His AC was so broken, his brain so mangled, and when he looks upon 621 and sees the friendship... FromSoft knows how to wring my tear ducts, man. Cuz normally I hate corny friendship things, but Hell, man.

[@404_BrainDidNotLoad]

I used to think siding with Walter was the better ending seeing as the Liberator ending has no solution to the Coral build up issue. But then it occurred to me, in the NG++ ending, you have to destroy Coral transports to ensure maximum Coral density. If we don’t do that, then there’s still Coral somewhere out there meaning we only delayed the inevitable instead of solving the problem.

[@alephkasai9384]

I'm assuming that ALLMIND destroys them somehow. But then again Kate is never mentioned at all in the other routes

[@404_BrainDidNotLoad]

@@alephkasai9384 Kate, or more specifically the AC Kate uses, exists only thanks to 621’s assistance in the integration program. I think you may not be able to do the ALLMIND ending if you don’t do a certain number of those. Also, Kate is only able to destroy 5 transports when she assists you in the mission meaning she may not have been able to stop them before they left Rubicon.

[@rapidrotation]

@@404_BrainDidNotLoad I don't know exactly what determines if you can reach Alea Iacta Est (if it's just the two prior endings or if you have to play specific alternate missions too) but it definitely isn't based on the Arena. Someone played clear up to the final mission of NG++ without *any* OS tuning or Arena rank, and there's specific dialogue from ALLMIND for doing so. Amusingly, there's also a much more surprised one for doing so *without playing the training missions*.

[@404_BrainDidNotLoad]

@@rapidrotation Hmm, I just rewatched one of those videos. It seems like ALLMIND is still able to develop Kate’s AC but it still takes time, long after the Fires of Raven ending assuming NG+ time loops are canon. To get the Alea lacta Est ending, you just need to be on NG++ you can do the same ending twice and play the exact same missions and you’ll still unlock it.

[@404_BrainDidNotLoad]

“Augmented human C4-621 - Raven. Is this correct? You… never achieved certification until now? But how did you…? What were you thinking?! This is all very confusing… But thank you for participating.”

[@echo1180]

I think it also helps that in the end Walter realizes his mission is doomed. The Xylem is falling from space. So in his mind he most likely is thinking “why would I kill another friend for a mission that’s already failed”.

[@ZyoAISim]

If Walter is able to eliminate 621, there is a chance that he alone will survive. He would then have to start from the beginning again and go for the coral incineration! ... But there will be nothing the old man can do now that he has lost everything...

[@bandit3019]

@@ZyoAISimno chance he survives regardless, his AC shuts down before he gets absorbed by the flames

[@kyuboxincubox7556]

i like to think that Walter closes himself off emotionally because its his way of dealing with the guilt over his other hounds dying. Why bother getting close to any of them if they're going to die in the next mission? But 621 is different, they keep coming back again and again. Walter starts to have faith that 621 will make it back alive after each mission and I think that trust lets him open up little by little. Hell, ALLMIND announces your death in NG+++ and Walter doesn't believe it for a second. He has full faith that you're alive and kicking, because you always make it back alive.

[@jacopobortoletto5184]

I always thought that by "Look at you 621... you found a friend" Walter meant Ayre, a friend to fight for like he did with his deceased comrades but after hearing your interpretation it also makes sense that Walter himself became friend with his hound... Damn the feels in this game are too much man

[@DarkH-gv3hc]

Well I finished the game today, and as a french myself, Walter says "Regardes toi 621... Tu as trouvé une amie", which means litterally the same thing he says in the english version. "ami" means in english friend, and when you add a "e" at the end of the word, it is to design a female friend. So he was definitelly talking about Ayre. Though this could just be a translation error.

[@rayn6730]

It was super cool that each play through and even after you beat new game ++ he is quite friendly. He opens new game +++ with: “You have a lot of experience, shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle”

[@RedMoonLoop]

You touched up on this briefly, but walter is written to be father like. I think if we examine the narrative displayed combined with the backstory of walter being the young son of the scientist that started this chain of events, we can see that at least one of themes explored is the passing of generational trauma. In walters death scene we see him realize he doesnt have to push his own trauma onto his adopted "son" and that 621 is not just an extension of him but his own person with his own goals and his own friends.

[@teo2216]

5:49 Idk if you know this but handler Walter didn’t really meet 621, he bought him off of the black market so 621 didn’t really have a choice.

[@CallofWar5]

Where did it say this? I don't recall that tidbit of 621 lore

[@teo2216]

@@CallofWar5 I can’t tell you exactly we’re I got that from because I have being watching too much armored core too many videos to look

[@VictorIV0310]

@@CallofWar5In the Story Trailer where Walter meets a guy keeping 621 in what appears to be cold storage after the three hounds 617, 618 and 620 were eliminated. The seller even sounds relieved that Walter’s clearing up his inventory.

[@tyrantwrld8099]

​​@@VictorIV0310 And 619 there was four on the mission

[@robertmcpherson138]

His dialog during the Coral Release ending is rather interesting too. He knows 621 is still alive, and he knows that 621 has chosen to side against them... and he knows that after everything 621 has accomplished, that means they're basically doomed to fail. ALLMIND was an already almost unassailable enemy, but with 621 on their side ALLMIND was an unstoppable force.

[@treyatkinson7564]

I felt that the dialogue from liberator final fight was walter's broken minds recalling older phrases, and a little of genuine surprise and speech. Seeing Ayre, the first and last things he says are original. The rest, "take the credits, undo the surgery", "that's it for this mission, return to base." Stuff an augment-addled mind might recall. They more than likely put him through an older procedure to control him better. And yet, his last act is not to fire at 621

[@larrymunn5279]

Was the first thing I picked up on. I hadn't realized Arquebus had grabbed him when they got his hound I thought he just went missing probably to prep some nasty failsafe for his plan, having just lost his primary. So when he popped back up at the very end I thought "Where have you been hiding that thing and since when were you a pilot?" But then as his ravings continued I connected the dots. They were pretty explicit. And he clearly was not really there. So when he had his nice little lucid moment at the end there it made me smile.

[@treyatkinson7564]

@@larrymunn5279 i smiled, and i also teared up a bit. Someone who was with you since the beginning, his mind and body probably on the brink of fully shattering, and he let's us go through with our own path. Such a great moment

[@Chromevod]

Well well, this is certainly a character I was waiting to hear more opinions on.

[@SirBinding]

Out of all the profile pictures I was expecting to see under an AC video, this isn't one of them

[@cobaltblue73]

After watching this I realized that Walter is essentially a "Tsundere" character... Taken from Wikipedia: "Tsundere is a Japanese term for a character development process that depicts a character with an initially harsh personality who gradually reveals a warmer, friendlier side over time."

[@HasekuraIsuna]

tsun tsun ojisan

[@alexpaul9085]

huh. well thats disturbing :')

[@Pimpnocchio]

This game is the first I’ve played that feels like it explores the tragedy of the silent protagonist. There are so many people that are so close to the right answer, the answer you have, the answer you can never share with anyone except the waifu in your head.

[@DrBreezeAir]

Walter is by far my favorite character in all Fromsoft games. And I've played a lot of them.

[@fatalvenomX]

One thing I wanna add is I don’t think it’s just that you earned his respect but that you made him comfortable with the fact you weren’t going to just disappear so easily. You were a desperate attempt to Walter so he was especially cold in the beginning, trying to keep himself from being attached to someone whom was likely gonna die out there. Having proved you’re a survivor that barrier begins to fall and he begins letting himself genuinely care for you. If you were truly nothing to him even in the beginning he wouldn’t have cared so much for even those who came before you.

[@HealthyMaxwellRoth]

I don't have enough words to describe how deep and how hard the final moments of this man had touched me. (and that's why I'm about to use loads of words I suppose?) Many moments in gaming made me go emotional (looking at you, metric ton of bittersweetness in Cyberpunk endings), but Walter genuinely made me cry ON A MECH GAME. This fight was phenomenal. The confirmation that Walter genuinely cares for 621. His consciousness fading away from the coral and arquabus torture (and the countless time, efforts and sacrifices he has made for his mission). Fighting on a collapsing ship while it descends through the fucking atmosphere. The incredible work from the writers and the voice actor. Every single line is meaningful, emotional, impactful, poetic or all at the same time. And of course the fucking music. Which is magnificent on its own, but imo it also capitalizes on the fact that players didn't hear this melody since the first trailers. And some may wonder when they'll hear it in game. Then, B O O M. Bonus: The fact that he is so thorough even in madness that he fights 621 EVEN IF HIS PLAN IS ALREADY RUINED. All of this has no point and yet Walter fights against coral's expansion until the moment he realises Ayre is a friend to 621. He was human, flawed, caring, complex, tormented, dedicated, tired, and in the last moment, surprised and happy for 622. I cried on my keyboard during that fight and I have no shame at all.

[@hyperN1337]

The thing with the combat against Walter during the second ending is that by that point his mission *has* already failed. I wouldn't necessarily call him lowering his weapon as abandoning the mission at that point, and more so him breaking through the corporate brainwashing to resign himself and leave 621 to his fate, after all, even if he *did* kill 621 then and there, its not like he could stop the Xylem from falling out of space, he had no fight left to fight, no life left to live.

[@coryhanks5286]

I see that Emet Selch reference

[@russian_knight]

This games endings are so great. They're all extremely morally gray and also they require you to do horrible things to reach a goal. For instance , i think Siding with Walter is the better ending, but there's a lot of compelling arguments for the other side. What a phenomenal game

[@SirBinding]

My argument is simple You get to kill Snail in the Liberator of Rubicon

[@thecyanpanda241]

Both? There is a third ending too

[@JackdotC]

You commit galactic genocide if you side with Walter?! Did you watch the cut scene? You literally kill millions, maybe billions of people, not even including the coral consciousness. If you side with Walter you are 100% the bad guy, the game even calls you a monster

[@Arkonoid404]

​@@JackdotCThe third ending is the one where you commit universal genocide. LoR is the Feel-good ending, but you've likely made a huge mistake. Siding with Walter maintains the status quo, but saves the most lives in the end. Coral isn't going to stop reproducing and spreading once it reaches space, and there WILL be an event powerful enough to set it off at some point. It's best to burn it now while it's contained to Rubicon, instead of later where it burns untold billions. It's like lighting a match in a room with an infinite gas leak. You can burn it now and lose your kitchen, or burn it later accidentally when someone lights a candle and lose your whole house. Or wait even longer until it spreads over the whole earth and just ignite everything.

[@thomashowe1583]

​@Arkonoid404 Fascinating ethical question that you've brought up--is it better to destroy something if it's potentially helpful and also potentially hazardous? On one hand, on par with the sun's nuclear Fusion as an efficient energy source, and can integrate with biomass. On the other, besides the KaBoom! effect that you stated, we've seen early augmenting 'carnival of horrors', though that might be more due to human error than Coral side effects.

[@notimportant768]

I will note that walter also gives you a bonus for defeating balteus, a gift from him specifically.

[@BlazingGlaceon]

I know it's a video game, and thus you, the player, will always come out on top. With enough struggle and persistence, you, as 621, will always conquer whatever Rubicon throws at you. That said, I still find it incredibly fascinating (and kind of hilarious, because my sense of humor is messed up) that before 621 was recruited, their predecessors worked as a squad; Walter had a whole group of augmented mercs working under him, but they all got annihilated despite their teamwork. 621 on the other hand, rarely ever gets help throughout the game (and when they do, it's usually from ya boi Rusty); they tackle damn near everything by themselves. There's a mission in NG+, an alternate fight with the original Raven and their Nightfall AC, where first you have to fight two other pilots 1v2, and then he comes in to back them up. If you're quick, you can beat them both before he even shows up, and then it's basically the same as the original Nightfall fight except you've been worn down a bit. If you take too long, he arrives and now it's a 1v3. Either way, you have to fight three highly-skilled, incredibly dangerous AC pilots all in a row, by yourself, and it's not the first or the last time you have to do so in the NG+ playthroughs. 621 accomplishes so frickin' much by themselves, that it's no wonder Walter is so quick to jump to their defense any time these incompetent corps don't show them the respect they rightfully deserve. I know this is an essay about Walter but man, I just can't but gush about how badass 621 is, despite their situation and despite the whole universe working against them. Again, Armored Core is a power-fantasy series about slaughtering droves of enemies in your huge, cool-ass mech, and you as the player are always going to come out on top in the end. But it's still really fun to think about, in my opinion. Also, Walter is awesome. Many handlers in the series are simply using their mercs as tools, means to an end, and almost always betray them in the end. Walter isn't like that, and it's refreshing.

[@kasuraga]

621's reputation really shows when you take on eliminating Michigan's team. Even as you're trashing them, ripping them to pieces, Michigan is doing nothing but speaking highly of your accomplishments. You're a force to be reckoned with, not to be underestimated. You're the wall climber, and he won't let anyone forget that.

[@thecyanpanda241]

621 is worth 2000 Albanys, never forget that

[@VictorIV0310]

@@thecyanpanda241Shut your stinkhole and start shooting!

[@DocTock9]

The most heartbreaking part of the LoR ending is that it's too late for Walter anyway - the Xylem's driveblocks and generators are destroyed, it can't reach the Convergence anyway. He loses everything, his mission, his friends, his Hounds, his body, even his mind, before being sent on what is clearly a suicide mission to wipe his last legacy off the planet. It's no wonder he can fight through the programming - legacy and 621 are both important to him, and now they're the same thing. I think he's, in part, so happy you have a friend because it means you're not alone. You're not in his position, having lost everything for a pointless mission. He's done something that has worked out, even if it isn't what he wanted. He's not just proud of you, but also himself. And he deserves that, in his last moments.

[@KXIIILiquidKorvid]

Walter was the sole character aside from Ayre that tore my loyalty in my first playthroughs. As fun as characters like Rusty and Carla are, they didn't reach the absolute heights the two most ethically opposed yet similar characters to me. Equally important to me as Walter accepting Ayre and choosing to let sleeping ghosts lie in the liberator ending, is Ayre's expressed concern for Walter as well. She calls out to him in out battle with him, sounds legitimately heartbroken when we have to leave him behind. Heck she even shows her respect for him in the fires ending. Our decision hurys her deeply, but she also acknowledges how much Walter meant to us. Armored Core 6 knocked it out of the park with tragic relatable characters, in a perfect ending we could save them all.

[@argokarrus2731]

I think it's wrong to assume Walter doesn't or never did care about 621 and the rest. In fact I believe that Walter cares deeply about all of the old gen augmentees he takes under his wing. If you notice especially during the fight against Sulla when Sulla mentions the others, Walter absolutely seems to feel a lot of guilt when he talks about the other Augmented Humans. I think Walter always cared for 621 but never wanted to show it at all because he feared feeling and being defeated after his last gambit could go south.

[@Nostroman_Praetor]

I knew from the start Walter cared a lot more then people thought he did. His actions and oppertunities greatly controdict his coldness. He gives you the choice of your missions, he got you to Rubicon and gives you every bit of the earnings from every mission. He hasn't just been using you and it shows.

[@TKM20XX]

To add to that he even compensates you if things don't turn out as planned!

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

In a lot of ways the AC games have consistently been the best written by FromSoft because they're committing to the premise and the promise of the mech genre. At least since the earliest "Real Robot" mecha anime with stuff like VOTOMs and the early Gundam shows (basically the first few Universal Century shows by Tomino), they always had a dynamic where the more traditionally heroic characters (like Amuro Ray) gave way to the far more interesting conflicted characters (like Char Aznable). Where ambiguity in motivation and the questioning of values by the characters added depth to premises that would otherwise be rote spectacle meant to sell toys. The overall concept has carried over to their other works too, but it really thrives in its native environment.

[@kasuraga]

You're constantly in this moral grey area, where no choice is a "good" choice but at the same time no choice is blatantly a "bad" choice. They all have their logical reasons, and it's up to you to decide what is morally right at a personal level. It's not black and white. I love it.

[@ShuToshio]

I like how Ayre was introduced to the player through Balteus theme which is aptly named "Contact With You".

[@isn0t42]

"Look at you, 621... You found a friend."

[@SG-wj2qj]

“You earned…all..the credits, undo the surgery…be normal again.”

[@bombomos]

When i first heard walter, i didnt give a single care. But by the end of my first run he became one of my favorite characters. By the end of the 3rd, he became my favorite character. Dude is a champ. Going against all human instinct to protect it from becoming a stagnant coral and from a galactic level fires event happening. Walter is the only character who was truely right.

[@hyndenburg2619]

During my first playthrough of the game, I didn't trust Ayre. Though she seemed caring and concerned with 621's wellbeing, it seemed like it was always backed up with a "I'll support you if you support me and the Coral", which her entire vibe just didn't sit well with me. Walter, on the other hand, was pushing for your respect among the corporation leaders and in time would say that the coming choices were not his to make, but ours. That's what really made me root for Walter. I remember when Walter was telling Snail and Michigan to treat 621 right and I remember getting fired up like "Yeah, that's my guy right there! You tell them, Walter!". So, naturally, I did the Fires of Raven ending for my first go. During the LoR ending, discovering the final fight was against Walter and seeing his inner turmoil as he fought us really stuck with me. Even when faced with the complete failure of his goal, telling himself he had to keep fighting for his lost allies and stop the coral.. even augmented as he was.. what could he really do to accomplish his goal with the Xylem careening into the ocean? Could Walter really strike down 621 and try anyway? The fact was that he couldn't. He spent so much time building us up that he couldn't bring himself to willingly tear us down in the end. 621 chose life, uncertain of the future as it was.. and so did Walter. As the description states: "Walter is a character who seeks death, but ultimately chose life".

[@cosmicmelon9305]

What i expected: "Get in the AC you dog, or else." What I got: "621... Find your...Freedom..."

[@zaystro2915]

Seriously loving these deep dives into the AC6 lore. Even after 3 play throughs I’m still learning so much about the story and the layers behind the characters. Even though we never really see them these are ironically some of the best written Fromsoft characters ever.

[@BigPanda096]

The reason our AC stock name is Loader 4 is because 617, 617 and 620 had Loader 1 through 3, you can even see they are the same exact set ups in the trailer as our starting AC, except for the one having a left shoulder mounted pulse shield. Loved that little detail.

[@BloodyArchangelus]

4 is death btw xD

[@CT--fp4se]

Was Handler Walter's best doggo my first run and after seeing all the endings it's still my favorite

[@laary7589]

Best statement

[@alargefarva4274]

“Not like this…” Heard him say that a few too many times

[@Drew_621]

Thanks for this! Loving your AC6 content currently.

[@chucheeness7817]

It's a shame Sulla only had one engagement with the player and Walter. I figured he could be a reoccuring antagonist like Iguazu since he had a history with Walter

[@laary7589]

He kind of has extra lore in the third playthrough tho

[@zorain2354]

Walter and Chief from ACV are my favourite characters from AC series. Walter is cold but genuinely cares about you. Chief is our enemies and crazy AI but he's the one who believed in human potential .

[@Sen.say.]

Just realized that evolution can be explained by the line " Once something is alive it doesnt die easy"

[@burghleyimeanberdly6513]

I always read Walter's lines at the start of his fight not as him disregarding Arquebus' wishes for his friends', but as him having lost the ability to distinguish them

[@tribacioustee2846]

I actually died more against Walter than the other final bosses because it was just so much more emotional, I didn't realise I wasn't focusing on the fight. "You found a friend" will forever fuck me up.

[@glumlum1851]

I started liking Walter at the end of chapter 1, where he gave a clear order to Raven which is to "rest up" Ironically, the player did not do that, but instead took a job from Balaam and went on to singlehandedly massacre the RAD who are unknown to us at that time, are supposed to be our allies. And when Walter got to know that, he didn't even seem upset. He just told us to choose our jobs wisely on Rubicon. It only really stuck me on the 2nd play through and onwards on how understanding he is. He understood that we can make our own choices and he didn't blame us for unknowingly killing our allies, and yet continue to speak highly of us

[@nathanielsearle9822]

I kind of get the feeling that whatever the reeducation involved, it wasn’t your typical augmentation. If he is augmented, he probably put himself through a later gen augmentation sometime in the past or is simply a very skilled non-augmented pilot as in the ALLMIND ending, in which he is not re-educated, ALLMIND does note that Walter is actually giving her a bit of trouble lmao

[@abzhz101handle9]

Honestly, was I the only one who thought Walter let out a bit of pain in his first talk with Carla? Like the line "Their Jobs." Just has so much emphasis and bite to it that says, "I don't want to talk about it" that I think he is showing he does care... Even if he doesn't think he can afford to.

[@TheAmazingCowpig]

Walter's written so effectively that I ended up choosing Fires of Raven as my first playthrough ending because I actually ended up caring more for the guy than Ayre somehow. The whole Coral mass-consciousness thing just didn't stick to me at that point the same way as a guy who felt like he was sending us on a mission to try to right wrongs of the past did. I mean, yeah, after more playthroughs, it's easy to see that that mission is out of fear and misunderstanding of what Coral is, but still. So... yeah.

[@DIMOHA25]

Except there is no misunderstanding. Coral is an inevitable extinction event unless burned.

[@benjaminparent4115]

@@DIMOHA25 Not exactly all we know is that if Coral is left unchecked within a vaccum it will grow and mutate exponentially, Ayre is actually called a mutation throughout the game by allmind and a data log you can found in the attack the watchpoint mission mention a wave mutation being discovered, it is also during that mission that you make contact with Ayre. It seems that what the institute fear is the random and spontaneous generation of coral being like Ayre. They don't actually fear that the coral will burn the universe. They fear the disruption that random spontanous being that can hack nearly everything can cause throughout human society. they don't talk about extinction but collapse. And frankly speaking from what I could gather about allmind plan I think the institute was right we should burn it all.

[@DIMOHA25]

@@benjaminparent4115 that's not exactly my reasoning behind it, but hey, I won't argue as long as in the end you're also saying fuck coral, all my homies hate coral lol.

[@fusioncell7669]

​@@benjaminparent4115 I don't believe that the Institute was even aware that the mutations are sapient, just that they're happening at a growing rate and have made assumptions about just how big of a threat they really are.

[@edenwarr9670]

@@DIMOHA25 And where is your evidence?

[@KhezuOnYourScreen]

I think Walter changing 621's nickname from "dog" to "hound" is also a sign that he's starting to care because hound just sounds way more respectable than dog.

[@spadeofpain24]

Igazu was the realization of Oscar of Astora's antagonistic potential. Handler Walter is the realization of every instigator, every single Machiavellian chess master that plagued the world for a greater good, accepting that the next generation deserve to make their own choices, and stepping away from the game when it is hardest to.

[@shadowmoses7431]

I feel the subtext behind Walter's mission or story ark was to right the wrongs of his father. As you noted his previous hounds were all gen 4s. Adding to the fact he witnessed what his father had created must have left him feeling guilty for 621's plight. When both Walter and we are captured my sense of loss grew with every mission I did without his presence, being unable to communicate with him was unsettling. (Though I never really trusted Ayre) Having to fight Walter at the end was heartbreaking. His dialogue showed he really cared about his hounds. No matter how he came across. My first ever AC game. What a story what a game. I await patiently for the dlc. Great content.

[@detectivecolonel874]

621 isn't incapable of speech. After Attack the Watchpoint, Walter says "You said you were hearing voices in your head?" This shows us that 621 can speak, but isn't ever shown to speak, presumably so the player can project onto them more easily.

[@thingofportals]

These are the videos people expected to see Vidya make but he just never did. Great work man. Every single one I’ve had on while I work or when I’m out riding. Hope we see more in the future too.

[@madmalkavian3857]

Try armoredcorelore. They're basically the armored core equivalent.

[@Rulu_23]

i hope you do realize vaati is always taking his time to produce top quality videos because he has a whole group of people working for him. just wait vaati is cooking something.

[@CharlieFillmore]

I guess dude'busy S-ranking AC6

[@thingofportals]

@@Rulu_23”you do realize” chill nerd. I’m not throwing shade at that tourist by saying that.

[@thingofportals]

@@CharlieFillmoretook him long enough I guess

[@andrewrogers3067]

29:30 This IS the best written Fromsoft game, and I don't think there's much competition beyond Elden Ring and even that has writing that pales in comparison to the best this game offered.

[@HunterForHire422]

I can't remember the last time a fromsoft character made me care since bloodborne. But God does AC6 make me feel so much

[@MothFable]

Walter started off as someone I didn’t like. Over time he grew on me quite a lot. He manages to sound like he both does and doesn’t care at the same time, like when he calls me a hound and tells people to respect me in the same breath. How inspite of his time and some words he uses he still comes off as caring. It’s honestly fucking incredible character writing. It meant so much to me, what walter does at the end of the liberator ending. I kept a part of the armor he used for that fight as a way to remember him, along with ayre and rusty. Sadly I couldn’t take the head piece from the final phase of the true ending boss. Sucks you can’t get that.

[@wobblywally-0]

Walters my fav fight in the game, not because he's the most challenging, not because he looks rad with insane weaponry. Because you can feel the desperation between walter and ayre stuck in a situation neither of them can control, both of them slaves to other peoples and other entities dreams. The voice acting during this fight, perfectly conveys the desperation of the situation that they both want to achieve their own goal but they dont want to step on 621 to do it.

[@Sloster]

Ayre's temptation is temporary. Walter's loyalty and trust are eternal. GLORY TO WALTER'S HOUNDS!

[@matutinojoaquinable]

FEED THE FIRE LET THE LAST CINDERS BURN

[@Corusame]

I wanted to play AC6 because I'm a huge mecha fan and played previous AC games, it wouldn't have even bothered me much if there wasn't any story to speak of. Instead not only did I experience fantastic gameplay but I became emotionally invested in the characters and story much more than I ever expected to. This game is truly special to me in so many ways.

[@williamumbranox7217]

Morally I stand with Walter. But beyond that he was a good boss. Between all the characters in this game, I honestly feel like this is the story we could have gotten from SMT nocturne. I was blown away that I had to kill my friends because of philosophical differences in that game. Such a refreshing and novel take that I hadn't experienced before. I had to take a day off when ayre begged me to betray Walter, begged me not to kill her family. I couldn't decide. In a game with no human faces they managed to humanize every major enemy I fought. Ugh such a good game. Thank God they didn't give us a bullshit best of both worlds ending.

[@jackl7778]

walter only wanted to kill the coral because he didnt understand that the coral was a living sentient alien species. ayre wanted coral symbiosis so that other humans could understand that the coral was a living entity which was on par with humans on a sentience scale. ayre wanted her species to stop being exploited, enslaved and mass genocided by humans. walter just wanted you to kill, ayre wanted you to save her species. also walter fucking killed rusty

[@BrayH-hz5db]

@@jackl7778you say that like Walter wasn’t being mind controlled when he killed rusty

[@beaglator]

Same dude, same... I didn't take a full day off, but I sure did have to sit there and ponder for a while. Couldn't make up my mind. Ultimately decided to finish the fight for Walter. IDK, it just felt like my duty at that point y'know?

[@moriyoukai2076]

@@BrayH-hz5db This, people always missed the fact that at that point Walter is already "re-educated" by Arquebus

[@benjaminparent4115]

@@jackl7778 In my opinion walter and the institute knew full well about the coral "sentience". They even have a specific name for it is a C pulse wave mutation, so yeah they actually make a distinction between coral and "coral being". Also the institute came up with the idea of symbiosis. This is revealed in thumb dolmayan's writing 4. Personally my theory is that coral isn't sentient, it is a self replicating super computer than can run sentient being, and interface with both biological being and machine alike. Being like ayre aren't the coral they are mutation brought by the coral growth and maybe even the coral exposure to human being. The institute feared coral for that very reasons, they feared coral because of what could uncontrollably appear within it. A super computer like that spread through the universe could lead the rise to countless rogue being that could wreck havoc on human world. The spread could even lead to the creation of god like entities capable of incredible feat. I personally even suspect this was allmind goals, he had the capacity of controlling coral to the point of turning it blue, and when iguazu was left in control he could completely overpower C-weapons and Ayre through sheer force of will. Allmind also had the capacity to assimilate people, and his is literally named Allmind. What if his goal was to assimilate every human on the universe be literally ALL MINDS, and become a sort of godlike hive mind.

[@Warpded]

I absolutely love the fact you're using Metroid ambience for this. Feels rather appropriate

[@TheAshenTarnishedHunter]

The video ive been waiting for since my first playthrough

[@liquidrufus]

When you die in certain battles Walter's facade slips and you can tell 621 dying hurts him. Also "Show my hound some respect."

[@FortressWolf97]

Walter definitely reminds me of Guts from Berserk. He pretends he doesn’t care, but only because it hurts to.

[@TifffanyTaylor]

Dude im on like ng+4 & i still cant stop playing this game. Fromsoft just doesn't miss

[@mercenarygundam1487]

Can't wait for Ayre analysis

[@yoriavila4308]

*"There's a lady in my head who calls me studmuffin."*

[@mercenarygundam1487]

@@yoriavila4308 Okay Max0r

[@osakanone]

Worst character in the game. Her naivete is completely fake: she's a chronic manipulator, and completely robs us of our agency, forcing coral release upon us without asking us. We could have had peace, and that's... Not what she wanted. She wanted humans to become worker bees to spread coral, to become a race of 4th gen augments enslaved to ACs, burning the stars. I hate Ayre. If you think of her as a representation of waifuism, or AI, or coral as capitalism, this is FROM saying "oh by the way, we don't think people will resist this" and then performing the experiment of that thesis on the audience. The fact so many people love Ayre is proof we're doomed regardless of which interpretation of the metaphor you read into it.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Can't wait to Anal-ise Ayre

[@inanefabas4402]

​@@yoriavila4308NG++SPOILERS "Please leave me alone"- Iguana man, probably

[@avryduckworth5213]

It was heartbreaking hearing his dialogue during his final fight 😢

[@GankScythe]

I followed boss man Walter's orders on the first play through. didnt regret it. ngl fighting ayre for that story's last mission was so fucking hard, but felt so good to finally beat. made the rest of the game feel like it was on easy mode.

[@Ikcatcher]

I really want to bring up the implication that Walter and Michigan being somewhat friendly with each other is probably because Michigan fought in the Jupiter War while it’s implied Walter was sent to the Jupiter Colonies by Professor Nagai before the Fires of Ibis

[@elfireii328]

Funnily enough, his opening line instantly made me like Walter because of maxxor. The line, "wake the dog up" is said line for line.

[@josephpiscitelli8053]

For some reason I keep doing the metal gear solid and keep associating each character with an animal. Ayre is a chickadee, Carla is a spider, Michigan is an eagle, snail is well a snail, iguazu is an iguana, and Walter to me is a crow. I know this makes absolute no sense and is stupid but it keeps happening to me

[@rishikoemai7655]

hmm interesting

[@Verminator4]

I’ve got to have another poindexter moment about 80s mecha anime again. The concept of augmented pilots is one of the elements of AC that’s been prominent since the beginning of the series, and arguably originates in Armored Trooprr Votoms, which was a huge influence on AC, but I actually think a more pertinent example is the example of cyber-newtypes from the Gundam series, and more specifically Zeta Gundam. In Zeta Gundam the protagonist Kamille has a short and I’ll-fated romantic relationship with a woman called Four Murasame, who is a cyber-Newtype, an artificially enhanced mobile suit pilot very similar to augmented humans in AC6. Four’s plot arc is one of the most memorable plot arcs in the series and it’s been referenced many times across different kinds of mecha media - there was a character who was a very direct reference to her in the Witch From Mercury, the most recent Gundam series, for instance. I think the fact that 621 is of the 4th gen is a direct reference to this, especially when you consider how much of what the game says about 4th gen augmented humans lines up with Four’s story - what made her so tragic was how she was kind and gentle normally but was tormented and changed drastically in personality, becoming cruel and violent when piloting the Psyco Gundam that her augments were meant for - in AC6 4th gen pilots are noted as being emotionally unstable (I also think this might account for why Iguazu is the way he is.) Most pertinently for this video, Four wasn’t her real name, just a number. It’s also a number with bad implications- in Japan it’s said in much the same way as the Japanese word for death, so the number’s considered unlucky or I’ll- fated in much the same way the number 13 is in the West. One of the worst side effects of cyber-newtype augmentation was the loss of memory and identity, with Four being tormented by the loss of her true identity and craved to get it back. I strongly suspect that 621 might be the same. As such, I don’t see Walter referring to 621 by number instead of name as a mark of disrespect at all - he might have no better name to call you. He knows that Raven isn’t your true identity, unlike Ayre who doesn’t find this out until later.

[@Dullsonic3]

Me trying not to make a breaking bad reference upon hearing his name

[@jeremybrown9611]

😂😂

[@Delta5x7]

"Put your dick away Waltuh"

[@Sir-Pleiades]

Waltuh, put your Pile Bunker away Waltuh

[@IOverlord]

Science!

[@alphawolf4714]

Armored Core: Six Round Revolver (As an Armored Core Vet I ALWAYS ASSUME there is a part 2 and maybe 3) Should come from Liberator of Rubicon story branch. And you meet V.IV Rusty and the son/daughter of Carla and Walter. Just to sink in the weight of the unspoken story, let's have Ayre realize the weight of her recommendations to 621. Dark, deep, and Beautiful, just like Silent Line, For Answer, and Last Raven.

[@topengbuaya2913]

R U really implying that Walter is BANGIN' his own foster mother? 🙂

[@Scritscratch]

God I love that you and I both really like the tank build with double guns. I can’t get enough of that girthy AC. Using the charge attack and fists to desperately fight once you’ve run out of ammo is just satisfying. Thanks for another great video!

[@kaosukun02]

I was expecting a manipulative and greedy bastard that doesn't care about the feeling and wellbeing of 621 But instead 621 got a father.