Water walking boots
[        water walking boots | |
|---|---|
| Appearance | random |
| Slot | boots |
| AC | 1 |
| Special | |
| Base price | 50 zm |
| Weight | 20 |
| Material | leather |
Water walking boots are a pair of magical boots that appear in NetHack. When worn, they provide 1 AC and allow the wearer to walk on water; they can also be used to cross lava, but must be fireproofed first, as trying with non-fireproof boots will destroy them and probably plunge you into the lava. Water walking boots have no impact on a steed's ability to cross water.
Generation
A guaranteed pair of water walking boots is found within one of the niches on the middle level of Vlad's Tower.
Strategy
Water walking lets you cross moats and pools safely, similar to levitation sources such as the ring or boots. however, water walking boots will not protect you against drowning attacks, nor will they protect you or your inventory against the fire damage from crossing lava. It also cannot be used to traverse the Plane of Water.
While the ring of levitation is easier to manage and generally preferred, water walking boots are still a more manageable method of crossing water compared to levitation boots - they do not cause you to break contact with the ground, so you can freely pick up items on land and walk down stairs without removing anything. If planning to cross over lava, be sure to have fire resistance to avoid sustaining damage, and fireproof as many other vulnerable items in your inventory as you can.
Water walking also allows for unlimited #diping scrolls and spellbooks into water tiles to blank them, or diluting potions for water production - while falling into water is normally faster, it is also reliant on your Luck. Having access to water walking can also save time and even wishes in these cases, as you may be able to put off obtaining a source of sustained levitation until the Elemental Planes. Be especially careful around foocubi and nymphs while on top of water or lava!
The Castle, Juiblex's Swamp and Medusa's Island are common levels where these boots are used, as well as the Quest for certain roles (e.g., the Healer quest). Some players keep them on routinely to reduce water-crossing hassles, particularly from forgetting to use levitation or else moving off dry land due to typos.
Players crafting ascension kits tend to forego these boots in favor of speed boots and jumping boots, which are typically supplemented with a ring or potions of levitation; for those who do not have either of the latter boots and do not want to use a wish on, them water walking boots are an excellent choice. If you have not found any of these boots by the time you reach the Castle, a pair of unenchanted high boots or elven boots can suffice until you reach the middle of Vlad's Tower or find another preferable pair.
Identification
Water walking boots are non-trivial to identify, as they don't display a message when worn and have no obvious effects, unlike speed boots and jumping boots; price identification is one of the more reliable methods, as it poses no risk to your inventory.
If you cannot price-ID, the simplest way to test boots for water walking is to remove and drop any scrolls, spellbooks, potions, and rustable equipment first (or place it into an oilskin sack), then step into a water tile - unless your encumbrance is high, you will safely climb back out if the boots are not water walking. A safer and more difficult option is to use teleport control, since water squares will be considered "safe" if you teleport onto a water tile while wearing water walking boots, you can teleport onto a water tile and stand safely there; if not, you will be teleported elsewhere in the level at random.
History
Water walking boots first appear in NetHack 3.0.0.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the presence of the create pool monster spell makes it vital that some players keep a means of staying above water on hand at all times, particularly on the ascension run. Water walking boots are among the more ideal options for ascension kits as a result.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, the Plane of Water is changed so that the "floor" of the air bubbles are also considered water as well, making it possible (and likely a good idea) to wear water walking boots there.
