Walker/Legends

"These weapons of war would be awe-inspiring, were they not so terrifying."

- Supreme Chancellor Palpatine

A walker was any vehicle, usually military, that used legs as its primary method of locomotion rather than the more common repulsors, wheels, or treads. The term could also refer to especially large droids with legs (usually combat droids), though such droids were usually referred to using more specific terminology (such as "spider droid"). The All Terrain series contained some of the most well known examples of walkers. The designs for walkers utilized by the Galactic Empire were directly inspired by the successful use of animal cavalry from ancient civilizations.

Walkers were first utilized during the Clone Wars, with then-Supreme Chancellor Palpatine even admitting that, while awe-inspiring, they also were a terrifying force to behold.

Owing to their use of legs for locomotion, they held several advantages to repulsorlift vehicles, including them being able to freely operate on worlds with atmospheric conditions that prohibit the operation of repulsorlift vehicles. As such, they are obviously immune to anti-repulsorlift jammers. In addition, part of the reason why the walkers were frequently designated as "all-terrain" was because they were able to react to changing surface conditions and shift footing similar to ordinary soldiers, unlike repulsorlift vehicles and/or treaded vehicles, and yet are still able to brace the ground against the recoil of heavy weaponry. They do have their weaknesses, however: Namely, while they are immune to anti-repulsorlift jammers, they are not immune to having their feet blown off by explosive mines.

Types of walkers
"Walkers are upon you before you know it."

- Saying by Rebel troops, dispelling the illusion of walkers as slow, plodding vehicles

Galactic Republic walkers

 * Manka-class armored transport
 * All Terrain Attack Pod
 * AT-EST exploration walker
 * All Terrain Experimental Transport
 * All Terrain Heavy Enforcer
 * All Terrain Open Transport
 * All Terrain Personal Transport
 * All Terrain Recon Transport
 * All Terrain Tactical Enforcer
 * All Terrain Riot Control Transport
 * Clone Personal Walker
 * Clone Scout Walker
 * Heavy Clone Personal Walker
 * Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery
 * All Terrain Armored Transport
 * Wet Terrain Recon Transport
 * All Terrain Scout Transport (limited use; open cockpit variant]]

Confederacy of Independent Systems walkers

 * A-DSD advanced dwarf spider droid
 * Chameleon droid
 * Crab cannon
 * DSD1 dwarf spider droid
 * Heavy dwarf spider droid
 * Heavy homing spider droid
 * Hyena-class bomber (walker mode)
 * LM-432 crab droid
 * Octuptarra combat tri-droid
 * OG-9 homing spider droid
 * J-1 semi-autonomous proton cannon
 * Tsmeu-6 personal wheel bike (walker mode)
 * Vulture-class droid starfighter (walker mode)
 * All Terrain Scout Transport (secretly developed on Diado )
 * All Terrain Armored Transport (secretly developed on Diado )

Imperial walkers

 * All Terrain Advance Raider
 * All Terrain Anti-Aircraft
 * All Terrain Armored Transport
 * All Terrain Armored Heavy Transport
 * All Terrain Construction Transport
 * All Terrain Defense Pod
 * All Terrain Exploration Droid
 * All Terrain Ion Cannon
 * All Terrain Kashyyyk Transport
 * All Terrain Personal Transport
 * All Terrain Riot Control Transport
 * All Terrain Scout Transport
 * All Terrain Scout Transport/Assault
 * All Terrain Tactical Enforcer (cargo transport)
 * BT-16 perimeter droid
 * CAP-2 Captivator
 * Mark 1 droid walker
 * Mountain Terrain Armored Transport
 * Mountain Terrain Scout Transport
 * Self-Propelled Medium Artillery

Eternal Alliance

 * Rapid Recon Walker
 * Storm Rider

Corporate Sector Authority walkers

 * Espo Walker 91
 * Espo Walker 101

New Republic walkers

 * Foreign Intruder Defense Organism

Yuuzhan Vong walkers

 * Fire Breather
 * Rakamat
 * Thrall herder

Walkers in other media
Star Wars has popularized the use of various walkers and mechs in various media, from various Japanese anime to video games like Command and Conquer and Metal Gear. Most of these mechs bear resemblance to the AT-ST. Also, Japanese scientists have constructed a Land Walker which might have been inspired by Star Wars walkers.

Origin
George Lucas claimed he got the original idea for walkers from the cargo lifters which reside in the port of Oakland. However, at the very least the AT-AT had gotten direct inspiration from two sources: One was the tripod walkers from The War of the Worlds from George Lucas's own testimony. The other, cited by Joe Johnston, was the Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine (CAM) that was commissioned by the United States Army for potential use in the Vietnam War before being abandoned by General Electric. Contrary to popular belief, the four-legged cranes in Oakland were not the inspiration for the AT-ATs.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Giant spiders are awesome....
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars