Two systems decide whether a Dandy's World run ends in the elevator or on the floor: Stealth, which controls who a Twisted chases, and Panic Mode, the timer that starts when the last Machine is done. Both are documented in detail on the Dandy's World wiki, and several rules are less obvious than they look. A Twisted does not always chase the closest Toon, and a Toon with more Stealth can get ignored in favour of a worse hiding teammate.
This guide explains how line of sight and targeting work, what each Stealth star is worth in units, which trinkets move the number, and how to survive the 30-second Panic Mode window. For Machines themselves, read the Machines and Skill Checks guide.
Line of sight
A Twisted spots you through its line of sight (LoS). Most Twisteds have two shapes of detection:
- Direct vision: a long cone in the direction they face, like a gaze.
- Circular vision: a circle centered on their position.
Each Twisted has different sizes for these. The wiki gives a direct vision of 125 as extremely high for one Twisted and 50 as below average for another. LoS is blocked by any set piece on the map, such as a wall or crate, even if it looks see-through. Machines are the exception. A few Twisteds break the rule: one jumps over obstacles and keeps LoS on you, another has hands that may target through walls, and another ignores barriers while chasing a Toon with a particular item attached.
The first time you enter a Twisted's LoS on a floor counts as an encounter. It awards 5 tapes (3 if the Twisted is passive) and 5% Research on that Twisted. Some Twisteds need special conditions for the reward: Twisted Gourdy must be active, Twisted Squirm must grab you, and Twisted Blot rewards you for encountering his hands.
How a Twisted picks a target
Each roaming Twisted has an attention span. While you stay in LoS, the timer is reset to full. When you leave LoS, it keeps running toward your last known location until the timer ends. So breaking line of sight, and staying out of it, is how you end a chase. The wiki notes two exceptions that lose track of you as soon as you leave LoS and calm down after a while.
Targeting uses three inputs: priority, distance and line of sight. The rules from the wiki:
- 1A player in LoS is always preferred over a Machine where someone failed a Skill Check.
- 2Closer Toons are preferred to farther ones.
- 3Lower Stealth is always preferred over higher Stealth while both are in LoS.
The third rule produces the famous surprise. A 1-star Stealth Toon standing far away is chased before a 2-star Stealth Toon touching the Twisted. If the 1-star Toon turns a corner and leaves LoS, the 2-star Toon becomes the target.
Sound and signal targets work differently. Failed Skill Checks, Air Horns, Pebble's Speak! and some Machine completions only call Twisteds that are nearby and not already chasing. The Twisted runs to the spot, then goes back to normal. A few Twisteds, including Twisted Astro and Twisted Dandy, detect those signals from anywhere on the map.
Stealth units per star
| Stealth stars | Units | Toons at this level (per the wiki) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 | 10 | 19 (the default) |
| 4 | 15 | 5 |
| 5 | 20 | 2 |
Base 1-star Toons are not affected by any Stealth increase or decrease except Smoke Bombs, Eject Buttons and Air Horns. Stealth is the only star stat that stands alone; Skill Check pairs with Extraction Speed, and Movement Speed pairs with Stamina. It is also the only stat with no Machine directly affected by it. To see which Toons are strongest, check the tier list.
Abilities and trinkets that move Stealth
Abilities that change Stealth:
- Pebble's Speak! drops his Stealth to -40, and the wiki says it calls nearby Twisteds as if a Skill Check had failed at that spot.
- Bully permanently sets a Toon's Stealth to -99.
- Beginner's Luck has a 1 in 5 chance of a 15% Stealth boost.
- Blot Jr. has -999 Stealth, so he is always attacked first if alive and in LoS. Twisted Razzle & Dazzle and Twisted Rodger ignore this.
Trinkets that interact with Stealth:
| Trinket | Effect |
|---|---|
| Diary | +25% Stealth |
| Lucky Coin | Boosts a random stat by 12% once per floor; 1 in 5 chance it is Stealth |
| Scrapbook | -5% Stealth |
| A fourth trinket the wiki lists | -10% Stealth and -10% Movement Speed |
Raising Stealth is useful if you share the same star level as a distractor and want to hand them the Twisted, or extract next to them with less risk. Lowering it helps if the whole team has the same stars and you want to keep the Twisteds on you. The wiki warns that the -10% trinket is the wrong choice for this because of the Movement Speed penalty. The theoretical maximum from the wiki is 28 Stealth units with a 5-star Toon, two Stealth trinkets and a Lucky Coin roll; without the Lucky Coin it is 25. Our best trinkets guide compares the rest.
Panic Mode
Panic Mode has been in the game since v0.1. When all Machines are complete, the elevator opens for 30 seconds, an alarm and heartbeat play, and a red vignette covers every player's screen. In the last 10 seconds a beep sounds every second. If the timer ends, the elevator closes and anyone outside dies instantly, whatever their health. If everyone alive gets in early, the elevator closes right away.
What else changes:
- Time. The Decency and Etiquette cards add 5 seconds each, up to 40 seconds in total.
- Twisted speed. All Twisteds move 20% faster (15% with the Suppression card).
- Safe zone. Toons inside the elevator cannot take damage and are out of line of sight. Attention spans still apply, so Twisteds run to the edge but cannot enter.
- Cleanup. Items, Twisteds and the map are deleted after everyone is inside or the timer hits zero.
- Guide. The elevator is highlighted, with an arrow on higher detail settings.
Fast Twisteds suffer a bigger jump in absolute speed, which makes them the main threat. See the Twisteds guide for speeds and behaviours.
Panic Mode plan
These steps come from the wiki's tips for the phase.
- 1Prime the Machine nearest the exit. The last Machine you complete decides where everyone starts running from. Slow Toons suffer most when it is far away.
- 2Call it. The wiki lists "GTE" (Go To Elevator), "EAE" (Everyone At Elevator), "TNE" (Twisted Near Elevator) and "TAE" (Twisted At Elevator) as standard callouts, and the stickers do the same.
- 3Do not lead Twisteds to the elevator, except to block one from a path a teammate is taking, or to collect Research late in the timer if teammates ask.
- 4Take aggro for a better hider. A low-Stealth Toon who takes the Twisteds' attention can keep a higher-Stealth teammate safe. The wiki says low-Stealth Toons usually wait near the elevator to relieve pressure and advises this only for experienced players.
- 5Place items early. Item-based supports should leave items a fair distance from the elevator so teammates can grab them.
- 6Use speed. Sugar Rush gives a 20% speed boost for 5 seconds that can cancel the Twisted bonus; the wiki says not to rely on it.
Common mistakes
- Hiding because you have more Stealth. A lower-Stealth teammate in LoS draws the chase, but a mistake can flip it.
- Finishing the farthest Machine last. The run to the elevator is then the longest.
- Leading Twisteds to the elevator. They gather at its edge and block the path.
- Treating the 30 seconds as safe. Fast Twisteds are 20% quicker.
FAQ
How long is Panic Mode in Dandy's World?
30 seconds, or up to 40 with the Decency and Etiquette cards.
Do Twisteds chase the closest Toon?
Not always. Among Toons in line of sight, the lowest Stealth is always preferred, even if farther away.
How much Stealth does each star give?
1 star is 0 units, 2 stars 5, 3 stars 10, 4 stars 15 and 5 stars 20.
What happens if you miss the elevator?
Anyone outside when the timer ends faces instant death, regardless of health.
