Overview
Don’t Starve is a game with simple mechanics. At first, it may seem difficult, but following this guide should keep the player alive for as long as they want to continue playing.
Game Screen
The picture below is a labeled game screen. This shows the player screen and what they are.
Health
This displays the players health, when this reaches 0, the player is dead.
Hunger
This diaplays the players hunger, when this also reaches 0 and is empty, the play will expericence constant health loss. This will continue until the players consumes an edible item or dies.
Sanity
This diaplays the players sanity.
Day/Night Scale
The day will slowly turn to Dusk, then Night, and then again back to Day. This cycle will repeat infinitely, but the length of each stage will change depending on the current season.
Minimap
The Minimap shows the player their location and notable items. The map fills in when it is explored in the world.
Inventory
This holds your items and is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The inventory can be expanded by using other items. e.g. Backpack.
Game Tab
This is used to craft different objects (if the player has the correct resources). It also shows what items need to be unlocked and which resources are needed to unlock them.
Sanity
When sanity drops, numerous things happen based on the current amount. As it falls, the screen will begin to distort and shake, and Eyes will soon begin to appear at night (Sanity 160). The distortion will continue until the Sanity level falls below 100. Below this, the player will experience their first, Shadow Creatures. If the sanity level drops below 30, the character will start to hold their head in pain, and the Shadow Creatures will begin to attack the player without provocation.
Common actions that will reduce a player’s sanity are eating Raw Meat and Monster Meat, constantly traveling through Worm Holes, staying in complete darkness, or fighting certain monsters.
Actions that will increase the player’s sanity are eating Crock Pot food, eating Cooked food, picking flowers, wearing certain Dress items, sleeping through the night, etc.
Seasons
Summer and Winter are the two seasons in Don’t Starve (there are four in the DLC Reign of Giants; Autumn and Spring). During these seasons, the amount of Day, Dusk, and Night that will be left in a Day will differ.
Summer does not have much of a change from the games normal state besides the change in Day times. Winter however, is drastically different. It is a very hostile season, so it is recommended that the player prepares before it begins.
During Winter:
- The types of Animals and Monsters will either change entirely or just their coat color.
- The player is capable of Freezing to death.
- The hostile Deerclops boss will occasionally spawn.
- The duo of Mactusk N’ Son will begin hunting you.
Do’s & Dont’s
Do’s
- DO collect lots of Pine Cones, it is useful to avoid traveling far for Logs, and to tame Treeguards.
- DO start building a base near Beefalo or Pigs, they are both the only sources of Manure. Beware that Beefalos may attack players when they are in mating season, and that Pigs can turn into Werepigs on a full moon. Players may have to acquire a Beefalo Hat in advance, either from crafting or by finding one on a corpse.
- DO try to attack birds. Although you may not be kill them without the proper equipment, they will most likely leave seeds behind, that they were eating. These can be planted in Farming.
Dont’s
- DON’T attack Spiders, or Spider Dens. Attacking a den will aggro all spiders in the den (depending on the size of nest). It will be very dangerous for beginners if they are not equipped well.
- DON’T attack Bees, or Bee Hives. Attacking the hive will cause surrounding bees to become angry. Also, Killer Bees will spawn and attack Characters proactively.
- DON’T attack a Tallbird, or take their Tallbird Egg. They cause great damage to players’ Health and they will chase after players for a long distance.
- DON’T attack Beefalos, they are useful for producing infinite Manure.
- DON’T travel in Swamp; dangerous Tentacles, Merms and Mosquitoes may kill beginners easily.
Crafting
Crafting is an in-game mechanic that allows players to craft or make items. This is done by selecting an item to be crafted in one of the 12 crafting tabs (13 for Wickerbottom as she gets an extra crafting tab; Books). Provided the player has sufficient materials in their inventory and, if necessary, has unlocked the item recipe, they will receive 1 or more of the crafted item.
Day 1
The player does not start with any items. Hunger and Night are the major concerns of players.
During the daytime:
- Pick up Flint and Twigs for crafting a Pickaxe and an Axe in the Icon Tools tab.
- Collect Cut Grass from Grass and chop trees for Logs. They will be used for crafting a Campfire at night.
- Collect Carrots and Berries to cook over the campfire in the evening.
- Continue with this until through the day and most of the Dusk. Then you have two options:
Option 1: Find a place to settle down and then build a Campfire. Make sure to keep your fire burning throughout the night by adding occasional logs to it.
Option 2: Make sure you have materials for at least a couple of torches which will need to be equipped when the night arrives. A torch allows continued exploration and resource gathering during nighttime.
Day 2-6
Similar to Day 1. However, players should continue to explore as much as possible. Meanwhile, players should’nt consume Monster Meat, and instead save it to feed Pigs (especially if you want to fight Werepigs for collecting more loot); otherwise just let it turn into Rot as fertilizer for Farming or use it in a Crock Pot to get rid of the negative effects.
Players may befriend with Pigs by giving them a piece of Meat, they can help chop down trees and fight against Monsters. They might be very helpful to beginners, but the pigs can turn into Werepigs in full moon phase.
Day 6+
Once a suitable location is found, the player should set up a base with Fire Pit (a permanent structure) and then set up a Science Machine for prototyping useful Items. A Fire Pit is much better than the regular Campfire because players can see it on the map and if it goes out, players can restart it with a fuel.
Players should also build infinite food supplies like:
- Building Farms for planting Seeds.
- Building Crock Pot for making better food.
- Collecting Berry Bushes, Saplings and Grass Tuft by a Shovel.
Can This Guide Improve?
Please comment below with your thoughts and rate this guide. If there is anything that you think needs to be clarified more or I am missing from this guide, comment. Thank You for using this guide and good luck in Don’t Starve.