Overview
This guide will help all those who are new to this game by informing them on what to d when starting the game, how to find the right place to build a base, obtaining food for the early game and how to defend against hounds in the early stages of the game
Introduction
As we all know, Don’t Starve is a game that requires careful planning. The art of early game survival is an easy yet vital thing of importance to the game as it dictates your play style for the rest of the game. This guide will cover:
-Getting started
-Finding your base
-Food
-Early defence against Hounds
Note that this is only for the base game and RoG and only helps the really early game.
Getting Started
Once you spawn, immedietly move around and start gathering basic resources. Pick up grass, flint, and twigs and make an axe to chop down trees for logs and a pickaxe to mine for rocks and flint. Build a fire pit to protect against the darkness and collect berries and carrots and seeds for food. MIne rocks for gold to make a Science Machine. When you feel like your done, spend your first 3-6 days exploring the world to find the right spot for a base.
Finding your base
Building a base is a process that must not be rushed and careful thinking must be doen when deciding when to build your base. The requirments for a base are:
-Close to resources (grass and twigs)
-Close to food (berries and rabbits)
-Able to make a renewable supply of resources (grassland and savanna)
-Near a good source of manure (beefalo or pigs)
-Clear area to build structures
There is no certain ‘biome’ when it comes to building a base, as any is fine as long as it meets the criteria. Note that building close to a rockfield is fine and dandy but they eventually run out.
Once you find your magic spot place a campfire and a Science Machine next to each other. Then quickly make an Alchemy Engine and chests to store you items. Making a back patch helps you to carry even more.
Beefalo vs. Pigs
Beefalo and pigs provide a valuable reosource that plays a key role in farming: manure.
The choice all depends on your own personal preference.
Beefalo randomly drop manure every once in a while and reproduce occasionally. They can be used as a defence against Hounds and can be killed for meat and their horn which plays a role in winter survival. However, during mating season they attack anything in sight including you and it is best to make a your base a bit further away from the herd. Mating season is signified by their behinds turning red and them making more aggressive noises.
Pigs are found either living in solitary houses or in large villages. They can be fed meat to earn their companionship and fruit or vegetable to produce one manure though they won’t eat any more once you give them one or two fruit or vegetable . During a full moon or when they eat four Monster Meat, they turn into Werepigs which attack you. During this form, they can eat large stacks of fruit or vegetables and produce lots of manure. Pigs are useful because when killed they have a chance to drop Pig Skin which is used to make Football Helmets and other valuable tools. Were pigs have guaranteed chance to drop one skin when killed
After making a shovel, dig up berry bushes, grass tufts and saplings and place them near your base as an easy acces to resources. Note that you have to fertilize them with manure first though saplings don’t need to be fertilized.
Making bases bases near or in deserts (RoG only) is advised as they provide a pleathora of benefits that aid you profusely in your survival. As to what theyare, well simple pick apart a tumbleweed and you’ll see. Be careful of hound mounds though.
Food
Making farms isn’t a worthwhile option in the early game as they are too slow and it is much more efficent to fertilize berry bushes instead.
Rabbits are a good source of morsels. Simply make some traps, place them over the rabbt hole and you’ll soon catch a rabbit. Traps are found in the Survival tab and are made from grass an twigs and need the Science Machine to prototype.
Berries are an excellent form of food it is advised to plant loads of bushes.
Build a Crock Pot to help make lovely dishes that aid you profusely. A well known recipe would be Meatballs which simply require one or two morsels and some carrots and berries.
Drying Racks are necessary to be built as they make Jerky or Samll Jerky which restores alot of your stats and last longer. Charcoal is obatined by burning trees and chopping them down.
Both Crock Pot and Drying Rack are found the Food Tab.
Beefalo can be killed ot get loads of meat. To kill them you simply have to use a tactic known as kiting. All you have to do is attack one, let it follow you, dodge its attack and rush in and deal loads of damage and retreat again. Don’t panic when the whole herds comes at you.
Just keep on running and they’ll lose interest leaving only the one you attacked. Leave at least two beefalo alive to allow them to reproduce.
Don’t kill too many beefalo at once. If you do so, a rather nasty surprise awaits you.
Koalefants are animals which are found at the end of an animal trail. To find them, simply investigate a ‘suspicious dirt pile’ which will reveal animal tracks. Follow the direction in which they come from and you’ll find the Koalefant. Also change your orientation if you can’t see any as they might be behind a tree. Though be warned, there is a chance that something that is very dangerous may lie at the end instead. Koalefants drop eight meat and a Koalefant Trunk which is used to make Winter Vests. You can kill Koalefants using the same kiting tactic.
Defence against hounds.
Hounds periodically attack you every time once roughly ten days has passed. In the early stages, making a Log Armour and a Spear is enough to fight them off. You can also use the local fauna to do the job for you. Simply lure them to your nearest beehive/beefalo herd/pig village and the Hounds will eventually get distracted and start attacking them. Once provoked, they make short work of the Hounds.