Playstyle Theory: The Method Behind the Madness

The key to survival is having what you need, when you need it.

1. Maximizing efficiency is key to making the most of your dwindling time.

2. Plan ahead.

3. Know your priorities, but be flexible.

Don't Starve is a game about time management. The countdowns are numerous and interrelated: Darkness, starvation, giants, seasons, death (just to name a few). And they all start ticking the moment you spawn into the Constant. You've got less than 1 day until you die from your first countdown--Darkness--unless you do something. So get to work!You can improve your odds by doing things like:1. gathering food and supplies2. farming resources3. crafting various useful items4. exploring the mapBut there's never enough time for everything! Therefore, DST strategy is concerned with properly prioritizing tasks to optimize odds of survival. This will vary from world to world; however, a number of core principles will help you greatly so that you can survive no matter what the worldgen is like.Since your traveling speed is relatively hard to control, time is pretty fixed. What we can do is make sure we're always gathering enough to make up for the time spent traveling, as well as gathering from locations that make this easier.By this, I mean only carrying that which is most valuable to your staying alive. Note that rarer items may not always the most valuable to you. I could have 2 grass in my inventory but it might be more valuable than a yellow gem if dropping the grass means I'll die to darkness that night.Make sure you know not only the most urgent task at hand, but the second most, third, etc. so that you don't need to spend time reevaluating your situation every 2 days. Don't forget to plan ahead for the unexpected, too. Backup plans and supplies will save your life!Maybe you have to open up caves because you're short on grass. Maybe you have to make a second science machine because the alternative is running all the way across the map just to prototype.As long as your basic needs are met and you have most of your priorities straight, you will be okay. In my experience DST is actually quite a forgiving game. It's just got a couple hard and fast rules and then once you know those, you'll be set.So, with all this in mind, let's see how these principles turn into strategies in game...