The Don’t Starve survival guide #1 gave a brief incite into the basics of survival in your world. In this guide we explore, in more detail, some of the different threats the world can pose and how to deal with them, also the guide to winter and how this affects you.

Winter can be one of the most hazardous times in the Don’t Starve world. It occurs at day 21 and ends on day 37. With new monsters, freezing conditions and shorter day time it is important to be well stocked and ready for winter.







Straight away Wilson’s character provides an advantage. His beard provides warmth for a short time allowing you to get by without having to craft winter clothes, and as Wilson is the default character he does not need to be unlocked. A heat stone is also extremely useful as it constantly provides you with heat. A well stocked fire is also a must for dealing with the cold, the chest full of logs, mentioned in Guide #1, will come in helpful.

There are several changes to the environment throughout winter. The most noticeable being the snowfall and change in temperature. There are, however changes to the animals and monsters you encounter. Redbirds become snowbirds and rabbits change into a white coat, they do remain a stable source of food throughout the winter though, and if an existing storage of rabbits or other food is already stocked then winter shouldn’t be a period of time where starving is an important worry. Red hounds are also replaced with blue hounds.

The most prominent threat throughout winter are the new aggressive creatures. A Walrus hunting party which is lead by MacTusk, his son, WeeTusk and two blue hounds appears at the walrus camp which is visible during summer. The threat will not go away, even if they are killed and will respawn every 2.5 days. They attack any mob which goes near them. Deerclops, a huge and slow creature also roam the world. They smash structures and players nearby them. The Pengull also spawns and travels in groups around the world. They are neutral creatures, however do attack in large numbers if the player attacks any member of the group.

Throughout winter many mobs become inactive. Bees are not in their hives and don’t produce any honey. Butterflies do not spawn from flowers, mosquitoes and frogs don’t spawn either as ponds are frozen over. They cannot be fished.

Snow is one of the most noticeable differences in winter. It doesn’t have a huge effect but it does cover objects which can make them hard to see. Crops do not grow in farms, and the effect of winter on Berry bushes, saplings and grass means they grow extremely slowly so it is important to have reserve stocks of these.

Nights are much longer, and days shorter in winter. Sanity is one of the major worries in winter as the longer nights mean sanity is far lower than in summer. It is therefore important to have the headdress talked about in part 1 in stock and equipped in order to raise sanity. Winter is a survivable time if you plan effectively for it.

In the next part we explain some of the creatures more closely and how to deal with them.