How to Play Don't Starve

Last Updated: January 26, 2022

Don't Starve is a video game in which you attempt to survive a fantasy world and all of the challenges it throws at you. If you want learn new things about Don't Starve and understand the game, you are in the right place. Read below for a guide on playing the game Don't Starve.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Don't Starve

1
Understand what Don't Starve is. Don't Starve is a video game about surviving in a fantasy world which is trying to kill you in every possible way. In the game, your main goal is to not starve. You can hunt animals, pick up fruits and vegetables, and eat them.
- Don't Starve was created by Klei Entertainment. Its release date was the 23rd of April, 2013.
2
Buy Don't Starve if you do not have it already. Don't Starve is purchasable through Steam. It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Apart from computers, it is also available on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Playing Don't Starve Classic

1
Know where the game takes place. Don't Starve takes place in a dark world which you are trying to survive and not starve. The game combines a dark story and the struggle to survive excellently. The game is mainly about an ambitious scientist tricked by a man (Maxwell) into a dark world brimming with monsters. In the trailer of the game, we can see this process. The scientist (Wilson) is working on something and he doesn't succeed, a voice from the radio invites him to build a machine and when he activates the machine he is transported into another world.
- In the original version of the game when you first start the game you wake up and a tall man is right next to you. He says: "Say pal, you don't look so good." and adds: " You'd better find something to eat before night comes!" That tall man is the very same man who tricked Wilson.
2
Enter the game for the first time. You will be playing in the survival mode. If you find Maxwell's Door and enter, you will find yourself in the adventure mode. When you finish the adventure mode, you will also finish the game. In the end, Maxwell is sitting on a thorny throne that is capturing him. Maxwell will replace himself with you and you will be the captured one.

Basic Features

1
Understand the classic version of the game. The classic Don't Starve is the original game without any downloadable content. Roughly, the original game can be categorized into 4 categories: characters, mobs, features, and, crafting. In the classic game, there are 9 characters:
- Wilson
- Wendy
- Willow
- Wolfgang
- WX-78
- Wickerbottom
- Woodie
- Wes
- Maxwell
- Understand the features. Features are the main mechanics you will encounter while playing Don't Starve. These features along with their descriptions are listed below.
2
Watch the hunger meter. This is the most important mechanic in the game. There will be a hunger meter with a stomach on the left of the screen which shows the hunger level of the player. The hunger meter will decrease if you don't eat anything and you will starve after a certain amount of time.
3
Keep your sanity high. Sanity determines if your character is mentally good or not. Sanity meter is shown with a brain near the hunger meter. In the game there are many ways to gain or lose sanity. One of the main problems players encounter is the sanity loose at night. When the day is over and night comes, you will start to lose sanity and it will continue throughout the night. When your sanity meter drops lower than %15, you will start to be chased by shadow creatures, the colors on the screen will fade away and if you don't do anything to increase your sanity, you will probably die.
4
Be aware of your health. Health shows your physical state in the game. Health meter is shown with a heart next to the other crucial meters. When you get into fights with mobs in the game, they will attack you and your heart meter will decrease. Starving will make your heart meter decrease too. If your heart meter drops to 0, you will die.
5
Know the types of mobs there are in the game. Mobs are the creatures in Don't Starve. There are 3 types of mobs in the game:
- Hostile: Hostile mobs will attack you whenever they see you. Examples: Killer bees, hounds, frogs, ghosts, merms, mosquitos, spiders.
- Neutral: Neutral mobs will not attack you unless you attack them. Examples: Bees, pigs, beefalos, koalefants, slurtles, catcoons.
- Passive: Passive mobs will not attack you even if you attack them. Examples: Rabbits, butterflies, birds, mandrakes, moleworms.

Crafting Items

1
Craft items. Crafting allows the player to craft items and structures. There are 10 crafting tabs in the original Don't Starve, which are described below. Items you can craft may require a variety of different materials.
2
Craft tools. They are usually very easy to craft and they allow the player to obtain new resources such as logs, rocks, and gold. Examples of tools you can craft are an axe, pickaxe, shovel, hammer, razor, and pitchfork.
3
Use light. Light illuminates the environment and allows the player to see at night. You can craft campfires, torches, lanterns, fire pits, and pumpkin lanterns.
4
Use the survival tab. The survival tab allows the player to craft items that help the player to survive such as traps, bird traps, umbrellas, backpacks, tents, and fishing rods.
5
Craft food related items. Food tab allows the player to craft items which are related to food. This includes farms, crock pots, bee boxes, drying racks, and ice boxes. That makes you able to make some of the best food in the game!
6
Craft scientific items. The player can craft scientific items and structures with the help of science tab. Make science machines, alchemy machines, thermal measures, lightning rods, and other electrical items.
7
Make fight items. The fight tab allows the player to craft fight items and structures. This includes spears, log suits, football helmets, marble suits, blow darts, and tooth traps.
8
Make structures. The structure tab allows the player to build structures using resources. Craft chests, signs, wood walls, hay walls, pig houses, and rabbit hutches.
9
Create refine items. The refine tab allows the player to craft refine items which can be used in the construction of other items. Make ropes, boards, cut stones, and papyrus with this tab.
10
Craft magic-related items. Magic tab allows the player to craft magic items and structures. Make pan flutes, dark swords, night armors, nightmare amulets, and life-giving amulets.
11
Craft clothes. With the help pf the dress tab, the player can craft dress items. Dress items are used to decrease the effects of seasonal changes. You can make rabbit earmuffs, winter hats, beefalo hats, puffy vests, rain hats, and rain coats.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

DLC (Downloadable Content)

1
Buy DLC if you want. Downloadable contents are the versions of the game which you can buy at Steam. There are 3 downloadable contents.
2
Get DST(Don't Starve Together). DST is the multiplayer version of Don't Starve in which you can play with your friends.
- New features include ghost characters, meteors, and sandstorms. New characters are Wortox and Wurt. There are also new mobs such as carrats, shattered spiders, cookie cutters, gem deers, and grass gekkos. Recently added crafting tabs include the seafaring tab, celestial tab, fishing tab, shadow tab, engineering tab, and cartography tab.
3
Buy Reign of Giants. RoG is the version of Don't Starve where there is 4 seasons instead of 2 and it includes giants which are the bosses of the game.
- New features include 4 seasons, wetness, and overheating. New characters that are introduced in this version are Wigfrid and Webber. You will find mobs such as catcoons, vargs, moleworms, and moslings, and giants such as Bearger, Moose Goose, and Dragonfly. Find items such as battle helms, battle spears, eyebrellas, moggles, and insulated packs.
4
Play Shipwrecked. Shipwrecked is the version of Don't Starve where the whole setting changes into a whole new tropical setting.
- In this version, there are 4 different seasons, poisoning, strong winds, and volcanic eruptions. Play as Walani, Warly, Wibur, or Woodlegs. New mobs include blue whales, crabbits, doydoys, poison snakes, poison mosquitos, parrots, and water beefalos. There are also recently added crafting labs such as the volcanic tab and the nautical tab.