How to: Don't Starve - A comprehensive guide for starting out in Don't Starve

Day 198, with surplus of food, a comfortable and established base. Doesnt seem like I'm dying anytime soon.

Most people feel that it's difficult to survive in Don't Starve. That is not true. As long as you know how to make full use of resources, know when to do what/when not to do what, plan your schedule (yes because walking and exploring takes a hell lot of time) and more, you'll be surviving Maxwell's harsh, cruel world like a boss.

I previously made a tutorial on how to get rid of killer bees here. You can check it out if you ever need to clear a large amount of killer bee hives.

A bit of back story..

When I first started playing this game, no one thought me what to do. But I kept playing because I liked the Tim Burton art style of this game, and how challenging it is. In my first game, I barely survived one day, as I was killed by Darkness. Subsequently, I survived 3 days, 5 days, and I see myself surviving more and more days as I played. It was difficult because no one taught me what to do. No one gave me any tips on surviving anything - hound attacks, winter, keeping my stats up, etc. I learned everything the hard way through lots of reading and experimenting myself. But I'm going to share some tips with you, and hopefully the game won't be as punishing for you as it was for me.

Starting out in Don't Starve...

The first thing you need to look out for would be flint and twig.

flint

twig

This is because you will need 1 flint and 1 twig to make an axe, which will be needed to chop down trees (and birch trees in RoG). You will absolutely need to chop down trees asap because you would need to make fire for the night, as staying in complete darkness will cost you your life. After making an axe (tools tab), chop down evergreens, as well as collect grass. You will need 2 logs and 3 grass to make a campfire.

Gather whatever resources you can as you go, especially food items that you will easily (normally) find around the place you spawn on day 1. These include carrots, berries (on berry bushes), and seeds. Try to gather as many rocks and gold nuggets as well, as you will need these to establish a base. To gather rocks, make a pickaxe (also in tools tab) by using 2 twigs and 2 flints, and then mine boulders. 

Type 1 gives you only rocks.

Type 2 gives you rocks, nitrile and flint.

Type 3 gives you rocks and gold nuggets!

The map is revealed as you explore the area, like in World of Warcraft and many other games. Try to walk and uncover as much area as you can, asap. There are many types of biomes in Don't Starve; the one you should find asap before settling down/creating your base, would be Savanna, with Beefalos. This is quite important for survival as beefalos drop poop (manure) which has many purposes. It can be used as fuel for fire, to make farms, and to fertilize crops and plants.

Once you have found a Beefalo biome, set up permanent camp nearby (not directly beside beefalo herds or in the middle of them, as when beefalos go in heat, they will be aggresive). To set up a permanent camp, start with a fire pit which is made by using 2 logs and 12 rocks (this is where you need a lot of rocks!). Then, proceed to making a Science Machine (under science tab) using 4 rocks, 4 logs, and 1 gold nugget. Having a Science Machine will unlock more recipes. To make something, gather the required materials and prototype it at the Science Machine.

Hope this is helpful! The next blog post will be on more tips on how to survive and maintain your stats. :D