Death, Resurrection & Ghost Guide

There are plenty of ways players can die while playing Don’t Starve and Don’t Starve Together, including being attacked by Mobs, starving to death, freezing to death or overheating. Although death can very much feel like the end of the game when playing any version of Don’t Starve, resurrection and getting back into the Don’t Starve grind is a lot easier then it comes while in the multiplayer-realms of Don’t Starve Together.The following guide will take you through all the different ways players will find themselves dying, how they can prevent death and the ways they can resurrect in each version of Don’t Starve. This guide will also take you through all the most useful uses of being a Ghost in Don’t Starve Together, so if you’ve got a group of friends who are constantly dead, you want to pay very close attention!

MOST COMMON FORMS OF DEATH

One of the best ways to equip yourself for survival is by avoiding things that can kill you or taking the proper measurements to protect yourself by being one-shotted by them. The number one solution to resurrecting yourself is making sure that you don’t die in the first place, especially in single-player Don’t Starve as upon death, a player’s world will cease to exist.While it’s clear that one of the primary ways of death players can experience is through starvation, there are a number of causes of death that aren’t as straight forward as others. In my experience, I tend to die from the obscure ways of death much more frequently than the more “dangerous” straight forward ways of death, thus making me one of the players who should have read a bit more before starting to play Don’t Starve.The following are the most common and sometimes even shocking ways players can expect to die in all versions of Don’t Starve:STARVATIONEvery character is prone to starvation in Don’t Starve though players may want to avoid characters like Wes and Wolfgang for their increased Hunger or even take is as far as avoiding Winona, since she loses Hunger for crafting and Wigfrid, who cannot eat anything without Meat.Characters who don’t seem to have problems when it comes to food include Wickerbottom, who can make food grow with Applied Horticulture, Wurt (DST), who, while being vegetarian gains more stats from foods and Wortox (DST), who can eat the souls dropped by felled Mobs. Players can also choose to be Warly (SW & DST), who arrives into The Constant with a Portable Crock Pot and has a higher amount of Hunger, however, his challenge is that he cannot eat non-Crock Pot foods. Players can also choose to play Wagstaff, who comes with a variety of downfalls, though players will have access to 225 Hunger.To avoid starvation, players should regularly munch on snacks such as seeds, carrots (especially in DST) or fruits and veggies like Pumpkin, which can often provide a big chunk of Hunger without the need of using a Crock Pot. Players may be quick to dispose of foods that provide low amounts of Hunger, but whether you’re a new player or an old player, munching on small snacks will always be helpful when tithing you until your next Crock Pot meal.After setting up my farms and getting enough Dragon Fruit seeds from birds in Birdcages, I will eat regular seeds upon picking them up. I will also pick up any seeds I see on the ground while travelling just so I don’t waste them. Might as well eat the seeds, or a bird will, which serves no benefit to you.THE DARKNESSIf starvation doesn’t kill you on your first day of survival, there is a big chance that nightfall will be your initial demise. The Constant has three times of day, being Daytime, Dusk and Night. During Night, players will not be able to see anything, and in Don’t Starve Together players will not be able to interact with any resources, such as bushes, without light; though, in single-player Don’t Starve, players will be able to interact with resources in the dark, while still at risk of dying.But Johnny, how does one die in the darkness? Well, secretly lurking in the Darkness is Maxwell’s love interest, Charlie, who spoiler alert is also Winona’s sister. Oh? That’s not how you’re supposed to do a spoiler alert? Aw well.Upon being in complete darkness for between 5-10 seconds, players will receive damage from Charlie in the form of a hit, dealing 100 damage and 20 Sanity loss. To avoid being attacked by Charlie, players must use a light source like a Torch or Fire Pit.The only character who is a bit safer from the wrath of Charlie is Winona who gets a damage-free hit every time she gets attacked for the first time in the darkness.DEATH BY BOOMERANGIt’s going to be very tempting to craft yourself a Boomerang while playing any version of Don’t Starve, especially if you are a player who is struggling with food.Boomerangs can be prototyped using an Alchemy Engine and require 1 Boards, 1 Silk, and 1 Charcoal to craft.Most notably, Boomerangs are useful for killing birds and other small Mobs in one-hit. The only catch to using a Boomerang is, if the player does not catch it by using their action key upon the return of the Boomerang, players will receive some damage. If players are too low on health or are not wearing any armour, players will be at risk of an early and gruesome death.Trust me, you’re going to want to practice using a Boomerang with high health before crafting one because damn is it annoying when you kill yourself after 40 days because you stupidly forgot to catch a Boomerang. My biggest advice is, build yourself armour like a Log Suit as soon a possible, especially if you’re going to use a Boomerang.BEING TOSSED AROUND BY MOBSAnother obvious form of death is by being killed or attacked by Mobs. While Mobs come in a variety of forms, it’s important to note certain Mobs as they are more aggressive than others.Mobs players will want to make sure they note as quickly as possible are Treeguards, which spawn from chopping down enough trees; Tentacles, which hide in the swamp until idled on top of; Hounds, which come every few days in waves; Pigs, which are usually docile, but will attack players in swarms once one is attacked or if the player is a Monster like Webber, Wurt or Wortox; and Merms, who also live in the swamp and are much like Pigs, though they attack all players except for Wurt.The reason I bring up the Mobs above is due to the fact that they tend to sneak up on players in the worst times, especially Hounds and Tentacles. Although I recommend revealing the whole map within the first few days of exploration, I would recommend taking it slow in the Swamps and Rockylands especially if you spot a Hound Mound.Hound Mounds are by far the most challenging types of “spawners” in the Don’t Starve world, as they will spawn an unlimited amount of Hounds over the course of the day. The only time Hound Mounds will not spawn Hounds is if they are destroyed, which is obviously not ideal for players who hope to farm Hounds in the late-game.OVERHEATING & FREEZINGDepending on which version of Don’t Starve you’re playing, players will become vulnerable to both the heat and cold. Most notable in Winter and Summer, players will have to carry a Thermal Stone or clothing to combat the weather and make sure their temperature doesn’t drop too low or get too high.A player will notice that they are Overheating when their screen gets bordered with red or Freezing when their screen is bordered with blue. In both cases, players will see a steady decline in Health and should stand either next to an Endothermic Fire Pit or regular Fire Pit depending on the season.BEING SET ON FIREThere are a few Mobs out there in The Constant who are troubling and will set you on fire, though in many early cases being caught on fire is self-inflicted. Players who stand too close to burning structures or resources will catch on fire and will either need to be put out or players will have to suffer through taking a bit of damage before the fire puts itself out.Things to keep in mind when it comes to Fire are that Campfires (not to be mistaken for Fire Pits, which have stones to keep the fire in) that are too big will set nearby structures and resources on fire and that you have to be extra careful when trying to burn down trees with a Torch as fires spread very quickly. Players should also be careful when using magic weapons such as the Fire Staff as it can be easy to misclick and set everything on fire.The oddest mistake many players make is lighting a Beefalo on fire while trying to sheer them with a razor. If players find themselves lighting Beefalo on fire regularly, craft yourself a Lantern or place a Fire Pit to light up the area instead. I personally sheer all Beefalo quickly and pick up all of the Beefalo Wool in the Daytime to ensure that I don’t mistakenly strike a Beefalo with a Torch by pressing the action key too close to the Beefalo. *sigh* dumb ways to die!PICKING A SPIKY BUSH & CACTUSA really frustrating way to die early on in the game is by picking a Spiky Bush or Cactus. In my first week of playing Don’t Starve, I died by trying to pick a Cactus, because I wanted to get back my Sanity, forgetting that each time you pick a Cactus (without armour) it causes 6 damage. Let me tell you, I Alt+F4’d immediately and debated uninstalling Don’t Starve, because I can be a rage-quit baby.I would recommend avoiding using Spiky Bushes as your main source of Twigs, especially if you’re a new player who isn’t comfortable managing their health. Taking damage from Spiky Bushes, Cacti and other sharp resources can be avoided by either wearing a Bramble Husk, supplied by the ever-adorable Wormwood or Cactus Armor, which can be built only in Shipwrecked.EATING BAD FOODSUnless you have a mod running, chances are you’re either attempting to remember how much Hunger or Health a food item gives you, or you’re eating anything that you can to keep yourself alive.Well, there are some foods I would highly recommend you stay away from and those include:Raw Monster Meat (-20 Health)Cooked Monster Meat (-3 Health)Monster Lasagna (-20 Health)Hot Dragon Chilli Salad (-3 Health)Powdercake (-3 Health)Raw Cactus Flesh (-3 Health)Rot (-1 Health)Raw Red Cap (-20 Health)Cooked Green Cap (-1 Health)Cooked Blue Cap (-3 Health)Pepper (-20 Health)Cooked Pepper (-3 Health)Potato (-3 Health)Although many foods of the foods above only cause small amounts of Health loss, eating multiple pieces can be the end of a player. In general, it’s a good idea to avoid eating all raw foods, especially Mushrooms. Mushrooms have been the end of my friends and family a number of times, and while Mushrooms can be helpful for a variety of purposes, they can be detrimental for new players.As mentioned, if you want a safe snack, you should stick to seeds, carrots or other safe veggies.EARTHQUAKES IN CAVESIf you’re low on health while spelunking in the Caves, it’s a very good idea to make sure that you always have some extra armour or some foods that can heal you.While Earthquakes are a bit sporadic, they can be fatal to players who are low on health or don’t realize they must dodge the falling rocks.RAIN & LIGHTNINGUnshockingly, Rain and Lightning can both lead to various forms of death. While playing the base game of Don’t Starve, players will not have as much of a problem dealing with rain, though in all other versions of Don’t Starve (DST, HAM, SW & RoG) players will have to watch over the Wetness Meter which begins to show during rainfall, if the player has drowned or with other means. Let’s focus on the Rain and Lighting though.In Don’t Starve Together and Reign of Giants players will have a chance to freeze if their temperature falls below 0. Well, at half Wetness, a player’s temperature will reduce by 15 degrees, ultimately raising the chances of freezing earlier than expected. Players should take off their clothes, no jokes, and stand by a Fire Pit to dry off.Alternatively, players can also use the Eyebrella, which can be made using the Deerclops Eyeball to avoid being struck by Lighting and avoid Wetness by 100%.Players using the character WX-78 will have to be extra careful in the rain, as WX-78 takes incremental-immediate damage when wet.Now, as for Lightning, players who are struck by Lightning will take 10-20 damage from a player’s health depending on how wet the player is. As mentioned, players can use the Eyebrella to protect themselves from Lighting or can stand next to Lightning Rods. There are a few other objects that will protect from Lighting, however the other stats these items provide are much lesser than the Eyebrella.

HOW DO I RESURRECT IN DON’T STARVE?

Ressurection works very differently in single-player and multiplayer Don’t Starve. It’s no secret that single-player is a much more difficult game to play than Don’t Starve Together and that’s because, even if you die in multiplayer, as long as there is another player on the server and it is either set to Survival or Endless, players will always be able to resurrect.In most cases of resurrection, players will come back to life with 50 Health, 2/3 their maximum Health and 1/2 their maximum Sanity. Players will also have an empty inventory, though their items can be found at their place of death.The following are all of the ways players can resurrect themselves in the various versions of Don’t Starve. Note that in Don’t Starve Together players must either set their worlds to Survival or Endless if they wish to resurrect.TOUCH STONESThe most important method of resurrection players should be aware of is the Touch Stone.Touch Stones are structures that are found in various locations on the map and are surrounded by 4 Pig Heads and commonly placed on Wooden Flooring.In single-player, players must activate Touch Stones by either clicking on it or interacting with it with their action button. Upon activating the Touch Stone it will appear that the Touch Stone rises from the ground, ultimately making that Touch Stone useable.Upon death, players will immediately be resurrected by the nearest Touch Stone, causing Lightning to strike the Touch Stone, ultimately breaking the Touch Stone and providing the player with 2 Rocks, 2 Marble and a piece a Nightmare Fuel.Players will not be able to re-use a Touch Stone, however players can activate multiple Touch Stones without any penalties.Touch Stones will act the same way in Reign of Giants, Hamlet and Shipwrecked, however, work differently in Don’t Starve Together.In Don’t Starve Together all Touch Stones found on the map will be spawned into The Constant already activated. So, once players become Ghosts, they must locate a Touch Stone and ultimately haunt the Touch Stone to activate it.Upon using the Touch Stone, that player will no longer be able to said Touch Stone, however, other players will be able to use said Touch Stone after a short period of time.Similar to single-player, players will receive Marble and Nightmare Fuel, all while the Touch Stone is struck by Lightning.If players are uncertain whether or not they used a Touch Stone, they will be able to quickly identify its use by whether or not the sigil on the Touch Stone is glowing. If the sigil is glowing, hop on and get resurrected, but if it’s not, you’re out of luck and will have to use another method of resurrection.It is important to note that there are no Touch Stones in Caves or the Ruins in single-player Don’t Starve; however, there are Touch Stones in Caves in Don’t Starve Together.MEAT EFFIGYAlthough not as useful in Don’t Starve Together, Meat Effigies are going to be the primary way players resurrect themselves in single-player Don’t Starve.Meat Effigies require a Prestihatitator to prototype and will need 4 Boards, 4 Beard Hairs and 4 Meat to craft.The most notable resource players need to construct the Meat Effigy is Beard Hair. Beard Hair can either be collected by shaving Wilson’s beard or can be collected from Beardlings or Beardlords (Rabbits and Bunnymen) when the player is below a certain amount of Sanity.It’s important to note that upon constructing a Meat Effigy, players will sacrifice 30 Health permanently until the player has consumed the Meat Effigy or the Meat Effigy is destroyed. The permanent reduction in Health will be made known by the player’s Health gauge being blacked out by 30 Health.Most characters will only be able to craft 5 Meat Effigies at a time, though the reality is that players will not need that many Meat Effigies in the first place. I personally build one Meat Effigy at a time when playing single-player but leave all of the resources required to build another in nearby Chests. My reason for doing not constructing extra Meat Effigies is to ensure that I always have as much Health as I can have so there’s less of a chance I’m going to actually need to rely on said Effigies.Alternatively, players can craft said Meat Effigies and leave them in their inventory as players will only receive the Health penalty once an Effigy is placed.It is important to note that players will resurrect by the nearest resurrection platform in Don’t Starve, so if you’ve already activated a Touch Stone and have a Meat Effigy out, you may consume the Touch Stone before the Meat Effigy. If you are concerned about using up all of your Touch Stones, as they are most useful as a last resort, build a Meat Effigy closer to where you are or in between you and an active Touch Stone.In Don’t Starve Together players will have to use 4 Boards, 4 Beard Hairs and 40 Health to craft the Meat Effigy, however, players will not receive a maximum Health penalty from crafting said Meat Effigies. Also unlike single-player Don’t Starve, players will not automatically resurrect when a Meat Effigy is constructed. Instead, players will have to hit the “Activate Meat Effigy” button that is found on the top-right of their screen.Also unlike Don’t Starve, in Don’t Starve Together players will only be able to build themselves 1 Meat Effigy at a time, so there is no real need to stockpile on the resources for Meat Effigies… though truthfully, I’ve never built myself a Meat Effigy in Don’t Starve Together, which I’ll cover why late.LIFE GIVING AMULETWe’ve recently covered the beauty of the Life Giving Amulet in my Nightmare Fuel post, but in short, players can use a Prestihatitator along with 3 Gold Nuggets, 2 Nightmare Fuel and 1 Red Gem to craft themselves this powerful magic item.Upon reaching 0 Health, players who are wearing the Life Giving Amulet will resurrect player, though in Don’t Starve Together players will have to haunt the Life Giving Amulet in order to resurrect themselves.Although more expensive, the Life Giving Amulet tends to be the better choice when it comes to resurrecting as it also provides players with 2 Sanity per minute. Players will also receive 5 Health for the cost of 5 Hunger + 5% durability if the players are below their maximum Health. Players are recommended to use the Life Giving Amulet for healing until it reaches only 5% durability as it will still resurrect a player when it loses its durability. The most important thing is to make sure that the Life Giving Amulet doesn’t break before you die. That would be bad.TELLTALE HEART (DON’T STARVE TOGETHER)Remember when I said Meat Effigies are useless in Don’t Starve Together? Well, it’s because Don’t Starve Together sees the addition of the Telltale Heart.Telltale Hearts are always available and require 3 Cut Grass, 1 Spider Gland and 40 Health to craft. Telltale Hearts do come with a couple of catches though, being that a player who is alive must revive the ghost player and players who are resurrected will permanently lose 25% of their health until they are given a Booster Shot (8 Rot, 2 Nitre, and 1 Stinger).The reality is that Booster Shots aren’t much of an ordeal to construct, though it can be annoying to walk around with a chunk of your Health missing. It is nice to have a really cheap way to revive though.As a bonus, players who revive ghost players will receive 80 Sanity. Awesome perk, tbh.FLORID POSTERN (DON’T STARVE TOGETHER)The absolute best way players can revive themselves while playing Don’t Starve Together is by using the Florid Postern. The Florid Postern will only be able to revive players if they have set their game mode to Endless and upon being haunted the player will be resurrected with the regular penalties plus the same penalty as the Telltale Heart (25% of their maximum Health).If you’re on a server with many players, it’s a good idea to keep a number of Booster Shots in your base or by the Floral Postern, as it will be useful for getting your Health up quickly.If the Florid Postern is turned into the Celestial Portal, players will still be able to resurrect with it, even when under construction.

PUTTING BEING A GHOST TO USE (DON’T STARVE TOGETHER)

To close off this guide, I want to say that being a Ghost isn’t useless. Upon death, you can help your fellow players in a variety of ways without being resurrected. The following are the best ways players can help their fellow teammates:GETTING EVIL FLOWERS WHERE THERE ARE NONEFor players struggling to farm Nightmare Fuel, look no further than being a Ghost. Players have a 50% chance to change regular flowers into Evil Flowers (or Petals into Dark Petals, though not as useful).It is recommended that players haunt a few regular flowers in order to create Evil Flowers as Evil Flowers release more Butterflies and if players have enough Evil Flowers, homeless Bees will be able to spawn in more.CHANGING THE COLOUR OF RESOURCES (HOUNDS & MUSHROOMS)One of my favourite uses of being a ghost is changing Hounds into other colours in hopes of grinding out the Gems that you want. Whether you need more Blue Gems for Ice Staves or Red Gems for Fire Staves, players may want to ensure that all of the Hounds that are spawned are elemental to get as many Gems as they can get at a time.Upon haunting a Hound there is a 50% change the hound will change colours, regenerating said Hound’s Health and also causing it to panic after the transformation.Players will also have a 25% chance to change the colour of a Mushroom that is in the ground. Players are recommended to change all of their Mushrooms to Green Mushrooms as they are the most useful, though I recommend reading my guide to see if Green Mushrooms are the best for you.CHANGING BLUEPRINTS INTO OTHER BLUEPRINTSA very underrated use of being a ghost is to change the type of Blueprints you have at your disposal. Haunting a Blueprint has a 50% chance of turning into a random Blueprint that can be made using the same tab. So, if you have a Lazy Deserter Blueprint, you have a chance of getting another magic Blueprint.I’ll be honest in saying that I’ve been sitting on 8 Lazy Deserter Blueprints and I completely forgot I could change them into more useful Blueprints… *sigh* Off to logging onto the server!FEEDING THE CROPSIf you’re really bored as a ghost and have nothing better to do, I would recommend chilling by your farm and helping the plants grow. Every time players haunt a crop, the crop will grow as if it was fertilized by a piece of Rot.In saying that, players will also cause the Farm to lose fertilzation meaning that once the player is resurrected, they may want to put some Rot or Manure onto the farm to re-fertilize it.UNCOVERING SUSPICIOUS DIRT PILESI’ll be honest in saying that I’m not the biggest fan of Suspicious Dirt Piles and going on “the hunt.” I quite frankly always ask other members of the server to do hunts or more often I will set up other farms to ensure that we don’t need to hunt unless trying to find the Ewecus.For players who rely on hunts for food and other resources, ghost players can travel around uncovering the Suspicious Dirt Piles until ultimately resurrected.SUMMONING OR EMPOWERING MOBSPlayers can choose to haunt a Rabbit Hole or Moleworm Burrow if they want to release the Rabbit or Moleworm inside. Note that if there is no Rabbit or Moleworm in the hole, haunting it will do nothing.A mechanic I tend to forget about is the ability to both fuel Pig Torches, effectively spawning a Guardian Pig if one is not already out, or having a 25% chance to turn any Pigs into Werepigs.Pigs who are transformed into Werepigs will be permanently stuck in a panic state, making it one of the best and safest ways to collect a supply of Meat and Pig Skin.Players will have a 50% chance of summoning creatures from Beehives, Killer Bee Hives, Hound Mounds, Rundown Houses (Mermhouse/Merm Huts), Splumonkey Pods and Spider Dens. If players Haunt a Tier 3 Spider Den they will also have a 10% chance to spawn in the Spider Queen.Rock Lobsters have a 25% chance to grow by 500 seconds once haunted by a ghost.Players have a 0.1% chance of turning Evergreen trees into Treeguards and Birchnut Trees into Poison Birchnut Trees.LIGHTING CAMPFIRE & FIRE PITSIt can be really frustrating when players return to base only to die to the Darkness, well, players can help avoid this by haunting both Fire Pits or Campfires.Campfires have a 25% chance of receiving 7.5 seconds of fuel, while Fire Pits have a 10% chance of receiving 15 seconds of fuel. Although not the most beneficial amount of fuel, players can scurry to their bases to help get things started so when their teammates arrive to resurrect them, they already have a roaring fire to settle by.USING WEAPONS ON THE GROUND OR ATTACKING MOBSAlthough I don’t consider it a great perk, players have a 10% chance of chilling all nearby enemies with an Ice Staff and a 25% chance of chilling enemies with a Chilled Amulet. Although this can be helpful in tough situations such as Hound Waves, it’s not a reliable perk.Players have a 10% chance to use a Telelocator Staff, ultimately transporting the nearest Mob that isn’t a Ghost, a 10% chance to spawn a Dwarf Star with a Star Caller Staff and a 10% chance to use a Deconstruction Staff on a nearby object/structure.Players will have a 25% chance of making Mosquitoes explode, which is pretty useless.Most notably, players have a 75% chance to reset Tooth Traps and Wormwood’s Bramble Traps.CHOPPING DOWN TREESAlthough I wouldn’t recommend it, players can haunt trees to cut them down. Each time a player haunts the tree it acts as one swing by a regular Axe.