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Don't starve winter teaser

Winter depicted in a promotional image for Reign of Giants.

Life in the frozen wastes.

Wilson

Winter is one of two seasons affecting the surface present in Don't Starve (the other being Summer). It is also one of the four seasons in Reign of Giants DLC, the others being Summer, Spring, and Autumn. By default, Sandbox Mode Winter lasts for 16 days; the first winter will start on day 21 and lasts until day 36, with the next spring starting on day 37. This will change if the player edits the length of the seasons in the Preferences. Stages in Adventure Mode may have different seasonal variations. Many things in the world change in Winter and surviving can become much more difficult.

In Don't Starve Together, Winter lasts for 15 days, the first winter will start on day 21 and lasts until the end of day 35.

Freezing[]

Glommer Main article: Freezing

Winter

The biggest change in Winter is the drop in temperature, which results in freezing if the player's character gets too cold. Freezing quickly drops the player's health. To prevent freezing, characters must maintain their body temperature by regularly going back to a source of heat. The best way to do that is to carry around a heated Thermal Stone, and one should always have the means to make Fire in an emergency during winter. Additionally, wearing warm clothing increases the time a character can be away from fire before getting too cold. Wilson and Webber's Beards also help them keep warm, acting similar to warm clothing, and their efficiency increases as it gets longer.

Building a Thermal Measurer helps the player know when the change in seasons is coming ahead of time, and tells how cold it is getting. Dusk and Night are colder than Day, and they last longer in Winter. Freezing is often a recurring death for new players as they don't prepare well enough to stop freezing in an emergency. A good strategy to keep temperature up is to put on warm clothes on the last day of Summer (or Autumn in the Reign of Giants DLC) so heat will start off higher in winter.

Seasonal Changes[]

  • During Winter, several new creatures appear and some others go into hiding. The change which can be seen on the first day of Winter (even before snow begins to fall) is that the sepia toned environment gets a bluish tint.
  • Redbirds are replaced by Snowbirds.
  • Rabbits change into a white winter coat, and remain both an active and stable food source throughout the Winter season.
  • When Hounds attack, Red Hounds are replaced with Blue Hounds, which will freeze nearby mobs upon death with an Ice Staff-like effect.
  • Going on a Koalefant hunt will result in finding a Winter Koalefant, whose trunk can be made into a warm Puffy Vest.
  • Some new aggressive creatures appear as well.
  • A new type of neutral creature, known as Pengulls, will often hop out of the ocean in huge flocks during winter, gathering in large nesting grounds with several Mini Glaciers (making the latter renewable for the season). They will occasionally lay Eggs and hide them, only dropping them on death or if they happen to spoil. Attacking a pengull will cause all pengulls within a large radius to become agressive and swarm the attacker, which can quickly lead to the player’s untimely demise.
  • In addition to Rain, snow begins to fall during Winter, which builds up on trees and many other objects (this snow melts away during Summer or Winter rain).
  • For the majority of the season, the temperature is too low for Farms to grow crops, however any crops currently awaiting harvest will still be fresh until picked.
  • Berry Bushes, Saplings, Grass Tufts, Reeds and Cave Lichen regrow extremely slowly in Winter, to the point that they seem to stop completely. Spiky Bushes and Light Flowers are not affected by the winter cold and will regrow as in Summer.
  • Nights and Dusks are much longer in winter, and this has a subtle impact on Sanity. Sanity slowly drains at dusk & night, and does not have a chance to fully recharge during the winter day. This is compounded as sanity falls, because night-time hallucinations (and nearness to dark) further drain sanity—spiralling into more impactful hallucinations, including Night Hands. A large set of Drying Racks (10 to 20) can be a great help, allowing Rabbits and Birds (which continue to spawn during Winter) to be turned into Small Jerky, restoring 10 Sanity each. In fact, living off Traps and Drying Racks is a simple and sustainable way to conquer hunger and sanity during winter.
  • Perishable items spoil 25% slower than normal during Winter, and Ice will not melt at all due to the subzero temperature. In fact, food items with a default lifetime of at least 10 days will stay fresh for almost the entire season if stored in an insulated container such as an Ice Box.

Snow[]

Snow is basically winter rain; it will make the turf snowy thus making it hard to see roads and paths. It will also add a layer of snow to objects such as Trees or Science Machines. Setting rain to lots (infinite) on world presets will make infinite snow during winter. Snow causes the characters body temperature to slightly decrease. Snow does not damage WX-78 the same way rain does. Snow will all melt away when it turns to Summer, or if it rains during the Winter.

Reign of Giants icon Reign of Giants[]

In the Reign of Giants DLC, Mini Glaciers will form during Winter, and freezing is a possibility in Caves and Ruins. In addition to this, Night and Dusk are even longer during Winter in the DLC, taking a bigger hit on sanity for those who are unprepared. The DLC adds some new insulating items, like the Hibearnation Vest, to help fend off the cold.

Birchnut Trees are also not aggressive during Winter, and they have no leaves or Birchnuts left on them.

Winter in Reign of Giants leads to Spring.

Don't Starve Together icon Don't Starve Together[]

In Don't Starve Together, the Loot Stash will spawn in the Deciduous Forest or Mosaic biome. An attempt to unlock it with a Deer Antler will spawn Klaus.

In addition, present No-Eyed Deers will grow Deer Antlers on their head and can be dropped if they collide into a solid object, such as a Tree.

Prototype Tips[]

  • A Bee Box may be harvested during Winter without the retaliation of any Bees. While a Bee Box will not produce honey during the season, the honey produced prior will not begin to spoil until harvested, making reserves of honey a very valuable source of food during Winter.
  • Pengulls’ tendency to gang up on creatures that attack them makes camping near Pengull breeding grounds a surprisingly effective method of dealing with Hound waves during winter. By hiding with a Bush Hat right before the first group of Hounds spawns, they will not immediately notice the player and instead choose to attack the nearby flock of Pengulls, creating lots of Jet Feathers, Drumsticks, Morsels, Eggs, Monster Meat, Hound Teeth and even Blue Gems for you to pick up. Furthermore, the winning party would likely have been sufficiently weakened that the player can finish off any stragglers by themselves.
  • Warm clothing does not help increase body temperature in and of itself; it only stops it from decreasing as fast. Taking warm clothing off during the night when by a fire saves the durability on the clothes.
  • In a desperate situation, Torches or Willow’s Lighter may be used to set flammable objects on fire, which will keep the player warm until the fire burns out. Players should be careful though, as standing too close to a wild fire will cause damage (unless playing as Willow).
  • There is a Chest (part of a Set Piece) which may spawn in a Forest biome, between a Thermal Measurer and an Ice Box. The Chest itself contains an assortment of winter-related items such as an Ice Staff, a Winter Hat, and a Breezy Vest. However, upon opening the chest, winter will start immediately. Destroying the chest with a Hammer drops its loot, but still triggers the trap. However, opening the chest when it is already Winter will have no adverse effects and provide one with several helpful items to survive the cold for free.
    • In the Reign of Giants DLC, there is a version of this set piece that starts Summer instead. The two can be told apart by the presence of Cacti in the Summer version. Importantly, opening the Ice Box is NOT safe and will start summer (unlike the winter version)
  • Woodie cannot freeze when he is in his Werebeaver form.
  • It is highly recommended to make a Thermal Stone before Winter, and heat it up before exploring. Thermal Stones will prevent the player from Freezing when heated.

Standard attire for Winter is a Winter Hat paired with a Thermal Stone, as well as Logs and Grass to start Fires when Freezing.

  • Players that are using character with increased hunger drain such as Wes, Warly or Wolfgang will find the Hibearnation Vest very helpful as it slows down hunger and delays freezing, often making up for the reduced inventory space.

Blueprint Gallery[]

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