With over a thousand hours in Don’t Starve Together, I’ve picked up countless survival tricks that have transformed my gameplay from a struggling beginner to a player capable of thriving in the harshest conditions. Whether you’re looking to manage food better, optimize your exploration, or take down bosses efficiently, these 29 survival tips will set you on the right path. Let’s dive in.

Mastering Food Management

Despite the game’s title, food management is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Don’t Starve Together. Here are some key insights:

1. Cook Your Food Wisely – Cooking berries before eating them increases their full hunger potential by 25%. Carrots, when cooked, provide three times more healing than raw ones. However, not all food benefits from cooking—corn and fish are best eaten raw.
2. Meat Lasts Longer When Cooked – Unlike fruits and vegetables, cooking meat extends its shelf life by 66%, removes negative effects, and often improves its benefits.
3. Protect Your Food from Rain – Wetness makes food spoil 30% faster. If rain is in the forecast, store perishables in your backpack to keep them dry.
4. Be Mindful When Combining Stacks – Merging fresh food with nearly spoiled food speeds up the spoilage of the entire stack. Instead, keep old and new stacks separate to extend their longevity.
5. Use Monster Meat Strategically – If hound waves are providing too much monster meat, dry it into jerky for longer storage or mix it into meatballs for an easy meal.

Exploration and Survival Essentials

6. Don’t Rush to Settle Down – The first few days should focus on gathering resources and exploring rather than committing to a base location too soon.
7. Backpacks Keep Items Safe – If you die near mobs, they may eat any loot that isn’t inside a backpack. Keep valuables like pig skins in your pack to prevent losing them.
8. Bush Hats Do NOT Work as You Think – The bush hat doesn’t make you invisible; it prevents enemies from detecting you. If a mob is already aggroed, the hat won’t save you.
9. Use Grass Rafts Over Boats – Boats are slow and expensive for early exploration. Instead, use grass rafts—they’re free, fast, and require no science station.
10. Find a Fig Tree for Safety – Setting up camp near a giant fig tree provides natural protection from overheating, 30% rain resistance, 100% lightning immunity, and an infinite supply of fireflies.

Handling Hostile Mobs and Challenges

11. Avoid Pirate Raids – These only occur near the Moon Quay Island. If you’re near one, heading to shallow waters will prevent them from following you.
12. Trick the Pirates – Pirates only steal from your first few inventory slots. Keep cheap items like grass and twigs there to minimize losses.
13. Dispose of Trinkets Smartly – Dying near a Lureplant allows it to consume unwanted trinkets permanently.
14. Survive Without a Light Source – Running between fireflies at night can keep Charlie away indefinitely while only draining sanity.
15. Sleeping Prevents Charlie’s Attacks – Using a bedroll or any sleep mechanic prevents Charlie from attacking you at night.
16. Fire Ignores Armor – If you’re playing PvP, fire damage bypasses all non-fireproof armor.
17. Optimize Hutch’s Utility – Placing specific items in Hutch transforms him into a useful companion: Fences make him into an AoE tentacle slayer, and a One-Man Band turns him into a sanity-restoring jukebox.
18. Use Snow Chester and Ice Packs – These slow down spoilage for foods that don’t fit in an icebox.
19. Reset Beefalo Ride Timer – Dismount your beefalo before entering dangerous areas to reset the ride timer and avoid getting thrown off at the worst moment.
20. Despawning Frog Rain – If you don’t want to deal with frog rain, move far away from your base and unload the area to despawn them.
21. Manipulate Ruin Monkeys – When monkeys in the ruins turn aggressive, stand between them and a Rook. As the Rook charges, move aside to make it eliminate the monkeys in one hit.

Boss Battle Tricks

22. Outmaneuver Deerclops – Instead of simply running, bait Deerclops’ attack by circling half around it or dodging between its legs when it spreads them.
23. Use Triangle Movements for the Eye of Terror – Instead of running away, move in a triangular pattern when it rushes. This method works in both of its phases.
24. Kite the Nightmare Werepig with Square Patterns – Unlike the Eye of Terror, this enemy can be kited using a square movement pattern instead of a triangle.
25. Face the Celestial Champion Head-On – Instead of dodging sideways during its Gestalt attack, run directly through its zigzag pattern from a distance.

Long-Term Success and Game Philosophy

26. Manage Time Efficiently – Always have a mental or written checklist of tasks to complete by certain days to prevent getting caught off guard.
27. Don’t Be Afraid to Alter the World – Holding back from picking resources because you “might need them later” is a mistake. If you die, you’ll never use them anyway.
28. Accept Death as a Learning Experience – The longer you force survival in a doomed world, the longer you delay putting lessons into practice in a fresh one.
29. Stop Relying on Backpacks – Though useful, backpacks encourage hoarding unnecessary items. Experiment with alternative body-slot items to see their advantages.

Final Thoughts

If you’re still watching, here’s one last tip: don’t over-optimize everything. It’s still a game, so have fun and experiment. Survival is about adapting, and sometimes the best way to improve is to make mistakes. Also, stop eating your toenails—that’s just gross.

Got any other survival tips to share? Drop them in the comments, and I’ll see you in the next one!