For many players, summer in Don’t Starve Together can be a challenging season filled with overheating, wildfires, and new environmental hazards. However, when properly prepared, summer can actually be one of the easiest and even most relaxing seasons in the game. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to survive and thrive during summer, from preventing wildfires to battling the Antlion.

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Fireproofing Your Base: A Must for Survival

Once summer arrives, your base is at risk of spontaneous combustion. Wildfires can destroy essential resources and structures if not properly managed. The best way to fireproof your base is by using Ice Flingomatics, which automatically extinguish smoldering objects and prevent fires. However, crafting them requires gears, which can be obtained by:

• Digging graves (though this tanks your sanity and may awaken angry ghosts).
• Collecting them from tumbleweeds (though the chances are slim).
• Defeating clockwork creatures found on the surface or in the ruins.

You won’t need to go overboard—strategic placement of one or two Flingomatics can effectively safeguard your critical resources. These machines last five days per fuel charge and are best fueled with niter, making resource management key.

For those who want a more radical approach, cave basing is a strong alternative. Since smoldering does not occur underground, setting up a temporary seasonal base in the caves can provide complete fire protection. If the caves seem daunting, you can also settle in the Oasis Desert, the only surface biome immune to smoldering.

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Understanding the Smoldering Mechanic

During summer, anything on your screen has a chance to begin smoldering. Objects off-screen remain safe until you approach them. This means:

• If you keep moving, items won’t ignite as long as they’re off-screen.
• If you linger too long in one place without fire protection, wildfires will occur.
• If you don’t have Ice Flingomatics, expect parts of your base to burn to the ground.

To minimize risk, avoid standing still in areas with burnable objects unless they are protected.

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Personal Overheating Protection

Just like winter required warmth, summer requires cooling strategies. Here are the best options:

The Eyebrella

• Dropped from Deerclops, this item provides 240 points of overheating protection.
• Since it’s primarily used in spring, maintain it for summer to maximize survival.

Chilled Amulets

• Temporarily cools you down but only lasts six minutes.
• Best used by cooling down first, then swapping to protective gear.

Summer Frest

• Provides 120 overheating protection and 20% wetness resistance.
• Not ideal due to better alternatives, but works if paired with a cold thermal stone.

Ice Cube

• Offers 240 overheating protection but reduces movement speed by 10%.
• Increases wetness, leading to sanity loss.
• Can be stored indefinitely in an Ice Box.

Floral Shirt

• Crafted using Cactus Flowers, which bloom in the Oasis Desert.
• Grants 240 overheating protection and +3.3 sanity per minute.
• Spoils in 15 days, similar to a Ham Bat.

If all else fails, the Thermal Stone remains a reliable cooling method. Store them in an Ice Chester (a transformed Chester with nine Blue Gems during a full moon) to provide unlimited, easy cooling without the need for endothermic fires.

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Dealing with the Oasis and the Sandstorm

While the Oasis Desert is a safe summer location, sandstorms will severely limit vision and slow movement unless you craft Desert Goggles. To acquire these:

1. Fish in the Oasis Lake for the Fashion Goggles Blueprint.
2. Use the Fashion Goggles to craft Desert Goggles.
3. These will negate the sandstorm’s effects, making exploration much easier.

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Antlion: The Seasonal Summer Boss

During summer, the Antlion becomes an immediate threat, capable of causing sinkholes that damage structures and prevent rebuilding for up to 30 in-game days. She also causes cave-ins underground, dropping deadly boulders. To prevent this:

• Appease the Antlion by giving her trinkets, which extends the time before she rages.
• Defeating her is simple since she remains stationary—circle her while attacking to avoid her strikes.
• Upon death, she drops the Lazy Deserter Blueprint, a teleportation device requiring two to function.

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Final Summer Tips

• Crops will wither without a Flingomatic, even in the Oasis Desert.
• Cactus Flowers, needed for Floral Shirts, can also be used in the Crock Pot to create Flower Salads, a valuable healing item.
• Red Hounds replace Blue Hounds during summer, meaning their corpses ignite upon death—be mindful near flammable structures.

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Conclusion: Summer is Easier Than You Think

By following these strategies, summer becomes less of a threat and more of a routine survival challenge. With the right fireproofing, cooling gear, and understanding of mechanics, you’ll soon realize that summer is actually one of the easiest seasons. If anything, it’s a chance to explore, prepare, and take on the Antlion for valuable loot.

So go forth, stay cool, and don’t let your base burn to the ground. Happy surviving!