Don't Starve first days: tools, light and a safe base
A compact first-days plan for the single-player base game.
Edition covered
The original single-player survival game with its standard two-season world. Reign of Giants, Shipwrecked, Hamlet and Don't Starve Together change recipes, characters or seasons and are outside this reference. Pictures come from Klei's single-player Steam listing.
Essential early recipes
Collect loose flint before cutting trees or mining. Keep enough grass and twigs for light in your inventory even after setting up camp.
| Craft | Ingredients | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Axe | 1 Flint + 1 Twig | Cut trees for logs |
| Pickaxe | 2 Flint + 2 Twigs | Mine boulders for stone and gold |
| Torch | 2 Cut Grass + 2 Twigs | Emergency portable light |
| Campfire | 3 Cut Grass + 2 Logs | Temporary light and cooking |
Choose a camp for resources
A central site makes short gathering trips easier. A nearby resource is useful only if its inhabitants do not attack the camp.
| Nearby feature | Benefit | Placement rule |
|---|---|---|
| Road | Faster travel between resources | Build beside it, not across useful travel space |
| Savanna | Grass, rabbits and beefalo manure | Keep clear of the herd during aggression |
| Rocky biome | Stone, flint and gold | Return with tools before committing to long trips |
| Berry bushes | Food during productive seasons | Replanted bushes need fertilizer |
Prototype before travelling
A Science Machine costs 1 Gold Nugget, 4 Logs and 4 Rocks. Stand near it to prototype recipes; learned recipes remain available away from it when you have the ingredients.
Avoid the first-night trap
Darkness is immediately dangerous. Start the light before the last daylight disappears, refuel it before it burns out, and cook only after the camp is secure.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| Don't Starve publisher listing | store.steampowered.com |
| Single-player wiki: Crock Pot | dontstarve.wiki.gg |
| Single-player wiki: Winter | dontstarve.wiki.gg |
| Single-player wiki: Characters | dontstarve.wiki.gg |
| Single-player wiki: Crafting | dontstarve.wiki.gg |