How to improve at the game and actually enjoy the process?

[kNichael]

Ever since I have gotten back to playing this game I have seen big improvements (before quitting this game I had hard times surviving spring and especially summer, and I also didn't even bother to enter the caves or even think about rushing the ruins).Right now I currently have over 100+ hours and the most I can do is rush the ruins with WX and Wolfgang. What I struggle with right now is not having the motivation or confidence that I can get better at this game, every time I had opened the game I was playing for about 5 minutes, then leaving immediately, but I do not want to quit this game. I hope that you guys can help me, thank you!

[Mike23Ua]

Please define getting better.. How does one “get better” at an open world Sandbox game where what they do is entirely up to them? In other words: What are you looking to get better at?

you can’t just say “the game” because lots of people play this in lots of different ways.. some people like to build mega bases, some people don’t build a base at all only place down the bare essentials- like campfires and cooking pots, Some people prefer to spend their time fishing, others enjoy difficult boss fights.

I think the simplest answer is that if your not having fun, then maybe this isn’t the game you want to play..?

The only thing a really REALLY hate about this game is that even when playing alone there is no pause feature.. If I have to get up and leave the room for whatever reason, 

Pee, Thirsty, Help prevent my sister from catching the house on fire when she drops something behind the stove, etc- Usually that few minutes that I am away I end up Dead.

Death by freezing, death by overheating, death by Deerclops, Death by Darkness, Death by Houndwave.

This game really isn’t designed to leave the room for longer then a few seconds.. But anyway- Just play the game and enjoy it your way.. that’s what’s most important in a sandbox game.

[megalobun]

What sorts of things would you like to accomplish? Rushing a particular boss, rushing ruins with more challenging characters, or maybe something else? What sorts of things do you struggle with in-game and out-of-game (re: motivation and confidence)?

I sometimes just open a practice file and use Too Many Items to skip to a boss fight I want to practice with the needed gear. If I'm super low confidence/inexperienced I might force my minimum HP to 1, so I get feedback when I'm getting hit, but don't have to die and go through all this setup to get back to the fight again. Maybe that's an idea?

[Majestix]

4 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

Please define getting better...

The only thing a really REALLY hate about this game is that even when playing alone there is no pause feature.. If I have to get up and leave the room for whatever reason, 

Pee, Thirsty, Help prevent my sister from catching the house on fire when she drops something behind the stove, etc- Usually that few minutes that I am away I end up Dead.

Death by freezing, death by overheating, death by Deerclops, Death by Darkness, Death by Houndwave.

This game really isn’t designed to leave the room for longer then a few seconds..

What you can get better at is staying on topic. No really, it is possible! Just try it one day.

OP, I recommend finding a server with a strong group of people who are patient enough to teach others. There are a few such dedicated servers. Communicate clearly when you join, that you know the basics but want to improve. You can learn so many cool tricks from playing with experienced people, about base building, about efficient survival strategies, about beating specific bosses... and the game is generally more fun with others.

[kNichael]

Hi, I'm sorry for not specifying what I would like to improve at, and it is how to fight all the bosses without any sort of cheesing tricks. The problem whilst doing so is that I usually get frustrated. I know that the point of a game is to have fun, but the end result might as well be better than all the stress, frustration and hours I put to achieve my goal, which is being a good player. 

[Well-met]

Try to join a public Klei server with a set goal. Like "I want to survive 20 days" or just follow people around.

[kNichael]

18 minutes ago, megalobun said:

What sorts of things would you like to accomplish? Rushing a particular boss, rushing ruins with more challenging characters, or maybe something else? What sorts of things do you struggle with in-game and out-of-game (re: motivation and confidence)?

I sometimes just open a practice file and use Too Many Items to skip to a boss fight I want to practice with the needed gear. If I'm super low confidence/inexperienced I might force my minimum HP to 1, so I get feedback when I'm getting hit, but don't have to die and go through all this setup to get back to the fight again. Maybe that's an idea?

My problem is the one with learning how to fight the bosses, but for some reason I always get frustrated and I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

Thank you very much for the reply by the way!

2 minutes ago, Well-met said:

Try to join a public Klei server with a set goal. Like "I want to survive 20 days" or just follow people around.

I usually just play by myself, I don't usually play with other people, but I have heard that setting deadlines does help.

23 minutes ago, Majestix said:

What you can get better at is staying on topic. No really, it is possible! Just try it one day.

OP, I recommend finding a server with a strong group of people who are patient enough to teach others. There are a few such dedicated servers. Communicate clearly when you join, that you know the basics but want to improve. You can learn so many cool tricks from playing with experienced people, about base building, about efficient survival strategies, about beating specific bosses... and the game is generally more fun with others.

Actually I have improved a lot thanks to finding a good and kind enough player to teach me how to rush the ruins, which was quite the achievement.

[prezera]

Play on endless mode if you want to experience late game without worrying about dying in the middle of winter and having to restart

If you want to purely fight the boss, spawn in the things you need for it using commands and then spawn the boss in.

If you feel like your doing something wrong, there are a lot of videos showcasing the bossfights and the most effective way to fight them without cheesing. If your into speedruns, there are a ton of those too 

If you can't play the game for more then 5 minutes, take a break! I often stop playing the game for a month or 2 until the next update and the hype from that gives me the motivation to start a new megabase world or to try speed running a boss again.

 

34 minutes ago, Majestix said:

What you can get better at is staying on topic. No really, it is possible! Just try it one day.

Spoiler

Op was talking about how he keeps losing the motivation to play the game, Mike was telling us something that makes him lose motivation to play the game. It takes 2 seconds to scroll past it if that still doesn't make you happy

 

[ArubaroBeefalo]

try to laught at your mistakes and deaths instead of being worried about diying. This game can have the most stressed situations but at the same time the most hilarious or ridiculous so dont worry about dying and keep improving via experience.

Also, if you dont mind spoilers, you can watch some playthrows of people that plays the game in a way that enjoys you (some are more focused in base building, others in just interaction, boss rushers, etc) and lear little tricks that can improve your chances of survive

also this game offers a good end game that you can keep enjoying after learning how to survive a whole year. The game mechanics keep changing with your experience

 

edit: if you want to learn how to fight raid bosses you can use the rollback feature to dont waste entire lifes of farming because that fights cant be learned with 2 or 3 fights, you need many and you will keep improving after you know how to kill them. Also you can ask in the forum, many users will help you with strategies and tricks

[wigfrids hat]

well, half of my suggestion is no good(invite someone into your world who can help you practice in a safe way) but my other half is still viable and is basically just what arubaro said; let go of caring about your death tally, set your world to 'endless' and just throw stuff at the wall until you find out something that works for you. i still cannot solo bee-queen but i am actually getting to a point where i can make plans on how to get around enemy mobs instead of just running until they lose agro X''D

[Yuuko]

If you play on PC - use console commands.  Give yourself creative mode and build whatever resources you need, then spawn in whatever challenges you want to practice with.  Whether its fighting 3 tree guards, 20 hounds, bee queen, dfly, fuel weaver, whatever you can use console commands to get to that part of your play within minutes without risking a world you're actually invested in.  Also save before you go in and roll back to get multiple attempts.  Once you're comfortable dealing with something then tackle it in a "real" game.

If you're on console - buy the game on PC.  We have geometric placement <3 

[Owlrust]

If I were asked to give any advice I would suggest a few things: 

1.) Don't think Black and White too much on what you do; meaning just because you didn't fight Bee Queen by day 45 doesn't mean you're not good in general, and there is no right way and wrong way to play the game. Try not to compare yourself to what you might call "good players" too often, as many of those streamers, speedrunners, and youtubers spend countless hours and attempts to get a successful run (which, believe me, they fail a lot at first); heck even looking at us, you may call many of us veterans but just look at the DST confessions and dumbest deaths pages, many use mods and rollbacks, and many more still have trouble with many things in the game too just like myself. You're not alone friend.

2.) Try focusing on what you need to deal with the current season/situation as they become relevant. For example, in order to survive Spring effectively you'll need Water resistant gear and lightning rods to cover your area; and for Summer you will need a way to cool yourself down and ways to combat smoldering. Same applies for food, supplies, and other things as well; if you're low on food consider starting a farm or go hunting, and if hounds are becoming a problem try to make some tooth traps for the next few days. In other words, focusing on the smaller-immediate things first can help you figure out what to do next.

3.) There are many amazing topics and guides that fellow forum users have posted about In the past, and I took the liberty to save a bunch in my signature if you're interested, topics like "Any unknown mechanics to share?" Have changed the way I look at the game and play it after seeing what people have come up with.

As I stated before there is no right way or wrong way to play DST, just strategies that make playing the game easier or challenging. I'd be happy to help if you have any other questions, feel free to DM me anytime.

[Mike23Ua]

There’s only a handful of bosses that I’ve actually fought and depending on your idea of what is and is not considered cheese tactics- determines what response your looking for.

For example: I noticed early on in Deerclops design that He/She is programmed to very specifically target and destroy placed base structures most people play this game by building a Mega base full of structures so for THEM they have this thing in their base destroying everything and for first time experience it could be pretty terrifying & frustrating for them.

Spoiler Alert: I’m not MOST people, I don’t build massive bases so it was easy to manipulate Deerclops into destroying dummy resources I plant down (such as empty storage chests or placed signs) and kiting it to go EXACTLY where I want it to go (most the time to a pile of lit gunpowder charges)

The easiest way to kill Deerclops though would probably just be kiting it through a forest till Treeguards kill it.

Bearger is another one I noticed had a simple design, like Deerclops and base structures.. Bearger is designed to target FOOD, if your fridge is empty when a Bearger arrives it won’t come there smashing up your base.

In fact- the easiest way to kite a Bearger is to pluck a flower and then drop said petals on the ground it will enter an animation of walking towards the petals since petal counts as food.. quickly pick it up and Bearger will get angry chasing you for taking its foods. In the same way you can manipulate Deerclops you can use this method to kite Bearger Exactly where you want him.

If your wanting to fight them without smart tactics like this (some would consider cheese) then THAT depends on your personal skill, as well as your preparedness for the fight, and The Character choice you pick.

As for all other bosses, I don’t really bother fighting them since they do not bring themselves into my business uninvited.

To Summarize this into a nice little TL:DR: Until Klei Reworks and Nerfs the hell out of Wolfgang just use him eat food and Superman punch your foes to death with great ease, or until they buff Wes with his rework Expect to waste through more resources as him quicker then you will if you were playing as literally any other character- so your best bet as Wes is to go in OVER Prepared- And avoid dying..

 

[Quyzbuk]

4 hours ago, Mike23Ua said:

 

To Summarize this into a nice little TL:DR: Until Klei Reworks and Nerfs the hell out of Wolfgang just use him eat food and Superman punch your foes to death with great ease, or until they buff Wes with his rework Expect to waste through more resources as him quicker then you will if you were playing as literally any other character- so your best bet as Wes is to go in OVER Prepared- And avoid dying..

 

You bite your tongue, how dare you suggest Wes isn't perfect already!

 

EDIT: For the OP - If you don't have the dexterity to deal with melee only fighting bosses, try using other tactics... ranged weapons like darts, ice rods and explosives, hiring a dozen pigs, rabbits, or merms to help in the fight, etc.

[kNichael]

17 hours ago, Owlrus said:

If I were asked to give any advice I would suggest a few things: 

1.) Don't think Black and White too much on what you do; meaning just because you didn't fight Bee Queen by day 45 doesn't mean you're not good in general, and there is no right way and wrong way to play the game. Try not to compare yourself to what you might call "good players" too often, as many of those streamers, speedrunners, and youtubers spend countless hours and attempts to get a successful run (which, believe me, they fail a lot at first); heck even looking at us, you may call many of us veterans but just look at the DST confessions and dumbest deaths pages, many use mods and rollbacks, and many more still have trouble with many things in the game too just like myself. You're not alone friend.

2.) Try focusing on what you need to deal with the current season/situation as they become relevant. For example, in order to survive Spring effectively you'll need Water resistant gear and lightning rods to cover your area; and for Summer you will need a way to cool yourself down and ways to combat smoldering. Same applies for food, supplies, and other things as well; if you're low on food consider starting a farm or go hunting, and if hounds are becoming a problem try to make some tooth traps for the next few days. In other words, focusing on the smaller-immediate things first can help you figure out what to do next.

3.) There are many amazing topics and guides that fellow forum users have posted about In the past, and I took the liberty to save a bunch in my signature if you're interested, topics like "Any unknown mechanics to share?" Have changed the way I look at the game and play it after seeing what people have come up with.

As I stated before there is no right way or wrong way to play DST, just strategies that make playing the game easier or challenging. I'd be happy to help if you have any other questions, feel free to DM me anytime.

Thank you so much for this advice!

If it isn't a problem, I would really enjoy learning those unknown mechanics that you know, thanks again!

17 hours ago, Mike23Ua said:

There’s only a handful of bosses that I’ve actually fought and depending on your idea of what is and is not considered cheese tactics- determines what response your looking for.

For example: I noticed early on in Deerclops design that He/She is programmed to very specifically target and destroy placed base structures most people play this game by building a Mega base full of structures so for THEM they have this thing in their base destroying everything and for first time experience it could be pretty terrifying & frustrating for them.

Spoiler Alert: I’m not MOST people, I don’t build massive bases so it was easy to manipulate Deerclops into destroying dummy resources I plant down (such as empty storage chests or placed signs) and kiting it to go EXACTLY where I want it to go (most the time to a pile of lit gunpowder charges)

The easiest way to kill Deerclops though would probably just be kiting it through a forest till Treeguards kill it.

Bearger is another one I noticed had a simple design, like Deerclops and base structures.. Bearger is designed to target FOOD, if your fridge is empty when a Bearger arrives it won’t come there smashing up your base.

In fact- the easiest way to kite a Bearger is to pluck a flower and then drop said petals on the ground it will enter an animation of walking towards the petals since petal counts as food.. quickly pick it up and Bearger will get angry chasing you for taking its foods. In the same way you can manipulate Deerclops you can use this method to kite Bearger Exactly where you want him.

If your wanting to fight them without smart tactics like this (some would consider cheese) then THAT depends on your personal skill, as well as your preparedness for the fight, and The Character choice you pick.

As for all other bosses, I don’t really bother fighting them since they do not bring themselves into my business uninvited.

To Summarize this into a nice little TL:DR: Until Klei Reworks and Nerfs the hell out of Wolfgang just use him eat food and Superman punch your foes to death with great ease, or until they buff Wes with his rework Expect to waste through more resources as him quicker then you will if you were playing as literally any other character- so your best bet as Wes is to go in OVER Prepared- And avoid dying..

 

Oh, these bosses are actually extremely easy to kite, so I don't have any problems fighting them.

It wouldn't hurt for me to overprepare for a boss fight, so thank you for the advice!

(by the way, I mostly play WX, but I started playing Wolfgang to learn how to fight the other big bads of The Constant, so the nerf Wolfgang part would actually be very welcome, since he is so broken at the moment)

Thank you to everyone for restoring my will of wanting to play the game!

I really appreciate it and I hope that you all have a wonderful day and an enjoyable experience with this game!

[ArubaroBeefalo]

5 minutes ago, kNichael said:

Thank you so much for this advice!

If it isn't a problem, I would really enjoy learning those unknown mechanics that you know, thanks again!

Oh, these bosses are actually extremely easy to kite, so I don't have any problems fighting them.

It wouldn't hurt for me to overprepare for a boss fight, so thank you for the advice!

(by the way, I mostly play WX, but I started playing Wolfgang to learn how to fight the other big bads of The Constant, so the nerf Wolfgang part would actually be very welcome, since he is so broken at the moment)

i did the same but take care if you play with other character, you might fail the amount of gear to fight a boss due of wolfgang speed and damage

[kNichael]

5 hours ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

i did the same but take care if you play with other character, you might fail the amount of gear to fight a boss due of wolfgang speed and damage

Yeah I wanted to stop playing broken characters, so I'm thinking about picking Wurt since I received a skin on her, but the problem is that I don't have the spools for her yet.

[ArubaroBeefalo]

2 hours ago, kNichael said:

Yeah I wanted to stop playing broken characters, so I'm thinking about picking Wurt since I received a skin on her, but the problem is that I don't have the spools for her yet.

well, then the best character can be wilson since you will have no so much advantage and 0 disavantages.

when i started to learn how to kill bosses i did what i told you about wolfgang to know how they work and after i get bored i started a wilson world and i repeated everything as him

[kNichael]

10 hours ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

well, then the best character can be wilson since you will have no so much advantage and 0 disavantages.

when i started to learn how to kill bosses i did what i told you about wolfgang to know how they work and after i get bored i started a wilson world and i repeated everything as him

Right now I'm practicing on Klaus with Wes and spears (and other gear like armor, walking cane, magilum and healing), and I'm pretty sure I can take him down now considering I was only dealing 25 damage to him.

[coolusername132]

If you murder enough people and absorb their souls, one of them is bound to make you better at the game eventually!

[ryvrdrgn14]

On 10/7/2020 at 2:20 AM, Well-met said:

Try to join a public Klei server with a set goal. Like "I want to survive 20 days" or just follow people around.

I guess that's a goal. I was just in a public server where Wickerbottom planted gazillion berry bushes, Wormwood planted a gazillion seeds, I farmed a gazillion honey and monster meat on Wendy and guess how our Wigfrid dies? From starvation right next to 2 full fridges while she was chatting about being hungry.

 

For public servers in my time zones hardly any game lasts past the rainy season so there's really no need to worry about stuff burning cause everyone will leave during or after winter. So I just changed my playstyle to have fun in those first 20-35 days and not worry past that.

[JosePapp]

I mean, to me being good is to be able to surivive and manage yourself well enough so that you can the other side of the game with more confidence (the optional bosses, the pearl side quest, cave exploration or basing if you're into that, even beefalo taming). I have over 800 hours between DS and DST and around 860 if you also count how much time i spent playing on a pirated pocket edition before buying the games. 

I've had worlds reaching the midhundreds in dst with my pal @Mooagain and yet we still both sometimes die to something dumb like terrorbeaks or spiders, so as long as you can be a little laid back and enjoy the ride, it'll be fun!