This game is hard

[Direkappa]

When the GIANTS come asking for TreeFiddy. Don't give them no god damn TreeFiddy. They'll only be back, asking for another TreeFiddy. _{keep this in mind at all times.}

[porps]

nah, the game is still too easy with RoG. Play more, you will get better, it's much more rewarding to do that than just have them make the game easier for you.

 

Summer is tough, but you can easily spend most of the day away from your camp - Tip: lose the backpack.

 

Dont try to fight giants near your base- if you do so and your base gets destroyed it is entirely your own fault.

 

Dont bother activating touchstones until you can leave an emergency supply pack at them. wood, grass, twigs, nitre, flint and a heatstone. Maybe even some summer and winter clothing.

 

Your lack of preparation is not a game flaw.

 

PS - I've had my fair share of occassions where a giant and the hounds have come at the same time. It's really no big deal, hit the giant with a range weapon whenever he deagros, and kite everything away from your base. Kite them to tooth traps if you want to put the dogs down so you can deal with the giant. Or just lead them well away, let them fight each other, then finish off what's left. 

 

In my experience, and i've put a lot of hours in, this game never kills you cheaply. The only thing that EVER kills you on dont starve are your own mistakes or a lack of preparation. Lost agro on deerclops? Your fault! Dragonfly burned your base down? your fault! Got killed by terrorbeaks while fighting hounds? your fault! Froze when autumn changed to winter and you were miles from base with no thermal gear? YOUR FAULT!

 

Some people obviously have trouble admitting that to themselves, and those people will probably never get any better at the game.

 

Extra free tip - build your base near a wormhole which leads to a far away place- when you hear a giant approaching, hop through the wormhole and the giant wont destroy your structures.

[Stakhanov]

The game is truly brilliant in its difficulty curve. However , it's easy to forget just how unforgiving its rules are. While there's an abundance of fair mechanics such as boss loot helping for the next season , light sources and stronger allies in caves , and so many neutral creatures that don't hold a grudge , the game is still designed to break you. It's exponentially more brutal the more confident you get.

 

Case 1 : Wolfgang's folly.

 

After a narrow escape from the underground ruins on day 150 , I opted to spend the next 2 seasons stockpiling for a longer , safer cave run. Giants had me unphased as I collected their hides and eyeballs expediently. So far , my method to deal with hound waves was to lead them to a killer bees biome , but that meant spending most of a day running back and forth. On day 166 , I got bored and opted to confront the winter hounds right inside my base , as they couldn't destroy it.

 

Except I forgot to eat. And replace my armor. I engaged them more aggressively as I noticed my thermal stone losing heat too fast. The pack savaged me until I had to run , confident that my life-giving amulet would save me. For good measure , I had stockpiled several around my base.

 

And so it saved me , for a day. Hounds came back seconds after I was resurrected. I kept collecting amulets and dying every day until there were none. On day 169 , I resurrected at the first touchstone , which was supplied with enough materials to survive the winter cold. But not another hound wave. They cut me off from the nearby wormhole and got me.

 

That wasn't part of the plan. I resurrected at the very end of a massive savannah , with only a fire pit to keep warm with grass and beefalo dung. Hoping for a miracle , I started running. And froze to death a short distance from the next fire pit.

 

Lesson learned : Don't Starve is not unlike a fighting game - don't expose yourself when in a strong position , or you may get beaten to death in a devastating combo.

 

 

Case 2 : Wigfrid's ruin.

 

As I started a new run with adventure mode in mind , I set up a comfy base in the middle of the marsh to collect expedition supplies effortlessly , despite the early insanity from a pile of ice melting in my pocket in summer rain. As it featured a sinkhole , I thought I may as well explore the cave , to secure a constant supply of minerals. The batilisks and mosquitoes were constant annoyances , but never a threat. As I had obtained far too much silk and healing salves , I thought about bringing rock lobsters to clear tentacles from the nearby reeds field. All of this long-term planning was rudely interrupted by the Dragonfly.

 

 

Despite the prowess of the valliant ice-flinging warrior , most of my base was incinerated in the fight , and the reeds field as well. Shadow armor and swords weren't enough to confront the Dragonfly , and so it escaped when I ran to resupply.

 

Well , that's another reason to move to the caves and hire rock lobsters. They started wandering the marshes chopping tentacles , or at least distracting them forever with their indestructible turtling.

 

As I finally enjoyed the autumn to follow trails with the divining rod , a second Bearger showed up - possibly to avenge his predecessor who supplied most of my base with a pig village's ruins.

 

A random rock lobster was wandering in the woods , and was ordered to fight him while I ran to fetch my goodies. Having only recently rebuilt my base to full , it took a while to find them. Too long. Bearger walked purposefully towards my fridge , with stacks of painstakingly cooked meatballs and bacon. I would have none of it ! At that point , I assumed hitting his backside would do the trick to distract him.

 

That was a very bad idea.

 

 

He destroyed everything in one mighty stomp.

 

As I lured him to more rock lobsters (which he killed and ate) the dusk batilisks happily devoured all my food. At that point , I considered relocating since nothing was left standing. It would take quite a while to move all those resources , wouldn't it ?

 

As I ran around looking for my nemesis , which was nowhere to be found , I noticed a rock lobster moving towards the dropped stacks of gold. Maybe he could be distracted with more flint ? Rock lobsters always like flint. That made him friendly. But no less hungry. Being a friend , I cannot attack him as he feasts on my riches.

 

Day 124 - I am still technically undefeated , but now very much humbled and demotivated. Ironically , looking for a way out of this world became a necessity , rather than a fancy.

 

Lesson learned : the more you have , the more you stand to lose. Greed is the most counterproductive impulse there is.

 

This is why I have a newfound empathy for those who were hit by Reign of Giants' curveballs. At first , the game just seems harsher - unfairly so. Then you slowly master it. Exploration becomes more fun and varied as you gain confidence. And once you have too much of it , the game humiliates you out of nowhere. That experience is a fascinating blend of sickened rage and delicious irony. It's definitely an acquired taste. And it makes for awesome stories.

[Reaux]

To OP

 

I'm on day 145 on my second world; I made it to about day 40 on my first world. Oh but you're thinking, "Pff so?".

 

I've survived 2 full years without anything in my base burning down. I've killed all the giants (except Dragonfly) at least once. I've built several ancient items, killed an ancient guardian, and only died once. The catch is, I challenge myself by playing on the Default Plus world. Less resources and more spiders. The only thing I change is what season the world starts with (Autumn), and I remove all the touchstones.

 

The problem is in the game. The problem is that you lack experience and skills, which is not meant to be an insult. I've had my fair share of deaths. Even recently, I've died at like day 18 because of tallbirds or spiders, never seasons. But I've just invested a lot of time playing the game and reading the wiki and threads.

 

(I will also admit that I use a mod; the only one being RPG Hud because it's pretty much the only mod that makes sense in regards to mechanics. Seriously what sense does it make that I can't wear armour, a necklace, and a backpack?)