Sanity Tips?

[Quoth143]

I had recently bought Don't Starve and I could use some tips on keeping sanity up because picking flowers does not seem to cut it. So I could use some help pretty please. 

[NotStarvnMarvn]

Okay, here we go. This will be a long list into sanity and there are many ways to keep it. Here are some of the best ways.

How to get it up:

- Make garland from 12 flower petals

- Befriend a pig and stand near it while it is sleeping at night (feed it 1 meat of any type)

- Make a top hat out of 6 silk, obtain it by killing spiders

- Prototype new things (make items that have a light bulb at crafting engines)

- Pick flowers

- Sleep

- Wear things like the Tam 'o shanter and the dapper vest (obtain the "tam" by killing a walrus)

- Eat certain food items (Like taffy, jerky etc, cooked green mushrooms, cooked blue mushrooms etc.)

How to prevent it from draining:

- Stay away from total darkness

- Avoid long exposure to monsters

- Wear sanity-boosting items (listed above)

 

There are many more things you can do to maintain sanity but to all of the above and you will be just fine.

[SapphireBullets]

Oh, one useful thing to know in the early stages of the game.

 

Find some rocks and gold (Look for a boulder with yellow veins to mine with a pick) and build a science machine.

 

Each time you prototype something new, you'll gain 15 sanity.

 

Pace yourself though. Maybe start with a rope and then a spear so you can defend yourself.

[~Matt]

I find Cooked Cactus to be the most efficient item for recovering sanity. Each individual one eaten restores 15 sanity, just like Cooked Meat, but the Cactus has much less application on other recipes, and is considerably easier to obtain, though you will take some damage (nothing big) and durability on armor will be also consumed a bit.

[NotStarvnMarvn]

I find Cooked Cactus to be the most efficient item for recovering sanity. Each individual one eaten restores 15 sanity, just like Cooked Meat, but the Cactus has much less application on other recipes, and is considerably easier to obtain, though you will take some damage (nothing big) and durability on armor will be also consumed a bit.

he just bought don't starve so i wouldn't assume he has RoG.

[Edebadi]

I usually save some green mushrooms which I picked up at dusk.That's what I do in early days.

[~Matt]

he just bought don't starve so i wouldn't assume he has RoG.

 

Ooh, yeah, didn't think that through. It's funny how familiar RoG gets after some time, feels almost like it's base game itself. Well, I stand corrected, and thank you

[blaaaat]

Early in the game, try to get the top hat (requires a science machine first!). It's a great sanity boost and only costs six silk. Make a few traps and find a spiders' den. Set up the traps and lure the critters in. You should have your six silk in no time. For long term silk supply, finding or creating a pig village and planting a spiders' den in the middle will keep you covered.

 

Cooked (not raw!) green mushrooms provide a +15 boost, but can only be picked at dusk and you might not be near one depending on your world. If you have access to them, great! If not, I would not make them a priority but instead focus on the science machine to get the +15 prototyping boosts.

 

If you have the food for it - and that's a big if early in game - you can make use of the straw roll or tent (requires a science machine first!). At a cost of 75 hungry points, you get +33 or +50 sanity points.

 

The crockpot (requires a science machine first!) is also a very useful tool to get sanity out of your food, especially monster food and mushrooms. The dragon pie and butter muffin are simple recipes which allow twigs as filler and give a +5 boost. Assuming you don't play RoG, the best sanity boosting recipes (+15) require honey, which is something that you'll probably be ready to get access to after you've gotten yourself the crockpot, though it depends how close your base is to any beehive. Alternatively, if you have a steady meat supply, invest in drying racks (requires a science machine first!). There's a +10 sanity in small jerky and +15 in regular jerky. Do not eat monster jerky though - monster food is only safe to eat as part of a crockpot recipe (and never more than one or you'll get monster lasanga, which is not safe).

 

Once you've established a decent base and are acquainted with the game mechanics, you should go look for the walrus camp during winter. There's a 25% chance the big guy will drop the tam o'shanter upon defeat. A few tooth traps for him and his company will make quick work of them. The party respawns every two to three days, so if you can afford it, fight them as often as possible during winter to get that hat. Once you have that (and maintain it with the sewing kit), sanity will never again be a problem.

[NotStarvnMarvn]

Ooh, yeah, didn't think that through. It's funny how familiar RoG gets after some time, feels almost like it's base game itself. Well, I stand corrected, and thank you

Don't blame you.