What do you think of Don't Starve's difficulty?

[w00tyd00d]

This has been discussed in the forum in many posts and the poll has already been taken on the wiki, but Toaster Fu gave me the idea to make a poll on the forum as well. Personally, I think the game's a little too easy at the moment and I think it has a lot of room to add more challenge, but I know a lot of people would disagree with me on that. So, let's bring all the talk of the game's difficulty to a single thread and we can talk about where the game is headed and people's thoughts on it. (sanity, winter, etc.) I'm curious to see what you all think of it (and what it will be). Please vote above and if you choose to, you're more than welcome to say your thoughts on why you chose the one you did. I'd love to read it!

Edited January 13, 2013 by w00tyd00d

[Dellobow]

The only struggle are the fifteen hounds that come. Food's not a problem. I'm curious about the winter update though. Hypothermia. Don't Die.

[Torasko]

The game is too easy, period. Farming food is no problem, there is not enough danger and the hounds can be easily fought when you put monster meat around the base. More enemies around the world, decaying food and seasons will be hopefully fix this problem.

As for all the people who are complaining that the game is too hard; learn to use the mechanics to make your adventure better. If you aren't constantly challenged, you won't change the way you play which in return makes you bored of the game rather quickly.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Torasko

[help]

i think hounds are super OP since u cant kite em espacily not 10 at once and the food thing is a good idea but it wastes alot of stuffs

[Torasko]

i think hounds are super OP since u cant kite em espacily not 10 at once

Kiting is just one tactic, and this one - like you stated - doesn't work on the hounds. However, there are numerous other tactics that you can use to fight them off easily, and I already posted one of them above you: Putting meat around your base. They come running for it, you murder it and it drops another piece of monster meat. Repeat for a successful defense.

and the food thing is a good idea but it wastes alot of stuffs

The whole point about the game is not to starve, so there should be a constant threat of starving. Decaying food is perfect for this, and about the argument that a slot should be used (and the problem that when there isn't a slot available) can be easily fixed by making a Terraria-like garbage slot. Anyway, farming food is too easy at the moment and it's not hard to get multiple stacks of berries in a couple of weeks. In other words, you will never starve in Don't Starve.

[HandsomeDevil]

Once there's insanity, winter, food spoilage etc, it'll be a lot harder

[Torasko]

I think so too, and I welcome it with open arms.

[Marak]

Once there's insanity, winter, food spoilage etc, it'll be a lot harder

This. Complaining that the game is too easy when there are no less than three major difficulty-increasing additions forthcoming is a bit silly.

[bunnysuit]

I'm not very good at survivals games but the level is just right for me for now. Hunting is a little too easy but I know everything is still in beta so I can't really complain yet.

[Spazmatic]

I'd say that Don't Starve at this very moment is too easy.Once you get the hang of things,and know how to kill all creatures without getting hit and how to gain food,only mistakes or engaging combat that you're doomed to lose could get you killed.But when food spoilage,sanity and winter show up,I hope know my point of view is changed

[Torasko]

Complaining that the game is too easy when there are no less than three major difficulty-increasing additions forthcoming is a bit silly.

It's not really complaining. It's more like letting the developers know that most of us are ready for a little more challenge.

[Germolin]

Once you have survived the fisrt 15 days with some intelligent building 'n' stuff it becomes easy as hell. The hounds are easy when you have a wooden armor and even a spear is enough to kill them. ***** please, the game could be more difficult.

[GamingGorman]

The game is way to easy for a survival game right now, it feels more like a sandbox at the moment but is fun and is full of potential. Its in beta however and that's is to be expected. Hopefully the upcoming additions up the challenge level considerably.

[Syd]

Early game difficulty is pretty much fine right now. It's midgame and endgame that needs attention.

Thankfully, it looks like story mode, sanity, and winter are being designed to add a good amount of challenge to the game, and the new research system could help things out as well.

[9600bauds]

The problem with Don't Starve, as I feel it, is that I've never actually starved.

There are big threats, such as spiders, hounds and tentacles, but food itself is never a problem.

Get a lot of monster meat from killing spiders and cook it in a crock pot, just eat it raw and set up a bee box in less than a day, bully pigmen, or if you just don't feel like fighting stuff, make a farm.

[Silvador]

I went with "a little improvement" because, while I find the survival aspect quite comfortable and managable, some of the monsters can be a bit overwhelming, like the Spider Queen or Treeguard. I feel that they are capable of killing you purely too fast in comparison with the rest of the game's difficulty.

[Zing_of_wind_village]

I think it really depends if either you're a beginner and have no idea what everything or anything does/do in the game or if you're a veteran and know everything. If you're a beginner(ones that don't look in wiki or the forum) then ofc you won't know that if you stand really close to a tentacle you would die without any armor on. So, for beginner's the game is moderately difficult. Then there is the case with the veteran's who would kite the tentacle using a tentacle spike and Wolfgang and kill it in 4 hits.

That is why I really want the next update to hit the veterans really hard and set them back so the game is consistently difficult.

I forgot to add that the extra difficulty will be the sanity meter, for sure, and starts around day 50-100 so it doesn't add too much difficulty for beginners.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Zing_of_wind_village

[w00tyd00d]

It's not really complaining. It's more like letting the developers know that most of us are ready for a little more challenge.

Exactly; just because it's easy for one person absolutely does not mean it's easy for the next. Which is why I want to hear what other people think of the difficulty so far and what they think of the future update, whether they think it's good or bad. I'm with the many that want more of a challenge out of the game come the final product (I'm not worried about it though, I know come March the game will be plenty difficult), but I also want to speak for the people that don't want too much of a challenge either. The game should have a challenge to it, but should also be fair and rewarding at the same time. Adding too many challenges and pushbacks, or even just the wrong kind of pushbacks, could result in a broken or just plain bad game. The key to all of this is trying to balance the game out to appeal to everyone, both veterans AND newbies. Give the veterans their mid/late game challenges like packs of dogs and harsh winters, where the newbies have a nice smooth learning curb to get up to where the vets are.

Nothing that's said in this post is a bad thing! I accept everyone's opinions but more than anything I want to hear your reasoning for it. The dev's can't do too much for you if you don't say why you think the way you do!

[B00TE]

Early game is good, mid/end game difficulty is pretty nonexistant. But it's in the process of being expanded upon, so there's good news on that front. Kinda easy to forget this isn't the full product yet, haha.

[Torasko]

Kinda easy to forget this isn't the full product yet, haha.

Not really. The way I see it, this whole tread is one big suggestion for future updates. I think people definitely know that Don't Starve is not fully released yet.

[jabberwalky]

Once you get the hang of the game and have been able to research most of the items the game is undoubtedly too easy. The first few times I played I only survived maybe 30 or 40 days, but then I finally set up a permanent camp with farms on it and now I basically have unlimited food so I never need to leave my camp, 7 meat effigies and resources to make 8 more (only limiting factor being beard growth). Then I learned about pig houses, so I have 8 pig houses that deal with hound attacks for me completely on their own. Currently I cannot see any possible way that I could completely die in the game without actually trying.

TL;DR

The Game is too easy with meat effigies and farms.

[w00tyd00d]

The Game is too easy with meat effigies and farms.

I've heard a lot of people complain that meat effigies are too OP. Great topic to talk about, what would you change about meat effigies to try to balance them out. Would you remove them all together? Or would you change how many you can have at one time? My main change would probably be the amount of beard hair needed in order to make it. Beard hair is just one of those things you have to wait for if you want any. All it requires is time in order to grow, which will then prolong how long it will take in order for the player to make a meat effigy. That, along with all of the other updates that will add a lot more difficulty to the game that are coming in the future, I think will help balance out the OP'ness of the meat effigies really well. Anyone else agree?

[Flamingfurball]

i feel like the start of the game can be a little hard, unless you go out of your way to read up on forums and wiki about the best ways to do things.

especialy when you very first start the game and basicly all the equipment is locked by reserch (log suit, spear, rope etc) i found that on my first two or three games i just would end up getting as many glass tufts as possible, mining untill i found gold then just dumping every item in my inventoy into the science machine, rince repeat untill i had unlocked everything (since it fully carries over, which i didnt initialy know)

and i read about end game, these people with like 500 tooth traps around that are literaly just waiting to die and i wonder how they do it.

[jabberwalky]

I've heard a lot of people complain that meat effigies are too OP. Great topic to talk about, what would you change about meat effigies to try to balance them out.

I would either increase the amount of hair required or slow the growth of hair. I would also limit the number of effigies that can be in the world at any given point to one or two at a time (might make little to no impact really but I'm just a player not an expert after all)

[Palpetinus]

Thing is, the game is far from finished after, let's say day 30.