Best Character to Start With for a Beginner?

[LuxuryHeart]

1 hour ago, JellyUltra said:

Again, I don't think you should be giving people advice whenever you don't understand how the game works.

If you sit by a fire for 10+ minutes, that is. She can get up to 11 sanity per minute, emphasis on up to, since you'd have to be burning multiple objects to get it that high.
If you'd rather run around wasting time and burning resources for sanity instead of just grabbing some mushrooms or cactus, then yes, Willow would be a good choice.

Straw rolls and tents are awful for sanity. They convert hunger to health and sanity, but they also waste precious time. For Willow (the character you keep recommending) to get sane from just a tent, it would take two full minutes. In that time, you could've grabbed some cactus flesh, tumbleweeds, and been on the way to kill some volt goats, taking care of your sanity problems and more.

Garlands are awful. Period. 1.33 sanity per minute isn't even enough to stop the sanity drain at dusk. It's not good as ANY character.

The lighter is 0.6 sanity per minute. Even worse than a garland. 
Just because you see the little arrow on your sanity meter doesn't mean you're getting a great sanity boost.

And you know what? None of this even matters. Because insanity isn't going to instantly kill you like some people make it out to be. Nightmare creatures are one of the easiest mobs to kite in the game. Just hit them once, dodge, hit them once, wait for them to teleport, and repeat. You get your sanity back and some nightmare fuel.

She has a small sanity pool, so you don't need that much sanity compared to other characters.  Not only that, but she has other ways to gain sanity as well with her lighter and campfires.  Picking flowers gives 5 sanity in addition to the garland.  She can literally get half of her sanity back, assuming she's at zero, by picking flowers and then making a garland which gives additional sanity.

I don't main her anymore, but I can see that she's useful to beginners and why they gravitate to her and Wilson.  

[LuxuryHeart]

4 hours ago, Rellimarual said:

The idea that the top hat is your best bet for sanity is probably more of a giveaway. I have gone back to flint tools when we've got more twigs and flint than I care to store, but that only tends to happen when I'm living in the caves for a good part of the year.

Theres nothing wrong with your play style and choices if they make you happy. It's just a bit premature to be offering advice to others before you're really familiar with the game. It's nice that you made the effort, though.

This was about characters for beginners, not advice for pro players.  Thanks for being condescending for no reason though.  

I stand by what I said.  Wilson and Willow are great for beginners and that's why most of them pick them.  Now if you want to talk about the best characters in general, then that depends on how you like to play.  You are more than welcome to make a thread on that.  

[Pyr0mrcow]

On 7/5/2017 at 0:29 PM, absimiliard said:

I'm just curious what you think Wes is best at

On 7/3/2017 at 2:13 PM, Pyr0mrcow said:

all but one

Wes could be helpful as a character that people specifically want while still having a hard time (being worse for the person playing him, even), buuuut that's a discussion for another topic.

On 7/5/2017 at 2:30 PM, JohnWatson said:

You could use your F key on spiders too.

The main reason for suggesting grass traps is that brand new players that aren't even familiar with the characters likely can't kite too well yet. And it's a way of dealing with multiple at once without being familiar with/having to bother with AI manipulation.

[JohnWatson]

3 hours ago, LuxuryHeart said:

Oh no I conserve resources and don't like golden tools!

Even very early in the game, gold is one of the easiest resources to get. If you happen to find a rocky biome (which is certain if you know how to explore), you can get stacks upon stacks of gold half-way through your first autumn. No reason to save them, really. You can even convert monster jerky into gold.

Golden tools are a good way to save time and inventory space. I don't know why you're so against them. You're not conserving anything by avoiding golden tools.

3 hours ago, LuxuryHeart said:

Willow can stand by a fire and become sane,

Her lighter in the day time is a great sanity boost.

gain sanity as well with her lighter and campfires

I've already explained why this is a bad strategy. 

'Far too many new players rely too much on Willow's lighter and sanity recovery. Willow's lighter is quite overrated as you can just use a torch, which is cheaper and provides more light. You'll eventually use something better like a Lantern or Miner Hat anyway.

And don't try using fires to recover sanity with Willow. It takes one full minute of standing next to a max-fueled firepit to recover 10 sanity. Food from a Crock Pot will restore 5 sanity at least and 50 sanity at most, and that takes less than a second to eat.'

Basically, you waste too much time when there are easier and less boring alternatives.

Quote

Garlands are good with her since it doesn't take much to become sane.

Picking flowers gives 5 sanity in addition to the garland.  She can literally get half of her sanity back, assuming she's at zero, by picking flowers and then making a garland which gives additional sanity.

Another bad advice to be given to new players.

Don't pick flowers. Flowers are where butterflies spawn from, and these butterflies are more beneficial than the sanity you get from picking the flowers. Killing a butterfly provides you with one minute worth of food. Completely worth it as punching a butterfly takes merely a few seconds. Butterflies as a food source is one of the best advices you can give to a new player as it makes hunger management easier for them.

Picking flowers and crafting garlands aren't good ways to restore sanity. Again, there are better, cheaper, and faster ways. Cooked green caps, cooked cacti, and dried jerkies restore 15 sanity and crock pot recipes restore 5 at least up to 50 at most.

Let's see how much it takes for different items to restore 120 sanity:

Sleeping in a straw roll or tent - 2 minutes + 2 minutes of hunger 

Picking flowers - 24 picks

Firepit (max fuel, min distance, standing still) - 10 minutes and 55 seconds

Wearing garlands - 1 hour and 30 minutes

Holding the lighter - 3 hours and 20 minutes

Green caps/Cacti/Jerky - 8 pieces

It takes just 8 mere pieces of cooked green caps, cooked cacti, and dried jerkies to restore 120 sanity (don't forget that cacti and jerky also restore a good chunk of hunger). Meanwhile all the items you've been suggesting are an obvious waste of time.

Quote

The problem is that you're seeing this from a pros point of view.

Actually, the problem is that you're seeing this from a 'it's going to be autumn forever' point of view. You also think that new players should play incompetently before they become competent, which is by the way very counterproductive.

I'm sorry if this is harsh, but I think most of your advice doesn't factor in time management, as if it'll be autumn forever. Most of your advice are time-consuming and I don't want any new player to hear them.

You also say things like 'food is hard for new players' and then proceed to provide advice that makes food production even harder (spider traps). Kind of ironic.

Again, as I've said, teach players easy and time-efficient strategies. Saving time means more time for mucking around, which is important especially for new players. If new players spend all their time doing nothing next to a firepit, grinding for spider traps, and never using gold for some arbitrary reason, then how do you expect them to even enjoy the game?

1 hour ago, Pyr0mrcow said:

The main reason for suggesting grass traps is that brand new players that aren't even familiar with the characters likely can't kite too well yet. And it's a way of dealing with multiple at once without being familiar with/having to bother with AI manipulation.

That's why they need to learn? New players shouldn't stay incompetent forever. Making them use traps again and again and again and again prevents them from actually improving. Maybe you could place a trap or two as a fail-safe for spider warriors, but a new player should learn how to kill mobs as simple as a spider very early.

Why people scare new players into thinking that combat is hard, I don't know. Combat is literally just pressing the F key, and sometimes using the movement keys. The more people go 'oh no don't attack that, it's too hard', then the more new players will stay incompetent.

I can understand preventing new players from fighting something like a dragonfly, but come on, we're talking about spiders.

[LuxuryHeart]

1 hour ago, JohnWatson said:

Even very early in the game, gold is one of the easiest resources to get. If you happen to find a rocky biome (which is certain if you know how to explore), you can get stacks upon stacks of gold half-way through your first autumn. No reason to save them, really. You can even convert monster jerky into gold.

Golden tools are a good way to save time and inventory space. I don't know why you're so against them. You're not conserving anything by avoiding golden tools.

I've already explained why this is a bad strategy. 

'Far too many new players rely too much on Willow's lighter and sanity recovery. Willow's lighter is quite overrated as you can just use a torch, which is cheaper and provides more light. You'll eventually use something better like a Lantern or Miner Hat anyway.

And don't try using fires to recover sanity with Willow. It takes one full minute of standing next to a max-fueled firepit to recover 10 sanity. Food from a Crock Pot will restore 5 sanity at least and 50 sanity at most, and that takes less than a second to eat.'

Basically, you waste too much time when there are easier and less boring alternatives.

Another bad advice to be given to new players.

Don't pick flowers. Flowers are where butterflies spawn from, and these butterflies are more beneficial than the sanity you get from picking the flowers. Killing a butterfly provides you with one minute worth of food. Completely worth it as punching a butterfly takes merely a few seconds. Butterflies as a food source is one of the best advices you can give to a new player as it makes hunger management easier for them.

Picking flowers and crafting garlands aren't good ways to restore sanity. Again, there are better, cheaper, and faster ways. Cooked green caps, cooked cacti, and dried jerkies restore 15 sanity and crock pot recipes restore 5 at least up to 50 at most.

Let's see how much it takes for different items to restore 120 sanity:

Sleeping in a straw roll or tent - 2 minutes + 2 minutes of hunger 

Picking flowers - 24 picks

Firepit (max fuel, min distance, standing still) - 10 minutes and 55 seconds

Wearing garlands - 1 hour and 30 minutes

Holding the lighter - 3 hours and 20 minutes

Green caps/Cacti/Jerky - 8 pieces

It takes just 8 mere pieces of cooked green caps, cooked cacti, and dried jerkies to restore 120 sanity (don't forget that cacti and jerky also restore a good chunk of hunger). Meanwhile all the items you've been suggesting are an obvious waste of time.

Actually, the problem is that you're seeing this from a 'it's going to be autumn forever' point of view. You also think that new players should play incompetently before they become competent, which is by the way very counterproductive.

I'm sorry if this is harsh, but I think most of your advice doesn't factor in time management, as if it'll be autumn forever. Most of your advice are time-consuming and I don't want any new player to hear them.

You also say things like 'food is hard for new players' and then proceed to provide advice that makes food production even harder (spider traps). Kind of ironic.

Again, as I've said, teach players easy and time-efficient strategies. Saving time means more time for mucking around, which is important especially for new players. If new players spend all their time doing nothing next to a firepit, grinding for spider traps, and never using gold for some arbitrary reason, then how do you expect them to even enjoy the game?

That's why they need to learn? New players shouldn't stay incompetent forever. Making them use traps again and again and again and again prevents them from actually improving. Maybe you could place a trap or two as a fail-safe for spider warriors, but a new player should learn how to kill mobs as simple as a spider very early.

Why people scare new players into thinking that combat is hard, I don't know. Combat is literally just pressing the F key, and sometimes using the movement keys. The more people go 'oh no don't attack that, it's too hard', then the more new players will stay incompetent.

I can understand preventing new players from fighting something like a dragonfly, but come on, we're talking about spiders.

You come in with the lighter, you don't make it.  

I'll pick 100 flowers, thank you.  500 sanity for me.   Seriously though, picking a few flowers is not the end of the world, especially in when you get to an area that has 200 flowers.  

No, I'm saying that they are learning the game.  Most won't know the "pro strategies", and it would be dumb to suggest a character where you'll have to work harder and know the game more.  It's best to be a balanced character, and then pick different characters when you find out your playing style.

Take in mind that I just mentioned a trap and got this rant...

[Sicko Hog]

2 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

No, I'm saying that they are learning the game.  Most won't know the "pro strategies"

So you're saying that since they aren't good at the game, we shouldn't help them get good at the game?

[Yuuko]

For a player that is completely new to the game I think Willow and Wigfrid are the best choices.

1) Willow - she has a lighter.  Just this.  The first obstacle a player is going to face is night time.  The game is don't starve, but the night takes more victims than starving ever did...  This lighter helps you conserve your twigs / grass as you start out so that you can get other tools and become familiar with the game.  You can also cook on it, which helps you get the most out of food as you learn how to properly engage the world.  She is an A+ starter character for just learning the basics of the game.

2) Wigfrid - the derp easy.  When a person starts playing this game they either try to fight everything, or avoid fighting anything.  Willow is perfect for people who avoid fighting everything, but for those who want to fight Wigfrid is great!  She starts with a premo weapon and armor, and has an innate damage increase and defense.  She also recovers health and sanity from killing things.  This makes her a great character for learning combat as you can easily take a few hits and keep on going.  She can only eat meat, but there are many ways to obtain meat.  She can even live on monster meat and just kill a few spiders afterwords to recover from its ill effects.  You can obtain good meat from moles, tall birds, pigs, catcoons, buzzards, ect ect ect so it's really not that big of a problem.

Both of these character's appeal wanes as you learn the game.  Willow can easily be upgraded to Wickerbottom - another character who isn't focused on combat but gives a lot more perks to deal with the world.  Wigfrid can upgrade to Wolfgang - After you're familiar with food management the extra damage and movement speed from Wolfgang makes him super-good.

[LuxuryHeart]

16 minutes ago, JellyUltra said:

So you're saying that since they aren't good at the game, we shouldn't help them get good at the game?

I never said that.  I said that they should have a balanced player to learn the mechanics of the game, and then pick the character that best suits their playing style.

[Electroely]

2 minutes ago, Shosuko said:

1) Willow - she has a lighter.  Just this.  The first obstacle a player is going to face is night time.  The game is don't starve, but the night takes more victims than starving ever did...  This lighter helps you conserve your twigs / grass as you start out so that you can get other tools and become familiar with the game.  You can also cook on it, which helps you get the most out of food as you learn how to properly engage the world.  She is an A+ starter character for just learning the basics of the game.

2) Wigfrid - the derp easy.  When a person starts playing this game they either try to fight everything, or avoid fighting anything.  Willow is perfect for people who avoid fighting everything, but for those who want to fight Wigfrid is great!  She starts with a premo weapon and armor, and has an innate damage increase and defense.  She also recovers health and sanity from killing things.  This makes her a great character for learning combat as you can easily take a few hits and keep on going.  She can only eat meat, but there are many ways to obtain meat.  She can even live on monster meat and just kill a few spiders afterwords to recover from its ill effects.  You can obtain good meat from moles, tall birds, pigs, catcoons, buzzards, ect ect ect so it's really not that big of a problem.

1. Willow makes new players fear sanity. You should just kill the shadow creatures when you go insane. Newbies playing Willow usually learn that insanity = death

2. Players should NOT get used to playing Wigfrid. As a Wigfrid main I can say that I rely too much on my battle helm and battle spear, which are things only available to servers with Wigfrid on them. I can still play as non-Wigfrid characters if I have to, but new players should absolutely NOT get used to playing Wigfrid.

If anything, they should either play Wilson or Wes. If they play Wilson, they'll get a good grasp on the game's mechanics without getting used to any special mechanics (such as specific character perks). If they play Wes, then they'll get better at the game faster (even if they keep dying) by getting used to the game as being more difficult then it actually is.

7 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

I never said that.  I said that they should have a balanced player to learn the mechanics of the game, and then pick the character that best suits their playing style.

I think what JellyUltra was saying is that new players should also know the "pro strategies", which would help them get better at the game faster (instead of raising them to rely on rabbit traps for spider hunting and using farms as a main food source).

[JohnWatson]

25 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

No, I'm saying that they are learning the game

Repeating rubbish strategies over and over isn't learning. New players don't need to stay incompetent forever. The main point of giving new players advice is so that they stop being incompetent, even if it takes them a while to learn.

25 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

Most won't know the "pro strategies"

I don't think you've even read my post at all. I've already explained how counterproductive and unhelpful your advice was. Whenever someone suggests an easier strategy than yours, you claim that it's a 'pro strategy' and therefore not applicable for new players. In reality, easier strategies make the game easier new players, surprise surprise surprise.

Honestly, the problem here is that you have too much pride in your advice, so you refuse to accept better alternatives. You don't care about teaching new players. I and many others do.

25 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

it would be dumb to suggest a character where you'll have to work harder and know the game more.

None of the characters have very significant game-changing downsides except for Webber (and Woodie to some extent). Character choice only matters for those who bother about the upsides.

25 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

It's best to be a balanced character, and then pick different characters when you find out your playing style.

I'd recommend Wilson and Wickerbottom for new players. Wilson for simplicity and challenge. Wickerbottom for easy mode. But I'd also recommend new players to experiment with other characters.

25 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

Take in mind that I just mentioned a trap and got this rant...

Not a rant, I wasn't even aggressive. I merely wanted to correct you and I doubt you've even read most of my post. 

I just don't like how you recommend that new players use strategies which waste a lot of time and make the game harder for no reason.

[HamBatter]

Willow might seem good for beginners, but she's more for advanced players. She offers things that are good for survival in limited resource environments (Whirly Fan/Pretty Parasol tier) but they're mostly seasonal and easily outclassed by simply going out to collect resources in that 20 days of Autumn you have.

• she makes Summer starts easier as long as you're willing to drop your sanity, but she's a challenge on public Survival servers where people are going keep your sanity at 0 in Winter and Spring
• her lighter and sanity boost is good for early Caves (darkness) exploration when you don't have a Lantern/Minter Hat, but the small radius means you're more likely to run into hostiles you didn't see
• she can more readily set enemies on fire for damage and mob control with her fire resistance and lighter, but you have to know how many hits you're allowed before burning loot you care about; most people would just opt for better weapons or a character with a damage multiplier
• cooking food is nice, but it's generally better to wait to do it at a fire pit or furnace unless you are again in a limited resource environment

[LuxuryHeart]

3 hours ago, Electroely said:

1. Willow makes new players fear sanity. You should just kill the shadow creatures when you go insane. Newbies playing Willow usually learn that insanity = death

2. Players should NOT get used to playing Wigfrid. As a Wigfrid main I can say that I rely too much on my battle helm and battle spear, which are things only available to servers with Wigfrid on them. I can still play as non-Wigfrid characters if I have to, but new players should absolutely NOT get used to playing Wigfrid.

If anything, they should either play Wilson or Wes. If they play Wilson, they'll get a good grasp on the game's mechanics without getting used to any special mechanics (such as specific character perks). If they play Wes, then they'll get better at the game faster (even if they keep dying) by getting used to the game as being more difficult then it actually is.

I think what JellyUltra was saying is that new players should also know the "pro strategies", which would help them get better at the game faster (instead of raising them to rely on rabbit traps for spider hunting and using farms as a main food source).

He cares so much about players that he doesn't even know, that he's willing to argue with someone over the Internet for them.  

3 hours ago, JohnWatson said:

Repeating rubbish strategies over and over isn't learning. New players don't need to stay incompetent forever. The main point of giving new players advice is so that they stop being incompetent, even if it takes them a while to learn.

I don't think you've even read my post at all. I've already explained how counterproductive and unhelpful your advice was. Whenever someone suggests an easier strategy than yours, you claim that it's a 'pro strategy' and therefore not applicable for new players. In reality, easier strategies make the game easier new players, surprise surprise surprise.

Honestly, the problem here is that you have too much pride in your advice, so you refuse to accept better alternatives. You don't care about teaching new players. I and many others do.

None of the characters have very significant game-changing downsides except for Webber (and Woodie to some extent). Character choice only matters for those who bother about the upsides.

I'd recommend Wilson and Wickerbottom for new players. Wilson for simplicity and challenge. Wickerbottom for easy mode. But I'd also recommend new players to experiment with other characters.

Not a rant, I wasn't even aggressive. I merely wanted to correct you and I doubt you've even read most of my post. 

I just don't like how you recommend that new players use strategies which waste a lot of time and make the game harder for no reason.

Yeah, and the best way is to play with a balanced character.  That's what the discussion is about.  Balanced characters mean you can focus more on the mechanics of the game and find out your own style since they do decent in each style.  Get a Wilson when you start off, but once you learn your play style (aggressive fighter vs passive fighter, hunter/gatherer, explorer, base builder, etc).  Wilson can do all of those decently, but I'm sure they'll eventually pick a Wigfrid/Wolfgang when they have a more aggressive fighting style.

My advice was the characters to play with and why.  You're mad that Wicker didn't make the list when I've explained it several times why.

You're the one with the pride.  I simply said pick Wilson and Willow because they are balanced with very few downsides for new players.  You wrote a paragraph about why spider traps are bad when I only mentioned them once as an example of what I didn't know.  Am I really supposed to believe that you care about people you've never met (new players)?  

 

[JohnWatson]

21 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

He cares so much about players that he doesn't even know, that he's willing to argue with someone over the Internet for them.  

what, is that sentence supposed to make sense

21 minutes ago, LuxuryHeart said:

Yeah, and the best way is to play with a balanced character.  That's what the discussion is about.  Balanced characters mean you can focus more on the mechanics of the game and find out your own style since they do decent in each style.  Get a Wilson when you start off, but once you learn your play style (aggressive fighter vs passive fighter, hunter/gatherer, explorer, base builder, etc).  Wilson can do all of those decently, but I'm sure they'll eventually pick a Wigfrid/Wolfgang when they have a more aggressive fighting style.

My advice was the characters to play with and why.  You're mad that Wicker didn't make the list when I've explained it several times why.

You're the one with the pride.  I simply said pick Wilson and Willow because they are balanced with very few downsides for new players.  You wrote a paragraph about why spider traps are bad when I only mentioned them once as an example of what I didn't know.  Am I really supposed to believe that you care about people you've never met (new players)?  

What, did you even read any of my posts? I'm not arguing about what characters should be played, I'm trying to tell you your advice is bad so new players shouldn't listen to them.

If a new player plays Wickerbottom, Wigfrid, Wilson, or Willow, then I don't bother. Anybody can play as any character, it's just that the upsides of some characters make the game easier than usual. Character choice was not what I was arguing about at all, have you even been reading my posts?

[Yuuko]

6 hours ago, Electroely said:

1. Willow makes new players fear sanity. You should just kill the shadow creatures when you go insane. Newbies playing Willow usually learn that insanity = death

2. Players should NOT get used to playing Wigfrid. As a Wigfrid main I can say that I rely too much on my battle helm and battle spear, which are things only available to servers with Wigfrid on them. I can still play as non-Wigfrid characters if I have to, but new players should absolutely NOT get used to playing Wigfrid.

If anything, they should either play Wilson or Wes. If they play Wilson, they'll get a good grasp on the game's mechanics without getting used to any special mechanics (such as specific character perks). If they play Wes, then they'll get better at the game faster (even if they keep dying) by getting used to the game as being more difficult then it actually is.

Yeah - lol - I typically find damage and hunger penalties in a survival game the BEST way to learn!!  Why get time to explore the world, learn the structures, and practice tactics with a character that is more forgiving when you can just turn the !@#$fan up to 11 and starve to death before the first nightfall!

Dude - what do you think the point of a "beginning" character is?  You say that YOU rely too much on battle helms.  Great, that is your problem.  You know what you should learn?  DODGE!  If a new player doesn't know the patterns of a new monster starting with a defense bonus and armor is exactly what they need.  They can then learn to DODGE! while not dying with each mistake.

Same with Willow and the sanity.  Going insane can be a perpetual battle if you aren't aware of what you need to do.  You may need to pick cactus or green mushrooms as shadow monsters are chasing you.  Drop that bear and cook that food, get the sanity back up and keep playing rather than dying to 2-3 shadow monsters because you're new and aren't always aware of the preparations you need to make.

Sounds like you think playing anything with a bonus is going to make a weak player... yet I see all these Wickerbottom and Wolfgang streams showing off pro strats...  Why are we worried about relying on a battle helm when you can just move up to Wolfgang and be "pro" ?

[JohnWatson]

1 hour ago, Shosuko said:

Sounds like you think playing anything with a bonus is going to make a weak player... yet I see all these Wickerbottom and Wolfgang streams showing off pro strats...  Why are we worried about relying on a battle helm when you can just move up to Wolfgang and be "pro" ?

There are people that play characters like Wilson, Willow, Wendy, or Wes for the challenge or aesthetics. They may not be playing the 'best' way possible, but character choice really only matters for the upsides or the looks.

In my opinion, the only character that drastically changes the way the game is played is Webber. From my experience at least.

[Yuuko]

8 hours ago, JohnWatson said:

There are people that play characters like Wilson, Willow, Wendy, or Wes for the challenge or aesthetics. They may not be playing the 'best' way possible, but character choice really only matters for the upsides or the looks.

In my opinion, the only character that drastically changes the way the game is played is Webber. From my experience at least.

Yeah - I play Wes largely because I don't find the other powers very appealing but balloons are fun ^_^  When I play wes I need to know the game more.  I need to know to build a pig and bunny village, how to manage sanity, to switch to armor quickly, and especially how to fight and manage food since I need to fight everything longer (damage reduction) and eat more (hunger penalty) than any other character.

This isn't about which players people should play, its about which characters are good for a new player.  If someone doesn't know how to fight, or about hound waves, or all of the structures, weapons, and armor they can use, how to recover sanity before sanity becomes an issue ect then they need experience playing the game to learn how to manage these problems.  Giving them worse problems doesn't make it any easier, it just makes them die faster and progress slower... which is likely to cause them to just go to a different game. 

Remember that when players first play this game they don't know things like what winter even is, or that you can build pig houses, or that you should fight them.  They don't know what the different mushrooms do.  Sure all of these things can be looked up, but are they playing with 2 monitors to look it up as they play?  Are they expected to study for hours, finding things they don't know they need to know?  Or are they supposed to start with the game and play it first.

Sure - if they want to play a different character GO AHEAD idfc.  I'm not saying you need to start with these, but they are great beginner characters because they help you experience and learn the world without dying every time something goes wrong.

New players typically die when 1) night happens and they don't have a torch, materials for a torch, or aren't familiar enough with the menus to quickly build one, or 2) when they fight things and don't know the kiting patterns, or how to manage multiple spiders at once.  Willow has a torch, Wigfrid has armor and defense / damage bonus.  Once they learn to manage lighting, sanity, and kiting, then they can play whatever they want.

[absimiliard]

15 hours ago, Electroely said:

..... If they play Wes, then they'll get better at the game faster (even if they keep dying) by getting used to the game as being more difficult then it actually is......

 

Hrmmm, I hadn't considered this aspect of things.  I actually believe the best way to learn DST (like learning rogue) is to die ... A LOT.  Try something, die, then don't do it again.  I like Wes for the challenge, and the humor value.  

 

It hadn't occurred to me that a natural consequence of a higher difficulty character would be that you would learn to deal with the challenges and become a better player than if you started with someone easier.  But, that makes sense.  It would be a particularly brutal way to learn the game, but once you had you would be a better player than someone who hadn't.  Just makes sense.

 

ZOMG, you and Pyr0mcow are right!  Wes IS best at something, and obviously so!

 

Wes is best at sucking the hardest!

[LuxuryHeart]

11 hours ago, JohnWatson said:

what, is that sentence supposed to make sense

What, did you even read any of my posts? I'm not arguing about what characters should be played, I'm trying to tell you your advice is bad so new players shouldn't listen to them.

If a new player plays Wickerbottom, Wigfrid, Wilson, or Willow, then I don't bother. Anybody can play as any character, it's just that the upsides of some characters make the game easier than usual. Character choice was not what I was arguing about at all, have you even been reading my posts?

I was.  Anything else is not my point at all.  I was only discussing MILD strategy with Willow because one guy brought up why she was better for new players over Wicker.  I simply said that Willow has more ways of gaining sanity, and you don't need to gain as much for Willow compared to Wicker.  Other than that, I haven't discussed strategy.

So you admit that this debate is pointless since I WAS talking about character choice.  Glad we can come to an agreement.

[Ressayez]

18 hours ago, JohnWatson said:

Even very early in the game, gold is one of the easiest resources to get. If you happen to find a rocky biome (which is certain if you know how to explore), you can get stacks upon stacks of gold half-way through your first autumn. No reason to save them, really. You can even convert monster jerky into gold.

Hey, sorry to butt in here, but you can actually save some time by erecting a bird cage early on and converting cooked monster meat into eggs which will save you eons in the long run. Eggs are worth one gold each, the same as monster jerky, but don't take a day of conversion complete with a longer harvesting animation.

1 hour ago, LuxuryHeart said:

I was.  Anything else is not my point at all.  I was only discussing MILD strategy with Willow because one guy brought up why she was better for new players over Wicker.  I simply said that Willow has more ways of gaining sanity, and you don't need to gain as much for Willow compared to Wicker.  Other than that, I haven't discussed strategy.

So you admit that this debate is pointless since I WAS talking about character choice.  Glad we can come to an agreement.

I wish you'd take the high road and drop this instead of trying to provoke another response out of John.

[Josonic]

I love lamp!

[Scorpion badger]

There seems to be alot of rude/condescending comments in this topic..

 the point is to discuss a new players character pick maybe mention a few helpful tips... Not a pro players guide... What do you expect zero to hero in a day? Wheres The fun in that. Too many spoilers I think all the fun comes from being a noob your first few adrenaline pumping deaths from random occurences sanity, spiders, starvation, pig men. Let them learn it for themselves until they ASK to be taught a pro play guide, im sure topic starter didnt ask for this. And someone tells me to not pick flowers? Hell nah. Ill pick them all sanity on point. 

Ive already mentioned my character recommendation willow. For many good reasons.

[Donke60]

@Scorpion badger and @absimiliard I agree  it doesn't matter who the person picks it really doesn't do you want to talk pro strategies it really doesn't matter who you pick because eventually you're just going to get so high on the totem pole that it doesn't matter.  You can pick the chef you can pick the mime you can pick the Viking you can pick anybody in the end it doesn't matter.  I know this is off-topic but I really hate every single time that one of these topics comes up everyone has to jump the gun and spew all the strategies right from the gate and eventually dissolved into petty arguments over efficiency you know what this is for a noob  it's information overload.  Hell for anybody it's information overload we don't need to write a book every time someone makes a topic like this as people of Already  said just the name and a few quick pointers is all you really need. If the player wants to know more about the game and wants to get better at the game the player will.

[fimmatek]

19 hours ago, Scorpion badger said:

What do you expect zero to hero in a day? Wheres The fun in that. Too many spoilers I think all the fun comes from being a noob your first few adrenaline pumping deaths from random occurences sanity, spiders, starvation, pig men. Let them learn it for themselves until they ASK to be taught a pro play guide

I agree so much with this!

In my opinion, the game has two phases, in the first (new) players learn, explore the game and slowly step into the second phase, where players already know (almost) everything and use their knowledge the best, most efficient way. 
I don't agree with the arguments "don't pick Willow because you'll fear sanity" or "don't pick Wigfrid because you'll get used to it". New players will play badly at the beginning, of course, but will get better at the time, even if it's not always that fast. I don't think we should push them to one way or another. There are a lot of ways you can play this game and Klei made this so that the choice is ours. Sure, if a newby asks for help/advice or does something really wrong (making deerclops statues for example ) sure correct them. But Klei didn't accidantely made the flowers give sanity when they're picked!  So, why not to pick them? (And I'm not talking about your private worlds, but the public ones, like the Klei officials. On your ones, do what you'd like of course.)

I was also a beginner and made a lot of mistakes, but I'm really happy that no one forced me not to do them. Like when I first saw a totally normal tree, I was so scared that I avoided it really far. It took me long to realise it's harmless, what's more, useful early on. This and such noob mistakes are nice memories.

[Starlogy]

On 7/8/2017 at 1:14 PM, fimmatek said:

I don't agree with the arguments "don't pick Willow because you'll fear sanity" or "don't pick Wigfrid because you'll get used to it". New players will play badly at the beginning, of course, but will get better at the time, even if it's not always that fast.

I agree with the Willow part, but I still stand my ground on avoiding Wigfrid in the beginning. After all, she's one of the last unlocks in the original game for a reason.

[Donke60]

34 minutes ago, StarmanNess said:

I agree with the Willow part, but I still stand my ground on avoiding Wigfrid in the beginning. After all, she's one of the last unlocks in the original game for a reason.

Well most don't care for a locking system or know of one and she was probably only last because she was DLC

there are already outliners of the unlocking system anyway.