First Playthrough

[SDorkingston]

As a first playthrough, should I play with the DLC (Reign of Giants & Shipwrecked) enabled or not?  From youtube it looked like it might dramatically change the gameplay.  What would your recommendation be and why?

[Donke60]

Do RoG first it steamlines some recipes has more seasons,content and bosses though you can turn the bosses off for your first time.
SW is a totally different beast and has a lot of mechnics and content that don't apply in a normal game. Though You could start in RoG and hit yes on SW compatible so that when you make a sea worther you can go to a SW world in your already existing world and this in turn will link them.

So bottom line enable RoG and don't do SW till your comforable with RoG as SW is a very different.

Welcome to the forums.!

[wefoij]

RoG is significantly harder. i recommend it after you play without it.

Spring and Summer are absolute ***** to play in. Without RoG you only need to worry about Winter and Deerclops.

[Donke60]

3 hours ago, someonenoone11 said:

RoG is significantly harder. i recommend it after you play without it.

Spring and Summer are absolute ***** to play in. Without RoG you only need to worry about Winter and Deerclops.

Spring isn't that bad 
and well you got me on summer
but spring nah unless you play a low sanity character.

[wefoij]

2 minutes ago, Donke60 said:

Spring isn't that bad 
and well you got me on summer
but spring nah unless you play a low sanity character.

For new players it is. It took me a while to get used to sanity drain from wetness, and frog rains will kill you. Yes experienced players don't mind spring but to new players it's extremely frustrating especially when just fighting hunger is too hard.

 

And it leads into summer. New player playing summer 2nd month is...

[HamBatter]

You'll learn much quicker with RoG enabled.

Some things that are viable in Vanilla don't work in RoG, but RoG makes up for it with things like the Desert biome.

[imsomony]

It depends on your playstyle. When you start a brand new game of any kind that has "easy/casual, normal, hard" modes, which do you prefer? Do you like to start with easy or normal to get your bearings and fully understand/master the mechanics, before taking on the challenge of hard mode? Or do you prefer to ignore easy and normal, jump in headfirst into hard, and get more satisfaction that way?

 

I myself prefer starting with easy or normal, mastering that, and then moving on to hard mode - to be fair though, I also started playing Don't Starve before any of the DLC existed. If you're like me, start Don't Starve WITHOUT any of the DLC enabled (what's called "vanilla" around these parts). Once you can successfully live through 1-2 in-game years (summer and winter twice) without struggle, then enable RoG. Once you can successfully live through 1-2 in-game years (autumn, winter, spring, summer) successfully, then give SW a try. If you're not like me, and prefer jumping into hard mode, begin with RoG or SW.

 

As @Donke60 mentioned, SW is an entirely different style of game though. The way the game plays is quite a bit different due to it being water-based instead of land-based. I would consider it "hard mode" in my example, as it has similar mechanics to RoG, but an entirely different way of navigating and mastering the world. If you start out with SW and master that, I think vanilla DS and RoG would be a breeze for you. You can also make your save, whether SW or RoG, compatible with the other. That means whichever one you start with, you can create a structure in your world which lets you travel to the other so you can experience both at the same time. I suppose that would make it sort of a "medium-hard" mode.

 

[Thieverpedia]

I would advise Reign of Giants first. Sure, it's harsh, but it does a great job at preparing you for long-lasting games. It also has plenty more content with which you can experiment. Just a fair warning, Spring will be a pain if you start in it. A straw hat, pretty parasol, and standing under a tree will negate wetness gain completely, although it is advised to go for an actual umbrella asap.

Shipwrecked is nice once you get exploring down. A lot of new players tend not to venture out much and just base squat until they get comfortable enough to get out there. Once you get to that point, go for Shipwrecked.

Base game, personally, is just a huge no. There's simply too little it can teach a newcomer, despite it being easier. Where's the fun in easy when a harsh lesson teaches you more?

General advice I can offer...

-Learn to kite. See how many times you can hit something before it retaliates. Move away before it does, then repeat the process. No more wasted health.

-Don't kill a pig outright for pigskin, as the chance is random. Feed it 4 monster meat first, then kill it. Guaranteed 2 Meat and 1 Pigskin.

-Make a jerky rack and don't waste regular Meat on the crock pot or general eating.

-Gobblers can be annoying if you get a berry farm set up, but there's an easy way to kill them. Drop a fruit or vegetable near them, walk away, and wait for them to lock onto it. They'll no longer run and you can hit them freely.

-Learn a good handful of crock pot recipes. Meatballs, Fist Full of Jams, and Ratatoullie will not get you far at all. Meatballs, however, can be handy if you only have toxic food lying around. Monster Meat and 3 Red Caps, for example. Maybe some spoiling berries for filler.

Endothermic fires are a waste of materials. Get into the habit of making endothermic fire pits at key points instead.

-Caves should be attempted only when you have a mining helmet or moggles, the latter of which is far more suited to the caves and ruins, as they can be refueled with glow berries dropped by periodic depths worm attacks.

-Giants offer mounds of meat and special, very useful drops. Just be careful with the dragonfly, as she can move and attack at the same time. Build 2 endothermic fire pits as close as you can together to trap her for kiting.

Uh...that's all off the top of my head. Good luck.

[Jade Wolfe]

I say try without a DLC first.

I say this because if you play the DLC first and get very far, then you decide to start a new world without DLC, you have a good strategy from the DLC, but it might not apply to normal Don't Starve because a lot of items and features in DLC isn't in the normal Don't Starve. Also, DLC are notably harder and require a player that at least got to day 40 and/ or has played multiple worlds.

Whereas if you start with the original Don't Starve, you have more understanding of the basic gameplay of Don't Starve and aren't rushed as much as in DLC.

[Donke60]

3 hours ago, Jade Wolfe said:

I say try without a DLC first.

I say this because if you play the DLC first and get very far, then you decide to start a new world without DLC, you have a good strategy from the DLC, but it might not apply to normal Don't Starve because a lot of items and features in DLC isn't in the normal Don't Starve. Also, DLC are notably harder and require a player that at least got to day 40 and/ or has played multiple worlds.

Whereas if you start with the original Don't Starve, you have more understanding of the basic gameplay of Don't Starve and aren't rushed as much as in DLC.

idk I got the game and have always had RoG enabled though I know the vanilla differences it hasn't really hurt me and I don't really know anyone who just plays vanillia DS

[DeckardTrinity]

This is just me, but I mainly play only DS vanilla, and SW. Two entirely different games, but usually when I play DS vanilla, I just want a relaxing time exploring a new map, setting up a camp (or several), and interacting with the various beasts. SW nails that nautical itch, but is a very different style of game altogether.

ROG I occasionally enable but only if I get bored with vanilla. Honestly, I've never really gotten to the point of playing with the magics and caves that I never get bored in vanilla - usually end up dieing before I get to either of those points.