Don't Starve: Characters (OUTDATED SINCE SHIPWRECKED)

Hello Everyone! Cruzer here, and I'm here to tell you about the different characters in Don't Starve, and how to use them effectively! (This guide will get updated as more characters are added. Steam Workshop characters however, will not be included here.)

Wilson (The Gentleman Scientist)

"I will conquer it all with the power of my MIND!"
Wilson is the first character you get in the game. With stats of 150 Health, 150 Hunger, and 200 Sanity, Wilson is an all-around character. He has only one special power: The growing of a magnificient beard. Although it may not seem as useful to beginners, it is widely known to experts as one of the best items to have in game. You can easily bulid meat effigies to ressurect yourself with the beard hair, and it provides insulation (How long before you freeze and take damage) in the winter, based on how big it is. The biggest strategy that most use with Wilson is the Beard Based Strategy. (BBS) Experts use the beard in the early days (If your world starts in summer.) to use the beardhair for effigies, and save the beard later for the winter, as it provides 135 insulation when at full length. Many used this advantage to gather other supplies for the winter instead of warmth-items.

Overall Tips

• + All-Around character with no disadvantages
  
• + Beard for effigies and insulation for winter
  
• + No wait, as he is the first character you get.

Willow (The Firestarter)

"Things are so much prettier when they burn."
WIllow is the second character you get in the game, with the necessity to only get 160 EXP (8 days) to unlock her. WIllow has the same health and hunger as Wilson, but her sanity can be a problem, as it caps at 120. She is a perfect character for new players who have trouble keeping their campfire high,or warding off the night monster, as the character specific item she has, Willow's Lighter, is basically an infinite torch, but with reduced light range. Willow may have the sanity debuff, but since she is a pyromaniac, she gains sanity when near a fire, making it not too much of a problem to keep her reduced sanity up. However, if it is a problem, and sanity drops below 60, Willow has a chance to randomly light a fire at her feet, causing any nearby flammable materials to burn. This cannot be prevented at low sanity, and I HIGHLY recommend to stay away from forests when low on sanity, as it can light the whole forest on fire, without you meaning to. This problem won't affect your health much, on the contrary, as Willow herself is immune to fire damage all together. Not many experts use her, as fires don't tend to pose much of a threat when compared to hostle mobs like hounds, spiders, tentacles, etc.

Overall[/b][/i]

• + Is good for night with her lighter
  
• - Sanity can be a problem, especially with the debuffs
  
• + No fire damage, though this is entirely situational

Wolfgang (The Strongman)

"I am mighty! No one is mightier!"
Wolfgang is the third character unlocked, with 320 EXP needed. (16 days) He is reguarded as the fan-favorite character, as for his strength buffs, and his stats and 200 Sanity, 150-300 Health, and a whopping 300 Hunger. However, all of his strength this all depends on his hunger. It is very complex, but in short, the fuller he is, the mighter he gets. Wolfgang is seen to get speed and health boosts when full, 2X more damage, but drains hunger quicker (1.5 Faster than others). When starved, he will only do a puny 0.5X damage, so hunger is an always necessity. Be careful around night too, as his weakness is the dark, and sanity will drain quickly. I advise to try to sleep through the nights to avoid this. Sanity is considered the biggest problem for Wolfgang since he's not only afriad of the dark, but around hostle mobs too. (Spiders, Hounds, Etc.) It will drain his sanity too, so be careful on what battles you take.

Overall

• + Higher Health and Hunger
  
• = Gets Weaker or Stronger based on hunger
  
• - Sanity can, and will be a problem

Wendy (The Bereaved)

"Abigail! Come back! I'm not done playing with you."
Wendy is the fourth character unlocked, with 640EXP needed. She has the same average stats as Wilson, but she has an attack debuff, only hitting .75X damage. Wendy compensates for this with her specific item, Abigail's Flower. It will blossom after a few days, and then needs to be placed on the ground for a blood sacrifice. (Any creature in your inventory, like rabbits or mandrakes DON'T count.) You will lose 50 sanity when Abigail is summoned, but she is useful in many ways. She dosn't hurt Wendy, her attacks are stun-locks, perfect for spider or hound hordes, stays with you until death, and well, who wouldn't want a friend when stuck in an insane universe? Contributing to the insane universe, Wendy, unlike Wolfgang, Isn't afraid of the dark, and suffers from only 75% of the sanity drain. Wendy is more of a support character, as you need Abigail's help to kill mobs, as you can't do it by yourself. Note: Abigail will drop her flower upon death. Be sure to pick it up!

Overall

• + Has Abigail to back her up
  
• - Not as strong as others
  
• + Sanity drain isn't as bad

WX-78 (The Soulless Automation)

"EMPATHY MODULE NOT RESPONDING"
PRODUCT TYPE WX-78. PRICING, 960EXP. STATS: 100 EVEN. CAN UPGRADE WITH GEARS UNLIKE PUNY HUMANS. HAHAHA. CAN UPGRADE TO STATS OF 300 SANITY, 400 HEALTH, 200 HUNGER. ALL STATS LOST ON DEATH AND RESPAWN. CANNOT BE IN RAIN, LOSES HEALTH WHILE IN IT. LIGHTNING STRIKES ALSO BIG. SUPERCHARGES PRODUCT, LOSES SANITY UPON CONTACT. (TOUCH STONE RESPAWNING ALSO TRIGGERS THIS.) MODE LASTS 1 DAY. PRODUCT NOT PICKY, AND WILL EAT ALMOST ANYTHING WITHOUT NO DEBUFFS. HA, HUMANS ARE WEAK. SPOILED FOODS BAD FOR THEM, GOOD FOR US. DON'T TRY TO MAKE FRIDGE WITH GEARS, UPGRADE INSTEAD. GEARS ARE NON-RENEWABLE EXCEPT IN RUINS, UPGRADE WISELY.

OVERALL

• + PRODUCT EATS ANY FOOD
  
• + UPGRADABLE
  
• - RAIN WILL CAUSE PRODUCT RUST
  
• = LIGHTNING STRIKES CAUSE SYSTEM OVERDRIVE

Wickerbottom (The Librarian)

"Shhhh! No talking!"
Wickerbottom is the 5th character unlocked, with 1280EXP needed. She has the highest Sanity of all the characters, capping at 250, (Exception of fully-upgraded WX-78, who has 300.) however, this is balanced by the fact that Wickerbottom is an insomniac, and cannot sleep, forcing other methods of sanity gaining to be used. Since she is a librarian, her other two perks is that she already knows all Tier one crafting recipies, (Science Engine recipies.) and can create books. These books require papyrus, and other ingredients, depend on the book. They reduce sanity when used, but have different effects that may help or hinder. (Summon a flock of birds, Have lightning strike in the area, etc.) The last perk that Wickerbottom has isn't a good one, unofrtunately. She HATES food spoilage, and will get less hunger from them, but will also suffer a bigger sanity loss. Try to avoid this, as sanity has proved to be my biggest problem when playing with her.

Overall

• + Knows Tier 1 recipies, and magical books
  
• = High sanity, balanced by not being able to sleep
  
• - Stale/Spoiled foods are BAD!

Woodie (The Lumberjack)

"That's Nice Tree, Eh?"
Woodie is unlocked with 1600EXP (80 Days) and is the sixth character to be unlocked. He has no current downsides, and he come with Lucy the Axe. Lucy is a red axe that has infinte durability, talks to Woodie, and cuts trees down faster than any other axe. Be careful about this though, chopping down too many trees at once, or it's a full moon night, Woodie will transform into the Werebeaver! Upon entering this state, all inventory will be dropped, and the HUD will be replaced with a single bar: the Log Meter. It drains every second, and to replinish it, you have to eat certain natural resources. (logs, twigs, berry bushes, etc.) However, you cannot be killed in the Werebeaver state, so use the time to the best effectiveness. (Mob attacks will only lower the bar.) Use the time to do tasks that might require resources or health, like destroying Tier 3 spider dens, or mining lots of boulders. Be careful when you revert though, as any hostle mobs nearby will still be aggro and you only start with all stats at 50.

Overall

• + Has Lucy, saves time for tree chopping
  
• + Werebeaver form lets you do daunting tasks
  
• - Is easy to kill after reverting back to regular Woodie

Secret Characters

Wes
"..."
Wes is unlocked in adventure mode by finding him trapped, and killing all the hostile mobs that appear before him. He ONLY appears in adventure mode, and only so often does he appear, so don't expect to find him on your first try. Wes is considered "Hard Mode" of Don't Starve for the reason that he has lower stats than everyone, 150 Sanity, 113 Health, 113 Hunger, (Excluding Willow's Sanity and Maxwell's Health) starves 1.25X faster, and dosen't talk, providing no help. His only power is to make ballons at 5 Sanity a peice, where they pop and do 5 damage to anything near it. They can trigger a chain reaction, so take caution when using his power.

Overall

• = Ballons to make traps at the cost of sanity
  
• - Terrible stats and increased hunger

Maxwell(AKA Waxwell)
"Freedom!"
Maxwell is unlocked by completing adventure mode. I won't spoil how to complete adventure mode or the ending, but beating it gives you Maxwell. Maxwell has half the health of other characters at 75, but all other stats remain the same. When first spawning in, you get a dark sword, night armor, 4 nightmare fuel, and a purple gem. These supplies will compensate for Maxwell's low health, and help you easily make a shadow maipulator without the need of going insane. It would be a challenge acutally, as Maxwell's style gives him 20 Sanity a minute, which, if wearing the dark sword and night armor, it balances it out. Sanity won't be much of a problem, but you have to carefully pick you fights, as you only have a measely 75 health. With the latest update, Maxwell gains a book, Codex Umbra, that lets him fragment his own mind. This power can create up to 3 shadow Maxwells that will aid you in battle and help you collect resources for 55 sanity each. (This sanity is DELETED. Like health from meat effingys. It will come back upon shadow puppet death.) One downside about these puppets though, they only last 2.5 days, and have measly low health, just like Maxwell. They can balance out fights, for the right price.

]Overall[/b][/u]

• + Spawns with good starter items
  
• + Gets passive sanity boost
  
• - Lowered health
  
• = Codex Umbra: Maxwell's book demons for sanity.

Reign of Giants DLC

Wigfrid, The Performance Artist.
"A test of my incredible acting!"
Unlocked via Reign of Giants DLC, and 1920 experience (96 Days!), Wigfrid takes on the role of a Valkyrie, a female warrior hailing from Valhalla. Really, she's an actor. This goes into play though, as her powers come from her roleplay. Her starting stats are at 200 health (+50 from normal) Hunger 120 (-30 from normal), and Sanity 120 (-80 from normal. The same as Willow). She starts the game off with her own spear, helmet, and a banquet of 4 meats. This is a battle-ready start, as at the same time, her damage is 25% (Still not as powerfull as Wolfgang, who at full hunger, does twice as much normal damage) stronger, and she takes 25% less damage. This battle start is complimented with another combat boost. Upon killing an enemy, whatever it's attack damage, you get 25% of that as both health AND sanity. This boost doesn't apply to hunger, which is even worse to maintain as you can only eat meats. Vegetables like carrots will NOT be consumed by Wigfrid!

Overall

+ Battle-ready health and items!
+ Killing gives health and sanity!
- Bad hunger, Terrible sanity.
- Can only eat meat.

Webber, The Indigestible
"We can overcome anything!"
Webber, like Wes and Maxwell, CAN'T be unlocked with experience. When killing spiders, (Either in Survival or Adventure mode) a skull might drop. You have to pick it up, and then place it into a dug up grave (Dosen't matter if you dug it up, or found it dug up). He will jump out, along with hostile spiders. Just kill the spiders, and Webber is unlocked! He has 175 health (+25 normal), 175 hunger (+25 normal), and a VERY VERY small sanity, at 100 (-50 the normal!). He starts with 2 monster meats, and spider eggs. This may seem strange, but he suffers no penalties from monster foods, and "horrible" foods. (Pig Skin, Slurper Pelt, Bunny Puffs) His main gimmick though, is the mobs. spiders are neutral (including Spider Queen! No sanity loss too!), pigs and bunnymen are hostile, but bees and beefalos are still neutral. Oh, you can craft spider dens (12 silk, 6 spider glands, 6 papyrus) and upgrade them. It may seem useless, but feeding spiders meat or pig skins will make them friendly. It also may seem hard to gather silk from friendly spiders, but like Wilson, Webber grows a beard! He grows it faster than Wilson, but it grows silk instead of beard hair. Like Wilson, this can also be used for winter insulation.

Overall

+ Beard for insulation and silk.
+ Can befriend most spiders.
= Good health & hunger, bad sanity.
= Neutral Spiders, Hostile Pigs & Bunnymen.

[Speno]

Maxwell's name is William. And the M is an upside down W, representing he is the antagonist.

[Trinitea]

not maxwell

[X1ras]

i just now realized that all of the characters begin with the letter W hanks to this.

[J.D. "Rookie"]

1: You should totally add the Shipwrecked characters. I really like this guide and want to receive tips on how to play them. Unless you don't have Shipwrecked.

2: At Webber, you should mention that he can befriend them in the overall list.

3: Again, great guide! I like how you didn't go into tremendous detail about how some characters are sh*t and how if you lose on a character you've done something wrong and you suck, and what not.

[Zel]

Is Wendy available without RoG, SW and DST?

[Gene]

You don't actually have to kill the spiders to unlock webber.

[username]

Update this to have winowna

[166]

Thankyou

[Nah I'd Win]

they added new SW characters

[anie]

"Warly enters the rooster"