Don't Starve: The meatball strategy

This is a guide for maintaining your three aspects for don't starve hunger, health, and sanity"but mostly hunger"

Preface

Before I begin I must state this is my first guide ,and I know threes plenty of better guides out there,
but I will still try to give my two cents about this wonderful game. Also Do to my inexperience at guides advice would be much appreciated. Well any ways lets start...

The Introduction

To start off this guide is about a strategy to surviving Don't starve which I have nick named The Meatball Strategy "yes it does have to do about meatballs". Also its worthy to note this is not the best strategy for playing don't stave. The function of this strategy is to survive in the most Efficient way possible while still going for the long run sort of speak..

The center of this guide is in fact spider dens, I know its a heavily over used part of the game, but that's for a good reason. Simply it fills all aspects you need to survive; monster meat (later to be meat balls) for hunger, spider gland for health, and silk which is used for sanity related items(Top hat and tent) along with other useful items. Thought I do touch face with other aspects in the name of balance. Its not the best strategy for survival it is still worthy of being orchestrated into a guide. I think you get the just, let us get to the "meat" of the matter.

Placement

To start off with you will be nomadic in nature for a while, eating what ever you find until you reach a optimal position.That being a place with a spider nest (it doesn't have to be that close by) and more importantly a mild number of berry bushes. A meadow with a spider Den in or around in it is best ,but If you don't happen to find a place with both it's known that spider dens take about a month to get to level 3, so its best to priorities the berry bushes.

Camping

The first thing you need to know to strive in this strategy is know how to farm spider dens.

Step 1. Find spider den
This should be easy ,for I have mentioned that you should live fairly close to one

Step 2. Make traps
Its a basic recipe of grass and twigs, and you get a lot out of it.

Step 4.set traps
Set them at edge of spider creep (the webby stuff on the floor)

step 5. Anger spiders
Just walk on the creep in line with your traps. When they come out run to the edge of the creep
where the traps are and they will get squashed.

Step 6. Profit
Collect all your goodies,and head for base camp with pride knowing you just out smarted an arachnid based hive mind.

Im sure most of you know how to do this all ready but its all a part of being a guide.

Balling for meats

Out of the many drops of spider is the monster meat. A fowl substance that will feed you,but at the cost of health and sanity (which is a big no no for survival). Some of the more new players might ask is "what the heck do I do with this crap" well my friend the answer is a crock pot. If you have played Don't starve for a while you will know this structure is of high importance to not starving. The reason being that it cooks food to a much better (and logic bending), less spoiled food. This is also the catalyst for the most reasonable food in the game meatballs. What I mean by reasonable is that it is both very efficient at its job (filling about 60 hunger) and also is relatively cheap to make.
The pattern of this lovely food we will make is one monster meat (from the spiders) and three berries.This make of meat balls can work with most fillers ,but not more than one monster meat or twigs, this will change the out come.

Alternitive meat sources

Sadly some player are not blessed by the shadow committee of shadowy figures to have a spider den placed in a meadow area, but thankfully there are more places to get meat in a productive manner.

1.rabbit holes
This should be simple, just place the trap near the rabbit hole and steer the rabbit into it without it going into its hole(it will prioritize its hole first),or just simply leave a trap over it in the morning and check up on it later. Also rabbits in its captured form do not rot, but do take up space.Rabbits can be found in abundance in savannas but is also found easily in meadows.

2.pig villages
This is more of a fight, but the pig drops a full meat which can be used for a beefy stew (best hunger food) or made into jerky. It can also drop its skin (for other purposes).
Obviously found in pig villages, but is also found scattered in forests. The latter is recommend as pigs will protect other pigs giving you a hard time.

3.beefalo
This has been controversial due to its Difficulty, but I have found it is actually easy to farm.
First anger the targeted beefalo (this will anger the whole herd, so prioritize small groups), then run, run, and run until the herd has loosed interest but the targeted beefalo is still running. Make sure your at a good distance from the herd and then kite it till its dead, rinse, and repeat till you have your quota of meat. Beware as much as a load as it gives you beefalo take time to respawn, "so please kill responsibly".

4.fish ponds
To first point out this is only a support to the spider den, as it requires silk to make a fishing rod.This how ever can help those who can't seem to still make it with a spider den under their belt. Beyond meat this is great for health as fish sticks ( at least one fish and ONLY one twig) gives you a hardy 40 health ,so I highly recommend farming this resource.

(thinking of making a chapter for ponds, also I feel this is missing something please elaborate)

Spoiling-The scourge of the strategy

Yes this is really one of the few flaw of well any food based guide, mostly because no mater how much you stack a food it will rot eventually. Never the less I will yodel you how to heed this problem as best you can(for the sake of the meatballs.)
(also no more number steps)

A.making multiple stacks
Pretty straight forward, as you stack meatballs you are just delaying the stacks rot time, and as the stack gets bigger the efficiency of the delay gets smaller. So at around ten meatballs make a second stack while only eating from the first and only adding to the second.

B.Ice Box
Honestly I don't know why I add this one while knowing you probably know this too, but I will still elaborate: the only problem with this is it takes a gear to make, which is usually found by the clockwork drops, but finding them takes time more than you have if you have trouble surviving. However it can also be found in graves( so get those sacrifices ready for Maxwell, because that is only a 16% chance) or in certain boons.

C.bird Cages
My personal favorite as its easy to get and oh so usefull.The bird cage besides taking veggies can make meat into eggs (berry replacement meatball wise) so that means all spoiled meats can turn into fresh eggs, and even stale eggs into fresh eggs. It is also to note that cooked monster meat can be turned into eggs so berries can be completely terminated in winter and you will still have production. Also eggs can be traded form one gold for the pig king.

A healing poison

Now that we have hunger down to a key (mostly) I will introduce a also very important drop of the spider, spider glands. This item is a very nice edition to the meatball strategy,do to the meat balls failure to increase health by much of a inch.Now by it self it doesn't heal much, but its more refined model, the healing salve increases health by 20 units at the cost of a rock and ash (its not much at first but your rock supplies will take a hit).
In a small note remember that ash can be collected by placing down pine cones in its stack and burning them.

Silky splendor

After health and hunger comes the last aspect to cover sanity, and the corresponding resource silk.This is also the most useful drop of the spider and of the spider den too. Thought it doesn't directly help heal your sanity, it will help craft the top hat (for passive mental stability) and the tent for a one great leap of sanity at the cost of hunger, which shouldn't be much of a problem.Silk is also used in making vests , sewing kit, and some tools.

conclusion

So with this ends the basics of my guide. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments, advice, or you just want to call out my guide as "utterly useless" please leave a comment.Also here a picture of my humble abode.

The next guide "The maxwellian guide to the king of the board" or in less complex words" a guide to maxwell'.

*edit that base was rather crude, so here's a better one.

reign of giants

I have noticed that there is some guide breaking content to the new DLC for Don't starve, and as such I will list them as I go along.

1.crock pots don't stop spoileg.
Yep that's right they finally fixed it, so now your going to have to get an ice box pretty fast.

2.Ice boxes are now a lot easier to find.
There's now a lot of Maxwell biomes with one or two knights. Just grab a spear and a log suite , and have at thee.

3.moles.
Mole are the rocky version of gobblers but they don't run away just bash ones head in when they get up to "see", and you will get meat easier than a spider. Also don't shovel the burrows that's how they spawn.

4.Webber.
Due to his ability to befriend spiders in a certain radius you can make a large group of spiders attack another group of spiders without getting involved. Just pick up the refuse during it.

[The Great Whael]

My guy, this guide was made like years before sw came out.

[The Donald]

attacked a level 3 nest, jumping spider poisoned me, died 3 days later

[RoyalGuardian7]

This guide makes you not to rely on beffalo meat, pretty useful on middle and early game.

[The Great Whael]

@Inquisitor
Just trap all the spiders that were in the den, and start beating it until it breaks. This will give you silk, and spider eggs which can be used to make another den.

@prmperop
Yes I do have a little problem with my English, but don't worry I'll comb those out in due time.

[Jimmy Havel]

Thank you very much

[Boon: Twink]

Only one problem I have with this guide(or any guide for that matter) - spelling errors and grammatical errors. I know, I know, I`m the one jerk who is a grammar nazi, but there`s not much any of us can do about it. (Both me and the errors)

[Gildemesh]

I'm generally a person who just can't play as Wilson because he has no interesting benefits early on. This guide helps a lot, though, and I finally have encouragement to stay near a Spider Den. But, what should I do if it reaches level 3? Burn it?

[StrawberryTofu]

WEBBER THE ULTIMATE CHARACTER and you dont even need to make meat balls you can just eat the monster meat bye its self

[tianlu pixiu]

@(2-Bit) The Mann With a Plan
Oh trust me, you're great at these types of guides! I'd love to see more. I reccomend a guide on Don't Starve combat, i'm having a bit of trouble on combat. But still plz more guides

[The Great Whael]

@Starlander
On the contrary I should be thanking you. It just does my heart good to see that my guide wasn't a complete waste of time.