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👥 Character Guide

Character Overview

Don't Starve Together has 20+ playable characters, each with unique stats, perks, and downsides. This guide breaks down every character by difficulty tier and explains their core mechanics so you can pick the right one for your world.

Core Stats Explained

Every character has three main stats that deplete over time:

Stat Default Max Death Condition Restoration Methods
Health 150-200 Reaches 0 Healing foods, tents, salves
Hunger 150-200 Reaches 0 = rapid health loss Food, cooked meals
Sanity 100-200 Reaches 0 = shadow creatures attack Flowers, cooked green caps, tents, sewing

Beginner-Friendly Characters

Wilson — The Gentleman Scientist

  • Health: 150 | Hunger: 150 | Sanity: 200
  • Perk: Grows a thick beard that provides insulation in winter (shave for 9 beard hair)
  • Downside: None — he is the balanced baseline character
  • Skill Tree: Alchemy branch (transmutation, moon glass crafting) + Beard branch (insulation upgrades, beard hair efficiency)

Why pick Wilson: He has no downsides, making him the perfect learning character. His beard provides 120 seconds of winter insulation at max growth. Shave it in spring for Beard Hair (used for Meat Effigies — resurrection items). His skill tree lets him transmute materials via the Shadow Alchemy Engine, turning excess resources into rare gems.

Wendy — The Ghostly Sister

  • Health: 150 | Hunger: 150 | Sanity: 200
  • Perk: Summons her twin sister Abigail as a ghost companion. Abigail deals area-of-effect damage to mobs. Wendy deals 0.75x damage to living things but 1.0x to shadows.
  • Downside: 0.75x damage modifier against most mobs
  • Skill Tree: Abigail Branch (flower upgrades, night damage, elixir crafting) + Potion Branch (vexing, spectral, and soothing elixirs)

Why pick Wendy: Best beginner character. Abigail scales with the flower's "vex" level — summon her at dusk/night for maximum damage. Craft Abigail elixirs using the Sisturn: Spectral Cure-all (heals Abigail), Nightshade Nostrum (+night damage), and Distilled Vex (defense debuff on enemies). Place the flower on a Sisturn and offer petals to charge it for stronger Abigail forms.

Wickerbottom — The Librarian

  • Health: 150 | Hunger: 150 | Sanity: 250
  • Perk: Starts with all Science Machine recipes known. Can craft exclusive books that cast powerful spells (tentacles, birds, rain, sleep).
  • Downside: Cannot sleep (tents, rolls, and siesta lean-tos don't work). Dislikes spoiled food.
  • Skill Tree: Book Branch (increased casts per book, new book recipes) + Horticulture Branch (plant growth acceleration)

Why pick Wickerbottom: The ultimate utility character. Her books include: The End is Nigh (lightning strikes), On Tentacles (summon tentacles), Birds of the World (spawn birds for feathers/eggs), Applied Horticulture (instantly grow nearby crops), Sleepytime Stories (put all nearby mobs to sleep). Best paired with a Wortox or Wolfgang for combat coverage.

Intermediate Characters

Wolfgang — The Mighty

  • Health: 150-300 | Hunger: 200 | Sanity: 200
  • Perk: Damage and speed scale with fullness. At full (Mighty form): 2.0x damage, 1.25x speed, 300 max HP. Damage resistance scales too.
  • Downside: Hunger drains 1.5x faster in Mighty form. Very weak in Wimpy form (0.75x damage, lower max HP).
  • Skill Tree: Mighty Branch (gym training, damage cap increase, AoE attacks) + Dumbbell Branch (craftable weighted dumbbells for training)

Why pick Wolfgang: Highest raw damage output in the game. Stay above 220 hunger to maintain Mighty form. Carry a stack of meaty stew or bacon & eggs. His skill tree lets him craft golden and gem-studded dumbbells that increase his max mightiness cap. Use the gym to passively train while afk.

Wigfrid — The Warrioress

  • Health: 200 | Hunger: 120 | Sanity: 120
  • Perk: 1.25x damage dealt, 0.75x damage taken. Restores health and sanity when killing mobs (based on target's max HP).
  • Downside: Can only eat meat, eggs, and meat-based crock pot dishes. No vegetables, fruits, or honey.
  • Skill Tree: Weapon Branch (spear upgrades, elemental damage, shield throw) + Performance Branch (inspirational battle songs for teammates)

Why pick Wigfrid: The best pure combat character. Her battle helm provides 80% damage reduction (same as a football helmet) and is craftable with 2 gold + 2 stone. Her battle spear does 1.25x more damage than a normal spear. Her skill tree adds a shield throw (stun + damage) and battle songs that buff nearby allies. Stockpile meatballs and meaty stew. Pair with a Warly for special meat-based dishes.

Woodie — The Woodcutter

  • Health: 150 | Hunger: 150 | Sanity: 200
  • Perk: Transforms into a Werebeaver (chops trees, mines rocks, fights). Lucy the Axe talks and chops faster. Wereforms have different IDs (werebeaver, weregoose, weremoose).
  • Downside: Wereform meter fills when chopping/mining on full moon. Transform at 100% and lose control.
  • Skill Tree: Idol Branch (craftable transformation idols, control wereforms) + Lucy Branch (Lucy upgrades, bonus chopping)

Why pick Woodie: Excellent resource gatherer. His werebeaver form has a tree-chopping AOE. Weregoose form runs over water (scouting). Weremoose form does heavy damage. His skill tree gives craftable idols that let you choose your transformation and control it. Great for day 1 base rushing.

Challenging Characters

Wes — The Mime

  • Health: 75 | Hunger: 75 | Sanity: 75
  • Perk: Can craft balloons that pop to distract enemies. Infinite naughtiness (guarantees Krampus spawns).
  • Downside: All stats reduced by 50%. Does 0.75x damage. Balloons cost sanity to craft.
  • Best for: Challenge runs and experienced players who want maximum difficulty.

WX-78 — The Soulless Robot

  • Health: 100-400 | Hunger: 100-200 | Sanity: 100-300
  • Perk: Eats gears to upgrade stats (max +15 gears: +300 HP, +100 hunger, +200 sanity). Lightning strikes charge and boost speed. Circuit system for specialized builds.
  • Downside: Takes damage from rain (0.5 HP/sec). Cannot eat most healing foods. Circuits cost gears to craft.
  • Skill Tree: Circuit Branch (speed, processor, and bio scanner circuits) + Charged Branch (lightning rod, static cloak)

Why pick WX-78: Scales harder than any character in the game. Find gears from tumbleweeds, clockwork knights, and set pieces. Each gear eaten adds +18 HP, +6 hunger, and +13 sanity (up to 15 gears). The circuit system adds extra customization: Speed Circuit (+20% movement), Processor Circuit (sanity regen), and Bio Scanner Circuit (track mobs on map). Pair with a Wickerbottom to avoid food spoilage issues.

Wanda — The Timekeeper

  • Health: Depends on age | Hunger: 150 | Sanity: 200
  • Perk: Uses an alarming clock to age herself. Younger = less HP, faster speed. Older = more HP, slower speed, higher damage.
  • Downside: Cannot heal above a certain threshold based on age. Older forms take more damage but deal more.
  • Best for: High-skill players who master positioning and timing.

Character Tier List Summary

Tier Characters Best For
S-Tier Wickerbottom, Wolfgang, Wendy Versatility, combat, new players
A-Tier Wigfrid, WX-78, Maxwell Specialized roles, late-game scaling
B-Tier Woodie, Winona, Wormwood Resource gathering, base building
C-Tier Warly, Webber, Wurt Niche playstyles, team support
Challenge Wes Hardcore challenge runs

Pro Tips

  1. Team compositions: Wigfrid (tank) + Wickerbottom (utility) + Wolfgang (DPS) + Wendy (AoE clear) is the ideal 4-player setup.
  2. Skill tree respec: Craft a "Lunar or Shadow Re-spec" item at the celestial portal to reset your skill tree points. Costs 1 purple gem.
  3. Character switching: Build the Celestial Portal (moon rock + boards + rope) to switch characters mid-world without losing your base.
  4. Ghost revival: If you die as Wendy, Abigail becomes hostile. Other ghosts need an Amulet or Meat Effigy for revival. Telltale Hearts (40 HP craft) revive teammates.
  5. Beard hair economy: Wilson's shaved beard + WX-78's gear diet = infinite Meat Effigies for the whole team.