So, this game uses Permadeath, which is not changeable in game.

Permadeath means - once player dies, everything is gone.

There are ways to counter this, like two touchstones and meat effigies, but they either displace you (I once died few seconds after re-spawning from angry pengull) or cut your health and are available only down the progress tree.


Personally, permadeath was initially very welcome. That is ... after I managed to effortlessly survive the winter and further (setting priorities and stuff) ... But after some deeper progress point , it started to annoy me, because higher level mobs appear later in the game and I can't "play with them" - they ruin the whole match and I have to start over. Like Spiderqueen, Tallbirds or Deerclops or even Beefalo (Beefalo farm).

More, I think majority of players actually look up on internet what which monster does and how does one approach it, instead of "first hand insta-death experience". So, I find that save-load would be more interesting than doing this.


So right now, I started to simply copy the whole game save folder, restoring it back on death. It works as I die only when I try to experiment with higher level monsters and allow myself too much - and I plan to return to permadeath when I know about them just enough.

Btw, the whole mods around adjusting permadeath are useless. They are either unsupported or allow too easy save-load (just one click away), thus welcoming the save scumming.

I think, Klei should have provided the option to disable perma-death, for example, after player survived for 100 days.

What do you think and what were your experiences?

I actually like the permadeath. without it the whole survival aspect would be gone. it would just be another sandbox game. everytime I die it just makes me refine my strategy and be extra careful next time.

if you would respawn after dying, then why count the days? you could just go on forever. it's like playing a shoot em up with infinite lives.

In most games, the more you play the less challenging it becomes because your character grows and becomes more powerful. Permadeath eliminates this phenomena in that the longer I play Don't Starve the more nervous I get in making decisions. I like it and would never want Klei to ever change this aspect of the game.

Ha! So then a direct question:

You play near spider nest, and then just right after the winter ends (which you barely overcome) - a spider queen spawns right next to your base.

You never fought spider queen before, that hairy, big mini-boss.


Pick an option:

a) you open browser about spider queen. -_-

b) you engage in the battle and die, thus replaying everything for another ~50 days, until being whacked at another point, staying over-defensive and hesitating to engage into battle.

(no permadeath) c) you make a save, engage in the battle, probably die - reload, try other tactic, eventually winning - then you reload and defeat her legally. Contratulations - you stayed in game (a) and did not loose progress (b).

Well the closest answer would be B. I would definitely try to kill it, but I've learned that a direct assault is not always the smart method. My normal tactic is to use the old hit & run kite technique to lure the creature into a nearby pig village, beefalo herd or swamp full of tentacles. If I'm really desperate my plan is to get the baddie in an area with thick tree growth and torch it. Hopefully the fire can kill it when I can't. In a game like this you don't get to 100+ days be being overly reckless.

I agree, but I am tired of constantly being slaughered by trying a new technic.
The kiting you referenced is internet-based, so you clearly used option A (which I too had to).

With option to turn permadeath off, the player would spend much more in game to try various things themselves. This could be balanced, for example by limiting survival to 80 days.

For example,.. "Infernal contract", which is unlocked after unlocking all vanilla characters with exception of Wes and Maxwell (means quite a lot of game-time) - you gain immortality, but Maxwell will claim your soul on day 80.

I mean, I was slaughtered by lure plant once, because I tried to get dogs in its vicinity. Reloading allowed me to experiment and now I know that if attack is sufficiently fast, eye plant will be killed before it can be attacked.

In first few real-time days the permadeath experience was really interesting, but then it simply starts to block experimenting with higher level creatures, and there is no legal (in-game) way to disable it temporarily.

Stuff like this, with permadeath people usually die few times, but after prolonged gameplay and constantly dying, they then fire a browser to look up how to fight it. I find this more immersion breaking than giving an option to disable permadeath.

I agree that being reckless does not save one, but being skillfully reckless - does. And when one picks constant winter mode or triggers instant winter trap, being skillfully reckless is the only option that gives a chance. Being defensive is counter productive in this game, unless the defense is part of the tactic and not sitting near the campfire.

So, I am pretty much playing with full permadeath now and dislike the touchstone. Learned how to deal with tentacles, pengulls, tree guardians.

Last time I died, the pig king was spawned near beefalo in the forest - and the pigs managed to wake SIX tree guardians. I ignited the forest with torch (need charcoal anyway) - but that was not enough.

Just when one was about to fall down, my axe broke and instead of running away, Wilson decided to punch it. A fatal mistake ... to learn.