Small habits, big numbers
In Don’t Starve, 3 numbers decide most runs: the 40-day spoil of Honey, the 33 sanity of a Banana Pop, and the 42.5 damage of a Battle Spear. Players who let the cached data do the thinking turn vague advice into exact plans. The dontstarve-items.json and dontstarve-mobs.json files turn vague advice into exact values, and a handful of habits built on those values compound into runs that never feel threatened. This guide quotes only cached numbers; the survival guide covers the meter logic behind them.
Stock by spoil time, not by taste
The cached food data makes the keep-time ranking obvious, so build your pantry around it:
- Honey — 40 days spoil (bulk stock).
- Trail Mix — 15 days spoil, 30 health healing.
- Bisque / Lobster Bisque / Meated Nettles — 8–10 days.
- Banana Pop / Melonsicle / Ice — 3 days (eat or preserve immediately).
An Insulated Pack (50% slower spoilage, +8 slots) or Sea Sack (+8 slots) from the items guide stretches the short tiers. The food guide has the full table.
Fix the right meter with the right food
Sanity crashes are the silent killer. The cached numbers:
- Banana Pop — 33 sanity, 20 health, 12.5 hunger.
- Melonsicle — 20 sanity, plus a 40-degree cooling effect.
- Electric Milk — 10 sanity, 12.5 hunger.
- Moon Shroom — 10 sanity, 12.5 hunger.
- Avoid: Glommer’s Goop (−50 sanity) and Cactus Flesh (−5 sanity).
For health, Bisque and Lobster Bisque both give 60 health and last 10 days — keep a stack for after every fight.
Weapon and armor math
Stop guessing DPS. The cached item stats:
- Battle Spear — 42.5 damage, 200 uses (kills a 150-health Hound in 4 hits).
- Cutlass Supreme — 68 damage (102 buffed), 150 uses.
- Cork Bat — 51 damage but only 20 uses (burst only).
- Coconade — 250 damage single use (base defense, see base building).
- Thulecite Crown — 90% physical absorb, 1200 hp.
- Vortex Cloak — 100% non-shadow absorb, +10 slots.
“Pick the spear for the war of attrition and the Coconade for the moment that must end now,” the cached notes imply, which is the whole weapon-selection rule in one line.
Know the mob before you swing
The mobs guide caches the danger. Quick reference from the data:
- Hound — 150 health, 20 damage.
- Tentacle — 500 health, 34 damage.
- Varg — 600 health, 50 damage.
- Bearger — 3000 health, 200 damage (boss, boss guide).
A 42.5-damage spear needs 12 hits for a Tentacle and 71 hits for Bearger — plan your durability accordingly.
Quick number reference
When in doubt, fall back on the cached figures that matter most. Keep this short table in mind and most “what should I do” questions answer themselves.
| Decision | Cached number | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Stock food | Honey 40-day spoil | Survives the whole winter |
| Fix sanity | Banana Pop 33 sanity | Best sanity-per-bite in the cache |
| Main weapon | Battle Spear 42.5 dmg / 200 uses | Kills Hound in 4 hits |
| Boss weapon | Cutlass Supreme 68 dmg / 150 uses | Kills Bearger in 45 hits |
| Armor | Thulecite Crown 90% absorb / 1200 hp | Turns 200 dmg into 20 |
| Siege | Coconade 250 damage | One-shot clears a Hound pack |
| Healing | Bisque 60 health / 10-day spoil | Cheap, storable repair |
A few habits built on these numbers:
- Keep Honey (40-day spoil) stacked so hunger never becomes a crisis.
- Carry Banana Pop (33 sanity) for the nights sanity drops fastest.
- Main the Battle Spear (42.5 damage) for trash, switch to Cutlass Supreme (68) for the 3000-health bosses in the boss guide.
- Wear Thulecite Crown (90% absorb) whenever a hit exceeds 100 damage.
- Throw a Coconade (250 damage) instead of trading blows with a pack.
- Preserve everything in an Insulated Pack (50% slower spoil) from the items guide.
“Pick the spear for the war of attrition and the Coconade for the moment that must end now,” the cached notes say, which is the entire weapon-selection rule in one line. The common mistakes page lists what happens when you ignore these numbers.
Turning numbers into habits
The cached data is only useful if it changes daily behavior. Make the 40-day Honey your default stock and the 33-sanity Banana Pop your default sanity fix, and two meters stop being emergencies. Main the 42.5-damage Battle Spear for everything under 1000 health and switch to the 68-damage Cutlass Supreme above it — that single rule covers every mob in the mobs guide and every boss in the boss guide.
Wear Thulecite Crown (90% absorb) whenever a hit exceeds 100 damage, and keep a Coconade (250 damage) for packs. Store it all in an Insulated Pack (50% slower spoil) so the short-keep tier lasts. These five habits, each backed by a cached number, are the difference between a run that scrambles and one that cruises — and the beginner guide shows where they start on day one.
Weapon damage ladder (cached)
When the Battle Spear stops being enough, the cached item data shows exactly where each upgrade sits:
| Weapon | Damage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coconade | 250 | Single use, base defense |
| Harpoon | 200 | Ranged, ship use |
| Boat Cannon | 100 | Ship-mounted |
| Thulecite Club | 59.5 | Durability melee |
| Cork Bat | 51 | 20 uses, burst only |
| Halberd | 44.2 | Solid mid-tier spear |
| Battle Spear | 42.5 | 200 uses, the workhorse |
| Peg Leg | 34 | Backup melee |
The ladder turns the upgrade choice into a number problem: a Harpoon (200) out-hits a Cutlass Supreme (68) on a single strike, but the Cutlass lasts 150 swings where the Harpoon is a one-shot tool. Choose by fight length, not by headline damage.
Where to go next
Put these habits into a camp with the beginner guide and avoid the traps in common mistakes. The seasons guide shows when each tip matters most.