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Don't Starve Together Sanity: What Lowers It and How to Raise It

In Don't Starve Together, sanity is as important as Health and Hunger; resurrecting a ghost player gives 150 sanity, sleeping in a Tent gives 50, and low sanity brings shadow creatures.

5 min read

1 Mayıs İşçi Bayramı'nda Oynanacak Oyunlar Dont Starve Together

In brief

AI summary
  1. In Don't Starve Together, sanity is as important as Health and Hunger; when it drops, shadow creatures can attack and players may hear whispers.

  2. Sanity drops from being alone, exploring, fighting monsters, sitting in the dark, rain, bad food and using Wormholes (-15).

  3. Don't Starve Together sanity gains include resurrecting a Ghost Player (150), sleeping in a Tent or Siesta Lean-to (50) and a per-minute aura from the Celestial Champion (up to 400).

Contents3 sections

In Don't Starve Together, sanity is as important as Health and Hunger. Whether players go into the game alone or with friends, everyone needs to keep an eye on all the levels at the bottom left of their screen. Although some characters, like Wanda, who has a Life meter instead of Health, have different meters, Sanity is usually part of every character's survival icons.

Since sanity is generally one of the biggest parts of Don't Starve, it is important for players to know how to deal with it when it starts to drop. Fortunately, there are some things players can do to prevent Sanity from dropping quickly and party members from dying quickly.

Don't Starve Together characters gathered around a campfire

Why Is Sanity Important in Don't Starve Together?

Like most meters in survival games, each shows certain levels players need to track to last as long as possible in the games. While Health and Hunger are common metrics in games for obvious reasons, Sanity is not a very common one.

Don't Starve is a survival game set in a world where many creepy monsters tend to go after the characters, and at night, when players gather around a campfire as their only light source, some may see them poking their little faces and arms in the dark, trying to catch players. When Sanity drops, these creatures are more likely to come out of the darkness and can even be seen wandering around during the day.

When sanity is low, whispers are heard because the player's vision is flickering and bright, and even shadow creatures can turn aggressive and attack characters. Players may even see their characters close their eyes, sway back and forth and cover their ears. So while players try to survive on tough terrain and among many creatures like Spiders, angry Bees and Frogs, they will face the danger of these shadows coming after them.

What Reduces Sanity in Don't Starve Together?

Since sanity is so important in this game, there are many reasons for Sanity to drop. Being alone, exploring the wilderness and avoiding any cause of death can hurt everyone, just like the characters in this game. Encountering monsters, especially fighting them, and sitting in the dark without a real light source make up a big part of this. Rain, bad or raw food, or even eating meat from Monsters doesn't help either.

Using certain weapons (such as the Ice Staff or Fire Staff) or reading books can also have a negative effect on a character's Sanity. Using Wormholes or an Electric Isosceles has a big effect on Sanity (-15 points). Some characters with special abilities, such as Wendy, will lose Sanity when summoning Abigail. There are several things that can cause Sanity to drop, but let's focus on what players can do to increase Sanity for a long-lasting gameplay experience.

How Do You Increase Sanity in Don't Starve Together?

Fortunately, there are many things that can help a player's Sanity as they work through the game. To give players a comprehensive list of the items, actions or anything else they need to make the best use of their survival meters, the chart below shows what they can do. Note that, due to the latest release on Nintendo Switch, this will work with Don't Starve Together and not with Don't Starve. Also note that individual players have their own actions that can increase Sanity, but since this is a general list, we will focus on what all players can do to avoid confusion for those who skim.

Action Sanity Gain
Resurrecting a Ghost Player 150
Sleeping in a Tent or Siesta Lean-to, Eating Ice Cream, Brainy Matter, Lobster Dinner or Jelly Salad 50
Sleeping on a Straw Roll or Fur Roll, Killing a Terrorbeak, Eating Banana Pop, Surf 'n' Turf, Caviar, Iced Tea, Spicy Vegetable Stinger, Tea, Salsa Fresca, Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Moqueca 33
Repairing a Relic, Eating Melonsicle or Seafood Gumbo 20
Eating Taffy, Pumpkin Cookies, Bacon, Cooked Green Cap, Cooked Cactus Flesh, Fresh Fruit Crepes, Mussel Bouillabaise, Sweet Potato Souffle, Tropical Bouillabaisse, Feijoada, Steamed Ham Sandwich, Cooked Lotus Root, Royal Jelly, Fancy Spiralled Tubers, Puffed Potato Souffle or Moon Moth Wings, Prototyping new items using a Science Machine, Alchemy Engine, Prestihatitator, Shadow Manipulator, Piratihatitator or Hogus Porkusator, Learning a recipe from a Blueprint 15
Eating Small Jerky, Cooked Blue Cap, Dried Kelp Fronds, Lobster Bisque, California Roll, Bone Bouillon, Asparagazpacho, Glow Berry Mousse, Hot Dragon Chili Salad or Volt Goat Chaud-Froid, Shaving a Beard, Being hit by a Gestalt or an Illuminating Trap 10
Eating Watermelon 7.5
Eating most Crock Pot dishes except those shown elsewhere in this table, and Watermelon, Cactus Flower, Lotus Flower, Tuber, Tribute Roast, Electric Milk Collecting Flowers and Wet Goop dishes eating Sea Shell 5
Riding a Wave on a Surfboard, Eating Fish Head on a Stick, Throwing a Chew 1

There are also additional actions players can take to gain Sanity over time. Again, this should focus on Don't Starve Together and on the actions every player can perform, not individually.

Action Sanity per Minute
Celestial Champion's Sanity Aura < 400
Celestial Fissure's Sanity Aura < 100
Sanity Aura of Hutch, Shapeless Bird, Moonblind Crow <40
Magic Flower's Sanity Aura 36
Sanity Aura of Dwarf Star or Clever Sprout < 25
Sanity Aura of a Sisturn
Sanity Aura of a friendly Pig, Bunnyman, Wildbore, Bottlenose Ballphin, a nearby Parrot Pirate and a Sandcastle < 25
Wearing an Enlightened Crown < 10
Wearing Lucky Beast Head, Lucky Beast Body, Lucky Beast Tail, Wearing Tam o' Shanter, Wearing a Shark-Tooth Crown on a boat 6.67
Sanity Aura of Glommer, friendly Fruit Fly 6.25
Wearing Hibernation Vest, Royal Crown 4.44
Top Hat, Cat Cap, Floral Shirt, Dapper Vest, Thulecite Suit, Scalemail, Fashion Goggles, Desert Goggles 3.33
Feather Hat, Summer Frest, Breezy Vest, Puffy Vest, Life Giving Amulet, Chilled Amulet, Magiluminescence, Construction Amulet, Lazy Forager, Hunger Belt, Pretty Parasol, Tropical Parasol, Limestone Suit, Windbreaker, Dapper Hat, Pirate Hat, Pith Hat, Pinetree Pioneer holding a Rawling 2
Wearing a Garland or Winter Hat 1.33

Frequently asked questions

Questions answered in this article

Why Is Sanity Important in Don't Starve Together?

Like most meters in survival games, each shows certain levels players need to track to last as long as possible in the games. While Health and Hunger are common metrics in games for obvious reasons, Sanity is not a very common one. Don't Starve is a survival game set in a world where many creepy monsters tend to go after the characters, and at night, when players gather around a campfire as their only light source, some may see them poking their little faces and arms in the dark, trying to catch players. When Sanity drops, these creatures are more likely to come out of the darkness and can even be seen wandering around during the day. When sanity is low, whispers are heard because the…

Go to section

What Reduces Sanity in Don't Starve Together?

Since sanity is so important in this game, there are many reasons for Sanity to drop. Being alone, exploring the wilderness and avoiding any cause of death can hurt everyone, just like the characters in this game. Encountering monsters, especially fighting them, and sitting in the dark without a real light source make up a big part of this. Rain, bad or raw food, or even eating meat from Monsters doesn't help either. Using certain weapons (such as the Ice Staff or Fire Staff) or reading books can also have a negative effect on a character's Sanity. Using Wormholes or an Electric Isosceles has a big effect on Sanity (-15 points). Some characters with special abilities, such as Wendy, will…

Go to section

How Do You Increase Sanity in Don't Starve Together?

Fortunately, there are many things that can help a player's Sanity as they work through the game. To give players a comprehensive list of the items, actions or anything else they need to make the best use of their survival meters, the chart below shows what they can do. Note that, due to the latest release on Nintendo Switch, this will work with Don't Starve Together and not with Don't Starve. Also note that individual players have their own actions that can increase Sanity, but since this is a general list, we will focus on what all players can do to avoid confusion for those who skim. There are also additional actions players can take to gain Sanity over time. Again, this should focus…

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Elifnaz Erdal

@elifnaz780 articles

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