It’s Winter and you’re freezing your little buns off, trying to make sure that you have the best clothing on and who shows up to your base? The Deerclops.
The Deerclops is typically the first boss monster new players will experience when playing Don’t Starve Together unless they have set their Autumn length to longer than default, which will often force the Bearger to spawn before the first Winter.
Players can choose to not face the Deerclops by turning off its spawning frequency in the World Customization Tab, choosing to make it spawn less frequently or not at all, though we’ll cover more of those settings later in the post.
The Deerclops is one of the only seasonal giants who makes an effort to seek out players, often being attracted to a Fire Pit or a Science Machine.
The Deerclops is an annoying boss to deal with since it is able to destroy Structures and resources like Trees making it fairly common for new players to lose their whole base and Tree farms.
To avoid having all of your stuff destroyed, it is strongly recommended that players set up a second base that they head to close to the end of every Winter (which you can track with the Combined Status mod) just to battle this big baddie.
DEERCLOPS STATS
As is with most mobs in the Don’t Starve realm, The Constant, players will notice a massive buff on the Deerclops’ stats in Don’t Starve Together, making it a bit more challenging to combat solo.
The following are the Deerclops’ stats in both versions of the game:
DON’T STARVE (SINGLE-PLAYER)
HEALTH
2000 HP
DAMAGE
75 damage to players
150 damage to mobs
ATTACK PERIOD
3 seconds
ATTACK RANGE
6
WALKING SPEED
3
SANITY AURA
-400 Sanity per minute while engaged in combat
-100 Sanity per minute while outside of combat
SPECIAL ABILITIES
AoE attack
Destroys Structures
Freezes enemies (Reign of Giants)
DON’T STARVE TOGETHER
HEALTH
4000 HP
DAMAGE
75 damage to players
150 damage to mobs
ATTACK PERIOD
4 seconds
ATTACK RANGE
8
WALKING SPEED
3
SPECIAL ABILITIES
AoE attack
Destroys Structures
Freezes enemies
HOW DO I TELL THAT THE DEERCLOPS IS COMING?
Players can tell that the Deerclops is approaching in a variety of ways, including being prompted by an in-game Sound FX of deep moaning and heavy breathing.
If players have their sound off, they will also be warned by their players commenting on the fact that something is coming or that they hear a suspicious noise in the area.
At the time of being signalled it’s a good idea to begin heading to the location you wish to battle the Deerclops, armed with the best weapons and traps that players can currently afford.
HOW THE DEERCLOPS ATTACKS
The Deerclops has two types of attacks, being a swipe and a pound.
While the Deerclops has two types of attacks they both deal the same amount of damage and both have an AoE effect, making it very important for players to back up and not just completely “tank” attacks.
The AoE effect that the Deerclops causes is around the size of 2 and a half Berry Bushes.
It should be noted hat players will be frozen if attacked by the Deerclops two times, unless there is a fire source near them.
The Deerclops seems to have more of an interest in destroying Structures than it does killing players, meaning that the Deerclops will often change it’s aggro towards Structures instead of hurting players, so if players are willing to give up some of their resources
The only Structure that the Deerclops will not aggro are Walls, though the Deerclops is still able to destroy walls if players are standing too close to them.
If the Deerclops has destroyed all Structures in the nearby area, including some of the Structures that don’t appear directly on the player’s screen (though are still technically in the area), the Deerclops will leave, essentially despawning from the world.
Unlike some other bosses and mobs, the Deerclops does not sleep during night.
WINTER’S FEAST DEERCLOPS (DON’T STARVE TOGETHER)
Something that may catch players off-guard is the Winter’s Feast alteration to the Deerclops in Don’t Starve Together.
Instead of appear as a white furry mob, the Deerclops will appear with dark fur and will have a red eye that resembles Rudolph’s red nose.
While players will experience the same types of attacks from the altered Deerclops, it should be noted that the Winter’s Feast Deerclops also gains the ability to shoot a laser from its eye, forcing players to learn a new kiting pattern.
TIPS TO DEFEATING THE DEERCLOPS
Although the Deerclops can be quite frightening for new players, I’m here to tell you that it is actually one of the easier bosses you will have to deal with since it has a fairly simple attack rotation that will get a bit of getting used to.
Players will be able to avoid most if not all damage simply by kiting the Deerclops’ attacks, allowing themselves to attack about 3 times before having to move back to avoid damage.
Players may be able to get 4 attacks in on the Deerclops if they have crafted themselves a Walking Cane, which they will have to switch out for a weapon to attack, or are near a Road or Cobblestone path, as the speed increases will be significant enough to allow players to safely kite the Deerclops and return to land that extra attack.
If players are hesitant and prefer to be alive, they should only land 2 attacks on the Deerclops before running as this will guarantee their safety.
Players who are afraid of dealing damage should be warned that they may succumb to Shadow Creatures as the Deerclops greatly reduces a player’s Sanity when they are in combat. As much as a player can prepare by wearing items that provide them Sanity, there are no articles of clothing that will completely nullify the Sanity Aura the Deerclops comes with.
WHAT ARMOUR YOU SHOULD BRING TO FIGHT THE DEERCLOPS
Instead, players should focus on wearing heavy duty armour, the lowest tier they would want to wear being a Log Suit (8 Logs and 2 Ropes) and a hat that provides a good chunk of Insulation, preferably a Beefalo Hat (8 Beefalo Wool and 1 Beefalo Horn).
If players choose to use a Log Suit, have a few spares on hand as they do not have a whole lot of durability in comparison to better armour.
Without proper armour a player will be killed in two strikes by the Deerclops and without proper insulation or a Thermal Stone (10 Rocks, 3 Flint and 1 Pickaxe) players will probably freeze to death unless they use Campfires or Fire Pits to stay warm.
I would suggest staying warm over warming yourself up by a Fire Pit as the Deerclops will most likely take an interest in the player’s Fire Pit, essentially destroying it and leaving them to have to fend for themselves once more.
If players want a more effective form of damage mitigation they can pair a Football Helmet (1 Pig Skin and 1 Rope) with a Puffy Vest (8 Silk, 2 Beefalo Wool and 1 Winter Koalephant Trunk), though using both will be quite costly or considered too inaccessible for new players.
As a tip, make two Thermal Stones and leave one by a roaring Fire Pit to stay hot in case the one in your inventory gets cold. Make sure the Fire Pit is far enough from you that the Deerclops doesn’t destroy it, but this should ensure that you do not freeze to death.
WHAT WEAPONS SHOULD YOU BRING TO FIGHT THE DEERCLOPS?
When it comes to choosing what weapon players should bring into battle, I strongly recommend using a fresh Ham Bat (2 Meat, 2 Sticks and 1 Pig Skin) or Tentacle Spike.
If players have accessed the Shadow Manipulator, they can upgrade to a Dark Sword (5 Nightmare Fuel and 1 Living Log), though players should be careful with using a Dark Sword as it will reduce the player’s Sanity as they hold it.
If players are struggling to learn the kiting pattern for the Deerclops they can choose to put the Deerclops to sleep using a Pan Flute (5 Reeds, 1 Mandrake and 1 Rope) or with Sleep Darts (2 Reeds, 1 Stinger and 1 Jet Feather).
Players will need to use a minimum of 4 Sleep Darts to put the Deerclops to sleep.
Alternatively, players can also use an Ice Staff (1 Spear and 1 Blue Gem) to freeze the Deerclops and similar to the Sleep Darts, players will need to use 4 blasts of the Ice Staff in order to freeze the Deerclops in single-player Don’t Starve and 6 blasts in Don’t Starve Together.
Players can also lay out Tooth Traps (1 Log, 1 Rope and 1 Hound’s Toth) to deal 60 damage to the Deerclops, though if players are using Wormwood, they can simply use Bramble Traps (1 Living Log and 1 Stinger) to deal 40 damage for a reduced and sustainable cost.
If players are rich in resources, they can use 20-40 Blow Darts (2 Reeds, 1 Hound’s Tooth and 1 Azure Feather) to take down the Deerclops quickly, though I promise, this is going to take you a lot of time to grind.
WHAT HEALING ITEMS SHOULD YOU BRING TO FIGHT THE DEERCLOPS?
When it come to healing when fighting the Deerclops, players may want to make sure their healing items also have Sanity buffs.
Players recommend bringing a minimum of 10 Jerky, which can be made by drying out Meat on a Drying Rack (3 Rope, 3 Sticks and 2 Charcoal) as they provide players with 20 Health, 25 Hunger and 15 Sanity.
Players will want to avoid using Small Jerky, made with Morsels, as they do not provide players with as much of a benefit, only returning 8 Health, 12.5 Hunger and 10 Sanity.
As eating takes a bit of time for the character to complete, simply because of the animation that occurs, players will want to avoid eating regularly if possible.
If players are more interested in having Health and are not worried about their Sanity during combat with the Deerclops, I strongly recommend bringing 10 Honey Poultice (1 Paper and 2 Honey) as it provides players with 40 Health, making it better for quick healing, though players will still get stuck in a small animation.
Players should never rely on small food items to heal during a fight with the Deerclops, but if you gotta, you gotta.
FASTEST WAY TO KILL THE DEERCLOPS
If players are frustrated and don’t mind spending some resources on killing the Deerclops, they should grab 9 Gunpowder (1 Rotten Egg, 1 Charcoal and 1 Nitre) and an Ice Staff (1 Spear and 1 Blue Gem).
Freeze the Deerclops and place the 9 Gunpowder under its feet, before running off, ignite the Gunpowder with a Torch and watch the Deerclops lose 200 Health per piece of Gunpowder.
The Deerclops will not lose all of its health, however, players will be able to easily take the remaining 200 damage down with a few swings of a powerful weapon.
For players in Don’t Starve Together, you will need 19 Gunpowder as the Deerclops has double the health.
REWARDS / LOOT RECEIVED FROM KILLING THE DEERCLOPS
Killing the Deerclops is quite essential for progressing in Don’t Starve as it provides you with the Deerclops Eyeball which you can only get from defeating the Deerclops or by chance when killing Klaus in Don’t Starve Together.
While players can eat the Deerclops Eyeball in order to gain 60 Health and 75 Hunger for the cost of 15 Sanity, players should be more interested in crafting a Houndius Shooticus, which is a tower that auto-attacks hostile mobs around the player, or in Reign of Giants and Don’t Starve Together, the Eyebrella, which provides players with 100% Wetness Resistance as well as 240 seconds of Insulation from overheating in Summer.
Players will also receive 8 Meat and 1 Sketch for the Deerclops Marble Figure, which is an aesthetic item players can place in their base or anywhere they so desire.
SHOULD I USE MOBS TO KILL DEERCLOPS?
Using mobs to kill the Deerclops can be quite useless, especially if players were hoping to rely on Pigs, who will ultimately die within a few swings of the Deerclops.
If players are hoping for some extra help when taking down this big baddie, I strongly recommend bringing the Deerclops close to a herd of Beefalo, though I can’t promise that they will all survive.
Since the Deerclops deals higher amounts of damage to mobs, there is a chance players will ultimately sacrifice a whole herd of Beefalo to the icy beast, but if players have an Ice Staff or Sleeping Darts, this will essentially help save the Beefalo from being bludgeoned to death while getting some shots in.
The best type of mob players can use against the Deerclops are Treeguards as they deal a good amount of damage and the larger ones have massive amounts of health.
I personally try to lure all of my Treeguards into one area and pacify them until they are needed, because they sure as hell make a good army when you need them.
Players have also reported that MacTusk is a great resource for killing the Deerclops, though I can’t say that I’ve tried using him before.
As MacTusk dodges all creatures that get too close to him it would make sense that he can take down the Deerclops with easy, shooting Blow Darts that deal 100 damage to the Deerclops.
The only issue I can see with MacTusk is the fact that he de-aggros and becomes non-aggressive if taken too far from his base.
CAN I AVOID FIGHTING THE DEERCLOPS WITHOUT CHANGING MY WORLD SETTINGS?
Absolutely, players can always avoid battling the Deerclops by running far away from it as it will lose aggro of the player if the player runs far enough for a long enough period.
Players must then wait until the end of Winter for the Deerclops to despawn.
Running away can also be a great alternative for players who don’t want their base destroyed, though I would strongly recommend trying to defeat the Deerclops a few times and rolling back your save file if you die, as the rewards for killing the Deerclops are quite substantial.
Players can avoid the Deerclops by hanging out in the Caves, though if players resurface from the Caves before the end of Winter, there is a chance that the Deerclops will be waiting for players right by the entrance, essentially being a risky way for players to try to avoid this big baddie.
Alternatively, players can avoid fighting the Deerclops by hopping into a Worm Hole.
CAN I SPAWN IN MORE DEERCLOPS?
If players are wanting to be more adventurous, they may want to tamper with their World Settings in another way, effectively raising the amount of Deerclops that appear around their world.
The following are how the World Settings affect the Deerclops in single-player Don’t Starve:
NONE
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
0
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
LESS
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
1
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
DEFAULT
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
1
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
MORE
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
2
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
LOTS
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
3
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
Yes
The following are how the World Settings affect the Deerclops in single-player Don’t Starve Together:
NONE
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
0
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
LESS
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
Up to 2
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
DEFAULT
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
Up to 4
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
MORE
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
Up to 8
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
No
LOTS
NUMBER OF ATTACKS PER SEASON
Up to 10
ATTACKS DURING SUMMER
Yes
BEST CHARACTERS TO DEAL WITH THE DEERCLOPS
While choosing a character is highly going to depend on the player’s play style.
When dealing with the Deerclops payers may be interested in choosing Wigfrid because she heals while she damages, Wickerbottom as she can summon Tentacles to kill the Deerclops, WX-78 as he can be upgraded to get a massive supply of health, or Wolfgang as his most full form will deal 2x the damage and he will gain a large pool of health.
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