I have to admit when playing Don’t Starve Together there really isn’t a character that isn’t worth playing as all characters give a very different player experience.
In most cases, except for the odd few, having one of each character is beneficial though some characters tend to be more selfishly powerful while others help support characters by supplying resources, armour and various gear.
At the end of the day, your choice in character is going to heavily rely on the playstyle of the character as no character is truly overpowered… no not even Wickerbottom!
The following post will give you a little taste of each character and when they would be beneficial in Don’t Starve Together.
The list ranks characters for their usability in both solo and group play in Don’t Starve Together, though there is a bit more of a focus on characters that are useful in group play settings.
Note: Watch me play Don’t Starve Together with my community and similar games on Twitch! Always happy to answer questions there!
18. WES
Wes is the character that everyone chooses not to play simply due to the fact that he feels like a debuffed character that doesn’t receive many perks.
In my opinion, Wes is simply another way to play Don’t Starve Together and isn’t meant to be a character who provides the team with very much.
Honestly, playing Wes isn’t the worst experience ever, I would just recommend choosing him when you’re simply in for a challenge.
17. WILSON
Wilson is considered to be the default character in Don’t Starve Together. Wilson has 150 Hunger, 200 Sanity and 150 Health.
The most notable part of choosing Wilson while playing Don’t Starve Together is being able to survive Winter with ease. Wilson can grow a Magnificent Beard that provides players with 135 seconds of insulation.
Players can also shave Wilson’s beard for Beard Hairs which are used for Meat Effigies. Meat Effigies are used to revive players and come in extremely helpful when playing single-player Don’t Starve, but really aren’t useful in Don’t Starve Together as players can use the Florid Postern (Endless), Life Giving Amulet and Touch Stone.
Wilson is my least favourite character simply because of how “default” he is and I just can’t get over it.
16. WEBBER
Webber is a character that is more useful in single-player than Don’t Starve Together. While training Spiders is always a fun thing to do, Spiders can get annoying or tricky to keep around players that are not Webber.
We’ve had a lot of Spider casualties as well as casualties from Spiders simply due to having too many Spider Dens nearby and the general impulse to smack Spiders.
Players can, however, benefit from Webber by using his Silky Smooth Beard. A full-grown Silky Smooth Beard will provide players with 6 Silk, making it so they don’t have to rely on the RNG of killing Spiders. While silk isn’t the hardest resource to farm, it can be pretty annoying when you run out of silk in the middle of Winter.
Who Webber should team up with? Eh… anyone.
As much as Webber can be powerful, he’s really annoying to deal with on Don’t Starve Together servers filled with new players. Expect lots of death if players place Spider Dens too close to your base.
Webber is a good character to play when you’re playing on “survive alone” kind of servers or on servers where players want to come in and out of helping each other.
15. WOODIE
If you’re a player who’s interested in getting a lot of resources quickly, I would recommend trying out Woodie.
Not only can Woodie chop down trees quickly with Lucy the Axe, but a player can also transform into a Werebeaver which can mine Boulders, chop down trees, hammer resources and dig up trees.
Woodie has a total of 3 transformations in Don’t Starve Together, unlike in single-player Don’t Starve (DS, SW, RoG & HAM). Woodie’s other transformations include the Weremoose and the Weregoose. Woodie’s Weremoose form allows players to deal damage to mobs while charging and Woodie’s Weregoose form allows him to scout around the map with extreme ease.
Woodie can be paired up with most other characters, however, I would recommend avoiding teaming up with Maxwell as both characters focus on collecting resources.
While Woodie can be extremely useful, the majority of his usefulness comes from his ability to grind out resources. I cannot deny how important it is to be able to have a great load of resources, but I think Maxwell is a bit more interesting… which leads me to:
14. MAXWELL
When I first started playing Don’t Starve Together I was terrified of playing Maxwell. Maxwell has very low Health but makes up for it in so many other ways.
Players can use Maxwell to summon multiple Shadow Puppets to do his bidding in The Constant, creating Miners, Diggers, Duelists, and Loggers. While Duelists aren’t considered to be the most helpful kind of Shadow Puppets, having Miners and Loggers will allow Maxwell players to farm a ton of resources at night from early on without the need of burning down trees, building Camp Fires or Fire Pits.
Maxwell can have up to 4 Shadow Miner, Logger and/or Diggers out at a time, though I suggest having only 3 out if you are not ready to deal with Shadow Creatures since Shadow Puppets require Sanity.
Maxwell pairs extremely well with Wickerbottom as he can read her books and regain the Sanity back quickly, due to his 6.7 Sanity per minute buff. Maxwell and Wickerbottom, in my opinion, are a fairly broken pair that negate all the worries of food, Sanity loss, damage, etc. Players can use Maxwell to summon tentacles in various mob farms, during battles against Seasonal Giants and if teamed up with a Wortox they should never die!
Maxwell is a lot of fun to play and quite frankly, I love having him on my server, but he doesn’t make too much sense on his own.
Maxwell is the better Wes, essentially. Send Maxwell out for 15 minutes and you’re going to have all the resources you need for the whole season, I kid you not.
If I had the patience to transform into Maxwell every Autumn to get all the resources I needed, I would, but those Moon Rock Idols can get pricy if you don’t have the right tools.
13. WORMWOOD
Wormwood is a very interesting character to choose while playing Don’t Starve Together especially in the early games. When it comes time to basing, players should hand all of their seeds to Wormwood so he can plant them in the ground and produce lots of crops.
Since Wormwood’s plants take 4 days to grow, having multiple in one area can be useful, especially if you have a few different bases. When I play Wormwood, especially when on a large multi-player server, I make sure to plant lots of seeds next to any Fire Pits I find around the map. It might also be very helpful to plant seeds next to Pigs for easy access to veggies and fruits in hopes of getting Manure, especially on a Full Moon.
Wormwood players will have to learn how to heal themselves without using food since Wormwood cannot regain Health from eating Food. Instead, players will have to rely on Honey Poultice, Healing Salves or even Spider Glands. Well, that’s not completely honest, Wormwood comes with a set of equipment including the Bramble Vest and Compost Wraps, the latter which heals him.
Overall, Wormwood gives players enough of a difference in gameplay and can be teamed up extremely well with Wurt and Wickerbottom.
Wormwood players don’t really give much to their team beyond a few pieces of extra gear and unlimited food, so if you have a Wickerbottom you may not love Wormwood.
12. WENDY
Wendy was the first character I vibed with when playing Don’t Starve Together because Abigail gave me the chance to still do damage while learning how to kite.
I would recommend players try Wendy if they are new to the game as her stats are fairly average, being 150 Hunger, 200 Sanity, and 150 Health. Wendy also receives a debuff on her damage, dealing 25% less than the default. As a perk, Wendy loses 25% less Sanity in many circumstances.
My favourite thing to do with Wendy is farm beehives to make Bee Boxes and kill Spiders.
Wendy is great for beginner players and in my opinion, should be one of the first characters try out as Abigail will help keep you alive while you’re still figuring out game mechanics.
Wendy doesn’t see much use when it comes to defeating seasonal giants, so maybe choose another character if you’re wanting to lend a helping hand.
11. WILLOW
Willow is a bit trickier to play than Wilson, especially in Winter. Willow has 150 Hunger, 120 Sanity, and 150 Health, meaning that her Sanity is significantly lower than the default. The reason Willow’s Sanity is lower than the default is attributed to the fact that she is a child and thus is “not as mentally stable” as an adult.
Willow also loses Sanity 1.1x faster, but that is quickly countered with her ability to gain up to 11 Sanity per minute when nearby Fires. Since Willow takes no fire damage in Don’t Starve Together, players can easily drop multiple resources on the floor to multiple the amount of Sanity she gains. Stacks count as one fire, so make sure you drop single items on the ground by hitting Control (CTRL).
Willow gains access to an exclusive recipe for Willow’s Lighter. Willow’s Lighter is amazing for the early game as players can both cook on it and stay safe from Charlie.
Willow also has access to her teddybear Bernie who gets a +50 damage buff, becoming BERNIE! when WIllow is under 15% Sanity.
I love Willow simply because of Bernie and her ability to protect allies with Bernie, especially with her extra smaller forms!
10. WALTER
Walter is the newest character to enter The Constant and in my opinion, is the most interesting character to play.
The only reason I wouldn’t put Walter up higher on the list of best characters is that Walter doesn’t provide as much help or support to his teammates and can be quite difficult for newer players to get the hang of and manage due to his vast list of perks and disadvantages.
Walter comes with his own crafts, such as a portable Camper’s Tent, a full-time portable storage pet (who acts like a Beefalo–Chester hybrid) and in general provides a much more enjoyable, while still difficult, experience to playing Don’t Starve Together than Wes.
Walter’s most impressive aspect is his ranged weapon, the Trusty Slingshot, which deals some of the most powerful damage for a ranged weapon in all of Don’t Starve Together without the risk of stealing aggro from enemies that are already aggro’d friendly mobs or ally survivors.
Walter’s most difficult aspect of playing would be his low Health and the fact that his Sanity is directly connected to his Health, meaning new players may be up for some intense Nightmare Fuel farming very early on.
9. WIGFRID
My heart and soul goes out to Wigfrid, I just wish that all of her skins didn’t feel so similar. Wigfrid is one of the easier characters players can choose while playing Don’t Starve Together as she has a bit of a “life-steal” mechanic when she attacks live mobs.
Wigfrid can provide herself and her team with decent headgear and a fairly powerful spear that will allow players to do more damage to mobs early on. Although Wigfrid’s Battle Spear does quite a bit of damage, players should trade them in for Tentacle Spikes, Ham Bats or even better weapons.
Wigfrid’s Battle Helm tends to be more useful for a Don’t Starve Together server as they are cheap and provide players with a good amount of armour without the worry of needing to repair them. As my server’s Wigfrid player, I tend to use Wigfrid’s Battle Helms when farming Spiders, Pigs and such. I do find the Battle Helm annoying in Winter and Spring because I tend to wear a Beefalo Hat. Realistically, I’m just too lazy to keep switching between gear.
Wigfrid also deals 25% more damage than the default player, making her extremely useful when taking down Seasonal Giants and other tough Mobs.
The only downside to Wigfrid is that she is a full-time carnivore, making foods like Trail Mix unavailable for healing. Wigfrid can chow down on other foods though and realistically with the help of Wickerbottom, Wigfrid can get easy Morsels.
8. WARLY
Warly is an extremely beneficial character to have on your DST server as he can prepare many foods that help boost the stats of his fellow allies.
Warly is provided with a Portable Crock Pot and can also build a Portable Grinding Mill and Portable Seasoning Station to boost the stats of any Crock Pot dish.
Warly has access to exclusive recipes that provide high Health and Hunger.
There’s not really much more I can say about Warly, as his perks highly depend on what is accessible to players, but I can say… if a character can give all characters a damage buff… I’d use him!
7. WURT
Wurt players very similarly to Webber, though instead of being the ruler of Spiders you will be the ruler of Merms. In my opinion, Merms are much stronger than Spiders, but they take longer to farm out than Spiders do.
Wurt’s only “downfall” is that she is a vegetarian, but much like Wigfrid, players won’t really have to worry about this little fact, especially if paired with Wormwood or Wickerbottom.
Wurt is another character I wouldn’t necessarily start off with but would switch to a year or so in, as you will have to get to the Lunar Island to get some of the items needed for her Royal Tapestry.
Wurt is definitely more powerful than Webber and the reality is that Wurt’s Merms are less annoying to deal with than Spiders and their Spider Dens.
6. WX-78
WX-78 is the tankiest character in Don’t Starve Together and can be upgraded by feeding him Gears. WX-78 starts off with 150 Hunger, Sanity and Health, but can end up with 200 Hunger, 300 Sanity and 400 Health.
WX-78 can eat all spoiled foods with no penalties making the game easier for new players, though this comes at the trade-off with low stats in the early game.
WX-78 can also gain a System Overload when struck by Lightning. Lightning Strikes cause WX-78 to move at 1.5x the speed, cause it to become a light source and allows WX-78 to be immune to freezing.
Having immunity to freezing is especially helpful for players who want to complete multiple hunts or kill MacTusk. Having immunity to freezing can also help players who are behind on collecting resources such as Boulders, Reeds or any other unmovable resources that must be travelled for. Even if players are stocked up on resources, having invulnerability to freezing is useful because it means that you don’t need Thermal Stones and you will always have access to both gear slots.
If you’re paired up with Wigfrid you can beg her for hundreds of Battle Helms for year-end safety! Though, make sure you have an Eyebrella or another tool to keep you safe from the rain! Alternatively, WX-78 players can also team up with Wickerbottom to force WX-78’s System Overload anytime it is needed.
5. WOLFGANG
By far the strongest character in Don’t Starve Together is Wolfgang, who when properly fed receives a maximum of 2x Damage. Wolfgang also receives maximum health of 300.
Wolfgang also receives a movement speed buff of 25% when fully fed, making him extra speedy when trying to kite.
Really, there’s not much more to Wolfgang other than he’s tanky, he needs lots of food, and he does a whole lot of damage.
Wolfgang is great for your team because of his high yields of damage, but once you look past that, Wolfgang kind of feels boring and blah. I’m not about to write off Wolfgang, I just prefer a more altered game-play style.
4. WICKERBOTTOM
You know she’s powerful, I know she’s powerful, let’s not kid ourselves here. Wickerbottom is the meaning of overly easy Don’t Starve Together survival. Wickerbottom makes it so players can survive Winter easily. Use Wickerbottom’s books to make plants grow immediately, to force lightning at any point, call down birds, put mobs to sleep, and call upon tentacles. Did I pique your interest?
Honestly, there’s too much to talk about when it comes to Wickerbottom and she’s perfect for players of all experiences.
Wickerbottom gains access to all Science Machine recipes without building one, making her a terrific baser. Players can also avoid making the expensive Alchemy Engine until their team is ready to spend the resources.
I recommend reading my post about Wickerbottom because even if you don’t play her, knowing what she does can be game-breaking.
Wickerbottom will be the character that every server wants, though, against popular belief you do not need a Wickerbottom to have a successful server.
3. WINONA
Winona is an underrated character in Don’t Starve Together and in reality, with enough resources Winona players can keep their whole team safe by using her contraptions.
Set up some Catapults next to Pigs, Bunnymen and Spiders and get to farming! Head to an empty area and set up a kill box for those Seasonal Giants, Hound waves and other various tough mobs. At the end of the day, Winona players can be useful in almost all situations whether it be in the Caves or across the Overworld.
While Winona’s contraptions can be pretty pricy players shouldn’t have too much difficulty collecting the resources required for them. Even if you don’t play Winona during your first year, I would recommend switching to her in later years to protect you in the future.
Winona also has the ability to craft Trusty Tape which is very similar to a Sewing Kit, however, Trusty Tape also gives access to the other Winona specific structures.
Winona is considered to be one of the biggest team players, especially when it comes to damage, dealing with hound waves and seasonal giants like the Deerclops or Moose/Goose.
2. WANDA
While I truly believe that Wanda is the absolute best character who is currently in Don’t Starve Together, the reality is that Wanda is not the most helpful when in groups of players.
Wanda completely flips gameplay on its head and changes the way that Don’t Starve Together functions, losing the status of Health and providing players with Age instead.
Essentially with Time, Wanda will be able to reverse her clock to ensure that she doesn’t die, having 3 age states Young, Middle Age and Old, dying as soon as she turns 80. Admittedly, this can be one of the easiest things to handle or one of the toughest.
Realistically with Age Wanda can die in two shots when she’s at her “most powerful” Old age state, however, if players craft enough of her Ageless Watches they can reverse time every time she gets hit to make sure she survives longer.
Admittedly, Wanda is very tricky for newer players as she does not teach players the basics of all other characters.
Wanda can output some of the best damage in the game, though only in her glass cannon state with Shadow Magic items like the Dark Sword of her very own Alarming Clock.
With the Alarming Clock Wanda can deal the following amounts of damage:
Young Wanda deals 81.6 Damage.
Middle Aged Wanda deals 97.92 Damage.
Old Wanda deals a great 142.8 Damage.
Wanda can also get crafty with her Watches allowing herself to teleport to set waypoints on the map or being able to craft a Watch that allows a group to teleport similarly to a Wormhole.
In my opinion, the teleportation is the best addition to the game as it will allow players to travel anywhere on the map including from the Surface to the Caves.
Wanda, you are a sweetheart to me and I will be playing you until another character with your amazing skills appears.
1. WORTOX
Wortox is by far one of the most helpful characters to have on a DST server as he can rapidly heal everyone on your team.
Wortox collects souls that are dropped from living creatures and uses them both to feed himself and heal players in an AoE manner. Although Wortox does not have a damage modifier, Wortox can help the maximum output of your team’s damage by keeping everyone up.
Wortox is the ultimate support character.
If players are playing DST on their own, they may still want to choose to play Wortox as he is one of the easiest characters to keep alive. Yes, it sucks that you do not reap as many benefits from food items, but being able to AoE heal and feed yourself on butterflies alone is amazing!
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who you play in Don’t Starve Together as all the characters have some great qualities, of course, except for Wes.
I have to say that my shout out favourite characters includes Wigfrid, Wurt and Wendy, but the majority of the time you will find me using Wortox, Winona or Wurt.
There’s nothing wrong with sticking to the already proclaimed holy trinity, WX-78, Wickerbottom or Wolfgang, but the reality is that the wide variety of characters and changes in gameplay really sell the characters of The Constant.
So I’m curious, who are your favourite characters? Do you think I was unfair to some? Let me know in the comments below!
Maxwell all around favorite character gameplay wise writing wise concept wise design wise everything about him is the perfect character to me hell he might be my favorite character from anything because of how unique he is sure he was the whole ruler of the evil world type villain but he became so much more and the stuff with his past and his partner charlie and the whole William Carter stuff that happened
18.Wes obviously 17.Willow because I like characters that are good with sanity 16. Woodie should be able to transform with weapon and armor like Diablo druid
15. Wickerbottom’s are decently expensive and overrated
Her real advantage is her making backpack’s and log armor and spears and boats quickly
14. Wanda is fun but worse than Wormwood with health and her items are costly
13. Wolfgang is really powerful but being scared makes me not l like him any more
12. Webber really because bunnymen attack him and catoons attack him
Wigfid is more of a blacksmith than a fighter her life/sanity steal is really not enough for giants though she can make due on the other hand she can farm spiders to gain health and sanity
Forgot to say she is the eleventh best character
10. WX78 is more default unless you’re good at fighting
9. Walter 8. Wendy 7 Warly because salt is hard to get unless you are good and Warly, period is hard
6. Wurt because of how hard it is to make the royal tapestry
5. Wilson is really powerful and fun with his beard and no disadvantages
4. Maxwell is good at everything unless you like fighting
3. Wormwood shouldn’t not heal from food but worse sanity drain for killing plants and his bramble husk shouldn’t break when he is wearing it and he shouldn’t be able to befriend pigs instead treeguard’s should should fight for him and act like he is a tree
2. Winona is really powerful and fun with her structures and tape and no disadvantages 1. Wortox same as you
Winona DOES have a disadvantage. She loses hunger every time she crafts something. When in early game, when lots of crafting is needed to make alchemy engines, pickaxes and others, she gets expensive to feed.
Oh wait that was posted a long time ago
One thing that people forget is inspecting things like what and Webber aren’t smart so the things they say aren’t as good Wilson, Wormwood and Wickerbottom are smart at least Wormwood is smart with plants
“like Wurt and Webber” auto correct doesn’t like Wurt
I think all skins should do different things like Webber should have a skin that is each different spider and when he or they befriend them they turn in to that spider
I would like to say that webber should be considered higher tier, not for fighting potential, or collecting resources, but for one reason only: He can place his spider eggs. Haven’t you ever been on a world where no matter where you looked you couldn’t find a spider nest? Or found a perfect place to base but it lacks an essential spider nest? Webber fixes that EASY. If you can, try to get one of your friends to use webber.
Surprisingly I keep finding myself coming back to Wendy even though I’ve played for a few years. This is because of all of the potions she has and the sisturn. The sisturn resorted so much sanity as long as you have flowers, and Abigail can provide light in her last two stages making it easier to survive the night is you realize you didn’t gather enough sticks or something during the day. Also, it is incredibly easy to kill butterflies with her so that can be a source of food, this goes for butterflies, frogs, spiders, bees, bats, and almost any other small mob that comes in groups. One of her potions even turns her into a ghost temporarily and that can help with locating the lunar island. I’m conclusion Wendy is by far my favorite character and the only one (in my opinion) that is close would be Wanda.
At first I really didn’t like Wendy, but the rework made her so much more enjoyable and she’s great to play when you have new players around. Wanda was also a main for a while before I put down the game, though I think the majority of my time I played as Wigfrid because of the tank and spank mechanic.
the only powerful character in this game that just watches from a distance is WURT. So ez and fast to make mega base with this character and all you need is bush hat to survive all the hound and worm waves… the army will destroy everything offensively and defensively. So all characters cannot compare to her. A full merm king has 6 dasy to starve and another 2 days to die.. within that 8 days u can clear all bosses and 2 to 3 biomes trees and boulders. the time u need to pick up things is so much more compared to chopping and mining them. Mega base = Mega army = Mega wurt and conquers the game.