Guides/Surviving the first month

Note: This guide is based on my (Neoma) experience in the game and may be subjective.

=Where do I begin?=

Try not to hurry to reach the end game. There's no easy way other than cheating but where is the fun in that? The first few weeks are crucial to your survival, do not lose focus.

First things first

 * Gather some flint, saplings, and grass. Those are the first things you should be looking for.
 * If you are able to find 3 pieces of flint, build a pickaxe and an axe. You will be able to get more flint if you mine rocks. Only make an axe if by midday you can't find more than 1 flint. If you find 2 pieces of flint and some boulders make a pickaxe and mine them. (You'll thank me later.)
 * Gather the basic resources: flint, logs, rocks, saplings, and grass at least 1 respectable stack each. Don't panic if you don't get everything.
 * If you find gold, carrots, and berries along the way pick them up. Food isn't really a priority the first day.
 * Take some pine cones with you, if you have enough space.
 * You don't have to settle on the first day.

Be Prepared
Gather and carry resources when you can.

Prepare a campfire once you have enough materials for it. How to prepare the campfire? By building the item and clicking your right mouse button, the item will not be placed and will just be stored in your HUD. The resources are consumed and you can continue to gather more without making more stacks. Do not place the campfire during the daytime.

Around dawn, you still have enough time to gather resources.

Prototyping, when should I start?
Once you have enough resources and found a good location. I'm estimating around your 3rd day? Start prototyping other tools by building your Science Machine. If you have not located a suitable place for your base build it anyway. You can come back for it later.


 * Make a backpack to increase your inventory slots.
 * Prepare a Log Suit and a Spear. Always bring a log suit with you.

What to do during the first few nights?
Once you place a campfire near some resources. Gather them as soon as you can.

Be sure to cook some food in that campfire and consume.

Before the night ends, prepare another campfire. You will need it for your next journey.

Be Thrifty
Using resources carefully will go a long way. Do not create a fire pit on the first night. That's a waste of time and resources. Your current location may not be best for you to settle.

A campfire or a fire pit?
If this is your first night, you don't have to make a fire pit because you're likely not going to settle just yet. Set up a campfire right before night comes and surrounded by some resources, so you can gather them during the night.

If the flame is almost gone, check the time if it's nearly morning. Use one log to fuel the campfire just for the first night but be mindful about the burning time of the fuel you are using. Do not use them all at once. One log is enough for an hour (in-game time).

As much as possible use logs to fuel your fire as they have a long burning time and are readily available.

Cooked or Raw?
Cliché as it may sound but don't starve, it is the most important thing to keep in mind. Cooked food is generally better than raw.

On the first few nights, you can cook around 3 to 4 berries or carrots and eat them. This will be enough for you to survive the next day.

Location, location, location
"LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION"

Dedicate day 2 and/or day 3 to look for a good location. At dusk, gather a few logs and grass for your campfire and don't forget the pine cones.

Points for a good location:
 * Near a road Near a road but not just any road. Check where the roads leads to, connects to and where they stop. A good place is usually an intersection. Use your good judgement.
 * Close enough to either pigs or beefalo (meaning, not visible from your base camp). This is approximately, one screen away. Why? If your camp is visible to the pigs and full moon comes in they turn into Werepigs. Beefalo get aggressive during mating season. If you can kite them they are an excellent source of meat.
 * Cannon Fodder - pigs and beefalo make excellent fodder for attacking hounds and when they do fight back, they usually win.
 * Manure - Pigs drop manure when fed vegetables and beefalo drop manure... because they can.
 * Rabbit Holes - Two to three Rabbit holes within your base serves as a constant source of food. This is especially important during the winter.

Be mindful
Dealing with emergencies scenarios like:
 * Hounds showing up and attack you
 * Encountering a deerclops
 * Aggressive beefalo
 * A Treeguard shows up.
 * Frogs, lots of them.
 * Killer bees!
 * Lost Tallbirds
 * Wandering Spiders and their really annoying queen!

These encounters will make you lose your focus on your current objective. Thankfully, this is just the first week. So...onwards to our adventure!

=Let me count the days=

- to be continued -