Guides/Character guide-Willow

Willow is generally considered a "beginner/intermediate" character due to the nature of her special item. This is most likely why she is the first unlockable character.

She is meant to help new players that may have trouble adapting to the Light mechanics of Don't Starve. Players that are unaware of the necessity to gather Logs and Cut Grass during the first Day-Night Cycle in order to survive the Grue will be happily granted access to Willow after surviving a cumulative total of only 8 days as Wilson.

Typically, when more experienced players plan for a day of scavenging away from their camp, they will always bring ample Logs and Cut Grass, or ensure they bring an Axe so a Campfire can be made to survive the night without relying on Willow's special lighter.

Furthermore, Willow's immunity to Fire damage is negligible at best. The reason is twofold:

When a player is standing in Fire, there is a built in 1-2 second delay before damage is actually calculated. The screen will glow with flames on the bottom providing an extremely obvious visual cue to move in order to avoid damage. Even while standing in flames for extended periods, the damage is still negligible if even one piece of Armor is currently worn. Fire simply isn't a common threat for the majority of the game. Unless the player is deeply immersed in heavy Forest while it is burning, avoiding fire damage is trivial. Spiders, Tentacles, Hounds, and Killer Bees all provide much greater threats to the player on the higher survival days than Fire does. It is basically almost never an obstacle to the player, and when it is, it is almost always subject to a very unique and uncommon circumstance, making Willow's Fire immunity bonus very situational at best. One advantage to her Fire immunity is in the event of a lightning strike near the player while in an area with combustible objects; the player won't have to worry about any damage. Again, lightning is rather unpredictable and this advantage also falls under situational.

Willow will be of the most use when the player, for some unexpected reason, is caught in Night with no source of light, and no way of making any. This can obviously happen for several reasons, like when Night Hands begin stealing the flames of the player's campfire, if Frogs happen to remove the items necessary to make a fire from the player's inventory, or if the player just plain forgets to plan for it. During these unforeseen circumstances, Willow's lighter will definitely be an undeniable advantage. However, these situations are again very circumstantial and usually only apply to newer players that haven't quite experienced every threat that awaits the player in the wilderness, helping further justify the fact that Willow is a character tailored for aiding against the threats that tend to plague beginners more than advanced players.

Advanced Strategy Although Willow is regarded as a beginner character, there are some unique advanced strategies she can pull off. Most notably, Willow can provide probably the most efficient start as of The End of the Beginning update, second only to Wickerbottom. This is due to her lighter, which allows her to freely travel at night (though rather blindly). She is capable of scavenging useful resources all night, foraging for Blue Mushrooms, working through the night chopping trees, and even has a natural advantage for shaving Beefalo with a Razor at night. Couple all of this with the fact that you will have higher exploration potential and resource gathering, which are arguably the most important things to do during the first 10 days, and Willow can make for a very strong start since little productivity is lost at Night with her.

Willow also can easily restore sanity by standing next to a fire, even during the night. This is an easy way for the player to stay sane.

During the winter, Willow's lighter and immunity to fire allow her to light almost anything on fire and stand right next to it until it burns out. Though this isn't the most efficient use of resources due to the short burn times of most things, it's much faster than building a campfire, doesn't require specific items (except the lighter or a torch), and can potentially help kill enemies, all of which are very important if she starts to freeze during combat. Overall, Willow is less dependent on insulation and better able to explore quickly during the winter, compared to most characters.