Guides/All About Night

Night
Nights in Don't Starve are a big part of the game, and if the player doesn't stay near a light source he will get attacked by an invisible monster (called Charlie by Maxwell, Grue or the Night Monster. I will refer to him as Charlie) and will be killed.

How night affects the player while not near light

 * The player will alert about Charlie being nearby and after 5 seconds the player gets attacked for 100 hp and 20 sanity per hit (Armor will absorb damage taken from Charlie). 10 seconds later he will attack again for the same amount.
 * 50 sanity/min is drained while in the darkness. (0,83sanity/second)
 * Unable to pick up items or interact with objects you can't see with the mouse button. Objects can still be collected by using the space bar but due to the games natural tendency to go towards any object instead of the closest one, this is an ineffective way to gather materials for a torch or a fire

How night affects the player while near light:

 * 5 sanity/min is drained while near light during the night. ✅

How night affects the world:

 * Creatures (Pigs, Beefalos, Tallbirds, put in other innocent animal names) will go to sleep as soon as night starts and will wake up when night is over.
 * If the player walks nearby a sleeping Spider, Spider Queen, Killer Bee, Tallbird, Hound, then it will wake up and attack the player, unless they are apart of one of Maxwells traps. therefore, they will sleep indefinitely until an event triggers them.
 * If the player attacks a sleeping Spider, Spider Queen, Bee, Killer Bee, Tallbird, Hound, Tree Guardian, Pig, or Pig guardian, then it and its nearby allies will wake up and attack the player.
 * If the player walks nearby a sleeping Koalefant or Winter Koalefant, it will wake up and start running away. if there is enough time to attack it with a melee weapon immediately. (A torch works)
 * The pig king will be asleep, and will not be able to receive any gifts in exchange for gold.
 * Plants will not grow.
 * Meat will not dry.
 * Tallbird eggs (unless in a nest or near a fire) will freeze and turn to Wet Goop

Light
In order to survive the night, the player needs to be near a light.

light sources are listed from best to worst:



Fire pit
Cost: 12 Rocks and 2 Logs

Cost to maintain: Burnable items.

Cost rank: Expensive to place, low to maintain.

Light area: Large, and grows smaller when fire weakens

Mobility: Stationary

Provides warmth during winter.

Rank: Good, the most effective way to stay warm during winter.

Usage: The optimal choice for a base or an area where you know you will stay for a while or come back to. It is also used to stay warm during winter and cook food.



Campfire
Cost: 3 Grass and 2 Logs

Cost to maintain: Burnable items, need to replace when fire dies.

Cost rank: Moderately expensive to place, low to maintain.

Light area: Large, and grows smaller when fire weakens

Mobility: Stationary

Provides warmth during winter.

Rank: Good, but inefficient to use constantly.

Usage: Optimal for new players and for keeping warm during winter when not having access to a Fire Pit and it is used for cooking food.



Torch
Cost: 2 Grass and 2 Twigs

Cost to maintain: Need to replace after it goes out.

Cost rank: Moderately expensive to craft, moderately low to maintain.

Light area: Low

Mobility: High, held.

Warmth: Used to set things on fire, trees last longest.

Rank: Good depending on the situation; inefficient to use constantly.

Usage: Optimal for travel during early game, and very effective for restoring warmth during winter by setting things on fire, (trees burn the longest).



Fire
Cost: Torch or firestaff is used to start the fire, and a tree or burnable item.

Cost to maintain: A tree lasts for ? seconds, an item placed on the ground lasts ? seconds. Firestaff uses 1 charge (it is not ranged when setting fire directly to things, only when attacking. Probably a bug)

Cost rank: Almost free.

Light area: Huge

Warmth: Provides warmth, can be used to heat up a heat stone up to about 1/3 from 1 fire

Rank: Bad, a fire lasts a very short time but it has a very large light area.

Usage: Almost free way to restore warmth during winter.



Miner Hat
Cost 1 Straw Hat, 1 Gold Nugget and 1 Fireflies and it requires an Alchemy Engine to prototype

Cost to maintain: 1 Gold Nugget and 1 fireflies. Last for a very long time, about 4-5 nights before having to craft a new Miner Hat.

Cost rank: Cheap, but takes some effort to find get materials. Fireflies are not renewable, but are abundant.


 * (fireflies stack up to 40 so up to 160 of them they can be brought over to a new world)  **

Light area: Large

Mobility: High, worn as a hat.

Warmth: None

Rank: Arguably the lightsource, it last about 4-5 nights if used only at night. The only downside is that Fireflies are not renewable, however abundant.

Usage: Any time light is needed.

Fireflies

Night light

Lightning rod

Pumpkin lantern

Light Bulb

Regular lanturn

Heat Stone