WX-78

"LIFE IS INEFFICIENT"

- WX-78

WX-78 is the fourth playable Character in Don't Starve unlockable via Experience, with 960 XP. They are also one of the 12 playable characters in Don't Starve Together (DST). They are a self-sustaining automaton that hates all living matter.

WX-78 can upgrade their Health, Hunger, and Sanity to 400, 200, and 300, respectively by eating Gears. Being a machine, they take damage when they are in the Rain unprotected. When struck by Lightning, WX-78 will experience "SYSTEM OVERLOAD", emitting Light while moving at an increased speed. WX-78 can also eat stale and spoiled Food without the negative effects.

Special Power
WX-78's main perk is System Overload. This is activated after being struck by Lightning. System Overload provides the following benefits:
 * Movement speed is increased by 50%.
 * WX-78 emits Light (the radius of which diminishes gradually near the end of the Overload).
 * Immunity to Freezing.

WX-78 will lose 33 and gain 100  when initially struck by Lightning, and can be struck multiple times after System Overload has been activated. System Overload lasts for roughly 1 Day but can be stacked from multiple strikes to last indefinitely. Being near a Lightning Rod or wearing items that protect from Lightning (e.g. Eyebrella) will prevent WX-78 from being struck. It should be noted that it is possible to set nearby objects and Mobs on Fire when struck by Lightning.

WX-78 also has the ability to permanently upgrade their maximum Health, Hunger, and Sanity. This is done by "eating" Gears. A total of 15 Gears must be eaten to gain maximum stats. In Don't Starve, their maximum stats are all at 100. Each upgrade adds 20, 6.66 , and 13.33.

In DST, the starting stats are increased to 150, so each upgrade adds 16.66, 3.33 , and 10.

Don't Starve= DST=

WX-78 is also able to eat stale and spoiled Food without penalties. This allows them to stockpile food for increased lengths of time. Note that other Food penalties still take effect (such as eating Monster Meat).

In the Shipwrecked (SW) DLC, WX-78 is immune to Poison.

Disadvantages
WX-78 has the lowest starting maximum stats of any Character in Don't Starve as well as a lower than usual Sanity stat in DST, leaving them exposed to danger until Gears are found.

WX-78 takes damage from Rain, at a rate of 0.5 every 3–5 seconds (the amount of Rain does not matter). In the Reign of Giants (RoG) DLC, SW, Hamlet (HAM) DLC, and DST, the addition of the Wetness mechanic changes the way WX-78 is damaged by Rain. When completely exposed to Rain, WX-78 will take a maximum damage of 0.5 every 3–5 seconds. Water resistant equipment will reduce this damage. For example, damage will be reduced by 50% while wearing 50% water resistant equipment (i.e. a Pretty Parasol), taking only 0.25 damage every 3–5 seconds. WX-78 will take damage from Wetness after it has stopped raining or from walking in Puddles and the Tide in SW, at a rate of 0.3 every 3–5 seconds. This is "drying" damage as the Wetness meter empties. Standing next to a Fire will significantly speed up the rate at which the Wetness meter decreases, potentially becoming dry (after being soaked) in a matter of seconds.

Rain and Wetness damage causes WX-78 to periodically emit Light as sparks fly off their body. The light emitted is enough to prevent Charlie from attacking, but at the cost of big amounts of Sanity.

WX-78 will lose their upgrade level and drop some Gears upon Death. The amount of dropped Gears is a random number between 1/3 and 1/2 of the upgrade level (a number of eaten Gears, but not more than 15). This means that most of the Gears used for upgrades will be permanently lost. In HAM, WX-78 will not drop any gears upon death. This is probably due to the lack of gear dropping mobs in the DLC.

Despite WX's immunity to poison in SW, WX-78 will get poisoned by eating Tubers that aren't blooming in HAM. They are also vulnerable to damage from traversing the Gas Rainforest.

Tips

 * SYSTEM OVERLOAD will also be initiated from lightning strikes after the following occasions:
 * Touch Stone resurrection (Vanilla, ).
 * Using a Telelocator Staff.
 * Damaging an Ancient Pseudoscience Station (via Hammer or Clockwork Rook; not possible in SW).
 * Fighting Moslings.
 * Being in range of The End is Nigh! book read by a Wickerbottom player.
 * Players should note that the effects of multiple Lightning strikes can be stacked.
 * Equipping an Umbrella will completely block the Rain, preventing any damage from being taken. Since the Umbrella does not degrade over time in the normal version of the game, it makes this drawback a non-issue.
 * In the DLCs and DST the Umbrella only lasts for six days rather than 20 hits. It also won't stop the Rain completely on its own. An Eyebrella, Rain Coat , Dumbrella , Blubber Suit , or Tar Suit are generally preferred.
 * WX-78 players may want to use items that offer no Lightning immunity (such as the Umbrella or Blubber Suit) over the alternatives during spring storms and hurricanes, so that WX-78 can still get a SYSTEM OVERLOAD while using them.
 * Since WX-78 is immune to Poison in SW, crafting Anti Venom, Seashell Suits and Particulate Purifiers is a waste of resources.
 * Using the Ice Cube or Fashion Melon as protection from Overheating in the DLCs or DST is not advised, as the Wetness gained from those items will damage WX-78.
 * WX-78 can still benefit from consuming Gears even after reaching the maximum upgrade. Each Gear restores 60, 75 , and 50.
 * This makes WX-78 a great Character for completing Adventure Mode, due to the abundance of Chess Monsters.
 * RoG includes many Chess biomes scattered around Sandbox Mode (which may have Clockwork Monsters), making it easier to acquire Gears without having to go underground or to a new world. Also, Tumbleweeds have a 1% chance to drop Gears.
 * In SW, Floaty Boaty Knights will spawn near the place where the player kills Aquatic Mobs. This makes it easy to farm large amounts of Gears. They also have a chance to spawn in Sandy Piles and X Marks the Spot Chests.
 * During a Spring start in RoG and DST, the abundance of Butterflies can help offset the damage taken from Rain (by eating Butterfly Wings).
 * When it's raining in the DLCs and DST, unless planning to dry soon, it's not advised to wear Clothes that provides 100% water resistance when highly wet as usually the drying damage is higher than the damage taken with a lower water resistance (e.g. Straw Hat + Pretty Parasol).
 * Due to their high maximum Hunger and ability to eat spoiled food without penalty, Meaty Stew is exceptionally useful for WX-78.
 * Since WX-78 can eat spoiled food without penalty, food that takes longer to spoil when cooked should be cooked relatively early in its lifetime to increase its lifespan.

In-Game

 * WX-78's voice is played by what is explained as a "crazy processed synth".
 * WX-78 has a Skull in the game files. Also, when struck by Lightning in DLCs, a skeleton can be seen.
 * WX-78 makes a unique creaking noise as they walk.
 * Although they take damage from Wetness, WX-78 can eat watery foods such as Pomegranates, Meaty Stew, or even Watermelons without being harmed.
 * WX-78 is one of the original four Characters that were available during the closed Beta of DST.
 * In DST, if the player communicates to others with the Y or U keys as WX-78, all messages will be sent in uppercase letters like their original dialogue.
 * Most of their audio files are labelled Woodrow, which may indicate they were originally meant for an unimplemented character who also has their own audio files in the code. That, or Woodrow was an early iteration of their character.
 * WX-78 is oddly inconsistent with their punctuation in quotes. For instance, they often leave the end of their sentences without a period.
 * When WX-78 examines a Slurper, they will say "IT VIOLATED MY SMELLING MODULE", but when they examine a Durian, they will say "GOOD THING I LACK A NOSE". This inconsistency may be intentional for comedic effect or just an error.

Lore

 * There is a history of in-game text using gender-neutral language when referring the WX-78, suggesting that they have no gender. For example, in the speech files for Don't Starve, the examination quotes for characters on the Nightmare Throne are called FEM_PUPPET, MALE_PUPPET, and ROBOT_PUPPET. FEM_PUPPET and MALE_PUPPET refer to female and male characters and use she and he pronouns, respectively. ROBOT_PUPPET, however, uses it pronouns. Due to the name, ROBOT_PUPPET is probably intended exclusively for referring to WX-78. More recently, in DST, the other characters use singular they pronouns in reference to WX-78. Additionally, Maxwell uses the English gender-neutral title Mx. when speaking to a WX-78 player.
 * They seem to identify as masculine since they call versions of themself on the Nightmare Throne "brother" and wear typically masculine clothing. For example, in their "Guest of Honor" skin, they wear a mustache and cummerbund with a bow-tie. They also refer to themself as "king" when examining a Shark Tooth Crown.
 * WX-78 has mechanical parts that are analogous to the parts of human beings, such as their Empathy Module acting as a moral compass, a Chemical Engine acting as a stomach, Optical Sensors acting as their eyes, a CPU functioning as their brain, a Smelling Module as a nose, a Masticating Protocol for chewing and a Processing Unit described as being their head. When they sleep, they activate Sleep Mode.
 * WX-78 refers to many of the mechanical Structures and Items with familial terms, suggesting they are related to them or that they mistake them for family.
 * The Rainometer, Tar Extractor, Ice Box, Willow's Lighter, and themself on the Nightmare Throne are brothers, the Electrical Doodad is a sister, and the Lantern, Alchemy Engine, Thermal Measurer, Ice Flingomatic, Lying Robot are friends.
 * They deny relations to the Sea Lab due to its ability to be in the ocean. They do acknowledge kinship with the Portable Crock Pot (in an unused examination line) and Potatoes.
 * They say that the Metal Potato Thing reminds them of their mother. They also identify the Science Machine as their mother.
 * WX-78 is described as "hating all living matter". However, they show empathy for machines, saying "OH NO. WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?" when examining gears. They also has a soft spot for Bees and Lureplants, stating "A MINDLESS DRONE. I LIKE HIM." and "AWW, IT IS JUST AS EVIL AS I AM.", respectively.
 * The number string "11522914" is written on the side of WX-78's character portrait, which resembles a blueprint. Putting the numbers in an A1Z26 cypher reveals the name Kevin, most likely referring to Kevin Forbes, one of the original developers of Don't Starve.
 * WX-78 seems to be very fond of the Moon, describing it as "INORGANIC AND GOOD". They are very excited when they repair the Moon Stone ("MOONBASE. AAAAA. MOONBASE!").
 * Their least favorite foods are Eggs ("I HATE YOU, EGG") and Sweet Potatoes ("GROSS").
 * When examining a Camp Fire or Fire Pit, WX-78 says that it reminds them of something.
 * Their name has a similar naming convention to the product name of the Voxola radio PR-76.
 * WX-78 was originally planned to speak in randomly generated binary.

Cultural References

 * WX-78's name may be a reference to the RX-78 series of mobile suits in the Universal Century Gundam series. The most notable being the RX-78-2, the main mobile suit from Mobile Suit Gundam.
 * Their Ghost Form in DST may be a reference to the robot R2-D2 from the Star Wars series.
 * WX-78's Roseate skin may be a reference to the robot from Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky.
 * Their Gladiator skin has a similar faceplate to Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise.
 * WX-78's "The Unfinished" skin may be referencing the act of dissecting frogs, as their exposed hands and feet resemble the webbed toes of a frog.

Bugs

 * In the base game, if WX-78 is immediately struck by Lightning after death, they will appear to be resurrected and the game will crash.
 * When playing SW with Lightning set to "Lots" in the World menu, WX-78 can be struck by Lightning while Wally talks, resulting in a bug where the HUD is unavailable and the camera is fixed.