Guides/Making Bigger and Better Weapons

Combat is one of the main features in Don't Starve, and often killing enemies is the way to advance in this world. Sometimes, a spear and a grass suit isn't good enough against high-tier bosses. This guide will focus on how to obtain Bigger and Better Weapons.

Spear
Making a spear is essential in the early game. Generally, a simple axe isn't enough to destroy the occasional spider or hound threat. The spear has the advantages of being available for use early on, and having a higher damage output than tools such as axes and shovels. Unfortunately, spears don't usually deal enough damage to take care of many high-health insanity aura bosses such as Deerclops and Shadow Pieces, as you will usually go insane before the boss is killed.

Tentacle Spike
A spear is good and all, but after a while you'll need an upgrade. Journey to a swamp and kill some tentacles, and with luck you'll get a tentacle spike. If you find kiting the tentacles too hard, hiring some pigs can be a quick an effective way to take care of them. If pigs aren't an option, journey underground and slay some baby tentacles for more easy kills and the same drops. Tentacle spikes can be a good weapon to stay with, and if you like you can keep using it forever.

Morning Star
If the tentacle spike is too hard to aquire, a morning star can be an easy replacement. The first step to acquiring one is to find the oasis desert and kill some Volt Goats. The easiest way to kill one is by gaining aggro through either chasing it into the world border to corner it or hitting it with a dart or boomerang. Then simply kite them by waiting for it to attack, going in and attack two or three times, retreat, and then repeat. Volt Goats are not pack neutral, and only the one you attacked will retaliate if you engage in combat. With some luck and time, you will gain a Volt Goat Horn. Combine this with two electrical doodads and two nitre to get a morning star. Be warned that the morning star has a light radius, and it will lose durability when held.

Ham Bat
Once you have acquired any of the above weapons, a ham bat is a good choice for an upgrade. With unlimited durability and a high damage output, the ham bat is the choice of weapon for many Don't Starve players. There are many ways to obtain a ham bat, lots of which involve killing werepigs for a guaranteed drop of two meat and one pig skin. However, obtaining meat from Beefalo, Catcoons, or Volt Goats and using a pig skin from hammered pig heads or pig houses is also a viable method. Craft a ham bat when you know you'll be needing one soon, and don't just waste your meat making a weapon that's just going to sit and rot. An ice box or a snow chester can keep your ham bat from spoiling if you're not using it.

Bat Bat
The bat bat has a reputation for being a high-cost low-effect weapon. Although this is true, using the bat bat on low health can prove useful in some situations. Crafting a bat bat requires a shadow manipulator, which means that you will only be able to craft one in the late game. Unplug a sinkhole and release batilisks for their wings, kill a treeguard or totally normal tree for some living logs, and obtain a purple gem though any means possible to get the materials for a bat bat. The bat bat's perk is that it restores lost health at the cost of sanity when you use it, which can be useful if you do find yourself taking a lot of damage. However, it is only advisable to use this as a backup weapon, and use something else for most of the time.

Battle Spear
The battle spear is a weapon only available to Wigfrid players, however if playing in DST Wigfrid can craft battle spears for everybody. With just 2 flint, 2 twigs, and 2 gold, you can make a cheap weapon that does slightly more damage than a regular spear. Note that the battle spear is only better than a tentacle spike if you are playing as Wigfrid due to her damage increase when using it. Otherwise you are better off choosing another weapon from the list.

Dark Sword
With a shadow manipulator, you have access to one of the most powerful weapon recipes in the game. Craft a living log and five nightmare fuel together to make a dark sword. This is the weapon in the game that does the most damage, however its high cost to craft may make you think twice before making one. Keep in mind that it drains your sanity while equipped, so like the morning star, only use it when you need to.

Glass Cutter
Tied for damage with the dark sword and considerably cheaper, although limited to DST, is the glass cutter. Requiring 6 moon shards and 1 boards at a celestial altar, the glass cutter requires a bit of exploring to find, but it is definitely worth it. It does the same amount of damage as the dark sword, has double durability against shadows, and is cheap for its power, the glass cutter is one of the best weapons in the game.