Characters

“We just want to play!”

–Webber

Character select before the world generates.

Character select in Don't Starve Together.

There is currently a combined total of twenty-two playable Characters in Don't Starve, its DLCs and Don't Starve Together (DST). Each Character has at least one character-specific perk, in addition to various bonuses and penalties to their stats, and usually are different in play style. Each Character is "voiced" by a different instrument, and speaks differently when examining items and objects. The only exception to this is Wes, the speechless mime, who uses pantomimes instead of sounds or quotes.

The first accessible Character is Wilson, considered the protagonist and the focus of the game's story. Most of the other Characters can be unlocked when sufficient Experience has been accrued, gained at Death or when escaping to a new world. There are currently six Characters that are not unlocked via experience, but through game feats. If the player has not unlocked a Character, it will appear as their respective silhouette. Upon selecting a silhouette, the Poster on the left will be a coffin shut with chains and a lock, and the description will simply say "The Unknown".

Don't Starve Together

Don't Starve Together includes all Characters from the base game and Don't Starve: Reign of Giants DLC, but excluding Wagstaff, Walani, Wilbur, Woodlegs, Wilba, and Wheeler. The majority of Characters are unlocked from the start and several perks have been changed and balanced for the multiplayer aspect of the game. The first DST exclusive character was Winona who was added as a free update on September 13, 2017.

On January 22, 2019, free "character refreshes" for the DST roster as well as a total of 4 new paid DLC characters were announced to be released throughout 2019. Character refreshes will continue in 2020, starting in March as in the previous year.

The character refreshes consist of revamped abilities for all current characters in DST, along with an animated short depicting part of their backstory. Each refresh update features a new purchasable skin set for the character. The following table lists the character refresh updates in order of their release:

Character Refreshes
Winona	March 7, 2019
Willow	May 7, 2019
Warly	July 25, 2019
Woodie	September 12, 2019
Refresh #5	March 2020

The DLC characters can be unlocked through direct purchase of either a regular chest (including the character and one skin set) or a Deluxe chest (including the character and 3 skin sets) with the price depending on the character. They can also be woven with 2700 Spools. The following table lists the DLC characters in order of their release:

DLC characters
Wortox	March 28, 2019
Wormwood	June 6, 2019
Wurt	October 24, 2019
Character #4	TBA

List of Characters

Below are the abilities and requirements to unlock each Character.

Wilson	Willow	Wolfgang
Grows a magnificent beard.	Immune to Fire damage. Has a sweet Lighter. Lights fires when nervous.	Grows stronger with a full belly. Is afraid of monsters and the dark.
Wendy	WX-78	Wickerbottom
Is haunted by her twin sister. Feels comfortable in the dark. Doesn't hit very hard.	Not a picky eater. Is charged by lightning, but damaged by water. Can upgrade with gears.	Knows many things. Self-publishes books. Can't sleep, hates food spoilage.
Woodie	Wes	Maxwell
Has a lovely axe. And a terrible secret. Is thankful for bountiful harvests.	Can't talk. Has trouble staying alive. Practices balloonomancy.	Is dapper, but frail. Can split his mind into pieces. On a first-name basis with the night.
Wagstaff	Wigfrid	Webber
A great inventor. Nearsighted. Delicate Stomach.	Excels in battle. Absorbs the power of fallen foes. Only eats meat.	Is a monster. Can befriend spiders. Grows a silky smooth beard.
Walani	Warly	Wilbur
Loves surfing. Dries off quickly. Is a pretty chill gal.	Has a refined palate. Cooks in custom kitchenware. Brings a stylish chef pouch.	Can't talk. Slow as biped, but fast as quadruped. Is a monkey.
Woodlegs	Wilba	Wormwood
Can sniff out treasure. Captain of the "Sea Legs". Pirate.	Is a pig. Carries her father's legacy. Is afraid of the dark.	Plants relate to him. Has a Green Thumb. Food fills his stomach, but not his heart.
Wheeler	Winona	Wortox
Armed with an air horn. Has a knick knack for finding things. Travels lighter than most.	Is a skilled builder. Gets one free hit from the dark. Invents her own gadgets.	Is an imp. Can hop through time and space. Less nourished by physical food.
Wurt
At home in the Swamp. Has big plans for Merm-kind. Is a vegetarian.

Character Statistics

Character	Requirements	Sanity	Health	Hunger
Wilson	Always available	200	150	150
Willow	160 exp (8 days)	120	150	150
Wolfgang	320 exp (16 days)	200	150-300	300
Wendy	640 exp (32 days)	200	150	150
WX-78	960 exp (48 days)	100-300 150-300	100-400 150-400	100-200 150-200
Wickerbottom	1280 exp (64 days)	250	150	150
Woodie	1600 exp (80 days)	200	150	150
Wes	Find and rescue Locked Wes in Adventure Mode	150	113	113
Maxwell	Finish Adventure Mode	200	75	150
Wagstaff	Always available	150	150	225
Wigfrid	1920 exp (96 days in a Reign of Giants save slot)	120	200	120
Webber	Find Webber's skull and bury it inside an opened Grave when playing in a Reign of Giants save slot	100	175	175
Walani	2240 exp (112 days in a Shipwrecked/Shipwrecked compatible save slot)	200	120	200
Warly	2560 exp (128 days in a Shipwrecked/Shipwrecked compatible save slot) Always available	200	150	250
Wilbur	Find the Tarnished Crown and return it to Wilbur when playing in a Shipwrecked save	150	125	175
Woodlegs	Find Woodlegs' Cage in the Volcano and then unlock it with the Iron, Bone and Gold Keys while playing in a Shipwrecked save	120	150	150
Wilba	Acquire the Royal Crown by defeating Queen Womant, give it to the Pig Queen in the Palace in a Hamlet save	100	150	200
Wormwood	Always available Weave for 2700 Spools OR buy Wormwood Chest for $6.99 OR the Wormwood Deluxe Chest for $10.99 OR buy the Hamlet DLC for Don't Starve	200	150	150
Wheeler	3200 exp (160 days in a Hamlet/Hamlet compatible save slot)	200	100	150
Winona	Always available	200	150	150
Wortox	Weave for 2700 Spools OR buy Wortox Chest for $6.99 OR the Wortox Deluxe Chest for $10.99	150	200	175
Wurt	Weave for 2700 Spools OR buy Wurt Chest for $5.99 OR the Wurt Deluxe Chest for $9.99 OR the Starter Pack upgrade to the Megapack Bundle for $6.99	150-200	150-250	200-250

Non-player Characters

Maxwell (Antagonist)

Main article: Maxwell (NPC)

Maxwell initially serves as the main antagonist of Don't Starve. He appears before the start of every game, saying, "Say pal, you don't look so good. You better find something to eat before night comes!" He disappears before the player assumes control of their character.

As seen in the Forbidden Knowledge video, Maxwell gives Wilson the knowledge necessary to build Maxwell's Door which captures Wilson and takes him to The Constant.

When the player chooses to play as Maxwell, non-player Maxwell will not appear. Maxwell will instead awaken and exclaim "Freedom, at last!"

Abigail

Main article: Abigail

Abigail is Wendy's twin sister, and as Wendy's perk, she can be summoned with Abigail's Flower.

Unimplemented Characters

Main article: Unimplemented Characters

There are several additional characters for Don't Starve and and Don't Starve Together that have yet to be implemented. These other characters only exist in the form of portraits, sound, and other assets found in the game files.

Retired Characters

The character Warbucks was the first character introduced in the Hamlet DLC, but was later removed from the game and replaced with Wormwood. However, the developers left his code in the game, allowing players to use him via console command.

Character Mods

Main article: Mods

On the PC version of Don't Starve, Characters created by users can be published on the Steam Workshop or the Klei Forums using the Don't Starve Mod Tools. Once downloaded, the character can be set up in its directory. When the player starts up the game, they can click the Mods button to enable the character. They will now be available for use after restarting.

Trivia

• All playable characters' names start with W apart from Maxwell's. Within the game's code, Maxwell's name is written "Waxwell," in line with the other characters and not to confuse playable Maxwell with NPC Maxwell. The trailer puzzles confirmed that Maxwell's real name is William Carter.
  • Having all characters' names start with W was unintentional at first, but Klei decided to go with it.
• Wolfgang was previously unlocked after Wendy.
• All characters are ambidextrous thanks to their sprite work.
• For the characters' voices being played by instruments, the developers were inspired by both the teacher's voice in the Peanuts specials and the musical composition Peter and the Wolf.
• Before the Shipwrecked characters were released, they each had a locked character portrait, the title of "The Unfinished", the motto quote of "Don't look at me. I'm not ready yet.", and the perk of "Hasn't arrived on the island yet".
• Upon his release, Wortox's speech file contained examination quotes for a character labeled "NEXTCHARACTER". These quotes were removed at some time between Warly's update and Woodie's refresh.
  • Generic- "Hyuyu, what are you up to %s?"
  • Attacker- "Don't get my goat, little %s!"
  • Murderer- "Eep! Don't slaughter me!"
  • Reviver- "Thank-you, thank-you, little goat!"
  • Ghost- "Don't worry, I'm not hungry."
  • Firestarter- "Little goat! You played pranks without me!"

Gallery

All the characters in-game. Wilson's beard growth. Willow and her Lighter. Wolfgang's different looks. Wendy and Abigail by a fire. WX-78 during their "System Overload". Wickerbottom summoning lightning with her book. Woodie in his Werebeaver form. Wes and his balloons. Maxwell creating Shadow Puppets. Wigfrid wearing her special helm and spear. Webber with his silky beard and some Spider friends. Walani surfing on her Surfboard. Warly cooking his exclusive recipes in Portable Crock Pots. Wilbur running on all fours. Woodlegs sailing on The 'Sea Legs'. Characters can hold items with their left and right hand. The Strange New Powers update introduced gameplay differences to many characters. The portrait on the character selection screen for a locked character. The portrait for selecting a random character in DST. The old version of DST's character selection screen. Promo poster for new DST characters from the Don't Starve Together Roadmap 2019 forum post. Promo poster for new Hamlet and base game characters from the Don't Starve: Hamlet Roadmap forum post. Promo image for the 5th DST Character Refresh update trailer, as shown in the 2020 Roadmap.