Fire is a commonly-occurring game mechanic.
Fire is very important for multiple reasons. Primarily, it is used to provide light at Night, which prevents Charlie from attacking. Additionally, fire allows food to be cooked, increasing its Hunger and Health values. Fire also provides warmth during Winter, which counteracts freezing. Despite these benefits however, fire can also be dangerous, as being too close to one will drain Health.
Light
There are several sources of fire which provide light. Most of these can be found in the Light Tab, represented by the Campfire icon. These sources include Campfires, Fire Pits, Torches, and Stars. Additionally, anything actually on fire, such as Plants or Items, will give off light as long as they are burning.
Light serves several purposes: mainly it is used to see at night, though it is also needed to prevent Charlie from attacking. Additionally, light prevents the large Sanity loss from being in total darkness (however, it does not prevent the gradual loss caused by Dusk/Night time). If Sanity does drop too low, Night Hands will begin to approach the fire and extinguish portions of it; eventually they may put it out completely. These hands can be scared off by stepping on them and running them towards the edge of the fire's light.
Cooking
Main article: Cooking
Fire Pits, Campfires and Stars can be used to cook foods. Cooking has various positive effects. For most foods, the amount of Hunger they restore is increased and a small Health boost is added. Eating raw Meats decreases Sanity, while cooked meats do not. Additionally, Monster Meat, eaten raw, will reduce Health and Sanity, but these effects are lessened with cooking.
Warmth
Main article: Freezing
In Winter, characters will begin to freeze if they are away from fire for too long (warm clothing helps prevent this). As long as the character is within a certain radius of a fire, they will stay warm. This includes any burning objects like trees. Fires can also warm Heat Stones, which can be carried around to slow down freezing. Torches (when equipped) will also give a small amount of warmth, although it will not prevent freezing in snow.
Dangers
Although beneficial, fire can also be dangerous. Objects, items, and Mobs that are on fire can cause 8-12 
damage per second if they are too close to the player (except for Willow, who is immune to fire damage). Such fires are also uncontrolled and can spread to any other nearby flammable object, especially mobs that are alight, who run around and spread fire even faster. In this way, huge chain reaction fires can begin, destroying vast amounts of resources depending on location. Campfires (but not Fire Pits) are also considered uncontrolled fires and will spread to nearby flammable objects if they are too close.
Any flammable item that can be picked up will turn to Ashes if set on fire, while burnt trees such as Evergreens and Mushtrees will yield Charcoal. Structures that have been burnt will return 1/4th of their materials when hammered.
Torches and Fire Staffs can be used to purposely set things on fire by clicking the item on the object or clicking the object with the item equipped. It is also possible to light items in the inventory on fire by dragging a Torch over it and pressing RMB.
Red Hounds will combust upon death, spreading fire on the spot that can destroy nearby objects and damage the player. The Red Hound's flames will disappear after a few seconds and yield Ashes.
Fuel
| Fuel | Burn Time | |
| Fire Pit | Campfire | |
| Created | 180 sec
|
135 sec
|
     
|
15 sec
|
7.5 sec
|
         
|
30 sec
|
15 sec
|
| 90 sec
|
45 sec
| |
          
|
360 sec
|
180 sec
|
Below is some of the best fuel sources, along with their pros and cons:
- Turf is extremely abundant and easily collectible with a Pitchfork. However, it only burns for 90 seconds and is non-renewable.
- Charcoal is easily renewable and faster to collect in larger amounts, especially in the dark. It burns like Logs but stacks up to 40 instead of 20. When making Charcoal, beware of starting unwanted chain reactions. Efficient Charcoal production is done by burning small patches of trees at their first cycle of life.
- Straw Rolls burn for the longest time (6 minutes) and are also renewable, requiring 9 Cut Grass. Harvesting 9 Grass Tufts takes about as long as getting 4 Logs, and might even be quicker. Cut Grass can also be collected by hand, meaning no loss of Flint and Twigs through tools. A Straw Roll burns longer than the sum of its components, since 9 Cut Grass alone only burn for 270 seconds. If one crafts or finds these as Wickerbottom, it is definitely acceptable to burn them as she can't sleep.
- Grass Suits, similar to Straw Rolls, burn for 6 minutes but are not more nor less efficient than burning the sum of their renewable components, since 10 Cut Grass would burn for 300 seconds, and 2 twigs for 60 more seconds (total of 6 minutes). It's a good idea to burn Grass Suits when they are very low on durability.
- Boards also burn for 6 minutes, but they do not burn longer than their components (4 logs burn the same length of time as one board). Carrying 10 Boards for fuel usage can save an inventory space, but one would still need to carry Logs to build a Campfire.
- Grass Tufts and Saplings burn for 6 minutes and are very easy to collect, but they are not renewable, so they should only be used if truly necessary.
- Beefalo Wool is easy to obtain once one has a Beefalo Hat and a Razor. Shaving a Beefalo yields 3 Beefalo Wool. They burn for 90 seconds each, like Logs, and can stack up to 40.
- Spiky Bushes also burn for 6 minutes; but are non-renewable. Further, in spite of the damage incurred in harvesting twigs from them, they are unaffected by cold and are a good source of twigs in winter, unlike saplings, so digging them up is inadvisable.
In Rain, fuel burns faster (depending on precipitation rate):
- Fire Pit up to 200% faster
- Campfire up to 250% faster
- Torch up to 150% faster
Reign of Giants
In the Reign of Giants DLC, the Summer heat can cause things to smolder and ignite. Building an Ice Flingomatic will put out small fires and prevent smoldering objects from combusting. Players can also put out smoldering objects using their hands at the cost of Health, or through some fertilizers, Ice, or an Ice Staff.
Wetness causes fuel items to become waterlogged. Waterlogged fuel does not burn as long as dry fuel.
Additionally some new fuel items were added :
| Fuel | Burn Time | |
| Fire Pit | Campfire | |
  
|
15 sec
|
7.5 sec
|
 
|
180 sec
|
90 sec
|
|
360 sec
|
180 sec
|
Flammable objects
See also: Category: Flammable Objects
- Any of the fuel items listed above.
- All Plants.
- Most Mobs.
- Beehives and Killer Bee Hives.
- Tallbird Nests.
- Spider Dens.
- Hay Walls and Wood Walls.
- Spider Glands and Mosquito Sacks.
- Seeds, Crock Pot Recipes, and Vegetables.
- Items that mobs drop when burned to death.
- Structures that smolder in the Summer.
- Chests.
Gallery
