The Moon Cycle is a gameplay mechanic which controls the appearance of Werepigs and Woodie's transformation. Werepigs are normal Pigs who are caught outdoors during a full moon, and Woodie turns into a Werebeaver whenever there's a full moon (or he chops too many trees).
During a full moon, Chester will transform into either a Shadow Chester if he has Nightmare Fuel in every inventory slot or a Snow Chester if he has Blue Gems in every slot.
The complete Moon Cycle lasts for 16 days and then repeats. Each phase of the Moon lasts for two nights.
| Day(s) | Moon Phase | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | New Moon | 
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| 3 - 4 | Quarter (Crescent) Moon | 
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| 5 - 6 | Half Moon | 
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| 7 - 8 | 3/4 (Gibbous) Moon | 
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| 9 - 10 | Full Moon | 
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| 11 - 12 | 3/4 (Gibbous) Moon |
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| 13 - 14 | Half Moon |
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| 15 - 16 | Quarter (Crescent) Moon |
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| 17 - 18 | New Moon |
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You can use the Lunar Calendar Generator to see past day 18.
Reign of Giants
In the Reign of Giants DLC, several new things can happen on a full moon. The moon now casts down a dim, blue-tinted light over the world, so the player can safely explore without fear of Charlie. Mushrooms will turn into Mushtrees. Flowers will turn into Evil Flowers. The eyes on Pig and Merm heads will glow white, generate an insanity aura, and drop Nightmare Fuel when hammered. Ghosts will emerge from any type of Grave. Glommer's Statue also grows Glommer's Flower, and causes a Glommer to spawn nearby.
Full Moon can also affect the Cave worlds. Unlike in the surface, Full Moon does not provide light visibility to this world since caves are underground. Therefore, characters are required to have sufficient light source while spelunking. Just like in the surface, the screen tone will change into bluish color much like in Winter. Mushrooms also have a chance of turning into Mushtrees, Pigs will turn into Werepigs, and Flowers will change to Evil Flowers when in a cave.
Trivia
- By default, it takes 560 days for the beginning of the Moon Cycle to re-align with the first day of the starting season.
- When both seasons are set to "Long", 12 complete moon cycles will occur in 4 seasons time (similar to a standard calendar year).
- With RoG, if a full moon occurs in the fifth Adventure Mode chapter "Darkness", everything happens as per normal (blue tint, Evil Flowers, etc.). However, it remains completely dark and a light source is still required.
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