WX-78

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WX-78

DS
DST

Title

The Soulless Automaton

Motto

"EMPATHY MODULE NOT RESPONDING"

Perks & Quirks

Not a picky eater
Charged by lightning, damaged by water
Can upgrade with gears

Status

100 to 400	100 to 200	100 to 300

Health Modifier

-0.5 under Rain
-0.05 to -0.5 when wet (

)

Speed Modifier

1× to 1.5×

Title

The Soulless Automaton

Birthday

November 28

Motto

"EMPATHY MODULE NOT RESPONDING"

Curio Cabinet Bio

One might assume WX's callous nature hides a sensitive inner soul. One would assume incorrectly.

Odds of Survival

Grim

Perks & Quirks

Can upgrade with circuits
Not a picky eater
Is charged by lightning, but damaged by water

Status

125	125	150

Health Modifier

-3 to -9 when wet

Hunger Modifier

1× - 0.8×

Speed Modifier

1× to 1.5×

Special Item(s)

Starting Item(s)

Links

Quotes
Clothes

“LIFE IS INEFFICIENT”

–WX-78

WX-78 is the fifth playable Character in Don't Starve unlockable via Experience, with 960 XP. They are also one of the playable Characters in Don't Starve Together (DST). They are a self-sustaining automaton that hates all living matter. They may craft circuits and use them to gain special quirks.

Origin

“After the wiring to their long-unused empathy module is repaired, WX-78 finds themselves suddenly reconnecting with memories they’d hoped to keep buried.”

–From the official Youtube description for "Disconnected"

Don't_Starve_Together-_Disconnected_-WX-78_Animated_Short- — Don't Starve Together- Disconnected -WX-78 Animated Short-

WX-78's backstory was revealed in an animated short titled Disconnected. An official summary of the short was provided in DST's Compendium:

WX-78 was the result of an unorthodox experiment helmed by {[LoadEmpathyModLibraryExW()......ERROR_DATA_PATH_NOT_FOUND]} and Robert Wagstaff. The experiment turned out to be a [RESOUNDING SUCCESS], but Wagstaff was [A SHORT SIGHTED FOOL, AFRAID OF PROGRESS] and decided to put a stop to further tests. Adamant that the process that created them could still be perfected, WX refused to give up, continuing their experiments in secret. When Wagstaff discovered what they had been doing, there was a heated argument and 01110100 01101111 01101111 00100000 01101100 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 01101111 00100000 01101100 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 01101111 00100000 01101100 01100001 01110100 01100101

Special Power

WX-78 glowing during the evening after being struck by lightning.

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 1 charge slot for each Lightning Strike that targets them. WX-78 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 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.

Don't Starve WX-78 Upgrade Table

No Upgrades	100	100	100
×1	120	107	114
×2	140	114	127
×3	160	120	140
×4	180	127	154
×5	200	134	167
×6	220	140	180
×7	240	147	194
×8	260	154	207
×9	280	160	220
×10	300	167	234
×11	320	174	247
×12	340	180	260
×13	360	187	274
×14	380	194	287
×15 (Max)	400	200	300

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).

Don't Starve Together

As of the WX-78 Refresh update, WX-78 no longer gains permanent stat upgrades from eating gears, however they still recover 60 75 and 50

WX-78's special power in Don't Starve Together takes the form of its Charge Meter, which occupies the right edge of the screen. The meter has 6 bars, each of which can be occupied by a Circuit. The amount of pins taken up depends on the type of Circuit that is installed. Once all pins occupied by a circuit are charged, the circuit will apply its effects.

When a Circuit is applied, it will take up the lowest available pins at the top of the charge meter. This means that the Circuit Extractor will always extract the latest Circuit applied, as the latest Circuit applied will have gone to the top of the charge meter.

Every 90 seconds WX-78 will gain one unit of charge as long as they are not Starving and they are not Wet. If WX-78 becomes Frozen such as via the effects of a Blue Hound, all units of charge will be lost. Charge units will also be lost when using the Circuit Extractor to remove circuits, with the amount being equal to the amount of charge the Circuit was using.

WX-78 can receive one unit of Charge by using a Lightning Rod that has been recently struck, being struck by lightning, eating Electric Milk or Volt Goat Chaud-Froid, or from fueled Winona's Generators and Winona's G.E.M.erators, which will use some or all of the stored fuel.

Note that WX-78 no longer has System Overload; as stated above, being struck by lightning will simply add one unit of Charge.

Circuit Extractor - Extracts the top circuit in WX-78's system and removes an amount of charge equivalent with how many slots it took up.

Bio Scanalyzer - Allows WX-78 to scan living creatures to acquire blueprints for the below circuits

Note: multiple circuits of the same type provide stacking effects unless stated otherwise.

Circuit	Effect	Slots
Hardy Circuit	+50 maximum health	1
Super-Hardy Circuit	+150 maximum health	2
Processing Circuit	+40 maximum sanity	1
Super-Processing Circuit	+100 maximum sanity Regenerate +2 per minute	2
Beanbooster Circuit	Regenerate +5 every 30 seconds	3
Chorusbox Circuit	Sanity aura of +5 per minute Plays faint melody and tends to nearby Farm Plants	3
Gastrogain Circuit	+40 maximum hunger	1
Super-Gastrogain Circuit	+100 maximum hunger Hunger drains 20% slower	2
Acceleration Circuit	+25% movement speed	6
Super-Acceleration Circuit	Stacking movement boost with diminishing returns: 1 circuit gives 25% in total 2 circuits give 40% in total 3 circuits give 50% in total	2
Thermal Circuit	+25 heat radius +20 minimum temperature (Note: default min temperature is -20, meaning just one Thermal Circuit prevents WX from going below 0 degrees, making them safe from ambient freezing) Perishables in inventory spoil 25% faster Drying off rate increased by 10%	3
Refrigerant Circuit	+25 cold radius -20 maximum temperature (Note: default max temperature is 90, meaning just one Refrigerant Circuit prevents WX from going above 70 degrees, making them safe from ambient overheating) Perishables in inventory spoil 25% slower Upon reaching 95 Wetness the moisture solidifies spawning 2 x and resetting Wetness back to 0	3
Electrification Circuit	20 base Electric damage to attackers upon being hit (cannot occur more than once per 0.3 seconds) (Note: as it is electric damage, base value have innate 1.5 multiplier to dry targets, and 2.5 multiplier to wet targets) Grants lightning/electric insulation Can charge Volt Goats	2
Optoelectronic Circuit	Allows to see in the dark, much like Moggles, automaticaly activates during night	4
Illumination Circuit	Displays a small light radius around the player	3

Disadvantages

WX-78 has the lowest starting maximum stats of any Character in Don't Starve (Excluding Maxwell, and Wes's stats from DST) 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 4 damage and a charge slot every 4 seconds when above 21 wetness.

Rain damage causes WX-78 to periodically emit Light as sparks fly off their body. The light emitted is frequent and bright enough to prevent Charlie from attacking, but comes at the cost of large amounts of Sanity due to being in complete darkness.

Downloadable Content

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.

In both the Shipwrecked (SW) DLC and Hamlet (HAM) DLC, WX-78 is immune to Poison. However, WX-78 will still take damage from the Gas Rainforest. Since WX-78 is immune to poison damage, eating a Venom Gland will cure poison without doing the usual 75 damage.

Tips

System Overload will also be initiated from lightning strikes caused by special events, not just natural strikes during rainstorms.
- Note that WX-78 acts like a Lightning Rod and if any event launches multiple lightning strikes, all strikes will usually target WX-78. This will almost invariably result in completely healing the player and dropping their Sanity to zero. The duration of System Overload will also increase indefinitely with each additional lightning strike.
- Events which trigger lightning strikes include:
  - Touch Stone resurrection (Vanilla, ).
  - Using a Telelocator Staff on another living creature (not on self).
  - Damaging an Ancient Pseudoscience Station via Hammer or Clockwork Rook (Resulting lightning strikes do not overcharge WX-78 in ).
  - Fighting Moslings ( ).
  - Being in range of The End is Nigh! book read by a Wickerbottom player ().
  - Approaching a charged Thunderbird ().
    - Thunderbirds can strike 3 times (10 during the Aporkalypse) about every 90 seconds for free, meaning WX-78 players in HAM worlds can effectively farm them to gain System Overload forever.
    - Note that during System Overload, Gnat Swarms consider WX-78 to be brighter than every other light and will never leave them by themselves. The player must kill it with Bug B'Gone or by standing in the Gas Rainforest biome for a moment (and losing 5 )
    - Any nearby Iron Hulks (with about the same range as a Lightning Rod) will attract the lightning strikes instead over WX-78.
Equipping an Umbrella or a Pretty Parasol 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 avoid using items that offer Lightning immunity (such as the Umbrella or Blubber Suit) during spring storms and hurricanes, so that WX-78 can still get a System Overload while using them.
Note that the System Overload is (regretfully) not triggered by other electric events like being hit with the Morning Star, Electric dart or Volt Goat.
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 Clockwork 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 places where the player has killed 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).
Since they ignore spoilage and food loses all sanity restoration as soon as it turns stale, WX-78 players have at least double the time to utilize foods that grant high sanity but spoil quickly, giving them a distinct advantage over other characters in terms of sanity management.
- Such foods include Ice Cream, Banana Pop, Melonsicle, Brainy Matter, Iced Tea, Tea, Caviar, Steamed Ham Sandwich, Feijoada, Surf 'n' Turf, Seafood Gumbo, Pumpkin Cookie, Tropical Bouillabaisse, Cooked Green Cap, Cooked Cactus Flesh, and Cooked Lotus Root. These foods restore at least 15 sanity but have spoilage times of 10 days or less.
In HAM, since they are immune to Poison, they can eat each Tuber for 10 Health.
In DST, WX-78's favorite food is Butter Muffin, meaning that they gain 15 bonus when consuming the food.

Quotes

WX-78's quotes can be found here.

Trivia

In-Game

WX-78 was added to Don't Starve in the Spoiled Rotten update on January 15, 2013.
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.
WX-78 was originally planned to speak in randomly generated binary.^[1]
If WX-78 dies from Wetness or Rain, their death will be listed as "Short Circuit".
The early concept for WX was "Are they a boy trapped in a robot body or are they a robot that thinks they are a boy trapped in a robot body?"^[2]
The developers during the WX-78 Refresh wanted to change their stats to binary (101/111/110), but in the end it was too much to rebalance and play test with the remaining time in the beta. ^[3]

Lore

WX-78 is officially stated to be non-binary^[4], and is listed as the robot gender in the game's code. They are the only official character referred to with singular they pronouns. Notably, in DST, Maxwell uses the English gender-neutral title Mx. exclusively in certain interactions with a WX-78 player.
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 and the Lunar Siphonator are sisters, and the Lantern, Alchemy Engine, Thermal Measurer, Ice Flingomatic, and 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 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 have 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.
WX-78 seems to have an affinity for the Moon, describing it as "INORGANIC AND GOOD". They are very excited when they repair the Moon Stone ("MOONBASE. AAAAA. MOONBASE!"). While examining the Lunar Essence Extractor they say "THAT MOON POWER SHOULD BE MINE".
Their least favorite foods seem to be 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. It is currently unknown what this "something" is, however it should be noted that fires are a recurring subject in relation to the disappearances of the survivors from the real world.
- The animated short Disconnected shows a memory of Robert Wagstaff burning what can be assumed to be their old scientific work, so it's possible that's the aforementioned 'something'.
In the animated short Next of Kin, a drawing of a robot similar to WX-78 can be seen pinned on a board made by Winona that connects various people, places and events to Charlie's disappearance.
There are hints that WX-78 is the creation of Robert Wagstaff.
- As of the WX-78 Refresh update, Robert Wagstaff is confirmed to be at least partially involved in the creation of WX-78.
- Their name has a similar naming convention to the product name of the Voxola radio PR-76 and the product name of the Maxwell's Gramaphone being ML-77.
- Wagstaff's quote for the Floaty Boaty Knight is "Amazing! I ran into many difficulties waterproofing my automaton." This appears to be a reference to WX-78's weakness to water.
- When Wagstaff examines WX-78 on the Nightmare Throne he seems to recognize them. ("Is that...? But it couldn't be!")
- Both Wagstaff and WX-78 have significantly similar examination quotes for the Pine Cone. (Wagstaff: "My favorite portable Fibonacci sequence." and WX-78: "A PORTABLE FIBONACCI SEQUENCER"), implying that Wagstaff liked that fact so much he implemented it into WX-78.
- WX-78 and Wagstaff are also the only two characters who identify the missing component of the Broken AAC Device, a DR356X001. (Wagstaff: "Ah. It needs a DR356X001." and WX-78: "OF COURSE IT'S BROKEN, IT'S MISSING A DR356X001")
- WX-78's examination quotes for the Grainy Transmission ("YOU"), Wagstaff's tools ("WHY WOULD I HELP HIM"), and the Lunar Siphonator ("DON'T TRUST HIM, SISTER. DON'T EVER TRUST HIM") reveal that they recognize Wagstaff, and that they seem to heavily dislike and distrust him.
- WX-78's lore directly states that Wagstaff created them, and this is backed up by the Disconnected short, in which WX-78 was originally a human who worked with Wagstaff.
- It is implied by their Compendium entry and their animated short that WX-78 chose to put themself in a robot body, and that Wagstaff originally approved of the experiment, but for a unknown reason decided to put a stop to their research.
When WX-78 dies, they will not drop a Soul if Wortox is nearby.
WX-78's "buildday" is listed as November 28 in the Compendium.
When translated to text, the binary in their Compendium entry says 'too late too late too late'.

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.
Their Merrymaker skin is a reference to The Nutcracker.
Their Snowfallen skin is a reference to the Batman villain Mr. Freeze.

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 Wolly talks, resulting in a bug where the HUD is unavailable and the camera is fixed. This can also happen with Maxwell at the end of Adventure Mode.

Skin Sets

See also: Skins

See also: Unimplemented Features

Gallery

Sounds

WX-78's voice.
WX-78 getting hurt.
WX-78 dying.
The sparking sounds WX-78 makes when afflicted by wetness.
The upgrade sound effect.
The System Overload sound effect.
The sounds WX-78 makes when they move.
WX-78 drowning ().
WX-78 sinking ().
WX-78's ghost voice ().
WX-78's voice as they perform the /pose emote ().
WX-78 sighing, as part of the /sleepy emote ().
WX-78 yawning, as part of the /yawn emote ().
WX-78 singing the Starver's Carol, as part of the /carol emote ().

References

↑ Kevin Forbes on the Forums: "I had originally planned to have WX speak in randomly generated binary, but I realized that nobody would like that." Posted on January 16, 2013.
↑ Joew's post
↑ ScottHansen's response to the WX-78 stats change idea
↑ Joe W on the forums: "To some players, WX represents not fitting in and not conforming with what other people might expect of them. Not just players that don't conform to traditional gender or social expectations but also players on the spectrum and even some people who said that they feel like they "don't fit in." Regardless of the exact reason, they all appreciated a character that they felt in some way, even if just a little bit, represented an aspect of themselves. So that's who WX-78 is, the WX that we try to preserve and just some of the reasons people can be protective of that aspect of the character." Posted on February 2, 2022.
↑ [1] Posted October 10, 2019.
↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BwF8IsclRjU/
↑ Panorama art from official Klei Facebook

[1] Kevin Forbes on the Forums: "I had originally planned to have WX speak in randomly generated binary, but I realized that nobody would like that." Posted on January 16, 2013.

[2] Joew's post

[3] ScottHansen's response to the WX-78 stats change idea

[4] Joe W on the forums: "To some players, WX represents not fitting in and not conforming with what other people might expect of them. Not just players that don't conform to traditional gender or social expectations but also players on the spectrum and even some people who said that they feel like they "don't fit in." Regardless of the exact reason, they all appreciated a character that they felt in some way, even if just a little bit, represented an aspect of themselves. So that's who WX-78 is, the WX that we try to preserve and just some of the reasons people can be protective of that aspect of the character." Posted on February 2, 2022.

[5] [1] Posted October 10, 2019.

[6] ttps://www.instagram.com/p/BwF8IsclRjU/

[7] Panorama art from official Klei Facebook

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

Characters view
Don't Starve	Wilson ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes ⋅ gallery)} • Willow ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wolfgang ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wendy ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • WX-78 ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wickerbottom ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Woodie ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wes ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Maxwell ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wagstaff ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)}
Reign of Giants	Wigfrid ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Webber ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)}
Shipwrecked	Walani ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Warly ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wilbur ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Woodlegs ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)}
Hamlet	Wilba ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wormwood ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wheeler ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)}
Don't Starve Together	Winona ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} • Wortox ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} Wurt ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} Walter ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)} Wanda ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)}
Removed	Warbucks ^{(quotes ⋅ clothes)}
Unimplemented	Wilton • Winnie • Wallace • Waverly • Pyro • Watricia
Other	Minor Characters

WX-78

Contents

Origin

Special Power

Don't Starve Together

Disadvantages

Downloadable Content

Tips

Quotes

Trivia

In-Game

Lore

Cultural References

Bugs

Skin Sets

Gallery

Sounds

References

Fan Feed