WX-78 is the fourth unlockable Character in Don't Starve (960 XP, see Experience for more information on how to unlock it). It is a self-sustaining automaton that hates all living matter.
WX-78's Health, Hunger, and Sanity are all set to a maximum of 100 points, but it's able to eat Gears to upgrade these stats to 400, 200, and 300, respectively. Being a robot, it takes damage when it is in the Rain unprotected. When struck by Lightning, WX-78 will experience "SYSTEM OVERLOAD", emitting light while moving at an increased speed. WX-78 can also eat stale and spoiled Food without the negative effects.
WX-78 will lose 33 when initially struck by lightning, and can be struck multiple times after SYSTEM OVERLOAD has been activated. SYSTEM OVERLOAD lasts for roughly 1 day. Being near a Lightning Rod will prevent WX-78 from being hit by lightning. Note that it is possible to set nearby objects and mobs on Fire when struck by lightning.
WX-78 also has the ability to permanently upgrade its maximum Health, Hunger, and Sanity. This is done by "eating" Gears. A total of 15 Gears must be eaten to gain maximum stats. Each upgrade adds 20 Health, 6.66 Hunger, and 13.33 Sanity (shown in the table below).
WX-78 is also able to eat stale and spoiled Food without penalties. This allows it to stockpile food for increased lengths of time. Note that other Food penalties still take effect (such as eating Monster Meat).
Disadvantages
WX-78 has the lowest starting maximum stats of any character, leaving it exposed to danger until Gears are found.
WX-78 takes damage from Rain, at a rate of 0.50 HP every 3–5 seconds (the amount of Rain does not matter). This damage causes WX-78 to periodically emit light as sparks fly off its body. The light emitted provides enough light to prevent Charlie from attacking. Equipping an Umbrella 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.
Downloadable Content
Reign of Giants
In Don't Starve: Reign of Giants, 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 0.50 Health points every 3–5 seconds. Waterproofing equipment will reduce this damage. For example, damage will be reduced by 50% while wearing 50% waterproofing equipment (i.e. a Pretty Parasol), taking only 0.25 damage every 3–5 seconds. Note that the Umbrella no longer has infinite uses, but now has a durability of 6 days.
WX-78 will also take damage from Wetness after it has stopped raining, at a rate of 0.30 Health points 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.
Reign of Giants includes many new Chess biomes scattered around the world in Sandbox Mode (which may have Clockwork Monsters), making it easier to acquire Gears without having to go underground or to a new world. Also, Tumbleweed has a 1% chance to drop Gears.
In Don't Starve Together, WX-78's starting stats are increased from 100 , , and to 150 , , and due to the lower overall quantity of Gears to be found. However, Gears don't upgrade it as much as before and the highest avaliable are still 200 , , and .
Also WX-78 will lose its upgrade level and drop some gears on death. Amount of dropped gears is a random number between 1/3 and 1/2 of upgrade level (a number of eaten gears, but not more than 15). This means that most of the gears used for upgrades will be permanently lost.
Tips
SYSTEM OVERLOAD will also be initiated from lightning strikes after the following occasions:
During a Spring start in RoG, the abundance of Butterflies can help offset the damage taken from Rain (by eating Butterfly Wings).
When it's raining in RoG, unless planning to dry soon, it's not advised to wear gear that provides 100% water resistance when highly wet as usually the "drying" damage is higher than the damage you would take with a lower water resistance (e.g. Straw Hat + Pretty Parasol).
Due to its high maximum Hunger and ability to eat spoiled food without penalty, Meaty Stew is exceptionally useful for WX-78.
Since WX-78 can eat spoiled food without penalty, food that takes longer to spoil when cooked should be cooked relatively early in its lifetime to increase its lifespan.
Trivia
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 of the original gundam series.
WX-78's voice is sounded by what is explained as a "crazy processed synth".
WX-78 has a skull in the game files. Also when struck by lightning in the Reign of Giants DLC you can see its skeleton, suggesting that WX-78 may actually be a human wearing a mechanical suit.
This is further supported by the fact that WX-78 turns into a ghost when dying in Don't Starve Together.
WX-78 is referred to as "it" in the epilogue of Adventure Mode, implying that its appearance and AI are not meant to simFile:Wxfullicebox.jpg
WX-78 announcing that an ice box is full. Notice that it is not in its normal full caps speech.
ulate a specific gender.
WX-78 makes a faint 'keek' noise as it walks.
Although it takes damage from Wetness, WX-78 can eat watery foods such as Pomegranates, Meaty Stew, or even Watermelons without being harmed.
WX-78 has other technical components besides its Empathy Module, such as a Chemical Engine acting as a stomach, Optical Sensors acting as its eyes, a CPU functioning as its brain, and a Processing Unit described as being its head. When it sleeps, it activates Sleep Mode.
All of WX-78's quotes are in FULL CASE, yet some things he says, like "It's full." and "I can't do that." are in lower case.
WX-78 states that it may have had a "mother" (or creator) when examining the Science Machine or the Metal Potato Thing. It is possible that WX-78 was created by Maxwell for his clockwork army.
WX-78 is described as "hating all living matter"; however, it shows empathy for machines, saying "OH NO. WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?" when examining gears. It also has 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.
When WX-78 examines nearby Mosquitoes, it will say "WHY WOULD THEY COME FOR ME? I HAVE NO BLOOD, MUST I KILL YOU ALL WITH NO HARM DONE TO ME?". Yet, mosquitoes' blood sacks still get larger upon attacking WX-78 and will still explode.
WX-78 is oddly inconsistent with its punctuation in quotes. There are also inconsistencies in WX-78's references; when it examines a Slurper WX-78 will say "IT VIOLATED MY SMELLING MODULE" but when it examines a Durian, it will say "GOOD THING I LACK A NOSE". This may be intentional or just an error.
WX-78 is one of the original four characters that were available during the closed Beta of Don't Starve Together.
In Don't Starve Together, if the player communicates to others with the Y or U keys as WX-78, all messages will be sent in uppercase letters like its original dialogue.
Bugs
If WX-78 is immediately struck by lightning after death, it will appear to be resurrected and the game will crash.
when initially struck by lightning, and can be struck multiple times after SYSTEM OVERLOAD has been activated. SYSTEM OVERLOAD lasts for roughly 1 day. Being near a Lightning Rod will prevent WX-78 from being hit by lightning. Note that it is possible to set nearby objects and mobs on Fire when struck by lightning.
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Downloadable Content
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