📖 Cave Survival 101: How Not to Get Eaten by the Dark
Table of Contents
- Quick-Start Cave Survival
- Preparation: Gear Up for the Underground
- Light and Darkness: Your #1 Enemy
- Staying Fed Underground
- Health and Healing in the Depths
- Sanity Management Underground
- Know Your Cave Enemies
- Environment Hazards
- Building a Cave Base
- The Ruins Expedition
- Don't Starve Together Cave Tips
- Useful Mods & Extras
Surviving the caves in Don't Starve boils down to preparation, patience, and a healthy respect for the dark. To make it out alive, you'll need a reliable light source, ample food and healing supplies, and strategies to manage sanity while avoiding (or defeating) the hostile denizens of the deep. In short: bring light, bring food, keep your wits.
Quick-Start Cave Survival
Essential Checklist
Lantern + Torch materials or Miner Hat + backup. Without light, Charlie kills you.
Crock Pot dishes for each planned day + healing items (Honey Poultices, cooked Blue Caps).
Football Helmet + Log Suit minimum. Add a spear or stronger weapon.
Cooked Green Caps (+15 sanity each) or Tam o' Shanter for passive gain.
Pickaxe (for minerals), Shovel, Hammer (for broken clockworks).
Thermal Stone (if winter), warm clothing, or cooling items for summer exit.
Best Entry Timing
Many survivors prefer entering caves in autumn or spring when conditions are moderate. Winter requires extra preparation for cold, while summer makes caves a welcome refuge from heat (but watch for Antlion cave-ins).
Preparation: Gear Up for the Underground
Light Sources - Your Lifeline
Caves equal darkness 24/7. You need reliable light to survive.
| Light Source | Materials | Duration | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torch | 2 Grass + 2 Twigs | Short (75s) | Easy to craft on the fly | Occupies hand, short-lived |
| Miner Hat | 1 Straw Hat + 1 Gold + 1 Fireflies | Medium (6 min per Light Bulb) | Hands-free lighting | Replaces helmet armor |
| Lantern | 2 Rope + 2 Light Bulbs + Gold | Long (7.5 min per Light Bulb) | Can be placed on ground, bright | Requires Alchemy Engine |
| Moggles | Glow Berry + Electrical Doodad | Long (based on fuel) | Full night vision | Expensive, late-game |
Armor & Weapons
Cave enemies hit hard and surprise attacks are common. Never go in unarmored.
Best Armor Options
- Football Helmet - 80% protection, keeps inventory open
- Log Suit - 80% protection, but occupies body slot
- Marble Suit - 95% protection, but -30% speed penalty
- Night Armor - 95% protection, less sanity drain (late game)
Recommended Weapons
- Spear - 34 damage, basic option
- Tentacle Spike - 51 damage, no crafting needed
- Ham Bat - 59 damage, doesn't degrade if used regularly
- Dark Sword - 68 damage, costs sanity to use (late game)
Character-Specific Preparation
Your character choice significantly affects cave preparation:
Light and Darkness: Your #1 Enemy
Charlie's Danger
In caves, darkness is not just an absence of light; it's a literal killer. The entity known as Charlie will attack you within seconds of total darkness. You have about ONE SECOND to get light back if yours goes out, or you're dead.
Light Management Techniques
Lantern Tactics
When you need to fight or mine, place the lantern at your feet to free your hands. Just remember where you put it! You can't turn it on from inventory unless you can see it.
Miner Hat Strategy
Toggle between Miner Hat (for moving) and Football Helmet (for fighting). Drop a lantern for light when swapping to your helmet.
Natural Light Sources
- Light Flowers - emit small light when "blooming"
- Nightmare Fissures - glow during calm phase
- Mushtrees - faint ambient glow
- Bunnyman houses - tiny light radius during "day"
Fuel Management
Light Bulbs spoil in 6 days. Don't pick too many at once - they regrow every ~3 days. Good sources include:
- Light Flowers in green Mushtree forests
- Near cave ponds
- Dropped from Depth Worms
- Slurtle Slime (alternative lantern fuel)
Staying Fed Underground
The Challenge: No farms (crops don't grow without light), limited food sources, and risk of starvation during long cave trips.
Cave Food Sources
Mushrooms
Raw: -20 Health
Cooked: +1 Health, -10 Sanity
Use: Crockpot filler
Raw: -50 Sanity
Cooked: +15 Sanity, -1 Health
Use: Sanity restoration
Raw: +20 Health, -15 Sanity
Cooked: +10 Hunger
Use: Emergency healing
Other Sources
- Bunnymen - Drop carrot and morsel when killed (if not beardlord)
- Batilisk Wings - Cook for a "drumstick" equivalent
- Cave Bananas - In tropical caves (DST)
- Lichen - In Ruins, acts like vegetable in crockpot
- Fish & Eels - From underground ponds
Food Preparation Strategies
Pre-Cave Prep
- Dry meats into jerky (lasts longer + gives sanity)
- Pre-cook Meatballs or Bacon & Eggs
- Build an Ice Box near cave entrance to store supplies
Cave Kitchen Setup
If staying long-term, build a Crock Pot in caves to make:
Monster meat + 3 mushrooms
1 Fish/Eel + Twig + 2 fillers
Health and Healing in the Depths
Portable Healing Options
+20 HP (raw)
-15 Sanity
Best emergency heal
+8 HP
Abundant from cave spiders
Craft into salves
+30 HP
Doesn't spoil
Bring from surface
+20 HP (large)
+15 Sanity
Also feeds you
Craftable Healing Aids
+20 HP (1 Ash + 2 Rocks + 1 Spider Gland)
Get ash by burning spare grass or twigs near a fire
+60 HP when sleeping (costs hunger)
Only works when surface is at night
+2 HP every 30s while worn
Also resurrects you if you die while wearing it
Emergency Tactics
- Retreat Priority: If below 50 HP, consider retreating to surface rather than pushing deeper
- Use Allies: Rock Lobsters and Bunnymen can soak damage while you recover
- Switch to Kiting: With low HP, avoid tanking hits even with armor - go full hit-and-run
- DST Ghost Method: In multiplayer, if someone dies, their ghost can scout ahead while others prepare revival
Sanity Management Underground
The Sanity Challenge
In caves, you lose the free daytime sanity regeneration and face constant sanity drain from darkness and "creepiness." Without management, you'll quickly be facing shadow creatures.
Sanity Boosters
Food Sources
- Cooked Green Mushrooms - +15 sanity each
- Jerky - +15 sanity (large)
- Cooked Cactus Flesh - +15 sanity (bring from desert)
- Taffy - +15 sanity (if you have honey)
Clothing
- Tam o' Shanter - +6.7 sanity/min (best)
- Top Hat - +3.3 sanity/min (easier to craft)
- Bee Queen Crown - Converts shadow auras to sanity (endgame)
Activities
- Prototype new items - +15 sanity per new craft
- Sleep in a Tent - Full sanity restoration (costs hunger)
DST Sanity Stations
+25 sanity/min aura when filled with flowers
Works in caves if built there
Up to +65 sanity/min when combined
Advanced setup from Oasis Antlion gift
Provide both light and small sanity aura
From Toadstool drops (late-game)
Nightmare Cycle Strategy
In the Ruins, periodic Nightmare Phases turn the whole cave violent. Shadow veins glow red and spawn Shadow Creatures that will attack regardless of sanity.
During Nightmare Phase
- Retreat to an outskirt area like Wilds biome
- Run in circles avoiding shadow creatures
- Fight only if you have good armor and weapons
Monitoring the Cycle
- Use Thulecite Medallion to track phases
- Watch fissures - green is calm, red is danger
- Full cycle lasts about 10 minutes
Know Your Cave Enemies
Depth Worms
Description: The "hounds of the caves." They attack in waves and emerge from the ground with warning sounds.
Warning Signs: Distant rumbling sounds and glowing spots on the ground.
Tactics:
- Kiting pattern: 2 hits, dodge, repeat
- Lead to Rock Lobsters or Bunnymen for help
- Circle kite for multiple worms
Drops: Monster Meat, Light Bulbs, occasional Glow Berry
Cave Spiders
Types: Spitters (ranged), Depths Dwellers (drop from ceiling)
Pain Point: Webbing slows movement, making kiting difficult. Spitters attack from range.
Tactics:
- Kill Spitters first (ranged threat)
- Watch for silk threads - warning of dropping spiders
- Rabbit Traps can catch normal spiders
Drops: Silk, Spider Gland, Monster Meat
Bunnymen
Behavior: Neutral by day, hostile if you carry meat/eggs. Live in hutches.
Pain Point: Unexpected attacks when carrying meat items.
Tactics:
- Drop meat before approaching their villages
- Befriend by feeding carrots - they'll follow and fight for you
- At full moon, they become aggressive Beardlords
Notes: In DST, there's a Bunny King event with rewards for good relations. Webber is always attacked by Bunnymen.
Rock Lobsters
Behavior: Neutral unless attacked. Slow-moving and can be allies.
Pain Point: If you hit one by accident, all nearby will attack. They're very tough.
Tactics:
- Feed rocks to befriend (follows for a full day)
- Use as tanks against Depth Worms
- In DS, they can multiply and cause lag if overpopulating
Notes: In DST, they won't leave caves. In DS, they might follow to surface.
Slurtles & Snurtles
Behavior: Snail-like creatures found in rocky biomes. Eat minerals and can hit hard.
Tactics:
- Bait with rocks to distract from mining spots
- Wear helmet when mining near them
- Use Gunpowder to clear clusters efficiently
Drops: Slurtle Slime (lantern fuel), Shells (for Snurtle Shell Armor)
Batlilisks
Behavior: Emerge from cave ceilings, usually near sinkholes. Swarm and nibble.
Tactics:
- Place Rabbit Traps on ground to catch them
- One hit with spear kills them
- In DST, Winona's catapult can auto-defend against bats
Drops: Batilisk Wings (edible, comparable to drumstick), Guano
Ancient Guardian
Location: Boss of the Ruins (Labyrinth area)
Pain Point: Charges fast and hits extremely hard. Fight arena has pillars.
Tactics:
- Provoke a charge then sidestep so it crashes into pillars
- Attack while it's stunned from hitting pillars
- In newer updates, it can break pillars and spawns shadows
Drops: Ancient Key, Horn, and in DS: Seed of Ruin
DST Cave Bosses
Types: Great Depths Worm, Nightmare Werepig, Toadstool
Great Depths Worm:
- Tunnels through terrain and can eat players
- Vulnerable to electric damage
- Drop bait items to distract it during fights
Shadow Thralls: Post-Fuelweaver enemies that inflict planar damage. Need Dreadstone armor to counter.
Combat Priorities
- Light stability check - If dimming, fix this before combat
- Armor status - Ensure wearing protection before engaging
- Threat assessment - Identify and focus on most dangerous enemy first
- Terrain usage - Use narrow passages or wide areas strategically
- Recovery - After fights, heal and restore sanity before proceeding
Environment Hazards
Earthquakes
What happens: Screen shakes, rocks/gems fall from above, causing 20-50 damage per hit.
Protection:
- Put on a helmet immediately when tremors start
- Keep moving to avoid being hit
- After quake, collect resources dropped on floor
DST Note: In summer, if Antlion is enraged, quakes happen more frequently. Appease Antlion before summer if planning extended cave stay.
Temperature & Seasons
Winter: Caves are cold (though slightly warmer than surface). You can freeze to death.
- Bring warm clothing or a Heat Stone
- Watch thermal meter (no visual snow indicators)
- Benefit: Cave ponds don't freeze in winter
Summer: Caves remain cooler - rarely overheat. No wildfires underground.
- Popular summer refuge to avoid heat
- When exiting to summer surface, prepare for instant heat
Cave Rain
Behavior: Can rain inside caves independent of surface weather.
Effects:
- You'll get wet from dripping water
- In DST, high wetness makes tools slip from hands
- Bring Straw Hat or Umbrella for long trips
Cave rain isn't frequent but can happen in any season.
Daylight Cycle
Effects: While caves are always dark, the game still tracks above-ground time.
- Bunnymen follow a "day" cycle (hide at surface "night")
- Players can only sleep in tent when it's night on the surface
- Find sinkhole light beam to briefly see your HUD clock
Surface events like full moons affect some cave creatures (e.g., turning Bunnymen into Beardlords).
Adaptive Cave Strategy
Many players effectively use caves and surface as complementary bases:
- Summer: Live in cave base (cool, no wildfire)
- Winter: May prefer surface base for easier food, unless well-established below
- Spring (DST): Caves avoid constant rain and wet penalties
- Autumn: Ideal time for extensive cave exploration and setup
Building a Cave Base
Choosing the Location
Sinkhole Entrance
Pros: Easy escape to surface, quick to bring supplies
Cons: Bats near entrances, resources farther in
Mushroom Forest
Pros: Lots of mushtrees, light flowers, open space
Cons: May be near bunny villages (meat storage issues)
Near Ruins Entrance
Pros: Quick access for ancient material runs
Cons: More dangerous mobs, shadow influence
Avoid These Areas:
- Under stalactite areas that frequently drop rocks during quakes
- Next to monkey pods (monkeys will harass your base)
- Cave swamp (tentacle fields) - constant threats and worm spawns
Basic Structures
Permanent fire for light and cooking. No rain to extinguish in caves.
At least an Alchemy Engine, plus Prestihatitator/Shadow Manipulator if doing magic.
For cooking mushrooms, meats, etc. efficiently. Ice Box works normally underground.
Storage for cave-specific loot. No fire issues, so wooden chests are safe.
For emergency sanity/health recovery. Requires 6 silk from cave spiders.
For farming mushrooms underground - they thrive in caves.
Safety Considerations
Antlion Quakes
In summer, cave-in boulders can damage structures. To mitigate:
- Appease Antlion on surface (feed tribute or kill it)
- Build spread out so one rock doesn't hit multiple structures
- Place important structures under natural "ceilings"
Bunny vs. Meat Storage
If your base is near Bunnymen:
- Storing meat in chests is safe, but Bunnymen will attack if they see you holding meat
- Keep meat storage away from their wander range
- Handle meats only when they're back in their huts
Worm Waves
In DST, if all players are underground, hound attacks become worm attacks:
- Prepare defenses for worms at the same frequency as hounds
- Consider leaving one player on surface during hound times
- Use tooth traps in a walled funnel area to manage worm attacks
The Ruins Expedition
Before You Go - Absolute Checklist
Thulecite Suit/Crown and Dark Sword ideal; Football Helm + Log Suit minimum
10+ pierogi or equivalent, Jerky, cooked Green Caps
Miner Hat + Lantern + extra bulbs/torches. Moggles if available.
Hammer (for clockworks), Pickaxe (for statues), extras if possible
Star Caller Staff, Magiluminescence, Gunpowder, Walking Cane
To monitor nightmare cycles (green = calm, red = danger)
Navigating the Ruins
Biome Types
- Military Biome: Clockworks and damaged machines. Good for gears.
- Village Biome: Broken pottery, pillars, and Splumonkey Pods.
- Maze/Labyrinth: Winding corridors leading to Ancient Guardian.
- Wilds: Natural area with lichen. Safer during nightmare phase.
- Atrium (DST): Special area for the Fuelweaver fight.
Nightmare Cycle Strategy
Nightmare Phases last about a minute at peak intensity. When the cycle turns nightmare:
- If not prepared to fight, retreat to Wilds or outskirts
- Run in circles avoiding shadow creatures until cycle ends
- Use your Thulecite Medallion to track cycle timing
- Consider building a quick campfire as a safe spot
Advanced: With Bee Queen Crown, nightmare creatures' auras become positive - you actually gain sanity while they approach.
Ancient Guardian Fight
The Strategy:
- Clear the labyrinth path so you can run freely
- Provoke a charge, then sidestep so Guardian crashes into pillars
- Attack while it's stunned from hitting pillars
- Keep armor on - AG hits 100+ damage if it connects
Drops: Ancient Key, Guardian's Horn, and in DS: Seed of Ruin. These unlock ancient crafting recipes and enable further game progression.
Loot Priority
Focus on gathering these valuables in order of priority:
- Thulecite - From statues, ornate chests, broken Ancient Pseudoscience Stations
- Gems - Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue for crafting staves and amulets
- Gears - From broken clockworks, essential for machinery
- Nightmare Fuel - From shadow creatures, broken clockworks
- Ancient Blueprints - In DST, from Archives for special items
Don't Starve Together Cave Tips
Surviving caves in DST introduces new dynamics with friends. Effective communication and coordination are key to success.
Team Coordination
Communication
Decide before going under who carries what: "You carry lantern, I carry food." Use in-game chat for warnings like "Worms coming!"
Revival Protocol
Make sure everyone knows how to revive each other with Telltale Heart. Keep a Life Giving Amulet at base for emergencies.
Divide & Conquer
Split tasks: one mines minerals, one gathers bulbs, one fights. Stay within a screen or two of each other for quick help.
Character Synergies
Wendy + Wolfgang
Abigail tanks swarms while Wolfgang deals heavy damage to bigger threats.
Maxwell + Anyone
He farms nightmare fuel easily with his sanity regen and can help mine or fight with shadows.
Wortox + Team
Can heal everyone with souls - invaluable since normal healing is scarce in caves.
Light & Combat Tactics
Light Teamwork
If one person has Miner Hat and another uses Lantern, stick together for maximum lighting. During fights, Lantern person should drop it in the middle so both have light.
Ghost Strategies
Ghost players emit a small light and can scout ahead. But they cause sanity drain to nearby survivors, so either revive quickly or go to surface.
Resource Sharing
Use a Skull Chest near the entrance as a supply depot where teammates can drop off or pick up supplies as needed.
Role Specialization
Designate a "Surface Supplier" and a "Cave Dweller" - one brings food and resources, the other focuses on exploration.
Useful Mods & Extras
Note: Mods can affect the challenge level, so use at your discretion. All listed mods are client-side/QoL so everyone can still enjoy the game.
UI Enhancement Mods
Combined Status
Displays temperature, day phase, moon phase in one HUD element. Essential in caves to monitor body temperature without visual cues.
Minimap HUD
Keeps a small map on-screen at all times. Since cave terrain can be mazelike, it's helpful to always see nearby explored areas.
Geometric Placement
Makes placing campfires, walls, etc., on the grid much easier. Caves have uneven turf but this helps build tidy bases.
Multiplayer & Navigation Mods
Map Sharing
"Insight" or "Shared Map" will sync map exploration among players. Invaluable if one player maps the cave - others can see it.
Waypoints / Signs Mods
Allow you to place markers or have signs show on map. Good for marking exit locations or important biomes.
Item Radar / Dropped Item Finder
If you die in caves, finding your loot in the dark can be brutal. These mods mark death spots or help locate items.
Cave Tweaks & Ambiance
Cave Bigger & Branchy
Alters cave generation, making caves larger or connecting branches. Customize your underground experience.
Less Worm Waves
If depth worms prove too frequent or challenging, this mod can reduce their spawn rate or wave size.
Cave Walls (Decorative)
Purely aesthetic mod that re-adds old cave wall textures from 2013, making caves feel more claustrophobic and maze-like.
Advanced Light Control
Enhances light mechanics with adjustable brightness or light sources. Helps reduce eyestrain in prolonged cave sessions.
Ready to Explore the Depths?
We've covered nearly every aspect of cave survival across all versions of Don't Starve. Whether you're a solo spelunker or leading a team into the darkness, remember that preparation and caution are your best allies. The caves are challenging but the rewards are worth it!
Happy spelunking, and don't starve!