Sanity is the silent killer in Don’t Starve Together. It secretly creeps its ugly hands while stalking every survivor in the Constant. This mechanic is more than a brain icon, as it reshapes the world as your mind frays. So, keep your wits sharp by reading this guide, allowing you to choose which survivor to control as you plan your entry or return to a Don’t Starve Together server.

What is Sanity in Don’t Starve Together?

Sanity is a core stat in Don’t Starve Together, with an intricate system surrounding it. It represents each character’s mental fortitude, which changes constantly in response to actions and the surrounding environment. On the HUD, Sanity is depicted as a brain icon with small animated arrows indicating whether the stat is rising or falling. Darkness, nearby monsters, and food consumption can affect Sanity.

Sanity Effects in Don’t Starve Together

The descent into madness as Sanity goes down is a layered, atmospheric experience in Don’t Starve Together. Players experience the first signs of insanity as the stat reaches 80%. As the meter continues to drop, more nightmarish effects appear on screen. Failure to restore Sanity forces survivors to either fight for their lives or claw back to clarity. Below are the effects to watch out for as Sanity decreases:

• Less Than 80%: Mr. Skitts, a harmless, shadowy figure that appears to serve as a reminder of the character’s decreasing Sanity.
• Less Than 75%: The screen shakes, color desaturates, and Night Hands appear that attempt to steal campfire fuel.
• Less Than 60%: The screen distorts, eyes appear in the darkness, lighting desaturates, and Willow starts lighting fires.
• Less Than 50%: Shadow Watchers appear, insanity ambiance becomes audible, survivors shake, and Crawling Horrors, Crawling Nightmares that increase Sanity decrease speed, appear.
• Less Than 45%: Survivors start hearing whispers.
• Less Than 40%: Rabbits turn into Beardlings and Bunnymen into Beardlords.
• Less Than 15%: Crawling Horrors and Terrorbeaks attack, Obelisks move, and red tendrils surround the screen.
• Less Than 10%: Terrorbeaks appear, and the screen distorts further.

What Decreases Sanity in Don’t Starve Together?

Various instances decrease a survivor’s Sanity in the Constant. These events include being near monsters, eating spoiled or raw food, and being in the cold embrace of the night. Each step in Don’t Starve Together must include negotiation with the mind to ensure it maintains balance. Here are the various events that reduce a player’s Sanity levels:

• -55 to Maximum Sanity - Using a Codex Umbra
• -25 to 50 Sanity - Blowing from the Queen Womant
• -50 Sanity - Eating a Green Cap or Glommer's Goop - Reading Birds of the World or On Tentacles - Using Telelocator Staff or The Lazy Deserter
• -33 Sanity - Reading Applied Horticulture, Sleepytime Stories, or The End is Nigh - Getting hit by lightning as WX-78
• -20 Sanity - Eating Monster Lasagna or Monster Tartare - Using Star Caller's, Staff Deconstruction, Staff Moon, or Caller's Staff - Crafting the Totally Normal Root - Being attacked by Charlie - Picking up more than 20 Souls as Wortox
• -15 Sanity - Eating Monster Meat, Blue Cap, Deerclops Eyeball, Guardian's Horn, Phlegm, Shark Fin, Mussel, Eye of the Tiger Shark, Pepper - Going Through a Worm Hole or Electric Isosceles - Using The Lazy Explorer - Being Carried by BFB - Unsummoning Abigail as Wendy - Entering the Shipwrecked map
• -10 Sanity - Eating Meat, Morsel, Drumstick, Frog Legs, Cooked Monster Meat, Cooked Red Cap, Batilisk Wing, Leafy Meat, Glow Berry, Dragoon Heart, Shark Fin Soup, Limpets, Seaweed, Bean Bugs, Gummy Slug, Flytrap Stalk, Lesser Glow Berry, Roasted Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Fish Cordon Bleu, Poison Dartfrog Legs, Kelp Fronds, or Spoiled Food - Crafting Phobic Experiment, Sanguine Experiment, Psychic Experiment, or Sulfuric Experiment - Chopping a tree during Hallowed Nights - Getting spooked by bats after opening a chest - Getting hit by Manure thrown by a Splumonkey or Prime Ape - Digging up a Grave
• -5 Sanity - Eating Dark Petals, Durian, Extra Smelly Durian, Monster Jerky, Lichen, Cactus Flesh, Cooked Coffee Beans, Coffee, Cooked Bean Bugs, Cooked Gummy Slug, Gummy Cake, Roast Onion, Roast Garlic, Stuffed Pepper Poppers, Potato, or Cooked Kelp Fronds - Picking up Evil Flowers or Flowers as Wormwood - Using a Pile o’ Balloons or Slot Machine - Digging up Tree stumps - Digging up Grass Tuft, Sapling, Bamboo Patch, Viney Bush, Nettle Vine, or Coffee Plant as Wormwood - Eating Soul as Wortox - Adding fuel to a Vortex Cloak
• -3 Sanity - Sneezing
• -1 Sanity - Attacking another survivor who’s wearing an Enlightened Crown while Sanity is above 85% - Using an Ice Staff or Fire Staff
• -900 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Nightmare Light
• -800 Sanity per Minute - Being near an Ancient Obelisk or Nightmare Rampart
• -400 Sanity per Minute - Being near Deerclops, Spider Queen, Bearger, Dragonfly, Sealnado, Reanimated Skeleton, Klaus, Ancient Herald, or Large Iron Hulk
• -100 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Treeguard, Crawling Horror, Terrorbeak, Werepig, Palm Treeguard, Swimming Horror, Shadow Knight, Shadow Bishop, Shadow Rook, Klaus, BFB, Pugalisk, Ancient Herald, or Large Iron Hulk - Freezing as Willow
• -50 Sanity per Minute - Being in total darkness
• -40 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Slot Machine - Being near a Hound, Spider Warrior, Beardling, Beardlord, Tentacle, Ghost, Nighthand, Thulecite Club, Crocodog, Sea Hound, Crabbit, Pirate Ghost, Spider Monkey, Snaptooth, Ancient Spirit, Antlion, Woven Shadow, Cave Spider, Spitter, or Vampire Bat
• -25 Sanity per Minute - Being near an Evil Flower, Spider, Slurper, Depths Worm, Dangling Depth Dweller, Snaptooth, Viper, Snake, Spider Warrior, or Cave Spider Spitter
• -20 Sanity per Minute - Wearing the Bone Helm - Holding the Dark Sword
• -12.5 Sanity per Minute - Attached by a Gnat Swarm
• -10 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Scorpion - Wearing a Gas Mask or Night Armor - Being in total darkness on Lunar Island
• -6.6 Sanity per Minute - Wearing the Silver Necklace to stall a Werepig transformation
• -6.25 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Houndius Shootius
• -6 Sanity per Minute - Wearing soaked items (Sanity reduction increases per wet item worn) - Being poisoned
• -5 Sanity per Minute - Experiencing Dusk and Nighttime - Inside Caves
• -4.8 Sanity per Minute - Being on lands as Woodlegs
• -3.3 Sanity per Minute - Being wet - Wearing the Nightmare Amulet
• -3 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Night Light (except for Willow)
• -2 Sanity per Minute - Wearing the One-man Band and having a Pig or Bunnyman friend (Sanity reduction increases by an additional 25 points per follower) - Wearing the Spiderhat or Fashion Melon
• -1.33 Sanity per Minute - Wearing the Seawreath

What Increases Sanity in Don’t Starve Together?

Although the Constant is a relentless underworld of shadowy creatures, the same wilds offer remedies to restore Sanity. For instance, picking flowers, prototyping new items, and wearing certain items can help maintain mental stability in Don’t Starve Together. So, consider the following actions and events to ensure your Sanity doesn’t fall below dangerous levels:

• +150 Sanity - Eating Magic Water
• +80 Sanity - Resurrecting a Ghost Player
• +50 Sanity - Sleeping in a Tent or Siesta Lean-to - Eating Ice Cream, Brainy Matter, Lobster Dinner, Jelly Salad, or Gears (as WX-78)
• +33 Sanity - Sleeping in a Straw or Fur Roll - Killing a Terrorbeak - Eating a Banana Pop, Surf ‘n’ Turf, Caviar, Iced Tea, Spicy Vegetable Stinger, Tea, Salsa Fresca, Creamy Potato Purée, or Moqueca
• +20 Sanity - Repairing a Relic - Eating a Melonsicle or Seafood Gumbo
• +15 Sanity - Killing a Crawling Horror - Learning a new recipe from a Blueprint - Summoning Abigail as Wendy - Prototyping an item using the Science Machine, Alchemy Engine, Prestihatitator, Shadow Manipulator, Piratihatitator, and Hogus Porkusator - Eating Taffy, Pumpkin Cookies, Jerky, Cooked Green Cap, Cooked Cactus Flesh, Fresh Fruit, Crepes, Mussel Bouillabaise, Sweet Potato Soufflé, Tropical Bouillabaisse, Feijoada, Steamed Ham Sandwich, Cooked Lotus Root, Royal Jelly, Fancy Spiraled Tubers, Puffed Potato Soufflé, or Moon Moth Wings
• +10 Sanity - Eating Small Jerky, Cooked Blue Cap, Dried Kelp Fronds, Wobster Bisque, California Roll, Snake Bone Soup, Asparagazpacho, Glow Berry Mousse, Hot Dragon Chili Salad, Volt Goat Chaud-Froid, Monster Tartare, or Banana (as Wilbur) - As Wormwood, plant Seeds, Grass Tuft, Sapling, Bamboo Patch, Viney Bush, Nettle Vine, Coffee Plant, Spiky Bush, Pine Cone, Birchnut Coconut, Jungle Tree Seed, Jungle Burr Seed, or Pod - Shaving a Beard - Getting hit by Gestalt or Enlightening Snare
• +7.5 Sanity - Eating Watermelon
• +5 Sanity - Eating Watermelon, Cactus Flower, Lotus Flower, Tuber, Tribute Roast, Electric Milk, or most Crock Pot Dishes except Wet Goop - With any character except Wormwood, pick flowers or seashells
• +1 Sanity - Riding a wave on a Surfboard - Throwing Rawling - Eating Fish Heads on a Stick
• +60 Sanity per Minute - Sleeping in a Tent or Siesta Lean-to
• +400 Sanity per Minute - Being near the Celestial Champion
• +100 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Celestial Fissure
• +36 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Magic Flower - Being near a Hutch, Misshapen Bird, or Moonblind Crow
• +25 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Sisturn, Dwarf Star, Brainy Sprout, Sand Castle, Parrot Pirate, and friendly Pigs, Bunnymen, Wildbores, and Bottlenose Ballphins
• +10 Sanity per Minute - Wearing an Enlightened Crown - Being near a fire, as Willow
• +6.75 Sanity per Minute - Inherent ability of Maxwell
• +6.67 Sanity per Minute - Using the Dance emote while wearing a Lucky Beast Head, Lucky Beast Body, or Lucky Beast Tail - Wearing a Tam o’ Shanter - Wearing a Shark Tooth Crown while on a boat
• +6.25 Sanity per Minute - Being near a Glommer, Friendly Fruity Fly, or Pudgy Beefalo - Being inside a Slanty Shanty
• +4.44 Sanity per Minute - Wearing a Hibearnation Vest or Royal Crown
• +3.33 Sanity per Minute - Wearing a Top Hat, Cat Cap, Floral Shirt, Dapper Vest, Thulecite Suit, Scalemail, Fashion Goggles, or Desert Goggles
• +2 Sanity per Minute - Wearing a Feather Hat, Summer Frest, Breezy Vest, Puffy Vest, Life Giving Amulet, Chilled Amulet, Magiluminescence, Construction Amulet, The Lazy Forager, Belt of Hunger, Pretty Parasol, Tropical Parasol, Limestone Suit, Windbreaker, Sleek Hat, Pirate Hat, Pith Hat, or Pinetree Pioneer Hat - Holding a Rawling
• +1.33 Sanity per Minute - Wearing a Garland or Winter Hat
• +0.625 Sanity per Minute - Stay on Lunar Island during the day

Max Sanity Thresholds for Each Don't Starve Together Character

Some surviving characters in Don’t Starve Together handle the Constant’s maddening environment better than others. Survivors like Maxwell and WX-78 generally have better mental stabilities than the likes of Will and Wes. Check out each character’s maximum Sanity levels below to help you make an informed decision the next time you choose a survivor when you return to the Constant:

• WX-78: Up to 300 maximum Sanity, depending on the number of upgrades installed
• Wickerbottom: 250 maximum Sanity
• Wilson: 200 maximum Sanity
• Wendy: 200 maximum Sanity
• Wolfgang: 200 maximum Sanity
• Woodie: 200 maximum Sanity
• Maxwell: 200 maximum Sanity
• Winona: 200 maximum Sanity
• Walter: 200 maximum Sanity
• Wanda: 200 maximum Sanity
• Wurt: up to 200 maximum Sanity, depending on the King of the Murms
• Wes: 150 maximum Sanity
• Wagstaff: 150 maximum Sanity
• Wortox: 150 maximum Sanity
• Willow: 120 maximum Sanity
• Wes: 75 maximum Sanity

Unique Character Interactions That Affect Sanity

No two survivors in Don’t Starve Together handle madness the same way. For instance, Wurt’s fondness for everything wet increases his Sanity levels when damp. On the other hand, Maxwell restores Sanity by simply being himself.

• Wendy: -0.75 Sanity when in complete darkness or near monsters.
• Willow: Gains Sanity when near fire.
• Wolfgang: -1.1 Sanity when in complete darkness or near monsters.
• Maxwell: +6.75 Sanity per minute.
• Wormwood: Rain and being wet won’t drain his Sanity.
• Wurt: Rain and being wet won’t drain his Sanity. Sanity increases while holding fish.
• Wanda: Sanity drain is halved when middle-aged, and a quarter when old-aged. Equipping the Dark Sword or Night Armor has its Sanity drain cut by 75% when middle-aged, and completely eliminated when old-aged.