DST seasons explained: the 70-day year, Deerclops on day 30.8, wildfires and flingomatics, hound waves, prep checklists and world settings.
Don't Starve Together Seasons — Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer Survival
DST's seasons are its "difficulty clock": a default year is 70 days — autumn (days 1-20) → winter (days 21-35) → spring (days 36-55) → summer (days 56-70) — and each one brings its own weather, threats and exclusive giant boss. 90% of new-player wipes happen at season transitions: no winter clothes in autumn, no food stocked for winter, no rain protection in spring, no flingomatic in summer. This guide walks through each season's length, threats, boss and prep checklist, and ends with how to tune seasons in the world settings.
Official resources: Official Wiki (Seasons) · Steam store page (DST) · Wikipedia (Don't Starve Together) · IGN game page · Klei official site
Season Overview: How the 70-Day Year Breaks Down
| Season | Default length | Start day | Core threat | Exclusive boss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | ~20 days | Day 1 | Almost none (tutorial season) | Bearger (mid-to-late autumn) |
| Winter | ~15 days | Day 21 | Cold (health drain), freezing | Deerclops (~day 30.8) |
| Spring | ~20 days | Day 36 | Rain, wetness sanity drain, frog rain | Moose-Goose |
| Summer | ~15 days | Day 56 | Overheating, wildfires | Dragonfly (desert) |
Season lengths are customizable when creating a world (none/short/default/long/random). This guide and the beginner guide use default values; the wiki lists winter as 15 or 16 days depending on the version (day 21 start is consistent), so the text says "~15 days."
Autumn (Days 1-20): The Prep Season, Not the Vacation
Autumn has almost no threats — but it decides your whole year, because everything you do now is paying for winter:
- Days 1-10: work through the first-ten-day checklist — base, exploration, food economy
- Days 11-20: start the winter stockpile — thermal stone, warm clothing (beefalo hat = 8 beefalo wool + 1 horn, the classic), dried meat (a season's worth of food)
- First hound wave: arrives around days 6-12 ("You are being hunted!" warning) — lure to beefalo or kite them
- Bearger: spawns mid-to-late autumn (raids food boxes and buildings) — same drill, lead him away from base before fighting
Winter (Days 21-35): The Frozen Test
- Mechanics: temperature keeps dropping; without warmth you lose health continuously; ponds freeze solid (walkable, but falling in is fatal)
- The warmth trio: thermal stone (heat it at a fire, carry it) + warm clothing + a fire source. With a group: one person manages fire, one manages food
- Deerclops on day 30.8: the winter giant spawns near a player (often at your base) and demolishes buildings. The moment you hear heavy footsteps, lead him away from base (the only recommended newbie approach). Kill him for his eye (makes the eyebrella — a spring lifesaver)
- Hound upgrades: winter introduces ice hounds (blue ones) that freeze the area around them when they die
- Winter boss drops: Deerclops' eye and bear skins are raw materials for spring/summer gear — winter fights aren't about the kill, they're your ticket to next year
From around days 28-30, if you hear a low "thump, thump, thump" and the screen trembles slightly — that's Deerclops. Immediately: drop everything → run 1-2 screens away from base → head to open ground, then decide fight or flight. Never bring him back to base (the classic community wipe).
Spring (Days 36-55): War of Rain and Frogs
- Mechanics: constant rain → wetness climbs → sanity drains; frog rain (frogs dropping from the sky) is spring's signature disaster
- Staying dry: eyebrella (Deerclops eye + bones, the spring MVP), umbrella, raincoat; drying racks keep meat preserved
- Moose-Goose: the spring giant — fast, brings goslings; kite him, keep him out of base
- Frog rain response: frogs prioritize food, so stash it in chests/ice boxes; with big swarms, abuse their "food-grabbing" aggression — frogs attack any target holding food, including other frogs, so they can be turned against each other
Summer (Days 56-70): Heat and Wildfire
- Mechanics: overheating drains health (mirror image of cold); wildfires randomly ignite dry items (grass, trees, buildings) — losing your base to fire is the #1 summer wipe
- Cooling: endothermic fire pit / ice flingomatic-chilled thermal stone, ice hat, refrigerated food
- The flingomatic: a summer must-build that sprays ice mist over an area and puts out fires — place one in the middle of base covering the main building cluster
- Fire-proof layout: keep flammables (grass walls, wood walls) separate from main buildings; clear dry items around the fire pit
- Dragonfly: the summer giant spawning in the desert — the hardest seasonal giant (huge health pool, AoE attacks, ignites everything nearby). Don't poke him before your gear is ready; he drops scale for scalemail (top-tier fire protection)
- Ice: summer surface heat makes ice a stockpiled resource for the rest of the year
Base on fire? Save the ice boxes and chests first (food and supplies), buildings second. The flingomatic handles its radius automatically; outside it, use ice staves or water balloons manually. In summer, always carry emergency fire suppression, or keep your most valuable assets inside the flingomatic's coverage.
Hound Wave Timing: The Year-Round Recurring Threat
Hounds (plus ice/fire variants) attack in waves all year; the interval and wave size scale with day count (data from the official wiki's periodic attack table):
| Day range | Interval | Wave size |
|---|---|---|
| Days 11-25 | every 6-13 days | 3-4 hounds |
| Days 26-50 | every 4-11 days | 4-6 hounds |
| Later | more frequent | more (including variants) |
Same playbook every time: beefalo herds / kiting / trap rows (tooth traps + spikes). The cave's "depth worms" waves work identically.
Season Settings: Tune the Difficulty to Your Shape
When creating a world (or in dedicated server config) you can adjust:
- Season length: None / Very short / Short / Default / Long / Very long / Random
- Disable individual seasons: don't want frog rain? Lower spring threats on their own
- Boss toggles: seasonal bosses can be disabled or set to manual trigger (recommended for newbies)
- Season order: fixed autumn → winter → spring → summer; can't be reordered
Newbie recommendation: a "short winter + default summer" first run, or just the Relaxed preset. Solo season pacing tips are in the beginner guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is each season in Don't Starve Together?
By default: autumn ~20 days (1-20), winter ~15 days (21-35), spring ~20 days (36-55), summer ~15 days (56-70) — a 70-day year. World settings can change any length.
When does winter start in DST?
Day 21 by default (right when autumn ends); winter lasts about 15 days, and spring starts on day 36.
When does Deerclops spawn?
Around day 30.8 (mid-to-late first winter) near a player, and every winter after that. Hear heavy footsteps — lead him out of base.
How do I stop wildfires in DST?
A flingomatic covers your base automatically; summer fire-proof layouts (flammables separated); carry emergency fire suppression outside base. Killing the Dragonfly drops scale for scalemail.
Can I change season length in DST?
Yes. World creation offers None/very short/short/default/long/very long/random; seasonal bosses can also be toggled off or set to manual trigger.
Related Guides
- How to Play Don't Starve Together — Beginner Survival Guide
- DST End and Endgame Guide — Fuelweaver, Celestial Champion and the Shadow/Lunar Paths
- DST Characters Guide — All 18 Survivors Explained
- Don't Starve vs Don't Starve Together — Which to Buy?
- Is Don't Starve Together Crossplay? Platform Guide
Last updated: August 12, 2026.
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