Guide:Productivity in winter

Assuming you used the default settings for starting in a temperate region, you can expect around 5 months of weather too cold for farming and other things. You can avoid getting bored during winter by planning ahead.

Save for wintertime

Don't do these during fair weather, when your time could be better spent preparing for winter:

• build a large, fancy base
• chisel lots of detail
• mine chests full of ore
• cook excess stews/porridge (unless you have beeswax)

While you can repair translocators and peek at what's on the other side, if it takes you to warmer areas then save significant exploration for when your main base is snowbound.

Do in wintertime

Around November, temperatures will stop getting above 0 degrees, and several natural processes will halt. Your first winter you should plan on spending at home or nearby, unless you have abundant food stored, abundant fuel, and warm clothing in good repair.

Shelter

Assuming you kept the default setting for "body temperature hardiness," when temperatures are below zero your hunger rate is increased by around 30% and your body temperature starts to drop. Going inside a valid "room" removes the hunger debuff and permits your body temperature to slowly return to normal; additionally, a firepit's heat is more effective in a room. It's not important for every area of your base to be a valid "room" but now's a good time to make sure that you have at least one spot where you can thaw even if you've run out of fuel.

Chores

• Catch/escort useful creatures closer to your base
• Feed livestock, cull older generations
• Grind (in a quern) flour, salt, lime, bones
• Clayform (especially crocks and storage vessels)
• Cook (especially porridge and vegetable stews; meat and fruit should already be cooked/stored)
• Bake (bread and/or pies)
• Break leaves (preferably with shears)
• Chop lumber trees (especially pines that don't leak resin)
• Collect resin every 7 days or so, from pines you marked on your map
• Squeeze honey from beeswax
• Build paths between your base and favorite mines

Stock up

• Mine ore you located earlier (underground isn't cold)
• Make charcoal (can never have too much, especially if you're aiming for steel)
• Smith extra tools you’ll need this year (so you won't need to interrupt work to make more)
• Dig up more clay
• Pit kilns (especially fire clay bricks)

Get artistic

• Remodel
• Reorganize - can even label chests and crates
• Chisel to your heart's content
• Clayform niceties like flowerpots and planters
• Design/redesign livestock enclosures, greenhouse, cafe
• Make dyes for gambeson, book covers, shields, and more

Explore

Take a stack of firewood, some grass, and a torch or firestarter, and scour the terrain around your base. Things like clay and high fertility soil will be harder to spot if snow has fallen. But wild crops and fruit trees are typically easier to spot. When your body temperature starts dropping, dig into a hill or the ground, and seal the entrance. You need firewood to build a firepit, but many other fuel sources can save you from hypothermia; don't overlook ferns, flowers, sticks, and grass.

Pie makes especially good rations for travel, in terms of satiation and inventory slots occupied. You won't be able to forage for berries and mushrooms in subzero temperatures, and animals will drop less meat than usual, but there are some things you might want to resort to eating: honeycomb, lump of fat, walnuts.

Caves can hold many interesting things. If you notice any non-natural building blocks, investigate closer. Ruins can yield nice decorative items, some useful items, and even Translocators. If you encounter new types of enemies, experiment with how to defeat them.

Warning: wolves and bears get more desperate in cold weather, so keep extra distance if you spot one. Below -5 degrees, wolves' seeking range increases from 15 blocks to 25 blocks, while bears' seeking range increases from 20 blocks to 25 blocks below -10 degrees.

Try something new

There are many features that are optional and you might not have had time to check out before.

• brewing/distilling
• cheesemaking (especially blue cheese)
• weapons usually exclusive to certain classes

This guide by:
T.Read, July 2024