The recently-released Hamlet DLC is by far the hardest addition to the 2013 survival game Don’t Starve. Developer Klei Entertainment added an entirely new location with its own mechanics to work out. On top of that, the difficulty is cranked up to eleven. It might have a more forgiving mechanic with owning a house in Swinesbury, but that’s the only concession the game grants players.
Even Hamlet‘s seasons are more difficult. Each one only lasts a short while, but that actually adds to the difficulty, as players have to adapt quickly to the shifting weather. You start with the Temperate season, then go into the soaking-wet and foggy Humid season. However, it’s the Lush season that truly tests players. Only the Aporkalypse is tougher than this season, and that’s purely because of its main mechanic: Hay Fever.
Hay Fever is a mechanic that affects every character but Wormwood, inducing sanity-draining sneezing and reduced visibility in the overworld. Not only that, but every sneeze knocks something out of your inventory, increasing the annoyance factor. The sanity drain is the part that really makes Hay Fever deadly — if left too long, your character will refuse to sleep out of fear of the shadow monsters that comes for you when your sanity’s low. Since a sneeze halts your character like a stunlock, it makes fighting back much harder.
Despite all of these challenges, managing the Hay Fever mechanic is possible. In the overworld, there are two plants that are effective. Nettles and the Seed Pods from Tea Trees both relieve Hay Fever for a time in addition to filling the Hunger meter, making them useful to have. Unfortunately, Nettles only grow in the rainforest, and accessing them during the Lush season when they bloom requires getting past Brambles that grow all throughout the wild areas and deal damage when you try to take them down.
Alternatively, Tea Trees grow in a Bramble-free biome near Swinesbury, making them much more convenient to access, though they can also be host to the thieving little squirrels known as Pikos. Fortunately, they’re easily thwarted with Traps and can provide a source of food to boot. Seed Pods can be harvested at any time and stack, so you can start gathering these early and still have them be fresh enough to eat by the Lush season’s start.
These only go so far, but the crafting tabs can also help. The Gas Mask not only protects you from the poisonous biomes deep in the rainforest, but also from Hay Fever. To make them, you’ll need Cloth, which can be obtained from the General Store for five Oincs. You also need a Pig Skin, which is easy to get from the Vampire Bats that harry you regularly. The most difficult ingredient is Peagawk Feathers, which are harvested from Peagawks. While they can be killed and harvested, the better option is pinning them in a corner of the world so the feathers will grow back and can be harvested again..
The main downside of the Gas Mask is that it drains your sanity as you wear it, which means you’ll need to swap it routinely with a sanity-boosting hat like the Garland or take it off regularly while in the Slanty Shanty. This also extends the life of the Gas Mask, as it loses durability while worn. Making plenty of Straw Rolls to sleep in also boosts sanity and skips some of the time spent in Hay Fever, although this also drains the Hunger meter and means you need a meal ready for when you wake up.
Another item that helps mitigate the effects of Hay Fever is the Oscillating Fan, which is definitely an option if you managed to get some Gears. Unfortunately, it also requires Alloy, which requires the Smelter to create. The Smelter itself requires a Red Gem, which is far harder to come by in Hamlet than in other parts of the game. While the Oscillating Fan is useful in both the Humid and Lush seasons, the difficulty in crafting it makes it a luxury as opposed to a tool you’ll most likely use.
While difficult, the Lush season is survivable. It may be annoying to manage, but if players are careful and combine various mechanics, it can be done with little fuss. Afterwards comes the much more reasonable Temperate season. While it’s no Aporkalypse, surviving the Lush season is a fine feather in any Survivor’s cap.
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