In the original Don't Starve and Reign of Giants content, the Ocean acts as a barrier, and during Winter, a place for Pengulls to spawn before they hop onto shore. No living thing can cross the ocean, not even flying mobs like Batilisks and Bees. Flotsams can be found in the ocean, and it is the only object the player can interact with in the ocean.
Objects that are situated on the coast very close to the ocean may drop their items in the ocean, and aside from bugged objects, they will fall into the water with a splash.
Shipwrecked
In the Shipwrecked DLC, the Ocean plays a much larger role in the player's everyday life. It is accessible by boat or raft, and is commonly divided into several sections: Shallow Ocean, Medium Ocean, Deep Ocean, Ship Graveyard and Coral Reef. Flotsam and Pengulls do not spawn in the Shipwrecked Ocean.
Some items, instead of sinking, will stay afloat. Unless the item sunk in Deep Ocean, the sunken item will periodically create bubbles, indicating its location. Within 2 days from the time the item sunk, it can be retrieved by sailing over it while using a Trawl Net. If the item is not retrieved during this time, it will be lost forever. Items that sink in the Deep Ocean tiles are immediately lost and cannot be retrieved.
Shallow
- Light blue terrain.
- No Waves (present waves will disappear once they reach the edge).
- Mussels, Wobster Dens, Dogfish, and Seaweed are found here.
- Seagulls and Cormorants will land here dropping Seeds and Roe, respectively. (They do not appear during Hurricane Season.)
- Surrounds all islands, but may extend out.
Medium
- Light/dark patchy blue when being next to shallow ocean, or solid dark blue terrain for the most distant from land.
- Waves form and travel here.
- Stink Rays, Suspicious Bubbles (Whales), Shoals, and the Volcano are found here.
- Never touches an island - it indicates empty aquatic space in-between.
Deep
- Light/dark patchy blue when being next to shallow ocean, or solid dark blue terrain for the most distant from land.
- Waves form and travel here.
- Stink Rays, Suspicious Bubbles (Whales), Shoals, Swordfish, and the Volcano are found here.
- Never touches an island - it indicates empty aquatic space in-between.
Ship Graveyard
- Small patches of dark colored areas in the Deep Ocean.
- Wrecks and Watery Graves can only be found here. Commonly contains Shoals, Seaweed and Swordfish.
- Can be next to Medium Ocean, but not Shallow Ocean or islands.
Volcano
In the Volcano Biome, the Ocean that surrounds the Shipwrecked world is replaced by a sea of clouds.
Items dropped at the edge of the Volcano may fall through below the cloud layer and become inaccessible. Strong Winds can also push dropped items off the edge. Therefore, it is not recommand to leave important items such as Obsidian on the ground during Hurricane Season.
Don't Starve Together
In Don't Starve Together, the Ocean becomes accessible with multiplayer Boats starting with the Turn of Tides update in Return of Them.
Puffins will appear on the Ocean instead of the other Birds. Hounds can swim, making Hound attack possible on the Sea. Some Ocean Debris, Driftwood Piece, Boat Fragment, Cut Grass and Twigs will regularly appear close to the player in the Ocean, making Driftwood Piece and Boat Fragment renewable, they sink after few days.
The brightness of the sea corresponds with the time it takes for an Anchor to raise and drop. The darker the ocean, the longer it takes for the anchor to drop/raise.
Some items, instead of sinking, will stay afloat. Non-irreplaceable items that sink in the ocean cannot be retrieved, while irreplaceable items that sink will return to the coast afterwards.
Coastal
- Close to land.
- Has a light Green color.
- Has calm and straight-line looking waves.
- Take 2 seconds to fully drop the Anchor Kit.
- Is free from obstacles for the boat.
- Some floating Driftwood Pieces are present.
- Bull Kelps can be found alone or regrouped in farms of 7-8.
- Runty Guppy, Needlenosed Squirt, Bitty Baitfish, Smolt Fry, Popperfish, Mudfish and Bloomfin Tuna are fish found in this biome.
Swell
- Found after the Coastal Ocean
- Has a darker green color.
- Has wedge-like medium waves.
- Take 6 seconds to fully drop the Anchor Kit.
- Contains Sea Stacks alone and regrouped in shoals.
- Runty Guppy, Bitty Baitfish, Mudfish, Deep Bass, Black Catfish, Corn Cod, Fallounder, Scorching Sunfish and Ice Bream are fish found in this biome.
Rough
- Found after the Swell Ocean.
- Has a Green/Blue color.
- Has sharper wedge-like large waves.
- Take 8 seconds to fully drop the Anchor Kit.
- Contains Sea Stacks alone and regrouped in shoals so tight that Boats can barely pass through.
- Bitty Baitfish, Deep Bass, Black Catfish, Corn Cod and Dandy Lionfish are fish found in this biome.
- Sea Weeds appear regularly in groups of 8 to 15, and they will spawn Spittlefish.
Hazardous
- Set pieces found in the Rough Ocean.
- Has a Dark Blue color
- Has sharper wedge-like large waves.
- Take 10 seconds to fully drop the Anchor Kit.
- Contains floating Boat Fragments.
- Dandy Lionfish are fish found in this biome.
Brine
- Set pieces scattered throughout the ocean, bearing Salt Formations and Cookie Cutters.
- Can be found in Swell Ocean and Rough Ocean.
- Have a cyan hue, making them easier to detect.
- Salt formations are clumped together making them difficult to move throughout.
Lunar Island
The Lunar Island is a piece of land separated from the main lands. See Lunar Island for more detail.
Hermit Island
The Hermit Island is a piece of land separated from the main lands. See Hermit Island for more detail.
Waterlogged
Waterlogged is a Biome with 3 giant trees and several unique creatures. See Waterlogged for more detail.
Hamlet
In the Hamlet DLC, the Ocean that surrounds the world is replaced by a sea of clouds. It separates the Hamlet map into five distinct islands.
Items dropped at the edge of the island may fall through below the cloud layer and become inaccessible. Strong Winds can also push dropped items off the edge.
Trivia
- The Strange New Powers update added Pengulls which initially spawn in the ocean, before moving onto the shore in Winter.
- Shadow Creatures are able to cross into and out of the ocean as they please, but will stay until running toward a player on land should they be aggressive towards them.
- Players using console commands can get over the ocean, but going too far will cause the screen to turn black while only showing the selected character, HUD, Crafting Tabs, Day-Night Indicator, and Inventory. Going further will cause the game to crash.
- In the Shipwrecked DLC, the following Items will float on the Ocean:
- All Craftable Items, excluding Bee Mines, Cut Stone, Hibearnation Vests, Houndius Shootius, Ice, Insulated Packs, One-man Bands, Pumpkin Lanterns, Rain Coats, Sandbags, Scalemail, Tar Lamps, Thulecite, Thulecite Clubs, Thulecite Medallions, Tooth Traps, Torches, all kinds of Saddles, Brushes, Feather Pencils, Mini Signs, Wood Fences, Wood Gates
- All Mob Dropped Items excluding Ashes, Broken Shells, Doydoy Eggs, Flint, Glommer's Goop, Glommer's Wings, Light Bulbs, Rocks, and Thulecite Fragments
- All Food Items, excluding Doydoy Eggs, Glommer's Goop, Ice, Light Bulbs, Mussels, and Rot
- All Character-Specific Items excluding Bramble Trap and Telebrella
- All dug up Plants
- All Trinkets
- All Things
- All Gems
- "Ballphin Free" Tuna, Cut Grass, Cut Reeds, Jungle Tree Seeds, Logs, Messages in a Bottle, Palm Leaves, Peg Legs, Pine Cones, Seashells, Tar, and Tridents
- The Fishbone
- Rawling
Gallery
| Biomes | |
| Surface | |
| Caves | |
| Ruins | |
| Water Biomes | |
| Island Biomes | |
| Other | Bridge • Map • Road (Trail) • Turfs • Abyss (Interiors  ) (Lunar Island  ) |
