The Moon Cycle is a gameplay mechanic which controls the appearance of Werepigs and Woodie's transformation. Werepigs are normal Pigs who are caught outdoors during a full moon, and Woodie turns into a Werebeaver whenever there's a full moon, or if he chops too many trees in single-player.
During a full moon, Chester will transform into either a Shadow Chester if he has at least one Nightmare Fuel in every inventory slot or a Snow Chester if he has at least one Blue Gem in every slot.
The complete Moon Cycle lasts for 16 Days and then repeats. Each phase of the Moon lasts for two Nights.
| Day(s) | Moon Phase | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | New Moon | 
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| 3 - 4 | Quarter (Waxing Crescent) Moon | 
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| 5 - 6 | Half Moon | 
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| 7 - 8 | 3/4 (Waxing Gibbous) Moon | 
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| 9 - 10 | Full Moon | 
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| 11 - 12 | 3/4 (Waning Gibbous) Moon |
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| 13 - 14 | Half Moon |
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| 15 - 16 | Quarter (Waning Crescent) Moon |
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| 17 - 18 | New Moon |
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The Lunar Calendar Generator can be used to see past day 18.
Downloadable Content
In all DLCs, several additional changes can be observed on a full moon. The moon casts down a dim, blue-tinted light over the world, so the player can safely explore without a light source and fear of Charlie. Mushrooms will turn into Mushtrees. Flowers will turn into Evil Flowers (But will revert back from the 3/4 Gibbous days onwards). The eyes on Pig, Wildbore and Merm Heads glow white, generate an insanity aura, and drop Nightmare Fuel when hammered. Ghosts will emerge from any type of Grave, including Watery Graves.
Full moons can also affect the Cave worlds. Unlike in the surface, the full moon does not provide light visibility to this world since caves are underground. Therefore, characters are required to have a sufficient light source while spelunking. Just like on the surface, the screen tone will change into a bluish color much like in Winter. Mushrooms also have a chance of turning into Mushtrees, Pigs will turn into Werepigs, and Flowers will change into Evil Flowers when in a cave.
In RoG, Glommer's Statue grows Glommer's Flower, which causes a Glommer to spawn nearby.
In SW, Tides in Beach biomes are much stronger during a full moon and absent during a new moon. During a full moon, Wildbores turn into Werepigs.
In HAM, Wilba will turn into her werepig form during a full moon. During Aporkalypse, the moon icon that shows the player the phase of the moon will be constant, showing a reddish moon, and changes on a full moon will also occur.
Don't Starve Together
In Don't Starve Together, a full moon only lasts one day. The first full moon occurs on day 11, and then it occurs every 20 days - on days 31, 51, 71, etc. Likewise, the first new moon occurs on day 1, and then it occurs every 20 days - on days 21, 41, 61, etc.
| Day(s) | Moon Phase |
|---|---|
| 1 | New Moon |
| 2 - 4 | Quarter (Waxing Crescent) Moon |
| 5 - 7 | Half Moon |
| 8 - 10 | 3/4 (Waxing Gibbous) Moon |
| 11 | Full Moon |
| 12 - 14 | 3/4 (Waning Gibbous) Moon |
| 15 - 17 | Half Moon |
| 18 - 20 | Quarter (Waxing Crescent) Moon |
| 21 | New Moon |
The new moon phase has new effects. Hammering down Chess Pieces during new moon causes Shadow Pieces to appear.
The mooncycle does not affect the caves and is not present in the caves.
Trivia
- By default, it takes 560 days for the beginning of the Moon Cycle to re-align with the first day of the starting season.
- When both seasons are set to "Long", 12 complete moon cycles will occur in 4 seasons time (similar to a standard calendar year).
- With RoG, if a full moon occurs in the fifth Adventure Mode chapter "Darkness", everything happens as per normal (blue tint, Evil Flowers, etc.). However, it remains completely dark and a light source is still required.
- Since the Return of Them update in Don't Starve Together, the moon has a crack in it.
Gallery
