Nightmare Fuel/DST

Don't Starve

DST

“This stuff is crazy!”

–Wilson

“Eww, it's still warm!”

–Willow

“Scary stuff.”

–Wolfgang

“With the sleep of dreams comes this stuff.”

–Wendy

“DEBUGGING RESIDUE”

–WX-78

“Ectoplasmic residue.”

–Wickerbottom

“All of my fears in liquid form, eh?”

–Woodie

“Ahhh. Refreshing.”

–Maxwell

“The fuel öf darkness!”

–Wigfrid

“It's cold and slippery.”

–Webber

“Who in their right mind would want to fuel MORE nightmares?”

–Warly

“Dark Floaty Man”

–Wormwood

“I don't trust that stuff.”

–Winona

“Hyuyu! It's squishy.”

–Wortox

“Bad stuff!”

–Wurt

“People always say my campfire stories are nightmare fuel.”

–Walter

“A necessary evil.”

–Wanda

Nightmare Fuel is a refined item used in the ways of dark and ancient magic. It requires a Prestihatitator to prototype and costs 4 Dark Petals to craft. It can also be obtained as a drop from various mobs and objects.

Nightmare Fuel is used to craft various Magic items. It is also used to fuel Night Lights and Maxwell's Codex Umbra (to summon Shadow Servants). Chester can transform into Shadow Chester by placing Nightmare Fuel in each of his nine inventory slots on a Full Moon.

Gathering

See also: Guides/Nightmare Fuel Farming

If a character's sanity decreases below 40% of their maximum (100 for Wickerbottom, 80 for most characters, 48 for Willow, 30 for Wes, and varies for WX-78 based on the upgrade level), all Rabbits change into Beardlings and can be killed to gather Nightmare Fuel (along with Monster Meat and Beard Hair). An easy way to do this is by trapping a large number of Rabbits and then lowering Sanity to below 40%, after which they can all be murdered all at once while in inventory. However, be careful, as this is liable to trigger the Krampus by advancing the player's naughtiness level beyond the threshold. Unlike Beardlings, Beardlords do not drop Nightmare Fuel.

Alternatively, Nightmare Fuel can be acquired by killing Crawling Horrors and Terrorbeaks. Crawling Horrors are easier to deal with than Terrorbeaks; the latter don't appear until Sanity is very, very low, so it's possible to kill Crawling Horrors one at a time.

A safer and simpler way to get Nightmare Fuel is to capture Bees with a Bug Net and then release them at an Evil Flower patch. This will eventually cause more Evil Flowers to spawn, and their petals can be crafted into Nightmare Fuel.

Perhaps the most dangerous yet lucrative way is to venture into a Ruins or Cave and find a location with Nightmare Lights and Nightmare Fissures. When the Nightmare Cycle ends, all of the Shadow Creatures that spawned from the Lights and Fissures will die and drop Nightmare Fuel.

Nightmare Fuel can be obtained by hammering Pig Heads and Merm Heads during a Full Moon.

All variants of the Reanimated Skeleton drop 2-4 Nightmare Fuel when killed. When the Ancient Fuelweaver is killed, all Woven Shadows will turn into Nightmare Fuel. It can also be used to refuel certain items. Unlike in the Don't Starve DLCs, Nightmare Fuel no longer gets wet, and Shadow Creatures no longer drop Nightmare Fuel at the end of the Nightmare Cycle.

When the Shadow Rift is active in the caves, the Ink Blights all drop 1-2 Nightmare Fuel and in particular, Ickers drop 4-6 Nightmare Fuel, spawn in groups of up to 10 and are relatively harmless beyond their initial attack, making them an incredible source of Fuel.

Wilson can also craft Nightmare Fuel using 2 Pure Horror upon mastering the Shadow Courtier Insight skill.

Drop table

Source	Quantity	Chance
	1	3.07%
	1-3	20%
	1	40%
	1	50%
	1	60%
(no gems)	1	100%
(after resurrection)	1	100%
(When )	1 ()	100%
	1-2	100%
	2-4	100%
	1-4	100%
	1-6 (depends on level)	100%
	2-3	100%
	4-6	100%
	2-5 (per segment)	100%

Usage

GeneralAncient PseudoscienceSurvivor specificRefueling

×7

×4

×8

×5

×5

×4

×6

×4

×4

×4

×8

×6

×4

×4

×4

×4

×4

×4

×4

×4

×6

×4

×4

×5

×5

×50

×9

×4

×10

×8

Clockmaker's Tools will not be consumed.

×8

×4

Item	Name	Refuel
	Magiluminescence	37.5%
	Shadow Thurible	33%
	Alarming Clock	25%
	Bone Armor	25%
	Codex Umbra	25%
	The Lazy Forager	22%

Trivia

• The term "nightmare fuel" is a common phrase on the Internet used to describe works of fiction, or scenes therein, that are extremely likely to disturb and/or frighten the audience.
• When left to unsettle on the ground, Nightmare Fuel appears as shifting, writhing goo.
• Maxwell, upon examining the Ancient Guardian, says "My my, the fuel has changed you." This implies that prolonged exposure to Nightmare Fuel can alter creatures in some significant way. This is also proven by the ability to turn Chester into his shadow form via Nightmare Fuel.

Gallery

• 

  Original HD icon from Bonus Materials from CD Don't Starve.
• 

  Dropped Nightmare Fuel.
• 

  A closed Nightmare Fissure in a Cave with Nightmare Fuel on the ground, which was dropped from Shadow Creatures.
• 

  A deactivated Nightmare Light in the Ruins with Nightmare Fuel dropped from Shadow Creatures.

ResourcesCraftable Items

DSRoGSWHamDST