The Gorge was an Event exclusive to Don't Starve Together, the second in a series of planned Events by Klei. It followed after the first event, The Forge. The Gorge was a 3-person challenge involving cooking, farming, and gathering ingredients.
A beta of the event started on June 12, 2018, and ran until the official event went live on June 14, 2018. On July 6, 2018, The Gorge Tournament was announced which offered prizes including exclusive Portrait Frames and Profile Icons.[1] After the event ended on July 17, 2018, Klei Entertainment published several official statistics.
After barely escaping through the Molten Gateway, our survivors plummet headfirst into the ruins of a sickly city ruled by a ravenous beast. Work together to cook fine dishes and placate the Eternal Gnaw's hunger to avoid the curse of its terrible plague. Cook well enough, and you may even get to go home.
Game Mode Description: Cook delicious dishes to appease the Eternal Gnaw in this Gate Realm. * Enter the world through the Mossy Gateway. * No nighttime. * Use what you can find to cook offerings for the altar!
Players could join other players either via Quick Match (which dropped them into the best server the matchmaker could find) or by manually browsing available servers. Alternatively, a player could request a custom server via Custom Match, allowing them to set the server's name, description, password and whether or not it was associated with a Steam Group. All Gorge matches took place on specially dedicated servers, and as such, players could host their own Gorge servers.
It was not necessary to have a full set of three players to start a match, though it was recommended to do so. A round would begin either when all three player slots were filled up, or when all players in an incomplete party voted to begin without the full three.
Gameplay
Characters have no Health, Hunger or Sanity, and only five inventory slots (four normal ones and a Hand slot). Characters spawn at the Mossy Gateway. The game is governed by the Gnaw's Hangry Meter, which depletes over time. The players have to snackrifice dishes on the Altar of Gnaw, which grant the players rewards in coins. Coins can be used to buy more cookware kits and other supplies. More valuable coins can get the players better supplies and more points. The following are the types of coins and their point value:
Old Coin: 1 = 1 point.
Sapphire Medallion: 1 = 28 points, 2 = 84 points.
Red Mark: 1 = 98 points, 2 = 294 points.
Gnaw's Favor: 1 = 343 points.
These points are used to calculate the total Appeasement Points at the end of the match. Appeasement Points are calculated by adding all the snackrifice points, multiplying that by 1000, then dividing the product by the total number of seconds.[2]
The amount and types of coins earned from a snackrifice varies depending on the following factors:
Type of dish: Dishes that are made with more valuable ingredients give better rewards.
Type of craving: Snackrificing a dish that matches the craving will give optimal rewards.
Freshness: All dishes will lose freshness over time. The fresher they are, the better the rewards.
Type of plating: There are Silver Bowls and Plates which can be bought from Mumsy for two Sapphire Medallions. They can also be found in Safes, which need to be unlocked with Keys bought from the Swamp Pig Elder for three Salts. Silver plating greatly improves the coinage earned.
The first craving is always a Snack. After the first dish is snackrificed, the Gnaw will have a different craving to be fulfilled, as told by Mumsy. This goes on until the player party earns at least three Gnaw's Favors, which can be used to obtain the Ancient Key from Mumsy. To win the game, the player party must put the Ancient Key in the Altar of Gnaw before the meter fully runs out.
Character Specialties
This lists the special abilities of all The Gorge characters.
Escape with all cooked meals having one or more meat ingredients (Meat Scraps, Salmon, Meat, or Crab Meat)
20,000
Meaty Neglect
Escape without any meals cooked with meat ingredients (Meat Scraps, Salmon, Meat, or Crab Meat)
20,000
Three Many Cooks
Play a 3-player match where everyone has a turn to cook and complete at least two meals
5,000
Snack of All Trades
Cook and complete at least one meal using a Large Grill, a Large Cookpot, and a Large Casserole Dish, respectively
5,000
Marked For Red
Find or earn 3 or more Red Marks in one match
5,000
Gather 'Round the Sapphire
Find or earn 3 or more Sapphire Medallions in one match
1,000
Victory
Requirement
XP
Escape!
Activate the Ancient Gateway and escape the Gorge
10,000
No Silver Linings
Escape the Gorge without offering any silver plated meals to the Gnaw
30,000
Sodi-yum
Escape the Gorge without offering the Gnaw any salted meals
20,000
Taste Maker
Escape the Gorge without failing to fulfill any cravings
20,000
No Repeater Eater
Escape the Gorge without offering any duplicate meals
20,000
Cooked to Perfection
Escape the Gorge without having burned or ruined any meals
10,000
Zero-Wait Stall
Escape the Gorge by offering 7 meals or less
30,000
Quick Lunch
Escape the Gorge by offering 10 meals or less
20,000
Flavorville
Escape the Gorge having fulfilled 18 or more of the Gnaw's cravings
30,000
Gnaw's Gnosh
Escape the Gorge having fulfilled 15 or more of the Gnaw's cravings
20,000
Offerings
Requirement
XP
Fast Food
Sacrifice something the Gnaw is craving 3 times in 3 minutes
10,000
Favored
Earn the Gnaw's Favor
5,000
Marked
Find or earn a Red Mark
1,000
Gnaw In The Sky With Sapphires
Find or earn a Sapphire Medallion
500
Spoiled Wyrm
Sacrifice something the Gnaw is craving at least 9 times in one match
5,000
Eternal Cravings
Sacrifice something the Gnaw is craving at least 6 times in one match
1,000
Cheat Day
Sacrifice something the Gnaw is craving at least 3 times in one match
500
Cooking
Requirement
XP
Master Chef
Discover all possible recipes.
30,000
It's Not Raw
Cook at least 6 meals from start to finish in a single match, without burning any of them
1,000
Great Victorian Cook Off
Cook a meal
500
Big Meal
Cook and complete at least one meal using a Large Grill, Large Pot or Large Casserole Dish
500
Bake Boss
Cook and complete at least one meal using an oven, a pot, and a grill, respectively
500
The Silver Gullet
Increase the value of a dish by plating it in a silver plate or bowl
500
Farming
Requirement
XP
Reap What You Sow
Sow at least 30 seeds in a single match
1000
Premium Plant Food
Fertilize at least 20 crops in a single match
500
Dawn Till Dusk
Till at least 50 farm plots in a single match
500
Sowing Machine
Sow one or more of each type of seed
500
Resource Collection
Requirement
XP
The Landed Land Crab
Catch a Pebble Crab
1,000
Chopped
Chop and gather 80 logs or more in a single match
500
Finders, Keepers
Unlock at least one safe
500
Extra Sappy
Gather sap from Sugarwood trees 9 times or more in a single match
500
The Spice of Strife
Grind 5 teaspoons of spice in a single match
500
The Gorge Tournament
The Gorge Tournament began on July 10, 2018, and ran until July 17, 2018. To enter, players had to play a regular match and earn the following four badges:
Victory
No Failed Offerings
No Repeat Meals
No Duplicate Survivors
Earning other badges would not effect the entry. Getting these four badges granted the player a Tournament Entry badge. Their score would be added to the leaderboard, which was viewable on the Gorge Recipe Book page under the Tournament section. Players could enter multiple times to improve their score.[2]
The prizes given out for each tier are the following:
The Gold prizes for the top 1-3 player team included a Golden Icon of Gnaw and a Golden Cornucopia Portrait as well as a Survivors and Belongings Chest.
The Silver prizes for the top 5 teams of 1-3 players included a Sterling Icon of Gnaw and a Sterling Cornucopia Portrait as well as the Belongings Chest.
The Bronze prizes for the top 100 teams included a Burnished Icon of Gnaw and a Burnished Cornucopia Portrait as well as 25 Gnaw's Chests.
All other players who participated but did not rank received an Icon of Gnaw.
Tips
There is a patch of pre-grown Potatoes by the Swamp Pig Village, yielding 4 Potatoes and 2 Rot. Harvesting them will allow the team to get a head start on making food, especially since 3 potatoes makes a meal that counts as a snack at any cooking station: Potato Pancakes on the Grill, Potato Soup in the Cooking Pot, and Potato Chips in the Oven.
Dishes that give Gnaw's Favors and the equipment used to make them (as well as other dishes that produce the currency needed to buy that equipment, earlier on) should be prioritized.
It is possible to access seeds for Garlic and Toma Root without buying the Iron Key (and access to Pipton) by buying the Packet of Mixed Seeds.
Since most picked food items rot quickly it is not recommended to harvest all Berries or Foliage until they are needed. This also applies to fully formed plant crops as most will eventually rot/wither away. However, even if picked just before the plant crops rot they will give the vegetable at full durability.
One of the easiest dishes to make is Stone Soup, requiring only 1 Rock, 1 Berry and 1 Foliage. It grants 10 Old Coins if given as a Snack. It can also be used for a Soup craving for slightly less coins.
Trivia
The Gorge, through its associated Skins, was first made known to players through an accidental leak on May 23, 2018, where the event was called the Quagmire.
At that time, the world in The Gorge called the "Elder Bog", this name was removed when the event was officially launched.[3]
The event is associated with the Culinarian and Victorian Skin sets.
On June 14, 2018, Klei posted a link to a Recipe Book that contains all recipes that have been discovered so far.
The Gorge was originally planned to end on July 9, 2018, but was extended to July 16, 2018. This change was announced on July 6, 2018. On the same day, the game was updated to include the Gorge Mastery accomplishments.
Klei merchandise was originally also planned as prizes for the Gorge Tournament, but this was dropped due to legal complications.[4]
Players were able to die by placing Logs near a Campfire next to the Swamp Pig Elder and taking a fatal amount of fire damage. However, they could be revived by other players much like in The Forge. If all players are dead or are not resurrected, they would remain deceased until mermification, where the players would be revived just to be turned into merms. This mechanic was removed in a later update.
There are many references in the achievement names:
"Chopped", "Master Chef", and "Bake Boss" may be references to cooking game shows Chopped, MasterChef, and Cake Boss respectively.
"It's Not Raw" may be referring to a meme involving celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay criticizing the poor cooking skills of contestants on the game show Hell's Kitchen, yelling "It's raw!"
Wendy's ability to be able to use grills more efficiently may be a reference to the Wendy's restaurant chain.
Despite the fact that Warly, Wurt, Wormwood, Wortox, and Walter were added to the game after this event, they have quotes for some things from the event.
So in this way, during the defeat in the event, Wurt says "We win! No? Glurp...". This is due to the fact that she's already a Merm.
While exploring the portal in the world of The Gorge, Wortox will say "A way out or in, depending who you are."
When defeated, Walter says "Oh well, we can just try again right? Right..." which most likely breaks the fourth wall.
Gallery
Don't Starve Together Event The Gorge
Announcement Trailer.
A promo for the Gorge in Rhymes with Play #184.
A promotional image for Rhymes with Play #187.
The game image for Don't Starve Together on Steam during the Gorge event.
An image for the Gorge event extension and tournament announcement, posted by Klei Entertainment on July 6, 2018.
↑old Mossy Gateway Portrait description: "After defeating Battlemaster Pugna and reactivating the Molten Gateway, the survivors found themselves flung into the plagued Gate Realm of the Elder Bog.", old Gnaw Worshipper Portrait description: "Many residents of the Elder Bog turned to worshipping the Gnaw, hoping to be spared from its terrible plague."