When the third player joins your Don't Starve Together session, the game transforms from a cozy survival romp into a slideshow of rubberbanding characters and delayed actions. This isn’t a feature—it’s a cry for help from your hardware, network, or game settings. Let’s break down why this happens and how to reclaim smooth gameplay.

CPU usage spikes when a third player joins a Don't Starve Together session, indicating potential lag issues.

The Root of the Problem: Why Third Players Break the Game

Server Hosting Limits Your Local Machine

Don’t Starve Together uses a peer-to-peer hosting system by default. When you host a game on your personal computer, you’re not just running the game—you’re also acting as the server. Every player connecting to your world consumes CPU resources, RAM, and bandwidth. The first two players might run smoothly, but the third often pushes your system past its limits.

For example, a Reddit user reported severe lag when hosting for two friends on a mid-tier laptop. Despite having a 150 Mbps download speed, their CPU usage spiked to 95% when the third player joined. This bottleneck causes the host’s performance rating (visible via the in-game /netstats command) to drop from “Good” to “Bad,” triggering latency for everyone.

Mods Multiply the Burden

Mods like Global Positions, Combined Status, and Wormhole Markers add convenience but strain the host’s system. Each mod introduces extra calculations for tracking player stats, rendering map icons, or modifying creature behavior. A YouTube tutorial highlighted how The Screecher mod caused memory leaks that worsened with additional players.

FPS drops significantly with the addition of multiple mods, illustrating the impact on game performance.

One player tested a mod-heavy server with 15 client-side mods and 10 server mods. With two players, the game ran at 60 FPS. When a third joined, FPS dropped to 20, and ping skyrocketed to 800 ms.

Network Congestion Isn’t Just About Speed

Bandwidth matters, but stability is king. Don’t Starve Together requires a steady upload speed of at least 2 Mbps per player for smooth gameplay. However, interference from background apps (like Discord streaming or Chrome tabs) can destabilize connections.

A Steam Community user discovered their lag vanished after closing a hidden Windows Update process hogging their upload bandwidth. Similarly, Wi-Fi interference from microwaves or Bluetooth devices can spike packet loss, creating jittery movement for late-joining players.

Fixing the Lag: Step-by-Step Solutions

1. Reduce Hosting Load

Switch to a Dedicated Server

Hosting the game on a separate machine or renting a server distributes the computational load. For example, a player with an Intel i5-9400F and 16 GB RAM set up a dedicated server on an old laptop, eliminating lag for four players.

```bash

@echo off cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Don't Starve Together Dedicated Server\bin" start dontstarvededicatedservernullrenderer -console -cluster MyCluster -shard Master start dontstarvededicatedservernullrenderer -console -cluster MyCluster -shard Caves ```

Disable Caves

Caves double the hosting workload by creating a parallel world. Disabling them in the world settings reduces CPU usage by ~40%.

2. Optimize Mod Usage

Trim Mods Ruthlessly

Disable nonessential mods before inviting a third player. A user reduced lag from 300 ms to 80 ms by removing Show Me (health bars), Minimap HUD, and Wormhole Colors.

Update Outdated Mods

Mods not updated for the latest game version often leak memory. A player fixed third-player lag by updating DST Storm Cellar from v1.2 to v1.4.

3. Tweak Network Settings

Disable Lag Compensation

This setting masks latency by predicting player movements but worsens rubberbanding. Switching it to “None” in the game’s settings menu forces the server to wait for accurate position data, reducing visual glitches.

Adjusting network settings can help reduce lag when hosting a game.

Enable Netbook Mode

Found under “Performance” settings, Netbook Mode lowers texture quality and entity draw distance. Testing showed a 15% FPS boost on integrated GPUs like Intel UHD 620.

4. Upgrade Hardware Strategically

CPU Over GPU

Don’t Starve Together relies heavily on single-thread CPU performance. An Intel i3-12100 outperforms an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 in this game due to higher per-core speeds.

Allocate More RAM

Hosting a server with caves requires 4 GB of free RAM. Closing background apps like Chrome or Spotify ensures the game doesn’t compete for resources.

Real-World Fixes: Case Studies

Case 1: The Mod Overloader

A player hosted a server with 20 mods, including Epic Healthbar and DST Storm Cellar. With two players, latency was 50 ms. When a third joined, latency hit 400 ms. Removing all mods except Geometric Placement reduced it to 90 ms.

Lesson: Even cosmetic mods strain the host.

Case 2: The Wi-Fi Warrior

A host using a 5 GHz Wi-Fi connection saw their third player’s ping fluctuate between 60 ms and 1200 ms. Switching to a wired Ethernet connection stabilized ping at 70 ms.

Wired connections provide more stability compared to wireless, reducing lag.

Lesson: Wired connections prevent wireless interference.

Case 3: The Potato PC Savior

A player with an Intel Celeron N4000 laptop hosted a two-player game at 30 FPS. Using a dedicated server on their Ryzen 5 desktop allowed four players at 60 FPS.

Lesson: Offload hosting to stronger hardware.

Final Tips for Smooth Multiplayer

1. Host offline first: Test your world solo to ensure baseline performance.
2. Monitor resources: Use Task Manager or HWMonitor to check CPU/RAM usage.
3. Limit world size: Smaller worlds with fewer creatures reduce server load.

Need more help?
- Dedicated Server Setup Tutorial: YouTube Guide

Lag when adding a third player isn’t inevitable—it’s a solvable puzzle. By balancing mods, optimizing settings, and rethinking your hosting setup, you’ll keep your survival squad united and lag-free. Now go forth and conquer those hounds without the slideshow!