Max health

Screenshot of a character with the highest possible max health stat in 0.5.2.1.

Max (maximum) health is a character's complete health bar. While the current health level may be depleted by damage and refilled by healing, up to the amount of the max health stat.

Various sources can increase a character's max health stat, over the course of game progression. This guide explains all the ways to do this and shows off the highest character health currently possible after a fresh start.

Starting Health

New characters all start at 100 maximum health.

Health (100) and hunger (60%) bars of a new character.

Permanent max health foods

There are several hard to find food items that permanently raise a character's base max health stat. Although they may be consumed multiple times, each one can only apply its unique permanent health buff once per character. The permanent max health foods may be cooked, but their buff does not scale up with dish rarity modifiers.

Icon	Food	Source	Max Health
	Giant Mushroom	• MushroomsArea Scene in Dirt Biome or The Clay Caves. • Shrooman (0.22% drop chance).	+25
	Amber Larva	• Amber Boulder Scene in The Forgotten Ruins. • Biome chests in Larva Hive Biome. • Ghorm the Devourer (0.21% drop chance).	+50
	Starlight Nautilus	Lava fishing loot (Molten Quarry sub-biome).	+100
	Golden Chocolate	Luxury Winter Present (1.67% drop chance). Christmas Seasonal Event.	+28
	Anniversary Cake	Sold by Seasonal Merchant.	+27
Combined Total		One of each permanent health food buff	+230

Old Giant Mushrooms and Amber Larva can still be applied an unlimited number of times. But they became impossible to acquire in worlds made since update 0.4.7.

Skills

Vitality

Vitality skill experience, from killing enemies, adds one max health for each level in this skill, up to a maximum of +100 max health.

Additionally, the Maxed out! talent, at the top of the vitality skill tree, increases a player's maximum health by 6, 12, 18, 24 or 30 percent of the character's total number of levels across all skills. At most, with 5 points in Maxed out! and all 9 skill trees at the maximum 100 levels, that adds up to an additional +270 max health.

Note: resetting the vitality skill tree, using 200Ancient Coins, will removed the health buff from Maxed out!. Until skill points are reallocated.

Well Fed

New characters have a +5% increased max health buff from being well fed. That is if their food bar is at 85% or higher.

Healthy diet talent in the Cooking skill tree increases the strength of the well fed buff by 20 to 100% (with 5 points in). This can double it from +5% to +10% increased max health.

Not so picky talent in the Cooking skill tree can reduce the food bar requirement for well fed down to 75% (with 5 points in).

Gear

Most Armor items and various Accessories give an increased max health when they are equipped. These items have the highest value for each slot:

Icon	Item	Acquisition	Max Health (reinforced)
	Miner's Protective Helm	Loot from Smoldering Chest found in Molten Quarry	+40 (+46)
	Ivy's Thorn Harness	Dropped by Ivy the Poisonous Mass	+70 (+80)
	Ivy's Pants	Dropped by Ivy the Poisonous Mass	+65 (+75)
	Oceanheart Necklace	Loot from the Beached Caveling Ship Scene in The Sunken Sea	+42
	Nomad Ring	• Random loot from unlocking Galaxite Chest • Loot from destructible objects in The Desert of Beginnings	+46 x 2
	Oracle Deck	Crafted using Thread of Fate from The Desert of Beginnings	+48
	Rune Song	Crafted using Rune Parchment, etc	+62
Combined Total		Equipping all the above items with the highest Max Health stats	+419 (+445)

Temporary max health foods

Consuming the following foods gives an increase to maximum health that ends after a number of minutes, when the buff runs out.

Note: Long-lasting food can increase the duration of these temporary food buffs by up to 30%. From 5 minutes (at base) increased up to 6 minutes and 30 seconds (with 5 points in the skill tree talent).

Food

The buff from this uncookable food does not stack with the same buff type from cooked food. The last consumed currently overwrites any previously consumed, even if they were stronger and longer duration.

Sprite	Name	Buff	Acquisition
	Glazed Heart Berry	+65 max health for 5 min	Purchased from a Vending Machine

Cooked food

See the cooking ingredients list to see all food's buffs for each food.

Sprite	Name	Max health buff when cooked			First Acquisition
		Regular	Rare	Epic
	Heart Berry	+25 for 5 min	+31 for 5 min	+37.5 for 5 min	Dirt Biome
	Giant Mushroom	+24 for 5 min	+30 for 5 min	+36 for 5 min	Dirt Biome
	Emerald Feather Fish	+29 for 5 min	+36 for 5 min	+43.5 for 5 min	Azeos' Wilderness
	Amber Larva	+52 for 5 min	+65 for 5 min	+78 for 5 min	The Clay Caves or The Forgotten Ruins
	Golden Heart Berry	+50 for 5 min	+62.5 for 5 min	+75 for 5 min	Expert gardener
	Sandy Spikeback	+78 for 5 min<	+97.5 for 5 min	+117 for 5 min	Fishing The Desert of Beginnings

The current highest temporary max health buff is +117 health. This if from combining Sandy Spikeback with a golden veg (or Starlight Nautilus), for increased rarity, and also getting a lucky Master chef talent proc on an bonus dish, when removing cooked food from a pot. Which elevates it again to epic (+50% increase to stats).

Highest max health

Adding up all the buffs from above, to find the highest character health currently achievable with a new character in a new world:

Source	Max health added
Base character starting health	100
Permanent max health foods - One of each consumed	+230
Vitality - 1 hp per vitality level	+100
Maxed out! - talent (with 5 points allocated) adding 30% of all skill levels	+270
Gear - All the best equipment (reinforced) and holding best weapon	+445
Temporary max health food - Epic cooked Sandy Spikeback	+117
Well Fed - Multiplier of 10%	x 1.1
Total (rounded down)	1385

History

• 0.5.2.1 - Guide created