Generally, the kinds of "Griefing" you should be doing are the things that aren't actually destructive. Where's the fun in burning a base down, just to be kicked and having it be rollbacked anyway? Ideally, it should be something everyone can find a little entertaining.

A majority of the stuff I'll be listing doesn't require a ton of supplies or end-game items, so they are reasonable to perform on short-term public servers without going ruins rushing or something. For the few that are more suited for longer running servers, I'll specify that. None of these require PvP to be enabled–like I said, not fun that way. If that's your game, go stick a spider egg on spawn (least grief spawn protection is a thing now).

Finally, I'll be listing these under sections ranging from "pretty much harmless" to "you should REALLY consider who you'll be doing these to".

Simple, easy things to do that aren't gonna really hurt anyone's bases or healthbars.


Only a few boards and you can go nuts with your comments on the world. Point the way to base, in the wrong direction. Leave reviews on people's bases and biomes. Worth noting that anything you type on a sign will be read by other players as if they are saying it; whether you make it insulting or not is up to you.
I find other players tend to join in with this one.






Got skins? The clean sweeper is much easier to craft than it used to be. Sure, you COULD change the entire base setup. Or, you could change only one thing in a group of items, like a bundle of crockpots or row of walls, to really upset some people.




No, I don't mean with spiders, Webber mains. There are a couple creatures that can be caught, kept in inventory, and will not despawn once released into some poor sucker's base. Drop a few, or grab a dozen. Watch your teammates run around chasing the things!
In general, these options are completely harmless, though depending on how many you manage to catch, it could harm someone's frame rate.

1. Rabbits: Easy to find in groups. Downside is that when the victim is insane, the resulting Beardlings may reduce their sanity further. Can just be chased off to get rid of them after, caught in traps, or chased into other swinging players.
   
2. Butterflies: Usually, these despawn at dusk into a nearby flower. However, if there isn't a flower around, they seem to stick around. So, this becomes an options if all the flowers in the base area have been picked. Very easy to get rid of after; just plant a flower with one, and all nearby loose butterflies will fly over and despawn.
   
3. Bulbous Lightbug: If you've found the Lunar Mushtree Biome, these are a fun option. Catch them with a bug net after picking the plant. Released on base, they might even be appreciated– free infinite light! You could just smack 'em to get rid of them.
   
4. Carrats: These will mess with new players, who will be questioning where all those carrots came from–wait, are they moving? Either find the Lunar Island and dig them up with a shovel, or the Lunar Mushtrees, where you can grab them when they fall from the ceiling during earthquakes. To get rid of them, either pick them and chase them off, or dig them back up again.

Remember, it's free food afterwards!




Better for individual bases on more longer-term servers, where people might actually notice when you change the bird. Either something simple like changing a redbird to a crow, or, on even longer servers, using one of those zombie moon birds. See how long it takes for the owner to notice!
Maybe consider keeping the original bird and giving it back later. You never know who's getting attached to their fake video game bird.




Want some gunpowder?
You know what? Let us just move on.

What's life without a little risk? Things here have a slight chance of getting the victim a bite or two, but they will very likely be no real consequences. For the most part.




Everyone loves Beefalo! Drag a few over with a Beefalo Bell, either by making a few Bells or breaking the bond and making a couple trips. A salt lick can be placed by spawn to keep them there if they aren't bonded.
Players spawning will be instantly greeted, and those hanging around the area during a Hound wave will have protection!
Now you might be thinking, "Won't they kill people when they're in heat?" Well, luckily, Grief Spawn Protection exists, giving new player a fair amount of invulnerability when they first spawn in, so you don't need to murder the group come Spring.
Sure, this protection only lasts for so long, so anyone with the audacity to spawn in the first few days of Winter to hang out near the portal and wait for an escort will be sent to their ancestors faster than they can type "where base", but it's not like that's gonna happen often.




Is it Halloween? This is probably the most fun of the potions, though it requires a trip to the Lunar Island to create. Bring some weird mobs from the lunar lands over to the mainland!

Many of the less dangerous mobs you can turn could simply be brought over from the island, so it would not be for that. Might freak out a newer player to see inside-out Hound or skeletal Pengull.




In a survival situation, you need to stay on your toes. When a group is relaxing by a fire pit, throw a water balloon to make sure they are paying attention.
Okay, this one could get you kicked. So pull up your own lantern afterwords to ensure nobody actually get bit by Charlie. And then apologize.




So the bunnies and butterflies weren't enough? Have you tried bees?
They can't be chased off, and while they are generally docile, they'll attack in groups is angered. They aren't so bad to take care off by kiting, and players who don't want to challenge them can ignore them. Just don't do this in Spring, and if the season rolls around and there are still some there, dispatch them yourself.




WILL YOU SHUT UP
Requirements: WX-78, a trip to Pearl's Island.
Technically, this is beneficial to your teammates. Though it aids the in-game mind, it damages the real one.

Things get a little dangerous from this point on. Still, it's not "let Deerclops roam the base" levels of bad, and victims won't necessarily get hurt, so it's still fine, right?
Have Fun! Getting kicked, cause I'm pretty sure it's just griefing at this point.


If the previous animals weren't annoying enough.

1. Killer Bees: Bees, but aggro on sight, so can't be ignored. Oh joy.
   
2. Spider Varieties: Webber Mains do this for a living! Can't you put your cave spiders somewhere else?
   
3. Moonblind Crow/Misshapen Birds: Honestly, if you can go through the effort of catching a bunch of these in bird traps to place them, I can't even be mad. Or just wait for the next moonstorm to do it for you.

For some reason, when this item is activated, it doesn't always aggro on the person who activated it (even though it really should). This often results in some dude activating it and setting loose an eldritch horror on some unsuspecting survivor.
At least it's really easy to run from!




Just leave a piece of gunpowder somewhere around base. It's likely that someone will just pick it up and put it away, of course. Or, you might see which one of your teammates can't resist. After all, with the powder right there, all it takes is a torch.

If you have a nice base on your public server, and are concerned about griefers, I highly recommend a "faux base". Something near spawn, with some very basic necessities (crockpot+fridge with ice, berry bushes, rabbit traps, crafting stations, chests etc.) that you can lead new players too, say by signs. If the don't destroy the faux base after a few days, lead them to your real one if you want.
I remember seeing this solution a while ago, and I wish I could remember who suggested it.

I'm not going to go too much into detail for these, you can figure it out. I will try to mention ways to prevent them, as well.
Luckily, many of these are a bit too much work for your average griefer. They aren't good for most public servers anyway.

Go ahead and take the quotations off the title.




Fun fact: When a moleworm attempts to pick up a piece of gunpowder, it automatically detonates it. If you manage to hide both during the day, then leave the area, the result won't happen till after you're gone.
This one doesn't have to be destructive. Placed somewhere near enough to base to be heard, but not near enough to cause a fire, makes a good way to give your teammates a heart attack. Of course, there can still be a problem if one of them tries to stop the moleworm, since the explosion is VERY sudden.

Listen for moleworms at your base! Not just because of this, but because moleworms are horrible. Speaking of which–




You MONSTER. Dig up the holes before transport.




Not only are there two, but they are faster and more dangerous, and will spawn babies everywhere. In addition, if not fought, it resets the terrarium.
Who they aggro on is random. Hopefully it's on you, though.
If you see the phrase "This is going to be a terrible night..." in the chat area, just be ready to run for it.




If Krampus appears out of nowhere in your group base, just remember, innocent creatures murdered in inventory still count towards a player's Naughtiness. If someone has been catching a lot of butterflies and you haven't seen any new flowers planted lately, they might be to blame.

Remember, you can catch Krampus with ranged weapons, or whack him while he tries to pick up an item. He does a fair amount of damage, with a fast kite, but if defeated, he'll drop everything he's picked up.




Oh. Good luck with that.
Maybe don't tell anyone about your cave base.

I've never tried the "pranks" in the final two sections on public servers (other than the leave around gunpowder one, just to see), and I don't recommend you do either. Honestly, they are mostly either to warn players of tricker ways to grief, or to use on long-term servers against crappy players who won't leave, in a slightly more insulting way than just Use A Hammer.

Things in the first category aren't a big deal, and are mildly entertaining. Second category can be funnier, long as you aren't a jerk about it (but not everyone will always be entertained). Just keep in mind who you are playing with, and be ready to apologize and if it's not taken well by everyone.

And clean up after yourself! Especially with those Infestation ones. Funny for five minutes, annoying after that.

All crappy screenshots by me.