Rust
Facepunch Studios and Facepunch Studios | Released on Feb 8, 2018
- 8.0
- GW Score
- 78
- Metacritic
- 69%
- Community
About Rust
Rust is the definitive multiplayer survival experience, a brutal and uncompromising sandbox where every interaction is a high-stakes gamble for survival. Developed by Facepunch Studios, this game strips away traditional narratives, placing you as a naked survivor in a hostile, player-driven world where the only rule is to outlast everyone else by any means necessary.
Moment-to-moment gameplay is a tense cycle of scavenging, crafting, and fortifying against relentless threats. You must manage core survival needs like Hunger and Thirst while harvesting resources to craft tools, weapons, and ultimately, a secure base. Progression is earned through finding Blueprint Fragments and utilizing Workbenches to unlock everything from simple bows to assault rifles. The true core loop, however, revolves around base building for defense and the ever-present specter of PvP combat, where a single encounter can mean the loss of everything you've gathered. Servers operate on persistent wipe cycles, ensuring a fresh, anarchic start for all players on a regular cadence.
What sets Rust apart is its complete dedication to emergent, player-created stories within a stark, post-apocalyptic setting. The world is dotted with hand-crafted Monuments like the heavily guarded Launch Site or the puzzle-filled Military Tunnels, offering high-risk rewards for those brave enough to contest them against both AI Scientists and other players. The environment itself tells a subtle lore of collapse, but the standout feature is the unfiltered social experiment it fosters, where fleeting alliances and inevitable betrayals are the real narrative. This is amplified by systems like Tool Cupboards for base control and the constant threat of raiding, making every decision carry significant weight.
For over a decade, Rust has maintained a formidable legacy as one of the most intense and influential games in the survival genre. It appeals to those who crave a pure, unforgiving test of skill, strategy, and social cunning, where patience and paranoia are vital virtues. Its enduring popularity is a testament to the compelling, often brutal drama that can only emerge when players are given total freedom to cooperate, conquer, and survive against all odds.
Review Verdict
A peerless survival titan that generates unmatched adrenaline through high-stakes social drama. While its brutal learning curve and toxic community are daunting, its depth is unrivaled.
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Codex
57 entries28 linked- SurvivalGuideThe fundamental need to manage Hunger, Thirst, Health, and Radiation while avoiding environmental hazards like cold; supported by systems like farming for sustainable food and hydration.
- Crafting & ProgressionKnowledge is unlocked through Blueprint Fragments, a Research Table, Tech Trees and Workbenches. Workbench Level 1 is the first real gate: it unlocks gunpowder (20 sulfur + 30 charcoal for 10) and basic firearms. 12 Gauge Buckshot and Slug need Workbench Level 2; Metal Pipes need Workbench Level 3; Rope is not craftable at any tier.
- Resource GatheringGuideResources are harvested with the matching tool, and nodes are pure by type: stone nodes give only stone, sulfur only sulfur, metal only metal. A metal node gives 250-600 metal ore depending on the tool, plus a fixed 2 High Quality Metal Ore delivered in its finishing bonus, so a node abandoned half-mined pays no HQM at all. Hotspots pay 150% per hit rising to 300% on consecutive hits, but they only make a node come apart faster - the node’s total yield does not increase.
- Building & Base FortificationConstructing shelters using a Building Plan and Hammer, then securing them with Tool Cupboards, locks, and traps.
- CombatFirst-person combat with projectile drop, weapon durability and clothing-based armor. Melee headshots deal 2x. Armor lists melee and projectile protection separately, and helmets resist melee far harder than bullets — a Metal Facemask blocks 70% of melee against 50% of projectiles.
- RaidingUsing explosives to breach bases, often occurring as 'offline raids' where attackers strike while defenders are logged off.
- Wipe CyclesPeriodic server resets that clear all player-built structures and progress to ensure a fresh start for the community.
- Electricity & AutomationGuideAdvanced systems allowing players to wire bases for power, lighting, and industrial automation, including automated irrigation and lighting for farming.
- FarmingGuideA survival system for growing corn, pumpkins, and berries using planters, irrigation, and genetic crossbreeding to optimize yield and growth rates.
- Build Server PracticeGuideA repeatable method for testing a base’s airlock, core route, roof access, defender movement, deployables, and upkeep assumptions before rebuilding it on live terrain.
- Team system and alliancesGuideThe team system identifies members on the map, shares markers and team chat, while alliances with other groups remain player-made agreements with separate access rules.
- Environmental HazardsGuideCold, heat and drowning are decided by loadout rather than location. Wetness is tracked separately from temperature and is what makes cold lethal; overheating is usually caused by high cold protection near a heat source; and every item that lets you breathe underwater is loot- or vendor-only.
- Recycler EfficiencyMonument recyclers return 60% of an item’s value and safe-zone recyclers (Outpost, Bandit Camp, Fishing Village) return 40%, so a monument recycler pays exactly 1.5x on everything, scrap included, and processes each item about 3 seconds faster. Road Signs, Tech Trash, Metal Springs, Metal Pipes and Sheet Metal average 1.2 High Quality Metal at a monument; weapon bodies average 1.8. Gears and Metal Blades yield no HQM anywhere.
Guides & Articles
25Guide
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Rust Monument Puzzles: The Card Is Free, the Fuse Is Not
Green keycards are free at ten monuments and no vendor sells one any more. The only thing a Rust puzzle run really costs is an Electric Fuse — and here is where to spend your first one.
Who Are Rust’s Scientists? Facepunch’s Confirmed Roles and Lore Limits
A source-backed history of Rust’s Scientists, from junkpile researchers and monument patrols to NVG and naval variants—and the lore Facepunch has not confirmed.
Rust's Nuclear Missile Silo: The Countdown Names the Cycle, Not the Cause
The laptop wired to the warhead is the one place Rust names its own premise out loud — and the clock beside it is just your server's wipe timer.
Rust Fishing Village Guide: Vendors, Missions, and an Ocean Farming Base
Use Fishing Village missions, vendors, and shore traps to build a practical ocean-farming loop without mistaking it for a recycler base.
Rust HQM Farming: There Is No High Quality Metal Node
There is no HQM node in Rust. A metal node pays exactly two ore whatever you swing, so your real High Quality Metal comes from recyclers, wrecks, crates and diesel — and armor bills you daily.
Rust Components Guide: Keep a Crafting Reserve, Scrap the Rest
Stop hoarding every Rust component. Build minimum reserves for Gears, Springs, Tech Trash, and weapon bodies, then recycle the true surplus.
List
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Best Rust Monuments for Solos: Rank the Exit, Not the Loot
Loot per run is the wrong way to rank Rust monuments for a solo. Score them on recycler, cover and exits instead and the order flips, with the Dome finishing last.
Rust Armor Tier List: From Cloth to Heavy Plate
A current Rust armor ranking built on comparable regional protection, from Burlap and Road Sign to Metal, Heavy Plate, and Ballistic Armour.
Rust Early Game Weapons: The 5 You Can Afford to Lose
Rust's early weapons look like a damage ranking. Price them by what they cost to build and to keep loaded, and the order flips — starting with a bow you can throw away.
Screenshots
