The first few hours of a wipe on Rust island are the most treacherous. Spawn beach is densely populated with players who have just joined the server, and chaos ensues. Those with a head start will have spears, but the majority of people will be duking it out with rocks.
Instead of dealing with the madness that is the spawn area, gamers will want to move out to one of several strategic locations. Just like real-life survival, collecting the essentials will ensure players get off to a quick start as they learn how to play Rust.
Choosing A Server
Picking the right server will have an immense impact on the user experience. The best server for a particular person will depend on how they want to play the game. PVP servers are the most hectic but also the most exciting. Some people enjoy more of an RP/PVE experience, meeting other users and building elaborate structures.
Before choosing a server, it might be beneficial to play on an empty server or test server to get a feel for the game. After deciding what type of server to play, choosing a populated server is almost always the recommended way to play. More players means more action and interaction on the island. Beginners should look around as there are an endless number of options to choose from.
First Steps
Every map on Rust is randomly generated. That means it will look different on every wipe/server. However, the points of interest or "monuments" remain the same no matter what the actual layout of the map looks like.
After spawning in, people will want to plot their next move. Obviously, getting far from the spawn point is a good idea. One of the best areas to set up a day one shelter is at a fishing camp. There are several of these on the island and they all have the necessary resources for survival. Once the intended destination is marked, high tail it in the direction of the camp on the map.
Gather The Essentials
The early wipe essential resources in Rust are Stone, Wood, and Hemp. These three items will allow players to craft weapons, clothing, and shelter relatively quickly. While moving to the fishing camp, people can collect enough of these materials to craft a small 2X2 shelter for the nighttime.
New players will want to move quickly and get a small shelter up before nightfall. Hemp is crucial because it is the main material needed to craft a sleeping bag. When a player dies, they respawn at the location of the last sleeping bag they crafted. Also, Hemp can be used to craft an early game outfit.
- Wood: Everywhere on the island. Use a stone to knock down trees and collect Wood.
- Stone: Shining rock clusters, often near mountains and larger boulders. Use a stone or simple Stone Axe to mine.
- Hemp: Small green plant, looks identical to its real-life cousin.
Food
Eventually, players will need to get their hands on some food to survive. Characters have a base 60/100 health when they spawn into the map. Getting that number to 100 will help people survive the many hazards on the map. The easiest place to find food is on the shores of rivers. There will be plenty of pumpkins and mushrooms available to pick and eat. Later in the wipe, players will have weapons they can use to hunt animals. Animal meat restores more health than plants.
Craft A Weapon
With just 100 Stone and 200 Wood, Rust users can craft a simple Stone Axe. This will likely be the first weapon people craft because it can also be used to chop down trees quicker.
The next step will be crafting the most simple ranged weapon in the game, the Hunting Bow. The only materials needed are Wood and Cloth. Cloth can be harvested from Hemp, but it is also a byproduct of animals in Rust. The Hunting Bow is silent and can take down opponents in PVP situations. However, survivors will be much safer if they have a weapon that fires bullets.
Craft A Gun
The most basic gun in Rust is the Eoka pistol. To craft it, survivors will need to collect a new resource, Metal Fragments. At the fishing village, there will be plenty of metal items, including oil barrels that can be destroyed "scrapped" and turned into metal scrap.
To create Metal Fragments, people will need a recycler. These recyclers are in the Bandit Camp and Outpost, as well as many of the other points of interest on the map. Both the Bandit Camp and Outpost are neutral areas, no PVP can take place there. For that reason, these locations are good locations to build a base near.
Monuments And Radiation
The community has classified the places of interest on the island as monuments. Each of the monuments provides items to loot, with the larger monuments containing the most valuable resources. These monuments also attract the most players and have the highest levels of radiation. However, small monuments, like the fishing camps, have no radiation at all. That is yet another reason why the fishing camps or gas stations are ideal beginner areas to set up camp near. Small monuments have key resources, less traffic, and no radiation.
In order to handle the harsh radiation, as well as the cold weather on the map, people will need to craft clothes. A simple cloth outfit crafted from Hemp materials is a good start. Once beginners get comfortable and start hunting, they can craft leather armor. Leather armor provides more protection against attacks and radiation. Metal armor is the ideal protection from gunfire, while the Radiation Suit will help users survive near monuments.
Building A Base
Day 1 bases should be no more than a 2X2, which is simple enough to build. To start construction, newcomers need 20 Wood to get a building plan and 100 Wood to craft a hammer. From there, if the shelter has a floor, four walls, and a roof, it is sufficient. Stone is the most commonly used material because it is far easier to acquire than high-quality metal and it takes a ton of splash damage to destroy a Stone wall.
Without getting into too much detail, proper bases have metal doors with locks and multiple layers of protection. To put it simply, reinforced bases are hard to get into and have secret areas to store valuable loot. One thing newcomers will want to have is an airlock. Check out our Rust building guide for more information on building and airlocks.
Wipes In Rust
For those new to survival games, a wipe is essentially a server reset. On the last Thursday of every month, Rust resets its servers and all progress is erased. Wipes keep the game fresh by putting the community on a level playing field each month. Those that had a rough wipe can learn from their mistakes and have a better experience in the following month.
It is very important to begin playing the first few days of the wipe. After just a few days, skilled survivors will have good guns and a well-built base in place. An Eoka pistol is no match for military-grade weapons.
Later in the wipe, Rust users begin to seek out PVP and raid other bases. This is because successful squads have already crafted enough weapons to take down an entire Stone base. The game becomes less about survival and more about conquering the whole island. Being the top clan on the map is an unofficial but often sought title. For these advanced players, beginners in 2X2s will have absolutely no chance. Getting off to a quick start and potentially teaming up with others will give new survivors the best odds in a wipe.
Raiding
Infiltrating bases is an expensive and time-consuming process. Breaking through locked doors and Stone walls will take a lot of firepower. New raiders will want to get their hands on C4, which is actually not too difficult to craft. Although, it will take several C4 to crack open a base. Rocket Launchers are a top choice to deal out splash damage and destroy walls. Aiming between two walls will cause splash damage to both walls at the same time. Our raiding guide has more information for those interested.
Rust is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.