Rust Beginner's Guide

New to Rust? What to do in your first hour, how to build a base that survives, where to get scrap and how wipes work.

Updated 3 November 2026Checked for patch Livestock Update (October 2026)4 sources
Image: Facepunch / YouTube

Rust is Facepunch Studios' multiplayer survival game. You wake up on a beach with almost nothing, and everyone else on the server is trying to survive too – often by taking your stuff. You gather, craft, build a base, raid monuments and other players, and start again when the server wipes. It's on PC, and on PlayStation and Xbox as Rust Console Edition.

Your first hour

GatherYou spawn with a rock and a torch. Hit trees and stones for wood and stone, and pick up hemp for cloth.
Craft basic toolsMake a stone hatchet and pickaxe, a spear or bow, and a sleeping bag so you can respawn nearby.
Build a small basePlace a Building Plan foundation, walls and a door, then upgrade from twig to stone as fast as you can.
Place a Tool CupboardIt stops others building around you and keeps your base from decaying – as long as you stock it with materials.

Getting stronger

Farm scrapBreak barrels and loot crates on roads and small monuments, then recycle the components into scrap.
Learn blueprintsSpend scrap at a Research Table or on the Workbench tech trees to unlock new items for this wipe.
Workbench tiersLevel 1, 2 and 3 Workbenches unlock better weapons and gear step by step.
Use the safe zonesOutpost and Bandit Camp let you trade and recycle without being shot by players.
Trust nobody (at first)Most players you meet are hostile. Bank your loot in your base often instead of carrying it around.
Plan around wipe dayEverything resets with the monthly forced wipe – the first Thursday is the best time to start fresh.

Keep up with changes

See the monuments, the wipe schedule, every update since 2025, the latest patch notes and the trailers. Want a calmer project? Try taming and breeding cows and sheep.

Our Rust articles on this

Reference page written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games change with every patch – the patch this page was last checked for is shown at the top.