Rust Beginners Guide 2022

Staying alive in Rust can be a challenge even for a veteran player, but for a noob, it’s a nightmare, which is why I have created the 2022 Rust survival guide to ensure no noob suffers again (Or at least as much).

Your chances of survival depend on what type of server you are planning to play, of course, PVP servers are much harder to survive on in any game, let alone Rust, which has a brutal community. There is also the option of modded vs vanilla too, with some mods offering protection for new players, if you plan to go PVP, modded might be the way to go.

But, if this is your first time playing, it’s worth checking out some PVE servers, as they are the easiest experience, and will let you learn the game without your base being destroyed overnight.

1. Pick the Right Server

Picking the right sever should be an obvious one, but it still needs to be said. Make sure that the server is in the right location for you, choosing one that is hosted on the other side of the planet is going to cause you serious lag issues.

Depending on who you play with can also impact the server you should choose, some restrict to smaller groups or even solo.

Picking a smaller community server or even running your own server might be the best option, joining a small community server means fewer players while you learn and admins to keep cheaters in check.

If you decide to run your own server, then you are in complete control of everything and will not have issues with cheaters, although you might lose some game time dealing with them.

Using the link below and the discount code: UNBOXEDREVIEWS you can get a 7-day free trial and 20% off your first month on a Rust server

2. Avoid Other Players (on PVP) Until You Are Ready to Fight

Whoever said “people are basically good” clearly never played Rust, most people will kill you on sight for the smallest bit of loot, if you don’t have any loot then they will just kill and eat you instead.

I know number 2 on this list is a contradiction to number 14, but your neighbors are an exception, just make sure you don’t have toxic ones before setting down roots.

Rust players are resourceful when it comes to raiding, even when you think you are ready for a fight, the chances are you are not quite there yet. Just make sure you have good defenses before picking a fight with anyone. Even if you win out in the wild, the chances are they will come knocking on your door soon enough.

3. Stock Up on Food

If you come across any barrels, you’ll like to find some ration boxes. You’ll discover food, water, and sometimes metal fragments. Not only that, once you’ve consumed a tin of food you can save the tin and smelt it down to make metal fragments.

Food crates can be found near rad towns, offering mid-game loot as well as food.

But the easiest way to get food when you are first starting out is to pick mushrooms and eat them and look for dead bodies to cook and eat. If you’re playing a fairly busy PVP server, you won’t have any issues stumbling across a few dead bodies.

It’s also worth noting that human meat does make you thirsty, so make sure you can get to a water source.

4. Make Basic Tools as Quick as Possible

You’ll want to start making basic tools once you get going. You can make tools such as a hammer for just 100 wood, a stone hatchet will cost 200 wood and 100 stones and a stone pickaxe will cost 200 wood and 100 stones.

Start by picking up your first rock and bashing it against a tree to get wood. The first stone is free, after which it will cost you 10 stone.

Once you have the basics, farming will become much quicker, meaning you can start to advance at a quicker rate, allowing you some time to get safely established on your server.

5. Stay Hidden From Everyone & Everything

Rust isn’t a playground for starter players. Everything and everyone will likely attack you, so it’s best to stay hidden from busy areas.

Whilst trying to establish a starting base recently some random stumbled across my base, thankfully it was night so I could see him coming, thanks to his torch.

Once I knew he had spotted my campfire, I simply crouched down and slowly stepped back into the bushes, watching as he shouted out “Is anyone there” and frantically looked for me.

No matter how innocent or friendly they sound, even if they seem unarmed, at this point, there is no point engaging. There have been multiple occasions where I have been tricked by a friendly voice, just to be slaughtered and teabagged seconds later.

If you can make some basic tools and start forming a reasonably secure base to store your loot in, then you can confront people and other things. Until then, stay hidden.

6. Keep Several Well-Hidden Stashes

It’s inevitable that if you have a base someone will come and raid it. If this happens, you’ll want access to several well-hidden stashes so you’re not down to absolutely zero.

It can also come in pretty handy if you are out and about and require some extra resources during a fight or just to help you with some scavenging.

Just make sure that you can remember where your stashes are and that other people won’t be likely to find them.

7. Bone Clubs Make Good Starter Weapons

A bone club requires just 20 bones to craft. Bone clubs can deal 26 head damage, 11 chest damage, 8 arms damage, and 5 leg damage. They are a good way to protect yourself from other players during the start of your Rust adventure.

While other people might suggest other weapons to defend yourself, bone clubs are generally the cheapest and easiest option, offering a decent amount of DPS.

8. Choose a Base Location & Build a Tool Cupboard

As well as picking up some tools, choosing a base location should be the next main priority on your list. Make sure you find a suitable base location by exploring the area but don’t stray too far as you don’t want to bump into anyone.

You’ll need to build a tool cupboard which costs 1000 wood in order to protect and secure your base. It stops players from being able to place or upgrade structures in the area of your cupboard.

9. Place Buildings With the Hard Side Outwards

If you’ve ever played survival games like Ark, you may be familiar with the soft side/hard side feature of building parts.

If you place the soft side of a wall facing outwards, essentially where other players can attack from, it makes it much easier for them to take down your buildings.

10. Remember to Pay Upkeep to Stop Decay

When you choose your base location, you will need to put down a tool cupboard as mentioned above.

But you will also need to make regular maintenance deposits to that tool cupboard in order to keep your base from decaying and leaving you venerable.

Essentially this feature acts as a way to stop servers being bombarded with bases from people who have left a server, allowing others to move in should you stop playing the game and not pay the upkeep.

11. Build a Door Airlock to Stop Players From Walking In

It’s pretty common in rust to be running in and out of your base while gathering resources, whilst forgetting to shut the door behind you.

Using a triangle foundation against a square foundation and placing two doors facing into each other, you can create an airlock that will block other players from being able to simply walk into your base.

12. Get to Know the Area Around Your Base Well

It can be very easy to get lost in Rust, so it’s worth familiarising yourself with your surroundings.

If you are out scavenging and need to get back quickly, or you find yourself in trouble, it’s essential that you know your way back. Spend some time getting to know the area around your base well, making several trips back and forth so you know the surroundings.

13. Build Traps and Remember Where They Are

While you might love a good PVP game, like me you might actually be bad at fighting other players but don’t give up, use brains over brawn to beat them.

A great example is from an attack that happened on my base recently, after a group of 3 other players started taking pop shots at me, I lured them straight back to my base.

Normally I would run the other way from my base, to lead them away and lower the chances of future raids, but I knew I had enough traps set up to take them out.

Run in a zig-zag line and make it hard for them to hit you, when you get close to your base you will want to run straight past any traps you have set up, but try to make avoiding them less obvious.

When I did this, I was lucky, I had a ton of traps set out and they all went into them almost at the same time, you might not be so lucky and the first to fall may warn the others if this happens and they avoid traps, well, grab a gun, you’re going to have to fight, good luck!

14. Attempt to Make Friends With Your Neighbors

Although the nature of Rust doesn’t always serve well for making friends, it could be a life or death decision if you don’t.

Making friends with your neighbors could prevent them from trying to raid you when you’re just getting started. They may even help you with basic tools and resources.

15. Research as Many Items as You Can

The key to progression in Rust is very dependent on the number of recipes you have unlocked.

The success of both surviving raids and running your own raids would strongly depend on how much arsenal you have unlocked that you can use to either defend or attack.

Not only is it important to PVP but the recipes you can unlock are also used to help your survival by making gathering clean water, food, or resources quicker too.

16. Choose the Right Weapon & Ammo

Many of the weapons in the game have multiple ammo types, but did you know that each of the ammo types actually affects how your weapon handles or the type/amount of damage it does.

Knowing when to use a high-velocity arrow over a bone-tipped arrow can mean the difference between life and death.

17. Hidden Sleeping Bags Around Your Base

If you get raided or you’re under attack, it’s worth having multiple sleeping bags hidden around your base.

You may get to a point where you’re inundated with dying, but if you can keep respawning you may have a chance at saving your base and items.

Most raiders will also expect you to respawn in your base after they kill you, so why not take them by surprise and come armed up from the woods using your hidden sleeping bag and stash.

18. Drink Water to Heal Yourself

You should always make sure that your health is at the maximum it can be. By drinking water, you can heal yourself back to half health.

Make sure you have a water source at your base or you have access to water or consumables to ensure your health doesn’t deplete.

If you are in a fight, getting to a clean water source or having some water with you can help you to regain some health and take advantage in a fight.

19. Learn Where Monuments Are

Monuments can be popular places for people looking for either PVP or loot, but they are a great resource for gearing up quicker.

Learn the map and get to know where all the monuments are, this will lead you to much more efficient and lucrative loot runs, giving you more time to prepare base defenses and pick some fights.

20. Farm Junk Piles Out at Sea

Sometimes the land can be a little too dangerous on Rust, it can be better to take to the sea and try to avoid as many of the bloodthirsty other players as possible.

Floating junk piles like the one pictured above can be found at sea and are a great way to find valuable resources without as much chance of action.

Of course, it’s not guaranteed that you won’t run into some action whilst out at sea, but I have personally found it’s much less common.

21. Hit the Sweet Spot When Farming

When you are hitting nodes or trees you really want to be as quick as possible.

You are going to make tons of noise and that brings a high chance of someone finding out where you are and possibly killing you.

By hitting the marked sweet spot you gather resources much quicker allowing you to move away from the spot and spend less time in one place.

22. Never Stand Still

Rust is a brutal game, especially for noobs, the best piece of advice I can give is to never standstill.

It doesn’t matter how far into the game I am, or what I am doing, I never stay in the same spot, even if I am gathering wood, I walk in alternating circles around the tree so I’m constantly moving.

Even constantly moving isn’t always enough with Rust, switching to running in a zig-zag line can also make the difference between life and death.