When it comes to surviving Rust, you can’t do it without stepping on a few toes. That means raiding other players or NPC settlements, which more often than not can lead to your own death. Raiding isn’t the easiest thing around, especially in the harsh wastes of Rust, but we’ve put together a good guide with a few tricks to try. Rust isn’t easy, but follow our lead and we can at least make raiding a little bit easier for you.
What is Rust?
An online survival crafting game much in the vein of others before it like DayZ. In fact, Rust began as a mod for DayZ, just without the zombies and with more of a focus on crafting to survive the elements. As opposed to the shambling undead, you’ll worry about other players and various wildlife, many of which can kill you just as easily. There’s also a huge focus on crafting and building, with every player having to work their way up from just a basic sleeping bag to their own home. The biggest thing to know is that Rust isn’t usually a single-player experience, and surviving against other players will be the greatest challenge.
A main component of Rust is raiding other players’ bases, taking all of their goods while destroying anything else. This ensures both that you’ll get the supplies you need to survive while they’re not going to be up to a counterattack at the time. When raiding though, it’s important to have everything in order before heading in, because it could easily backfire. The greatest danger isn’t only the opposing player, but any defenses they may have set up or wildlife in the area. Leaving their base doesn’t mean you’re entirely home-free.
Prepare for Anything
Raids are serious business, so don’t go in half-cocked acting like Rambo or you’re going to have a very, very bad time. Instead, you’ll want to take the time and make sure you’re prepared in a few different ways. Mainly when it comes to health, defenses, and offensive equipment.
When it comes to health, make sure you have a few medkits already made up and ready to use. Just a couple of shots from another player can do enough damage to slow you down, leading to a fatal error along the way. So, if you get injured and the firepower is raining down everywhere, find a decent spot to hide behind cover and heal up real quick. It’ll make all the difference.
For weapons, explosives will be your best bet. Blowing up the enemy base is a surefire way to get in and get out, plus it doesn’t harm any of their goods for you. It probably isn’t good that the safest way to go about raiding is by exploding everything around you.
Sneak Up
Stealth is always a friend when playing against others or even the NPCs in a massive game like Rust. One of the best tactics for raiding enemy bases is by staying sneaky until you get the loot. Assuming others don’t have cheats to see you coming, it’s relatively easy to get into other players’ bases undetected. Of course, the problem is getting out once you’ve got the loot, because then they’ll know you’re there.
That’s assuming that they’re online to raid of course, as not every base will have a live human to defend it. Even if they’re online you might strike during a time when they’re out raiding in turn. It really sucks to go out on a good raiding mission just to come back and see that you’re one step forward and two steps back.
Which is why a lot of people set up defenses. Things like barbed wire, pit traps, or just basic ambushes are everywhere. Some will get even more advanced, creating gun turrets that can protect them while they’re away. Sneaking by is the best option if you don’t want to get shredded.
Attack Fast
Hit fast and hit hard, is one of the primary rules of fighting. That goes double in Rust where you’ll be doing quick raids while avoiding hostile actors. Especially if the bases that you’re raiding are occupied by higher-level players than you. It’s very important and not a bad trait to be able to acknowledge when you’re outmatched. If the base you’re going after doesn’t look achievable yet, head off and look for another. Live to fight another day, as they say.
On the chance that you’re determined to take them out quickly and viciously, try to take the joint out first. Make notes of any defenses you may see, as well as entry/exit points to the base. Keeping an eye on possible cover spots can save your life in a pinch if you get pinned down by fire, so pinpointing those is a good idea.
When you finally make the hit, go for a surprise attack to start. These do bonus damage and are much more likely to take out the enemy in one hit if done right. Assuming they’re still alive, rush them and try to take them out while they’re still recovering. Even just wounding them helps with your escape chances.
Take Everything
So, you’ve found the base, made your attack, and defeated the other player so the spoils are yours- what now? The easy answer is- take it all. Everything in the area can be claimed as your own, as long as you have the weight capacity to carry it all. Check the entire base too, because you can even tear some parts down if they’re not completely destroyed already. There’s always some spare change or extra supplies if you know where to look. Even their defenses can be broken down once disarmed, taking them for your own at home.
Any loot you bring in is going to help you in the long run. The most important thing to remember after you get back to your base is to not let your defenses down. Everything might seem fine for the moment, but players will plot revenge and your base can be targeted by others. Set up your defenses and try to play a better game than them in turn.
Rust definitely isn’t getting any easier for newcomers. Additionally, there is a problem with cheats, where players use Rust ESP to obtain loot and player location. However, if you can master raiding, you’ll gain a huge advantage. Players will often store entire hoards of loot around the walls of their base, or even outside. Sometimes you’ll even find some weapons that will be better than the ones you have now. Everything in Rust is constantly changing, so keep an eye out as raids change as well, with the tactics evolving right alongside them.
