Getting Started

Introduction

Welcome to Rust, a brutal multiplayer survival game where you wake up naked on a massive island with nothing but a rock and a torch. The first hour is overwhelming—this guide walks you through every step for PC and Console Editions (Xbox, PlayStation). You will die a lot, but smart early moves set you up for survival.

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First Hour Walkthrough (Step by Step)

1. Spawn and Initial Actions (Minutes 0–2)

• Take a breath. You spawn on a beach. Press Tab (PC) / Start/Options (console) to open inventory. You have: 1 Rock, 1 Torch (if you chose to spawn with one), and a Burlap Sack (used for sleeping bag).


• Punch a tree (left-click) until you get 3–5 Wood. Do not attack animals yet.


• Craft a Stone Hatchet: Press Q (PC) / Up on D-Pad (console) to open crafting menu. Find "Stone Hatchet" – requires 200 Wood. Click craft. You will need to gather more wood; keep punching trees until you have ~300 Wood.


• Craft a Stone Pickaxe (300 Wood). These tools let you gather resources faster.




2. First 5 Minutes: Secure Basic Resources



• Gather Wood from trees using your hatchet. Collect at least 500 Wood total.


• Gather Stones (small rocks on ground) with pickaxe – aim for 200 Stones.


• Avoid players – stay near shoreline, listen for footsteps/gunshots. If you see someone, run opposite direction.




3. First 10 Minutes: Make a Sleeping Bag



• Craft a Sleeping Bag (requires 30 Cloth). Cloth comes from hemp plants (tall green plants with yellow tops). Harvest them with hatchet – you need 30 cloth total. Alternatively, kill animals and use their fat/flesh to make cloth (but animals are dangerous early).


• Place the sleeping bag (hold E on PC / Triangle or Y on console while bag is in hotbar). Find a hidden spot (inside a bush or behind a rock) – do NOT place in open field. Your bag is your respawn point. Crucial: If you die, you can respawn at the bag if it hasn't been destroyed.




4. First 15 Minutes: Build a Shelter (1x1 Wooden Base)



• Gather more: 1,000 Wood (total) and 500 Stones.


• Craft a Building Plan (75 Wood) from crafting menu.


• Craft a Hammer (100 Wood) – needed to upgrade/repair.


• Place a foundation: Equip building plan, left-click to place a square foundation on flat ground. Right-click to rotate.


• Place wooden walls and a door frame (you need a door). Use hammer to upgrade to wood tier (but start with twig if low on wood).


• Craft a Wooden Door (300 Wood, 2 Metal Fragments – you can get metal frags from recycling trash or mining nodes, but early on you may skip door and use a wood barricade). For simplicity: place a Wooden Barricade (100 Wood) to block entrance temporarily.


• Place a Tool Cupboard (TC) – craft with 1000 Wood, 500 Stone – inside your base. This claims the area. Keep it locked (key lock: 5 Wood per lock). Authorize yourself by holding E on TC.




5. First 30 Minutes: Expand Farm and Prepare for Night



• Upgrade walls to wood using hammer (costs wood). Upgrade tool cupboard to wood.


• Place a furnace (craft from 100 Wood, 200 Stone) inside base to smelt ore.


• Gather metal ore (gray rocks with yellow specks) and sulfur ore (yellow rocks). Smelt in furnace (200 wood per cycle). You need metal frags for tools.


• Craft a bow and arrows (requires wood, cloth, stone). Bows are your first ranged weapon – essential for hunting animals and defending.


• Avoid roaming at night (full dark unless you have a light). Stay inside base or near your sleeping bag.




6. First Hour End: Secure Next Steps



• Build a 2x1 base (2 foundations, walls, roof). Upgrade to wood or stone.


• Place a large box (craft with 1000 Wood) for storage.


• Gather at least 2000 Wood and 1000 Stone for upgrades.


• Listen for sound cues – you may hear airdrops or cargo plane – avoid until you have weapons.

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Character Creation

Rust has no traditional character creation. Your character is a random generated male/female model. You can change gender/face by pressing F1 (PC) and typing `skin.change` or by dying and respawning with a new roll (but your cosmetic items from DLCs stay). Console: No customization – purely random on each spawn.

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Controls (All Platforms)

PC (Keyboard & Mouse)

Console (Xbox & PlayStation)

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UI Overview

• Inventory screen (Tab/Start): Left shows your clothing/armor slots; right shows backpack. Bottom-right is crafting menu.


• Hotbar: Bottom row of your screen – hold items by pressing number keys or D-Pad. Active item highlighted.


• Health bar: Top-left – showing health (red), hunger (brown), thirst (blue). Keep them above 30%.


• Radiation indicator: Blue bar appears if you are near radtowns (monuments) – get out quickly or wear hazmat.


• Compass: Top of screen – essential for navigation and callouts.


• Tool Cupboard UI: When near your TC, you see upkeep status – keep it filled with resources or base decays.


• Death screen: Shows cause of death and respawn options (campfire, sleeping bag, random beach).


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Essential Early Objectives



1. Secure a sleeping bag within 5 minutes.
2. Build a small shelter (1x1 with door) within 15 minutes.
3. Place a Tool Cupboard to claim land and lock it.
4. Craft a bow and 50 arrows – for defense and hunting.
5. Gather 500 Wood, 200 Stone, 30 Cloth as baseline.
6. Build a furnace and smelt metal ore for code locks (requires 250 metal frags).
7. Learn to use voice chat to negotiate or join a group (solo is hard).

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What to Do First (First 5 Minutes Priority List)



1. Gather Wood (punch trees).
2. Craft Stone Hatchet and Pickaxe.
3. Find Three Hemp plants for cloth.
4. Craft Sleeping Bag and place in secure hiding spot.
5. Collect 1000 Wood and 500 Stone.
6. Build a 1x1 twig base with door frame and wooden door (or barricade).
7. Place Tool Cupboard inside and lock it.

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What to Avoid (Beginner Blunders)




• Don't attack bears or wolves – they will kill you in 2-3 hits.


• Don't build near monuments (radtowns, launching site) – high player traffic.


• Don't trust strangers – most will kill you on sight.


• Don't carry all resources – store them in base immediately.


• Don't sleep near campfire – others can cook you (friendly fire).


• Don't ignore hunger/thirst – eat berries, drink from rivers (hold E).


• Don't waste cloth on clothing early – save for sleeping bags.


• Don't go deep inland without weapons – more players and animals.

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Early Resource Priorities (Ranked)

1. Wood – for tools, base, furnace, upkeep.
2. Stone – for base upgrade (stone tier), furnace.
3. Cloth – for sleeping bags, bow, bandages.
4. Metal Fragments – for better tools, doors, code lock.
5. Sulfur – for gunpowder (later) – stash but don't refine early.
6. Hemp/Plants – for cloth and healing tea (advanced).
7. Food – mushrooms, corn, or kill animals (risk). Better to eat berries early.

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Common Beginner Mistakes (and Fixes)

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Day-One Checklist

Before first night (20 minutes real time):

• [ ] Sleeping bag placed in safe location.


• [ ] 1x1 wooden base with door and tool cupboard placed.


• [ ] Tool cupboard locked and authorized.


• [ ] At least 500 Wood and 200 Stone stored.


• [ ] Crafted Stone Hatchet, Pickaxe, Bow, 50 Stone Arrows.


• [ ] Have a campfire (craft) and a water bottle (fill from river).


• [ ] Smelted 100 Metal Fragments for code lock (if possible).


• [ ] Placed a code lock on door (requires 250 metal frags?) – if not, lock with key lock.


• [ ] Avoided PvP and remained hidden.


After first night (within 2 hours):

• [ ] Expanded base to 2x1 stone walls and roof.


• [ ] Armed with bow and crossbow or pipe shotgun (if found scrap).


• [ ] Learned at least one primitive weapon blueprint (e.g., eoka pistol).


• [ ] Placed a second sleeping bag in a different area for backup.


• [ ] Located nearest recycler (at supermarket, mining outpost, etc.) to recycle trash for metal/tech.


• [ ] Gathered at least 2000 Wood and 1000 Stone for base upkeep.


• [ ] Unlocked the "Chainlink Fence" or "Watchtower" (not priority but nice).


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Final Tips




• Play on a low-population or community server first (e.g., 50-100 players) to learn basics without constant death.


• Death is part of the learning curve. Don't rage quit.


• Join a team via Discord or in-game – solo is brutal.


• Watch YouTube starter guides for visual aids.


• Always have a backup sleeping bag – hide it somewhere else.


• Keep your base small and upgrade to stone ASAP – wood tools can break wood doors quickly.

Good luck survivor. You'll need it.