Rust's New Force Wipe Update Includes Major Game Changes

Facepunch wants to make the early game harder for clans

It's the first Thursday of September, which means it's the best day of the month for Rust players — force wipe. This force wipe update has been titled "Breach and Clear," as it's all about breaking obstacles and destroying lootable structures. Over a hundred minor updates have been made to improve the overall state of the game, and dozens of major changes have also been applied, many of them in an attempt to balance the game for solo players who have to face zergs and large clans.

Every month, hundreds of players become prim-locked for the first few days of the wipe, as clans take over monuments and grab all available blueprints. They then have to wait for these clans to sell blueprints in their shops to finally get a Tier 2 workbench and start crafting proper weapons. To slow down their progression, Facepunch has added monument blockers to red keycard puzzle rooms. While some are weaker and can be broken with a melee weapon, others require several jackhammers to destroy. The blockers' upkeep lasts 24 hours, after which they begin to decay. This won't significantly impede progression, but it's bound to make the first day or so a bit more interesting.

Another thing that groups will have to worry about is increased Tool Cupboard (TC) upkeep based on the number of players in the base. There is no tax for bases with only four players. If there are six players, upkeep increases by 2%, and this number increases by 4% for each additional player. The maximum upkeep tax is 300%. To determine upkeep tax, the TC counts players authorized on the TC and code locks (including guest codes). It also counts players who have been deauthorized on the TC and code locks in the last 24 hours to prevent teams from bypassing the fee. On the bright side, clan ore farmers should have an easier time managing upkeep, as high quality metal ore nodes and harvestables can now be found and broken for HQM ore.

The Power Trip update that went live in August made it so players had to power up the Power Plant in order to bring electricity to the entire island. To make this feature even more important, electricity across the island is now required for Outpost drones to pick up items from players' shops.

These are the most important features in September's update. However, minor changes and additions have also been made, and some are worth noting. Fans can read the full patch notes in September's devblog. Here are a few changes that stand out:

• New Tier 1 healing item, Medical Honey Bandage, heals more than Bandage and less than Medical Syringe. Requires honey to craft.
• Attack helicopter armor now detaches as damage is dealt to it.
• Heavy Plate Jacket and Pants now make noise when moving. Heavy Plate Helmet suppresses noise.
• Certain pie buffs have been increased. Recipes have been tweaked.
• Large Medkit now removes radiation

Lastly, Rust's weekly store has been updated with an array of items. On top of this, the highly anticipated Crystal Assault Rifle DLC has been added to the item store. This beautiful translucent weapon comes in five different colors (diamond, ruby, pink diamond, emerald, and sapphire) and can be purchased on Steam for $6.99.