Frequently Asked Questions

Player counts vary by server and time of day. You can see live player counts on our homepage - stats refresh every 3 minutes automatically.

Vanilla servers are plain Rust with very few modifications - gameplay the way the game was intended. PVP is enabled, meaning other players can kill you. The only modifications we make are:

• Increased stack size - hold 5x as many items per slot (e.g. 5,000 stone instead of 1,000)
• Locked Crate - the game randomly spawns a lootable locked crate protected by scientists at various map locations

Newbie Friendly servers are designed for players new to Rust or those who want to practice their skills without the pressure of full PVP. Features include:

• PVP disabled - other players cannot kill you. Learn the game in relative peace (though animals, scientists, radiation, and the environment can still get you)
• Hotel plugin - a safe hotel where you can stash your loot and log off securely while you get your base built
• Softcore mode - when you die, you can recover a portion of your loot, gear, and weapons at Outpost or Bandit Camp
• Better respawn points - respawn at Outpost or Bandit Camp instead of washing up on a random shore
• Newbie vending machines - selling food, tools, and weapons at fair prices to get you started

Custom Map servers use hand-crafted maps rather than Rust's standard procedurally generated maps. These maps often feature famous real-world locations, countries, or states - for example Texas or Australia - built as playable Rust environments.

The easiest way is to click the Connect link next to any server on our homepage - it will launch Rust directly. Alternatively you can connect manually: You can find all server addresses on our homepage or Servers page.

We strive for 100% uptime and our servers are monitored around the clock. If you cannot connect to a server that was previously working, please contact us right away and we will investigate. You can also check our Server Uptime Monitor for a live status overview.

The hotel location changes each wipe depending on the map layout, but it is generally placed near the centre of the map. Open your in-game map and look for a purple circle - that marks the hotel.

Rust is a survival game - other players killing you, looting you, raiding your base, lying to you, or stealing from you is all part of the game and is allowed on our servers. Our admins rarely interfere with normal gameplay.

However, we do investigate and act on: physical threats outside of the game, cheating/hacking, and exploiting bugs. Contact us if you believe a player is violating these rules.

Experienced players targeting and preying on new players on Newbie Paradise servers will not be tolerated. If you are an experienced player who wants to raid and PVP, please select a Vanilla server. Deliberately targeting newbies will result in a ban.

No - our servers are completely free to use. However, running servers across multiple global regions has real costs, and donations help us keep the lights on and expand to new locations. Donating is entirely optional, but extremely helpful. Visit our Shop page to see what's available.

Supporters receive in-game items in exchange for their support. The specific rewards depend on the server and donation level - ranging from supply signals and resource bundles to full gear kits. Visit our Shop page for the full list of packages and pricing.

Items are usually delivered within 5 minutes of payment. If you are not online at the time, you will receive your items the next time you log into the server. If you have not received your items after 10 minutes, type !admin in the in-game chat to request assistance.

Items are per server and do not transfer between servers. They also reset at the next scheduled server wipe (weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on the server). Make sure you select the correct server when checking out.

Note: some larger kits (like Diamond or Platinum) must be redeemed multiple times to receive all items. The Armorer kit can be redeemed once every 24 hours until the monthly wipe.

You can also import custom skins from the Rust Workshop. Find a skin, note the ID number in the URL, then type /skinimport 3003360875 (replace with your skin's ID) in chat to add it to the skins menu.

To re-skin an item already placed in the world, aim at it and type /si in chat.