Rust – Combat Update revises weapon handling and features

In June 2022, Rust will get one of its most significant updates since its release a good seven years ago.
The Combat Update tweaks many aspects of the weapons and also brings new features to combat, a new weapon, and Hapis Island (back) into the game.

Combat – Adjustments & New features

Recoil

The old recoil system for firearms, at its core, was really only mastered by very active players who spent hundreds or thousands of hours in the game.
Often shooting at other players felt like an impossible task.

The element of surprise and a good general understanding in FPS games often didn’t help against a really experienced player, no matter how bad their situation was to begin with.
Behind this was a fixed recoil pattern that had to be learned for each weapon.

The new system is based on a mixture of aiming deviation and inaccuracy for automatic weapons. This gets stronger the longer you pull the trigger.
In addition, the aim cone, which controls how many bullets land in the center, has been adjusted. It is now weighted and should ensure that about 20% of the shots land in the center.

The effect is summarized compactly:
Automatic firing no longer runs with a fixed recoil pattern, but becomes much less accurate the longer you pull the trigger and the farther away you are from the target.

The goal should be to limit “beaming” (taking out players with pinpoint accuracy and speed, even at long ranges) and encourage players to use the right weapon for the right situation and range.

With the new system, really pushing the envelope and not missing is much more difficult for everyone – which the developers see as a good thing.

Sounds

Most of the sound effects of the firearms in Rust have also been reworked with the Combat Update and are now of a much higher quality.

Sight models

The sight models of each weapon have received new dynmaic animations. The weapon’s model will better adapt to the player’s movements and, especially when sprinting, the “head bob” effect will be activated, but it can be turned off in the options.

Actions like firing are supposed to feel much more massive, and during actions with the hand – for example, reloading – the camera is supposed to follow them better.

Hit effect and directional markers

When you get hit, you now get a revised camera shake effect, which now also visually represents the so-called “hit punch” better.
Also, there is now a clearer directional marker that shows you which direction the damage is coming from – unless your enemies are using a silencer.

Crosshair

Nowadays there are many possible methods to get a crosshair in the game. From a dot on the screen to a crosshair function of the monitor itself to special programs – if you want to have a crosshair in Rust, you can get it if you know how.

To create more equal opportunities, there is now a simple crosshair, which is displayed as long as you hold a weapon and are not in aiming mode.
The crosshair gives information about the accuracy of your weapon, which changes, for example, when you hold and fire it.

If you don’t like the crosshairs you can turn them off and crosshairs from third party software solutions are now officially allowed as well.

Hit display

In addition to the two already almost iconic sounds for landed hits in Rust, the Combat Update also brings a visual indicator for this into the game.

When you land a hit, a hit marker in the form of an X is briefly displayed in your crosshairs.

Weapon: Handmade Machine Gun (HMLMG)

Quite surprisingly, the update also brings a new weapon to the game, namely the Handcrafted Machine Gun. It is a Tier 3 weapon, which – as the name suggests – can be crafted (craften).

The weapon has a high rate of fire, causes high damage, but is very inaccurate.

To craft it, you will need a level 3 workbench:

• 30x High quality metal
• 1x Rifle Bodgy
• 2x Metal spring
• 3x Gears

Attachment: Extended Magazine

The Extended Magazine is a new Tier 2 attachment that you can attach to almost all weapons. It grants you 25% additional ammo capacity.

To craft it, you will need a Tier 2 Workbench and 10x High Grade Metal.

Crafting Ammo at the Mixing Table

Crafting gunpowder and ammo is a very time-consuming task, and you can now do it at the mixer table.
This works for all base ammo types and you must have unlocked the appropriate blueprints, of course.

Return of Hapis Island

Since the big graphics update virtually “broke” the map Hapis Island, it was no longer available in the game.

Now the map returns and has been expanded a little bit. Not only visually, some things have been reworked, the desert in the south has been expanded and some small islands have been added as well.

In a future update, the rail networks will probably be added as well.

Hapis Island is one of the few pre-made maps for Rust that always looks the same. Most of the game’s servers work with procedurally generated maps that are randomly generated when the server is created.

Further changes in a compact overview

But these were not all the changes that came with the Combat Update in June 2022 for Rust in the game.
We have summarized the rest for you:

• Faster travel on rails: Horses are now just as fast on rails as they are on roads.
• Display for number of wagons: The number of connected wagons can now be seen in the train display.
• Landmine scaling: Landmines have now been scaled down.
• Invalid Projectile: Fixed some cases of the “Invalid Projectile” error when shooting under a low ceiling.
• Vehicle Sensitivity: Vehicles now detect any input from the mouse for easier control.
• Compound bow: The bow now loses less durability when held drawn.
• New AI in the Launch Station: The Launch Station monument has received new AIs that hang out on the different floors.
• Covered Train Car: A new train car variant that can now spawn above ground and provides more cover.
• Siding: There are now more sidings where cars can spawn so as not to obstruct traffic.

Rust Store: Graffiti Pack

The Grafitti Pack brings a new feature to the game. It must be purchased through the Rust Store. Then the spray can can be used to spray various pre-made symbols or in free-spray mode, as is the case with drawing.

Grafittis regularly last 3 hours and a maximum of 25 can be created per player.

By the way: If you want to wash away a graffiti at your base, take an item with water (water bag, water bottle, bucket with water…) and interact with the graffiti!

The Combat Update – Trailer