

Rust 's development began as a clone of DayZ, a popular mod for ARMA 2, while also featuring elements derived from Minecraft. These clans usually create housing for their members, provide items and supplies to each other and partake in organized raiding of other players and looting.

A prevalent concept in Rust is to form a "clan" with other players. Players must wear the correct armour or clothing if they wish to enter these areas, as they risk dying if they do so without. There are three levels of radiation: low, medium, and high. Specific locales around the map are radioactive. There are other challenges the player may face during gameplay, such as drowning, hypothermia and attacks from wildlife (primarily from bears and wolves). The player must stay well fed or they will die of starvation. Helicopters spawn in at random intervals and shoot players they see. Another important element in Rust are attack helicopters. These are parachute-equipped pallets of supplies that are delivered via a propeller plane, and can be seen coming in over extremely long distances, resulting in players sometimes running towards the airdrop. An important element in Rust are airdrops. Sophisticated items require more materials, alongside consumables called components items scattered around the map. To craft items, players must have all of the required items. The player can gather cloth, food, stone, metal ore, sulfur ore and wood by killing animals, mining rocks and chopping trees. In order to survive in the world, the player must gather resources such as wood and stone and use these resources to craft tools, weapons and other gear. Upon starting a new character, the player will have only a rock and a torch, the former of which can be used to cut down trees and break apart stones. Unlike many other sandbox games, Rust only features a multiplayer mode. In order to survive, the player must craft tools, build bases, and team with other players. Weapon attachments, such as holosights, can be used to provide an advantage over opponents. Damage is calculated using hit tracking, meaning shots to the head are more damaging than shots to other parts of the body. There are multiple different types of bullets for each gun. Bullets and other projectiles travel via a ballistic trajectory. The player vs player combat is accomplished with bows, melee weapons and craftable guns. Animals, such as wolves and bears, represent a threat to new players, but the primary danger comes from other players. Rust pits players against each other in a harsh, open world environment with the sole goal being to survive. By March 2017, Rust had sold over five million copies. Reviewers praised the game's concept and gameplay, while also noting its obviously unfinished nature. Throughout Rust 's alpha release, it was met with mixed critical reviews and many comparisons with other survival games were made, with the most common one being the mixture between DayZ and Minecraft. Radiation was also removed due to the frustration it was causing players, although it was later reintroduced. It initially featured zombies as enemies, but subsequently replaced them with bears and wolves. Since Rust 's first alpha launch, animals, hunting and the ability to craft armor and weapons have been added. Raiding is a very common action, usually done in large clans. There is only a multiplayer mode and a prevalent concept in Rust is to form and join clans with other players.

The objective of the game is to survive in the wilderness by crafting items using the materials gathered or stolen the player starts with only a rock and a torch.

Rust was initially created as a clone of DayZ, a popular mod for ARMA 2 with the addition of crafting elements. Rust was originally released onto Steam's Early Access program on 11 December 2013. The game only features multiplayer modes. Rust is a survival video game in development by Facepunch Studios for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux.
