Like many other survival MMOs, Rust requires players to eat food every once in a while in order to stay alive. New players, however, are thrown into the game without even the clothes on their back and only a torch and a rock to their name. This guide will show players how to go from collecting rations and eating cooked flanks of meat to growing their own crops.
When players first enter the world of Rust, they have no supplies whatsoever, so even something as simple as making a campfire will take some effort. Rust doesn't make it easy on new players either, because everyone starts out dehydrated and starved. Luckily, ration boxes are scattered around the map, usually near clusters of barrels.
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These ration boxes contain a random collection of food, water and metal fragments and are often life-saving for new players. Players brave enough to enter one of Rust's Rad Towns might also come across food boxes that contain more and better materials than the ration boxes, but beware: The radiation present in the Rad Towns can easily drain a player's health or kill them if they aren't equipped with a hazmat suit.
After getting their bearings and collecting some resources, players will eventually find themselves equipped with a weapon, like a stone axe or spear. Once a Rust player gets their hands on a weapon, they can go hunting. The animals in Rust will drop meat, bones, cloth, and animal fat. All of these materials are useful for different things, and the meat can be cooked over a campfire and eaten to solve hunger issues. Some animals like bears and wolves will defend themselves if attacked, so players should be prepared for a fight when they go hunting. Other players can also be attacked and killed for their meat, but this approach can be a bit more... problematic, especially for Rust players going solo.
Different types of meat will take longer to cook than others. Six pieces of wood as fuel on the campfire, for example, will cook 4 units of chicken, pork, or wolf meat without overcooking or using excess fuel. When cooking bear meat, however, players will want to use 3 pieces of wood for every 2 pieces of meat in order to avoid overcooking.
Eventually, Rust players will establish their own base and find themselves with enough resources to start growing their own crops. This process involves many of the same requirements for growing real crops: Players will have to water and fertilize their plants and make sure they get enough sunlight. Those with a green thumb will have the opportunity to construct complex irrigation systems and splice the perfect plant breeds together to create the ultimate crop.
Rust is available now on PC and macOS and is currently in early access for certain PS4 and Xbox One console editions. It releases in full on May 21.