How Rust Updates Work: First Thursday, Forced Wipes and Patch Notes

If you play Rust, you'll hear about update day and forced wipes. Here is how it works.

The schedule

Facepunch, the company that makes Rust, puts out a major update on the first Thursday of every month. The usual time is about 19:00 UTC (2:00 PM EST, 11:00 AM PT).

Recent ones:

• June 4: Built Different
• July 2: Common Ground
• August 6: Power Trip
• September 3: Breach and Clear
• October 1: Livestock

There can also be extra patches, like the Halloween update on October 22.

What a forced wipe is

Big updates add new content and change the map, so servers wipe: the map resets, and bases and loot are gone. Players start fresh with the new content.

What a wipe means for you

• Your base on that map is gone.
• Your skins and cosmetics stay on your account.
• Every server has its own rules for what carries over. Check yours.

How to read patch notes

1. Read the headline features first.
2. Skim balance changes for items you use.
3. Check fixes if a bug bothered you.
4. Look for dates on future patches.

Facepunch posts them at rust.facepunch.com/news.

Before update day

• Update your game.
• Use up or store anything you want.
• Check your server's wipe time.

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