Sanguine RustRust Halloween 2026 Patch Notes: Candy Hunt, Pet Monsters and Rifts
The Rust Halloween 2026 update went live on Thursday, October 22, and the Halloween event runs until November 5. It brings back Candy Hunt, lets you build a pet monster out of body parts, and opens rifts across the map. Here is how each part works, in plain words.
Facepunch had set the patch for 18:00 UK time, which is noon US Central. Like every Rust update, it needed both a client and a server update, so if a server will not let you in, make sure Steam finished updating your game first. Our Halloween preview post covers what was known before today.
What is in the Halloween 2026 update
- Candy Hunt, a timed event that starts about every two in-game days
- Build a monster, a pet made from scarecrow and mummy body parts
- Rifts, portals that open in random places on the map
- Undead loot returns: the Dracula cape and the Wooden Stake
- New Halloween cosmetics plus a Twitch and a Discord tie-in
Candy Hunt: how it works
About once every two in-game days, a Candy Hunt starts. You get three minutes to collect as much candy as you can. When the timer runs out, the top three players get special loot bags.
The candy is loot too. Candies and loot bags can be opened, and Facepunch says the rewards range from scrap at the low end up to an M249 at the top. If you did not make the top three, keep your candy anyway, because candy can be upgraded for better loot. That makes every hunt worth joining, even on a busy server where you will not win.
Build your own pet monster
This is the headline feature. Scarecrows and mummies roam the map, and killing them drops body parts. You need three: a head, a torso and legs.
- Kill scarecrows and mummies until you have a head, a torso and legs.
- Craft a Frankenstein's table and place it.
- Put the three body parts into the table.
- Wake your monster up.
Once it is awake, press P to open the pet controls. The monster follows you around the map, defends you if something attacks you, and goes after targets you send it at. Think of it as a bodyguard you have to farm first.
If P is already bound to something else, or the menu will not open, bind the pet menu to another key in the F1 console:
bind X +pets
Swap X for any free key. You can also set it in the in-game controls menu.
The rifts: Halloween portals
Rifts are portals that open in random spots across the island. In the story, cultists have been opening them, or a Cobalt experiment code named R.U.I.N went wrong. Facepunch is not saying what is on the other side. They only hint that few players who go in come back out.
Our advice: treat a rift like any unknown fight. Go in with meds, a full kit you are ready to lose, and a friend if you can.
For server owners, the number of rifts on a map is set with the halloweendungeon.population convar.
Undead loot: Dracula cape and Wooden Stake
Two items come back for the event:
- Dracula cape: a thick outer layer that gives strong protection. It drops from the bodies of undead enemies. The matching Dracula mask is a store item this year; it gives early game head protection and takes ten cloth to craft.
- Wooden Stake: kills undead in a single hit and gets you extra loot from their bodies. It also drops from undead corpses.
If you plan to farm scarecrows and mummies for monster parts, a stake makes that run faster and pays more.
Cosmetics and event tie-ins
Facepunch added Halloween skins and decor, including three wallpapers, a skull lamp skin for the Tuna Can Lamp and an inflatable alien costume. Some skins come back too: the Hockey Facemask (a Metal Facemask skin), the Cultist Deer Torch (a starter torch skin) and the Baseball Bat (a mace skin). Skins change the look, not the item.
Two events outside the game run alongside it:
- Twitch Rivals: Base Invaders is on Friday, October 23 at 6 PM UTC, which is 1 PM US Central. A Spooky Backpack drop is on the Twitch Rivals channel for that day only, and the other drops last until November 1. Link your Twitch and Steam accounts to get them.
- Zombie Wumpus plush from Discord, October 22 to November 5, for eligible Nitro subscribers. It is a deployable you place in your base, and it gives 70% comfort when you stand near it.
Clock change heads-up
The UK moves from BST to GMT this weekend, on Sunday, October 25. US clocks do not change until November 1. For that one week, Facepunch times land an hour later for US players than usual: 6 PM UK time is 1 PM Central instead of noon. Double check anything Facepunch announces in UK time that week.
When does the Halloween event end?
The event runs until November 5. That is also the first Thursday of November, the day Rust's monthly update usually lands (see how Rust updates and forced wipes work). Get your monster built and your candy upgraded before then.
FAQ
When does the Rust Halloween event end? November 5, 2026, by Facepunch's notes.
How do you get a pet monster in Rust? Kill scarecrows and mummies for a head, a torso and legs, craft a Frankenstein's table, put the parts in and wake it. Press P to control it.
What can you get from Candy Hunt? Candy and loot bags can give anything from scrap up to an M249, and candy can be upgraded for better loot.
How do I change the number of Halloween rifts on my server?
Use the halloweendungeon.population convar.
Sanguine Rust
Sanguine Rust is a PVE server with zombies, bosses and skill levels. We test every Rust build on a test island before we move our islands over, so updates like this one land smoothly. See what Sanguine Rust is about.
Source: Facepunch, Halloween 2026 news