1:45pm EST - The update is live! Client and server were released at the same time due to a large client download. Game on!

1:00pm EST - Our update stream is live! twitch.tv/rustafied

12:00am EST - It’s update time and there are exciting additions coming to the game along with some great quality of life!

The update and forced map wipe are expected to hit at normal time (2pm EST / 7pm GMT). Our update stream goes live at 1pm EST. Follow @Rustafied for news throughout the day.

Backpacks

Highlight of the update, two types of backpacks have been added to the game. As you can imagine, these allow players to carry more inventory on them than ever before!

Overview
These backpacks do exactly what you’d expect: they allow you to carry more items at once. There are two types (small and large) and a player can only carry one backpack with items in it at a time (you can have multiple empty). They can be equipped by dragging into the ‘backpack’ slot above the clothing row (same place the parachute goes). Backpacks do not slow down player movement or come with any obvious nerfs. Given this is a brand new feature, things are subject to change.

Small backpack
A small, makeshift backpack which allows you to carry 12 additional items. Easier to obtain than its bigger brother, the small backpack is a default blueprint and can be crafted on the relative cheap. It’s the perfect solution for gathering runs and the like.

Slots
12

Blueprint
Default

Crafting
5 sewing kits
50 cloth

Large backpack
A larger military backpack for carrying more items. This puppy is a bit harder to come by as it cannot be crafted, only found in loot. Once you get one, you probably won’t want to lose it, as it allows you to carry a whopping 28 more items than default. Perfect for large raids, base transfers, and more!

Slots
28

Blueprint
NA

Crafting
Can’t be crafted

Found in
Green loot crates

Other things

You can only have 1 backpack with items in it on your player at a time
Backpacks can be dropped on the ground, looted like a box, and picked up (hold E)
Empty bags on the ground despawn in 20 or 40 minutes (small, large)

Backpacks with items in it despawn at a variable rate up to 2 hours be default

They don’t slow down your speed

Metal Detection

Next addition for this month is Metal Detectors and Shovels. These items, when used together, allow players to locate an entirely new type of goody stashed around the island: underground loot. Consisting of mostly metallic items, this loot is spread all over the island (except in the snow from the looks of it).

Metal Detector
Heart of metal detection, the Metal Detector is a default blueprint and pretty cheap to craft. This handmade detector perfectly matches the aesthetic of Rust and features two LED light bars and some beeps.

Crafting
2 rope
200 wood

costs subject to change

Blueprint
Default

Shovel
The shovel is key to actually getting the loot out of the ground once it’s found. After getting a stick and flag by using the Detector (see below), grab your trusty shovel and whack it 3 times to reveal the loot. Note: the shovel doesn’t dig per-say at this time, it more just whacks like various other tools. Looks like you can also use a torch.

Crafting
50 wood
75 frags

costs subject to change

Blueprint
Default

How to find things

Walk around with the Metal Detector out and look for the green LED bar (the left one) to start lighting up (there’s also a subtle beep and the bulb at the end of the detector starts blinking)
Once fully lit, hold right to start strafing back and forth
Move around till the right (orange) LED bar is full
Then a blue planner will show up for the stick and flag
After a short bit, this blue guide will turn into an actual stick and flag
Switch to shovel and whack it 3 times to turn up the loot (other tools work also)

What you can find
As you would imagine, this finds metallic items below the ground (and water jugs for some reason). Based on tests we’re seeing the following: cans of beans and tuna (1-2), water jug, scrap (3-10), high quality metal (1-5), metal frags (15-25), tools, ammo, armor, components, and even revolvers. Although there is loot all over the map, the type of loot you get seems to shift depending on where you are on the map (road signs near roads, cans near beaches, etc.).

You cannot find stashes with the metal detector and there doesn’t seem to be any metal detector loot spawning in the snow. Although we did find an AK during our update stream last week, this was unintended and has been changed. To give you a sense of it, here is my inventory after digging up metal detector loot about 30 times:

Overlay effect tweaks

First person overlays for effects like hot, cold, low HP, and more have been tweaked with this update. In general, these effects have been toned down across the board equating to less distortion, vignetting, desaturation, and temperature effects. Here are some comparisons (new ones on the left).

Performance

There are also some performance improvements for players and servers coming in this update. We’re not clear on the specifics, but the devblog will probably have some more info. Regardless, performance improvements is always an awesome thing to see!

Anticheat improvements

On top of performance, there are some improvements to Anticheat too! As with all anticheat stuff, it’s a game of cat and mouse, so there is basically no information as to ‘how’ it’s improved… just know, it’s improved!

Quality of life

New player remains backpacks so you’re not confused
Death markers have been added to the compass
Plants stay ripe for 14 hours instead of 4 hours.
Resolved some repair costs being higher than intended
Able to rotate doors before placement
Launchsite SAMs no longer shoot MLRS rockets
Let blackjack dealer hit on a soft 17
Shelter limits (1 shelter per person)
Faster reload and aim animation for the Semi and P2 (everything will be a bit more responsive)
Slight drop in recoil movement on the P2

Other stuff

Changed default nudity to pixelated
Some Chinese New Year items coming include a Dragon Launcher and Spear
Improvements to industrial system (under the hood stuff)
Fixed spraycan not reassigning the owner id of entities when reskinning to a redirect skin
Fix for player clothing skins getting removed in demos when scrubbing