Rust Mobile beginner's guide for solo players - Five tips for PvP survival

If you're unfamiliar with the survival craft genre, it can be somewhat overwhelming at first. Waking up on a beach with nothing but a rock for company and very little direction on where to go next is tricky. Then throw in the numerous other players vying for blood, and it's an intimidating place to be, especially if, like me, you prefer to go it alone. 

But fear not, with this Rust Mobile beginner's guide for solo players, I aim to make those initial steps easier for you. Here, you'll learn a solid path to better weapons, which you can then use to decimate the players who kept gunning you down when you were merely trying to bash a tree down with a rock to build a hut. Oh, and I'll throw in a few general tips too, since there are a few things you should remember before venturing out of your base.

Tip #1 - Build a base in the right place

First things first, you'll want to build a base. This can be as intricate or simple as you'd like. Personally, I'd recommend using one of the pre-fab options Rust Mobile provides so you can get up and running that much quicker. You don't just want to lay your foundations anywhere, though. Placement is key. 

Ideally, you want to build your new home between a level one and two Monument (the points of interest highlighted on the map). This way, you're within comfortable walking distance of good loot and, hopefully, a Recycler (more on that later). And equally, you're not building too close that enemies will always be on top of you, making leaving your front door a task by itself. 

Additionally, look for smaller, unmarked looting spots with an abandoned truck and a couple of loot barrels. Having one nearby is super useful for quickly gathering Scrap and other resources without charging headfirst into a Monument that might have armed players waiting for your arrival. You'll need to face them eventually, but at the start, it's not ideal.

Tip #2 - Keep your head down, then gather, craft, repeat

Early on, it's all about setting everything up for future success. It's not glamorous, but it needs doing. That means heading out, knocking down trees and smashing rocks to gather wood and stone, while gathering hemp to get cloth. With it, you’ll make a Sleeping bag and medical supplies like Bandages. All the while, do your best to avoid other players. If you see them, try to duck away as quietly as possible without getting into combat.

Along the way, craft a hatchet and a pickaxe to make grinding for resources a little quicker than using your starting rock. Then, once you've done a bit of gathering, it's time to craft. Start with a sleeping bag since this gives you a place to respawn if you die. Then, create several Wood Storage Boxes to keep Resources, Weapons, Parts, Food and Medicine in. Making a box for each type keeps everything organised, but I'm not about to stop you from being a chaotic maverick if you prefer. And finally, get yourself a Tool Cupboard, a useful structure that prevents your building from decaying, and you can feed it Intel found from looting to get experience and free items. 

Next, craft a hunting bow and several arrows. This is not for scouting out other players and sniping them from. No, we're going hunting. The next items on our check list our animal bones and fat. Combined with cloth, animal fat is used to make low-grade fuel. We need this to build our furnaces. These are integral for smelting items to get more useful resources, like Metal Fragments. Try to make 3-4 of them so you can smelt multiple resources at once. Alongside that, the animal bones we harvest can be used to craft Bone Armor. This is far better early-game protection than that lovely red hoodie you found. 

Now, it's time to build a Workbench Level One. This requires Scrap - a difficult Resource to come by early on. Checking those loot barrels I mentioned earlier won't net you much. So, to speed up the process, a Recycler is needed. These are often found at Level One Monuments, meaning you'll have to leave the safety of wood chopping and animal hunting. But with a Recycler, you can turn most weapons, electric parts and even some clothing into scrap.

The catch is the Recycler takes time to use, so you can't throw in your items and run off with your scrap. It's important to steer clear of people as best you can, only engaging with them if you have no other choice. But I'd recommend trying to sneak around these Monuments, using the Recycler in secret. Keep doing this until you can build a Workbench Level One.  

To sum up, before moving on to the next tip, you want to have crafted the following (along with the resources required to craft them): 

• Sleeping bag - 10 Cloth
• Hunting Bow - 200 Wood, 10 Cloth
• Arrows - 60 Wood, 25 Stone (This gets you five arrows)
• Tool Cupboard - 1000 Wood
• Workbench Level One - 500 Wood, 100 Metal Fragments, 50 Scrap
• Furnaces (3-4) - 200 Stone, 100 Wood, 10 Low Grade Fuel per furnace
• Wood Storage Box (As many as required for your organisational needs) - 100 Wood per box
• Bone Armor - 15 Cloth, 70 Bone Fragments

Tip# 3 - Aim for Scrap SMG and learn the rules of engagement

Now that you've got yourself a workbench, you can use it to research Blueprints, unlocking the ability to craft new weapons and gear. The snag is, this is going to cost you Scrap. That's right. The grind for the Workbench Level One might be over, but our desire for Scrap never ends. Unsurprisingly, the Scrap SMG sits at the bottom of the Level One Technology Blueprint pile, so we're going to need to find a lot of scrap. 

Along the way, you'll need to unlock the Crossbow, Mace, Simple Handmade Sight, Waterpipe Shotgun and Revolver Set. If you're itching for a fight, feel free to craft and use these. But otherwise, keep sneaking around until you've unlocked the Scrap SMG Blueprint and can craft one. For that, you need 5 High Quality Metal, 200 Metal Fragments, and 1 Metal Spring. HQM is made by smelting High Quality Ore in a furnace, and popping Metal Ore in there will net you Metal Fragments. As for the Spring, you'll likely find a few just looting around. 

Ultimately, we're back to tip number two. Keep hitting the Recycler and smashing loot barrels to earn more Scrap. And, of course, avoid enemies unless you fancy yourself with a Pistol or Crossbow and keep dipping back to your base to drop off loot. Bag space is a premium, and it's devastating if you die and lose your haul. If you happen to get into a fight and win, don't dive into your former foe's backpack like the greedy loot goblin you are. Instead, take a moment to survey the surroundings. Skirmishes grab attention, and we don’t want that. 

When it's all clear, scavenge their goodies and hopefully get something worthwhile. Then, immediately return to your base. As always, we don't want to lose anything. Even if you were heading to the Recycler, abandon that and head home. Trust me, it's not worth being greedy. It's a lot of Scrap to get the SMG. Don't delay it by chasing a loot high. 

Tip #4 - Become a PvP superstar but keep collecting Scrap

Once the Scrap SMG is in your hands, your looting missions become a lot more exciting and equally as dangerous. During your trips to Tier-One Monuments, you likely picked up a Green Keycard. If not, head back and seek one out. With it, you can open locked doors at Tier-Two Monuments that grant access to a Blue Keycard, higher-level intel and useful items like our precious Scrap. Don't worry about finding these locked doors since they'll get marked on your map when you enter the area. 

However, remember there are two parts to getting that loot. Before opening the door with your keycard, you need to solve a puzzle and flick a switch to give it power. Though simple, this added step puts you at risk for a little longer. 

Still, with a better weapon, you're now equipped to handle these places. Just be aware that other players venturing into them are likely packing heat too. So, approach cautiously and try to pick your moment before firing. Getting the drop on someone is pretty much a guaranteed kill in Rust Mobile, as there's often not enough time to respond. 

What's our end goal here? Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, you want to earn enough Scrap to craft a Workbench Level Two to unlock blueprints for crafting even better gear and weapons, like the Semi-Auto Rifle and Custom SMG. Then you can move on to Tier-Three Monuments. Essentially, then, the loop doesn't really change; you simply get access to better gear and weapons, allowing you to tackle more dangerous areas.

Tip #5 - Some general tips

• To round off this beginner's guide, I'll quickly run through a few general tips that may or may not be obvious, depending on your familiarity with the genre:
• There are various daily quests to complete in Rust Mobile. Doing so will net you basic resources, but it all helps.
• Before leaving your base, make sure to top up your health, then satiate your thirst and hunger to give yourself the best chance of survival. 
• Likewise, take a few bandages or better medicine if you have it, in case you need to heal after a battle.
• Only take as much ammo as you might need. Taking 400-plus bullets might seem like a good idea until you die and lose them all. Instead, take around 30-50. If you survive any encounters, your opponents will likely have some anyway. 
• Make sure you're wearing headphones when you play. It's much easier to hear where shots and footsteps are coming from when wearing headphones. Speakers can work at a push, though I wouldn't recommend it. However, it's better than playing with no sound at all.

And that's all for our Rust Mobile beginner's guide. Hopefully, it helps. And good luck out there. It's a dangerous island.