Breach and Clear changes the start of a wipe, base upkeep, and marketplace deliveries

Facepunch announced Breach and Clear in its September 3 announcement. The biggest changes affect familiar post-wipe routines: getting loot from monuments with red keycard puzzles, maintaining a shared base, and buying items through drones now take more preparation. The update also changes combat, resource gathering, and water supply.

Barriers slow access to monument loot

Monument blockers have been added to monuments with red keycard puzzles. The barriers are designed to slow access to loot at the start of a wipe and must be destroyed to get through. The developers don't expect them to significantly slow the whole server's progression; the goal is to make the first hours of a wipe more interesting for players who arrive early.

• Monument blockers: the main barriers take significant damage to destroy.
• Weaker barriers: some can be destroyed with melee weapons.
• Destroyed barriers: do not respawn.
• Barriers still intact after the first 24 hours: begin to decay over time.

In practice, this is mainly an obstacle for early loot runs, not a permanent new requirement for accessing the monument. The section has 417 upvotes and 143 downvotes on Facepunch's site.

Large groups pay more to maintain their bases

The Tool Cupboard now adds an upkeep tax based on the number of players in the base. Facepunch says the change addresses the advantage large groups have: numbers help them overcome many of Rust's challenges. At the same time, the developers don't want to make group play unviable or increase costs for solo players and small groups.

• Player count: includes players authorized on the Tool Cupboard, as well as those whose access was revoked within the past 24 hours.
• Code locks: includes players authorized on the lock, including through a guest code, and those whose access was revoked within the past 24 hours.
• First 4 players: no additional tax.
• Next 6 players: 2% tax per player.
• Each additional player: 4% tax; capped at 300% total.

According to Facepunch's examples, 6 players add 4%, while 12 players add 20%. You can see the current rate by hovering over the upkeep cost in an open Tool Cupboard. The developers plan to monitor the impact and adjust the rules if needed; server owners can configure them or disable them entirely.

Marketplace deliveries now depend on the Power Plant being online

The Drone marketplace is now linked to the Power Plant system introduced in the previous monthly update. Previously, deliveries didn't require the system to be running; now the Power Plant needs working fuses for the marketplace to operate. This affects purchases even if a player never visits the Power Plant: delivery availability depends on shared infrastructure.

• Marketplace power: slowly increases when 4 or more fuses are active at the Power Plant.
• Purchases: become available when power reaches 50%.
• Power retention: power doesn't drop while at least one fuse is installed.
• Shutdown: if power drops below 50%, the marketplace stops working again.
• Status check: current power is shown on the marketplace map screen.

This section received more downvotes than upvotes: 219 up and 454 down on the announcement page. These are player ratings for the Facepunch section, not an indicator of how often deliveries will be unavailable.

Helicopter and armored HAB armor now comes off in sections

Facepunch says players felt the Attack Helicopter was too difficult to counter. Damage now gradually strips away its cabin armor, exposing the pilot and gunner. The armored HAB also loses armor as it takes damage. For attackers, the panels offer a clear target during a prolonged fight; for the crew, staying under fire is now more dangerous.

• Attack Helicopter: the left panel comes off at 80% condition, or 680 hp; the right at 70%, or 595 hp; the front at 60%, or 510 hp.
• Armored HAB: the left panel comes off at 90%, or 2,250 hp; the right at 80%, or 2,000 hp; the rear at 70%, or 1,750 hp; the front at 60%, or 1,500 hp.
• Installing HAB armor: now takes 3 seconds and has an accompanying effect.

Rare HQM ore can now be found outside familiar farming routes

High Quality Metal Ore (HQM) deposits and collectible chunks can now be found around the island. Facepunch says they are extremely rare and that Jungle is the most promising place to look for a deposit. This gives players another chance to find the resource while exploring, but the announcement doesn't say this will replace existing farming routes.

• HQM: ore deposits and collectible chunks have been added around the island.
• Jungle: HQM deposits are more likely to appear there than elsewhere.

Water from the Water Treatment Plant now depends on pressure

Facepunch has simplified the Water Treatment Plant's water system. Each fully turned valve now provides a limited supply of water, and the amount depends on pressure in the reservoir. For farms built around pipes, this means keeping an eye on the system itself, not just the connections.

• Each fully turned valve: provides 3 hours of real-time water supply.
• Both valves: build up enough pressure to keep the pipes running for 6 hours.
• Pressure: determines the amount of water. Check it in the service building next to the valve, on the ground floor.
• Once the pressure reserve is depleted: supply stops, and water then starts draining from pipes across the map.
• Pipes: there are more of them, placement has been made more consistent, and output and IO stats have been increased. The developers estimate that one pipe is roughly equivalent to 2 pumps.

What else is in the update

• Medical Honey bandage: a new healing item made at Workbench Level 1 uses honey supplies and sits between the regular Bandage and Medical Syringe.
• Modular car handling improvements: steering, turning, and suspension have been changed; press CTRL to use the handbrake. The developers have also worked on handling at high latency.
• RADWATER Sprinkler BUFF: Radwater from sprinklers now penetrates some types of armor more effectively and irradiates protected players more strongly; Hazmat remains effective protection.
• SAM SITE bUFFED VS DRONES: SAM site missiles reach hostile drones faster and hit them more reliably thanks to an increased trigger radius.
• Notable Changes: the heavy helmet now muffles sound for its wearer and costs more to craft, while movement in a heavy jacket and pants is audible to other players. The Semi-Automatic Pistol deals less damage at range and costs slightly more to craft. Stack sizes for F1, Bee Grenade, Molotov, and Flashbang have been reduced to 3, and Beancan to 4; Large Medkit now reduces radiation.
• Flashlight Remake: the flashlight has a new model and animations; right-click to turn it on or off.
• Arrow Revamp: wooden arrows have a new look.
• New World Models: more than 70 models replace the bag previously used to represent various dropped items.
• Paint Brush Visualizer: the painting interface now previews the current brush on the surface.
• Salvaged hammer refresh: the hammer has a new model, textures, and animations.
• New Navmesh: Facepunch is enabling a new navigation system on some of its servers; players may spot animals inside bases or at monuments.
• Improved Server Event Saving: event states at oil rigs, the Cargo Ship, Patrol Helicopter and Bradley events, and the Satellite Dish crash sites are now better preserved after a server restart.
• Demo Improvements: the demo recording interface has been fixed and now includes player-attached lighting and a curve editor; testing the new interface still requires the demo.newui 1 command.
• Facepunch Servers: EU Primitive 2, CAN Primitive 1, and US West Primitive 1 are closing; Primitive servers in these regions will remain. The map size for EU Hardcore 1 and US East Hardcore 1 is being reduced from 4250 to 3750.
• Network Range Audit and Performance sections: data sent about distant objects has been reduced, physics, memory use, and vehicle processing have been improved, and multithreading changes have been prepared for further optimization.

The patch also includes smaller changes that are useful in everyday play: swamp trees yield more wood, some pies last longer, and the composter shows how long it will take for its contents to turn into fertilizer. At Dome, oil pumps now hold 1,000 crude oil instead of 10,000. You can pick up an unlocked garage door without building privilege, and rugs no longer prevent you from placing workbench upgrades.

The update also adds clan achievements and changes to skins: wooden armor is now available to workshop creators, Crystal Assault Rifle has been released as DLC, and players can choose a random unlocked skin when crafting an item. These changes affect item customization; the main new restrictions on gameplay routes—monument barriers, large-base upkeep, and marketplace power—apply independently.