Power Trip in Rust: The Power Plant Now Affects Loot and Events Across the Map

Facepunch calls the new system Player Maintained Monuments: players bring monuments back online to unlock the features connected to them. Power Plant is the starting point for many of these systems. Once the infrastructure is running, it changes conditions for other players too.

Power Plant: electricity is now a shared resource

Previously, Power Plant did not supply electricity to the island’s power grid. Players can now bring Heavy Fuses found in loot and install them in special fuse boxes. Monuments come online in stages, and some require more fuses than others. The plant’s restoration level therefore determines which features are available across the map. The proposal received 171 votes in favor and 238 against, with more players opposed than in favor.

Once the plant is running, the roadside power poles with transformers can supply electrical circuits. Available power depends on the state of Power Plant. Players can now climb the poles without a ladder.

The base efficiency of green recyclers outside safe zones has been reduced from 60% to 50%. With enough power, it returns to 60%, and at maximum power, recycling time drops from 5 to 4.5 seconds. Yellow recyclers in safe zones are unchanged. At maximum power, a special red recycler with 75% efficiency becomes available at Power Plant. Another loot room also unlocks when the plant has sufficient power.

Satellite crash: players choose the site, but the whole server sees the descent

A Satellite Control Computer has been added to Launch Site. To take control, players need an aiming module. They can use the computer to select a satellite and set its crash site with the engine buttons. The developers provide no instructions on how the buttons affect its trajectory, so players will have to figure that out for themselves. Once confirmed, the satellite begins its descent, visible to the entire server. New loot containers appear on impact; they can be looted once they cool down. The event lets players choose the crash site, but the loot is no secret.

The developers’ notes differ on the requirements for starting the event. The Steam announcement lists tech trash alongside the aiming module, while the Satellite Crash section on the Facepunch website mentions only the aiming module.

Dome: extracting oil is only half the job—you still have to transport it

When Power Plant is running, a switch becomes available on Large Oil Rig to send crude oil to Dome. The supply runs for 20 minutes. Players need a Tanker transport module to collect the oil, then take it to a vehicle lift to unload it. Small Oil Rig has a second switch that supplies oil at half speed. If both are active, the combined rate is 1.5 times the rate from Large Oil Rig.

Water Treatment Plant now supplies water to the roadside pipes

Water pipes have appeared along the roads, but they start out empty. To get water flowing, players need to keep the Water Treatment Plant running. Two gearboxes inside the monument can be powered by inserting gears while the power grid is live. The gears are consumed while the mechanism is running and cannot be taken back out. Once pressure in the central reservoir reaches its maximum, the blades start clearing blockages and water flows across the map. Facepunch says it will be easier to maintain pressure after the initial startup.

Airfield lets players control deliveries

The updated tower at Airfield has two terminals on the second floor. They charge from fuse boxes connected to the power grid. The smaller terminal increases the frequency of airdrops across the map; the larger one lets players call in a Chinook supply drop near the airfield. After activation, the remaining charge gradually drains and the terminal becomes available again. Here, too, one monument’s effects reach beyond its boundaries: one terminal affects deliveries across the map.

High external walls now cost more to maintain

The developers say this change is intended to make it harder to claim large areas of the map with placed structures. High external walls now have a fixed upkeep cost of 20%. Facepunch says this should preserve their use for securing a base’s territory while making it more expensive to build and maintain large numbers of external tool cupboards. After a raid, abandoned defenses should also disappear faster if players stop maintaining them.

Well vending machines have less stock

Facepunch sees the wells as a way for players to try out tea buffs and high-tier tools, not as a permanent source of supplies in place of farming. The developers say players could previously buy 10 jackhammers and 10 teas with improved effects from vending machines just a few hours after a wipe. Prices remain unchanged, but stock is limited and replenishes more slowly.

• Stock at each well vending machine: reduced from 10 to 2.
• Restock time: increased from 2 to 10 minutes.

Quick purchases are still possible, but regularly getting large quantities this way will be harder. The developers intend for players to grow crops and clone plants to maintain a steady supply.

What else is in the update

The update also adds the Bar Games Pack DLC, featuring pool and darts, and Stone Sculpture, an interactive stone sculpture. Players can now create Workshop skins for the Small Backpack.

• Supermarket Freezer: the supermarket freezer dispenses chilled food while powered by Power Plant; a larger stock appears there from time to time.
• Gas Station Car Garage: at Oxum’s Gas Station, the garage door runs on the power grid or a backup generator. There is a vehicle lift inside, and higher-quality vehicle parts can be found beneath the garage.
• Respawn points: interact with a sleeping bag or bed to mark it on the compass. Only one point can be marked at a time; favorited sleeping bags appear first on the screen after death.
• Workbench Recycle Bin upgrade: it now has its own inventory for returned bonus items. You cannot put your own loot in it.
• Resources in safe zones: ore deposits and wood piles no longer spawn there. The developers say these clusters could only be mined with a rock and were preventing resources from spawning elsewhere.
• Wolf Headdress: crafting it now requires a Tier 1 Workbench. The change received 152 votes in favor and 202 against. Lunar New Year masks with the same stats have been turned into skin variants.
• Shields: after setting up a keybind, players can switch a shield between their back and a side-guard position. There is a cooldown between switches.
• Looting bodies: fixed clothing being swapped when quickly looting a body while holding ALT. Removed clothing goes into the main inventory or, if it is full, into the body bag.
• Demo UI: the new recording interface includes camera settings, a keyframe timeline and a mode for staging scenes. It is disabled by default for now; enable it with the demo.newui command.
• Master Key: the key to Apartment Complex now has a model and animations.
• Fishing Village: now sells Kayak and Paddle instead of their blueprints.
• Snow Jacket: significantly improved bite and cold protection.
• Blowpipe: crafting cost reduced from 25 to 10 cloth; Wooden Dart damage increased from 40 to 50.
• Bucket Helmet: crafting cost reduced from 35 to 20 fragments, with a slight increase to projectile and bite protection. Collared Shirt received a small boost to radiation and projectile protection.
• Apartment Complex: accumulated rental time is now capped at 72 hours. The sound of installing a weapon module can now be heard from 20 meters away, down from 60.
• Siege and building: siege weapons are now vulnerable to fire; fixed cases where a battering ram failed to damage structures or wooden barricades could not be placed.
• Game startup and servers: the developers sped up main menu loading, added experimental parallel entity saving in UsePlayerUpdateJobs 4, and updated the object pool.