Rust’s next update is shaping up to be a big one, with a mix of major backend improvements and several impactful new systems now live on staging. From customizable workbench upgrades to a new mortar weapon and a full vending UI overhaul, there’s a lot to dig into this week.

Easter Event Ending Soon

The Easter event is wrapping up, with just a short window left before it’s gone. If you’ve been hunting eggs or farming the limited-time rewards, now’s your last chance to jump in and grab anything you’re missing.

As a reminder, event-exclusive items and mechanics will be removed once the event ends, so expect things to return to normal shortly after.

Workbench Upgrades

A brand new workbench upgrade system is in the works, and it’s shaping up to be one of the more impactful progression changes we’ve seen in a while. Players can now slot upgrade items directly into their workbench, adding various bonuses that affect crafting, research, and even the workbench itself. Higher tier benches support more upgrades (up to six slots on Tier 3), and each slot must contain a unique upgrade — no stacking the same bonus multiple times.

There are currently around 10 different upgrades in development, covering everything from faster crafting and reduced tech tree costs to completely bypassing progression at a premium. Some highlights include efficiency upgrades that can occasionally duplicate crafted items, salvage upgrades that reduce scrap costs, and a prototype upgrade that lets you unlock any tech tree item regardless of progression (with a chance to fail). There are also more utility-focused options like increased crafting radius, comfort bonuses, and even defensive upgrades that increase the workbench’s durability and resistance to explosive damage.

The system is still very much in flux — research paths aren’t fully implemented yet, and some effects are still being iterated on — but the direction is clear. This adds a new layer of customization and optimization to crafting setups, and depending on how it’s balanced, could significantly change how players approach progression each wipe.

Mortar

A new deployable mortar is making its way into Rust, giving players a completely different way to approach combat and raiding. The mortar can be placed down and mounted, allowing players to manually adjust the firing angle and launch shells using primary fire. It’s an early prototype right now, but the core idea is already there — a player-controlled indirect fire weapon that trades precision for range and positioning.

In its current state, the mortar is very much work-in-progress. It appears to be using rocket-like damage values for now, with shorter range and a custom fuse time, and there are still some rough edges like missing sound, inconsistent firing behavior, and no trajectory preview. Crafting is also placeholder at the moment, mirroring rockets and requiring a Tier 3 workbench. Even so, this has the potential to shake up raiding and base defense in a big way if it makes it to full release.

Major Engine & Performance Overhaul

A huge amount of work this week has gone into under-the-hood systems, with a major cleanup and overhaul of how players and networking are handled on the server. The old player update pipelines have been fully removed, consolidating everything into the newer parallelized system. Alongside this, the occlusion system has been significantly simplified and optimized, now relying on cached results instead of constantly recalculating visibility. These changes should help reduce server load and improve overall consistency, especially in high-pop situations.

There’s also been a major rewrite of how network groups are managed, removing pre-allocation entirely and switching to a more efficient, thread-safe system that dramatically reduces memory usage. Combined with a wide sweep of cleanup across legacy code, replication logic, and player state handling, this update is laying the groundwork for better performance and scalability going forward, even if most of the impact won’t be immediately visible to players.

Nuke Blast Effect

A new large-scale “nuke” explosion effect has quietly appeared on staging, hinting at some kind of upcoming event or special-use feature. The effect itself is massive, with a towering blast that’s clearly designed to be seen from long distances. Right now it appears to be more of a visual prototype than a fully integrated gameplay system, but even in its current state it makes quite the impression. See it in action here.

There’s no clear indication yet how this will be used, but it’s likely tied to some kind of server-wide event, end-of-wipe sequence, or potential Twitch/Kick integration. The visuals are still a bit rough up close, but from a distance the effect looks solid. For now, this one sits firmly in the “experimental” category, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

Vending Machine UI Overhaul

The vending machine interface is getting a major overhaul this update, with a full redesign of the admin UI aimed at making managing shops much smoother. The new system introduces a cleaner layout with improved item search, clearer sell order creation, and better overall feedback when setting up trades. Players can now more easily browse items, adjust quantities, and manage listings without fighting the interface.

There’s also a number of quality-of-life improvements baked in, including the ability to reorder sell orders, remove all listings at once, and see more consistent button states and tooltips. Visual polish has been a big focus as well, with updated styling, animations, and even emoji support for shop names. Overall, this looks like a big step forward in usability, especially for players who rely heavily on vending machines for trading.

Player Model & Animation Updates

Work on the new player model system continues, with ongoing improvements to animations, rigging, and overall character visuals. A number of fixes and adjustments have been made to movement, aiming, and mounting behavior, along with updates to how characters are skinned and rendered across different gear sets. NPCs like scientists are also being updated to use the new system, helping standardize character behavior and animation across the game.

There’s also been continued progress on hair and facial hair systems, including more consistent color generation and various fixes for shadows, LODs, and visual artifacts. These updates are all part of the broader PlayerRigUpdate2 effort, which is steadily refining the new player models. Notably, the first glimpses of these updated player models have started to surface, with Alistair sharing an early look — giving players a preview of where things are heading.

Apartment Complex Monument

Work continues on the upcoming apartment complex monument, which is shaping up to be one of the more ambitious additions in development right now. While much of the recent progress has focused on the visual side — including LODs, prefab cleanup, and expanding rentable shop areas — there are also clear signs of a deeper gameplay system being built behind the scenes. The monument itself is partially merged into the main branch, but the full feature set is still very much in progress.

The long-term plan appears to center around a rentable room system, where players can claim apartments, secure them with a new dedicated lock system, and manage access without relying on traditional code locks. There’s also early work on furniture spawning, room upgrades, and item transfer between rooms, suggesting a more persistent and structured living space system. It’s not ready just yet, but this is definitely one to watch as development continues.

Fixes

Fixed exploit allowing players to access Tool Cupboards through vending machines
Fixed crashes and reload issues with the mortar prototype
Fixed NPCs/bots corrupting tick data and server memory
Fixed player aim issues when switching between mountable seats
Fixed Egg Hunt rewards being lost when inventory is full
Fixed hover looting issues with weapon attachments
Fixed team system edge cases (forceaddtoteam issues)
Fixed various UI errors (including draggable panel NREs and tooltip issues)
Fixed rendering issues with wallpapers, decals, and materials
Fixed LOD-related bugs causing objects to render incorrectly or disappear
Fixed shadow caching issues affecting lighting behavior
Fixed windmill behavior and scaling issues
Fixed various animation, skinning, and model issues across player gear

Other Stuff

Electric furnace updates, including workshop support and visual fixes
New fluid IO systems expanded, including crude oil production and transport — oil to be generated at monuments and pumped into containers like vehicle tanker modules
Tin can alarm improvements (sounds, damage interaction, behavior tweaks)
New terrain hole tools using SDF-based system for improved terrain editing
Lighting and shadow improvements across multiple assets and systems
Audio updates for melee weapons and general item interactions
Vending machine UI polish (animations, reorder functionality, tooltips)
Apartment monument continued visual and structural development
Early work on new bridge prefabs and world structures
General backend cleanup and continued optimization across systems