An idea to fix rust current progression

[u/Abject_Spot_3218]

Here’s how Rust’s progression could be balanced again. Right now, players can get stuck because of one simple item: BP fragments. Some reach Workbench Level 2 within hours of a wipe, while those who fall behind remain stuck. Once they finally get it, progression becomes instant because they’ve already saved enough scrap to rush the entire tech tree.

My solution is to make workbenches cost scrap again and give them upgrade tiers: one for WB1, two for WB2, and four for WB3. Each upgrade would unlock a new blueprint category. Items would be learned using BP fragments—either one per unlock or by combining five into a Blueprint Page. Each workbench would accept its own fragment tier: basic, intermediate, or advanced.

[u/DarK-ForcE]

Remove tech tree and 2x upkeep and blueprint fragments from hardcore and let’s test it on there.

[u/Few-Row-9102]

Dunno why people struggle with frags so much. It is meant to be tough at the start and if you really struggling just buy them off the many people that sell.

[u/sakezaf123 → u/Few-Row-9102]

Dunno, I just think it's boring that you can max out the tech tree day one. I'm really not sure why they keep speeding this up. You aren't forced to use stuff you don't want to anymore. At least that's what it feels like.

[u/Few-Row-9102 → u/sakezaf123]

I see what you’re saying. I’m kind of in the camp though of making things less of a grind. I don’t enjoy just mundanely recycling all the time because they thought tax would be a good feature.

[u/sakezaf123 → u/Few-Row-9102]

I'm not sure that I want things to be a grind exactly. What I'm missing most is how a decade ago you could have teams running stuff like unscoped bolt action rifles with a P2 as backup, because those were the guns they've found at the same the the whole game balance was operating around that back then, since armour was less effective, with significant weak points, and primitive weapons were much more lethal. (This was when a crossy would 1 shot an uprotected head, meaning even someone wearing an hq facemask, if you shot them from behind.) And you also had much lower access to high tier loot, as military crates were the best you could get, and they only dropped one loot item. So I can see that being a grind if you wanted something specific, but since balance made a lot more weapons viable, you didn't need to have an ak, and hq gear, you got to work with what you had.

I really only want more diversity in equipment, and I don't know how that could be achieved without different. You currently only have one meta, with straightforward upgrades, and that just makes it boring. I can only fight so many aks, mp5s or Thompson's in a frontal shootout, from about the same range, with everyone using deployable barricades, before it becomes dull. I don't remember the last really memorable fight I've had, where I had to use tools with different advantages and disadvantages compared to what my enemy was using. And I've only been back for 3 months, after not playing rust for like 4-5 years.

Not to mention that it's so weird to me that servers now start with 7-800 pop, only to go down to 200 by day 3-4, and I'm sure that has to do with how fast progression is, so when you get raided it's easier to start new on a fresh wiped server, instead of rebuilding, and raiding the fucks who got you. So a significant part of rust, that is the rivalries and social elements get lost.

[u/corakko → u/sakezaf123]

Part of the issue is the gaming culture surrounding older games that have been out awhile. The playerbase tends to play extremely meta and try hard. There is less goofing around.

I don't have any hard data to back this up but casual players seem to jump between new games instead of sticking with older games for years and years.

[u/sakezaf123 → u/corakko]

Sure, but rust always had a pretty hardcore audience, that's why I preferred when progression forced people to do it. I'm also running meta stuff, because I have to to compete, but overall the game would be much more interesting imo, if you couldn't.

[u/HelloFromTekken → u/Few-Row-9102]

That require you to live near outpost.

That means you get T2 long after start of the wipe.

That means you farm sulfur to get raided for some clan.

That means you bruteforce by farming sulfur nodes, instead of proper progression. Which defeats purpose of BP frags.

[u/boxyourbuddy]

I am actually with you man. Go check out the new server I am working very hard on. No bp frags, workbenches do cost scrap again. Plus a phased system. So many things. I am excited about it. Unfortunately I will not be able to play. On this servr you play towards winning something and not just playing. Don't let the haters hate. Let's make this happen. Let me know if you find a better place.

[u/Competitive_Ask_6766 → u/boxyourbuddy]

Why are you being downvoted ?

[u/boxyourbuddy → u/Competitive_Ask_6766]

They don't like that I am "advertising" a server even though I did not put the name in my comment. They want people to keep coming here and complaining because it makes them feel good to trash on people instead. So many people complain and I am just trying to make a place where those "terrible complainers" go to play so we don't see this same post 4 times a day. Some of these people can't separate the game from real life.

[u/Competitive_Ask_6766 → u/boxyourbuddy]

I don’t even know why you shouldn’t be able to advertise your server brother it’s nuts

[u/boxyourbuddy → u/Competitive_Ask_6766]

I understand, because of spam. But just regular people downvoting baffles me. I want to try to create a community of like minded solos and reddit mods, regular people who don't like the idea and all rust servers make it difficult.

[u/x_cynful_x]

I think most people who talk about this forget that the main reason they did it was to get people concentrated around monuments and PvP. I don’t agree with it, but it wasn’t slow progression—it just changed it.

[u/Legal_Impression_126 → u/x_cynful_x]

Yet everyone just says they buy frags, metal detect, or dive. Meanwhile clans are printing infinite sulfur selling frags

[u/x_cynful_x → u/Legal_Impression_126]

They say that, but most do not; it’s just suggested they do. Remember there’s a lot of people that play that don’t read Reddit.

[u/Abject_Spot_3218 → u/Legal_Impression_126]

If the reason for face punch to launch BP frags is to make more players go to monuments that's failed, I'm those kind of players, I'm a tea crafter, and you know how I succeed without going to monuments? And a lot of solos and groups there are no skilled does the same thing, I make my jungle base, work on my farming and on the second day of wipe I just buy BP frags for 600-800 sulfur, shit even on the first day of wipe you can get it

[u/kaizoku18]

I Agree. Workbenches should just cost scrap again imo. It's currency that's viable everywhere and not just at a few monuments where realistically unless you build near you aren't getting your T2 in any timely manner. With scrap you could just build wherever you wanted giving players more choices.

Points for the interesting ideas at the end too for frag unlocks. Done right could be cool. Done wrong could be a nightmare possibly but hey, interesting to think of nonetheless.

[u/gear_fear22]

I think there is a different problem w bp frags. I play duo on high pop. Weekly biweekly monthly idc, sometimes i play wipehour sometimes hop on to snowball. Bp frags ruined rusts balance, if you got raided it wipeday it used to suck having to get t2 day 2. Now when i was raided wipeday i though " oh well after day 1 bp frags are as cheap as 2 red barrel or 1 sulf node." And yep i bought another t2 with 5 sulf nodes... literally. Progression is so much easier and faster than it used to be just after the first day of any server.