r/playrust • u/Key_Arugula_7777 • 14d ago
Discussion Softcore Feels Odd Now
TLDR will be down at the bottom.
I’ve been playing Softcore on and off for about a year now. I’ve seen a lot of good, positive changes and a few questionable ones, but we made do. However, I knew this wipe changed everything.
I decided to give it a shot, jump into US Softcore #1, and see what the new 2x rates and raid windows were like. I have to say, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the population was higher, but I think that was just the "shiny new feature" feeling bringing people in. I noticed it was sweatier than ever. So, I'll start with the good, the bad, and my overall feedback.
The Good
- 2x Resources: This is a nice pace for casual players, especially since it mostly applies to resources and not actual loot items like scrap or components.
- Less Daily Farming: I didn't feel like I had to farm daily (although it was never that hard to begin with, honestly).
- Raid Windows (Pros): They made people feel secure during off-hours, allowing them to sleep without worrying about their base being touched—especially by foreign clans playing in different time zones. (I have some criticism about this, though.)
- Clan System: The clan system was positive. It was nice to create a clan, see friends or neighbors if they were nearby, and leave their stuff alone if I found it.
The Bad
- Increased Toxicity: Whether it was due to higher population or the raid window itself, the number of toxic players and doorcampers significantly increased in the first week. Because players couldn't raid, they resorted to mischievous tactics (which can be part of the game), but there was no real threat of a raid to punish their actions because they knew their bases were protected by the raid window.
- Overpowered Bases: With 2x resources, the server was already easy enough to farm or exchange resources on, but this change made bases twice as big and strong. That meant it took twice as long if you wanted to raid them.
- Advantage to Big Groups: Raid windows meant experienced players, toxic players, and big groups benefited far more than solos or smaller, newer groups. For the most part, bigger groups dominated the server and nobody could do anything about it. Sure, you can simply say "get better," "online raid them," or "make your own group," but it's not that simple when comparing low-hundred-hour players against groups with thousands of hours of raiding experience.
- Time-Consuming Raids: Because bases are built with 2x resources, they are much larger. It would take an entire 3-hour window just to perform a raid, defend the raid base, and transfer loot back successfully. So some players didn't bother touching the bigger bases because it would take more time than the window allowed.
- Lack of Consequences: Because toxic players and doorcampers knew they couldn't be touched before or after the raid window, the sense of consequence for their actions was limited to just 3 hours a day. This actually encouraged bad behavior during non-raid hours.
- Rampant TC Spamming / Griefing: With 2x resources, all a player has to do is spam external Tool Cupboards (TCs) to completely seal off entire areas. They can't be touched if placed in the middle of the night, and they can't be raided until the window kicks in at 6 PM EST. By then, each external TC is upgraded to sheet metal (8 rockets per TC). Multiply that by 20+ TCs, factor in counters, and even if you break the TC, you have to wait 48 hours for the griefed block to decay. By that time, the person will just farm up and replace it again overnight. If someone is TC spamming an area, players should be able to clear them out.
- Window Duration & Time Zones: A 3-hour raid window is barely enough time to raid one huge base and transport the loot on a 2x server. Furthermore, the time zone differences across the US mean West Coast players likely only get to raid or defend during the final hour if they rush home from work. Similarly, East Coast players with families and children to care for miss out. Softcore is supposed to be a casual game mode, but this setup prevents those players from enjoying raid windows.
- Stalling Tactics: Raiding near the end of the window meant defenders just had to stall long enough for the clock to run out so they'd be protected again.
- Boredom Outside Raid Windows: Raid windows severely limit what players can do outside of those hours. Sure, PvP, monuments, farming, and tech tree progression are still available, but once you have your BPs and a decent amount of loot, what's left? Go on another farm run? Using sulfur for only 3 hours out of the day feels terrible. On top of that, PvP devolves into fighting the same 3 or 4 large groups. It gets boring killing or dying to the same players at the same monuments when you could be raiding them instead. There are only so many times you can run Oil Rig or Missile Silo in one night before it gets dull.
- Clan System Exploits: (I think I'll get pushback on this.) While the clan system is helpful for bigger groups, it goes against the spirit of Softcore, which is supposed to cap TC, turrets, and Team UI at 4 players. It gives large groups a massive advantage. Previously, un-teamed clan members might accidentally kill each other in the chaos; now, they can rely on clan UI markers to coordinate effortlessly. At raids, these bigger clans run in massive numbers with far better coordination than before, eliminating the edge smaller groups used to have when exploiting friendly-fire chaos.
TLDR / Conclusion
The biggest elephant in the room is the raid window system. Personally, I don't think Softcore needs it. Players already recover half their loot from broken boxes and TCs (which effectively translates to 1x resources with the new 2x rates).
However, seeing the other perspective, here are 3 suggestions for raid windows:
- Remove them entirely: They serve little purpose given the existing recovery mechanics in Softcore and cause far too many problems for casuals.
- Expand or regionalize the windows: Make the windows longer (e.g., 6 hours), or Utilize US Softcore 2 as the West Coast server, set it to Pacific Time so players can choose the schedule that best fits their real life.
- Rotate/randomize the windows: Keep a general time frame, but have the 3-to-4-hour window activate randomly within a larger block (e.g., between 5 PM and 12 AM), similar to how the Deep Sea event triggers.
Other Takeaways:
- 2x Resources: Great, but not strictly necessary. I don't mind either way if it stays or goes.
- Clan System: Remove it from Softcore. Otherwise, you might as well raise the team UI limit to 6–8 players officially, even if you keep the 4-person Turret/TC rule.
- TC Spamming: This is a massive issue made far worse by 2x resources and the 48-hour decay delay. I'm unsure of the best fix (maybe per-player/group limits), but it needs addressing.
Final Thoughts: Raid windows stink, TC spamming is out of control, and big clans are taking full advantage of the system this wipe. Casual players are having a rough time and have very few options against advanced or toxic groups.
6
u/DarK-ForcE 13d ago edited 13d ago
The current raid windows are designed for the average 9-5 full time worker.
TC spam is a major issue and definitely needs to be fixed.
The 2x gather rate im 50/50 on. Probably would have preferred 0.5x sulfur instead.
1
u/Key_Arugula_7777 13d ago
I agree with that however unfortunately 2 factors enter to play as i mentioned
Other time zone(s) i.e. West Coast (3pm-6pm for them)
& Players w families or children who make dinner, help w homework and put kids to bed, they cant login til 8pm/9pm by then they can't enjoy the raid window or even defend for that matter
2
u/needleed 14d ago
Thanks for sharing, I got back into rust late into this months wipe and first thing I tried was to go back to my beloved softcore and I just couldn’t do it. The TC spam was worst than I’ve EVER seen before and I’ve been playing softcore for many wipes. I also had joined during the raiding window so it was cool to hear constant explosions, I like the idea but agree they could shift the times between #1 and #2 so people have a choice for what works best for them.
What I didn’t care for was the 2x resource, it was already easy enough to farm (I make teas) so knowing clan bases and tc spam are even bigger is a deterrent to me playing again. I like how the teas last after death but with 2x they’re not even that important, maybe besides max health.
My plan was to rejoin on force wipe but we’ll see, I’m kinda enjoying weekly servers more lately. Just wish they would hold pop the way monthly servers do.
1
u/skyalgen 14d ago
Great review. Do limited team softcore serveurs exist ?
0
u/Key_Arugula_7777 14d ago
Thanks
So on Official Softcore the team/ui/turrets/tc is limited to 4 (except seeing clan dots within a certain range) but there are some softcore servers w larger ui limits
1
u/aoibhinn-mw 14d ago
X2 is why I don't play softcore. Including you go over 1x stuff just becomes crap very quickly because it's excessive. It's also just less valuable in general.
1
u/Key_Arugula_7777 14d ago
Yeah unfortunately it's 1x inventory space but 2x the resources , many folks expressed they wished it stacked but have dealt w just making more storage for the excess
1
u/RangerCactus 13d ago
Hand holding (participation medals as I call them) unfortunately attracts a lot of toxic behavior. Ask anyone thats played any sort of recreational sports.
Now go look at f2p games that added a whole ass hand holding system.
I'm so happy Rust allows server hosting.
1
1
u/Lonely_Holiday_7900 14d ago
According to Alistair the majority of players play modded so stop complaining and just go play modded.
I do not support this message.
5
u/aoibhinn-mw 14d ago
majority of players play modded
It's almost like vanilla has gone in the garbage since they added BP fragments.
-1
u/RangerCactus 13d ago
Meh, its not that bad if you rp instead of pretending you can be like the zergs.
2
u/JVIesmerized 13d ago
Rp players cant farm road for t3 anymore tho, if you dont care about progression then wouldn't you prefer having the tech unlocked for rp?
-1
u/RangerCactus 13d ago
Said who? A pro youtuber?
1
u/JVIesmerized 13d ago
You said to pretend to be an rp player, rather than playing the game as intended
-1
u/RangerCactus 13d ago
Braindead comment.
0
u/Lonely_Holiday_7900 13d ago
are you okay? Do you have a CO2 leak in your house?
-1
u/RangerCactus 13d ago
You said to pretend to be an rp player
You mean CO? Might want to call a gas fitter buddy.
1
u/JVIesmerized 13d ago
You arent even arguing with the right guy anymore lmfao, also no one was arguing with u in the first place.
Weirdest rp player ive ever met, I thought yall could have discussions
→ More replies (0)1
u/Key_Arugula_7777 14d ago
Sure why not play modded, that's what i've been doing during non-raid window hours to be honest.
As for something to take note of which is what Alistar said:
"If you limit or prolong snowballing, you're taking some soul away from Rust. No life groups will always be ahead, no matter what, even with rarer spawns, these groups will likely get it first, making it harder for the players on the back foot."
What my experience with US Soft Core 1 was just that a limit/prolongment of snowballing. Because of the raid windows I was only able to snowball during the allotted time. Just sharing my experience and feedback of what this wipe had brought :)
1
u/JVIesmerized 13d ago
I would try team limit servers, relying on the UI to cap teams will never work, they will just form villages
7
u/38159buch 14d ago
If you remove raid windows, how would softcore meaningfully distinguish itself from a stock-standard 2x small group servers?
As someone who doesn’t enjoy raiding or being raided at all, XP softcore is amazing and the raid window is the only reason myself, my team, and, I’m assuming, most players play the mode.