Are you struggling to keep up during the first few hours of a wipe? Here are the best early game weapons in Rust that you should get your hands on.
Your choice of weapon in the early game will decide whether you survive and strive or fall victim to better-geared players and remain prim-locked. But amongst the wide array of tools and weapons, which is the best for your adventure’s start?
In this article, we’ll go over the most efficient and effective weapons for the early game including how to craft them and where you can potentially snag one for free.
5 Best Early Game Weapons in Rust
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5. Bow
The bow is one of the first weapons you can craft early on. It may be basic but it will be your best friend from the beach to your first starter base and all the way to your early farming days. The bow can be crafted easily with only wood and cloth. Arrows are easily made using wood and stone so you wouldn’t have to worry about running out of ammo.
However, the Bow offers much-needed early protection against nakeds and wild animals. If you are able to position yourself well and get in some clean shots, you can even take down players with stronger weapons.
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4. Nail Gun
One of my favorite strategies in Rust is the Outpost strategy which utilizes this Nail Gun. As soon as I spawn on the beach, I look for Outpost and take the shortest route there running through the roads and farming all the crates and barrels I can find.
Once you get to Outpost you can recycle everything you have for scraps and metal fragments. Then use the Workbench at Outpost to craft a Nailgun and some Nails.
Its fire rate, range, damage, and accuracy are all great for early fights and you can easily beat players with a bow or even a crossbow as long as you stay quick and close to them.
3. Crossbow
The Crossbow is your bread and butter in the early stages of the wipe. If you can get your hands on this weapon, you will become a lethal force who can even kill players with tier 1 weapons and firearms under the right circumstances.
A headshot always leads to a kill if the target doesn’t have any headwear. If you manage to hit them on the body without armor, you will deal 60 damage. The Crossbow is a very fast and accurate early weapon and it offers decent long-range firing as well.
This makes the Crossbow an easy 1 or 2-hit kill in the early game, leaving new spawns and prim-locked players with no chance against you.
My strategy is to camp recyclers on the Mining Outpost and the Gas Station, waiting for unsuspecting players with loot. I jump then with my Crossbow and Nail Gun combo and I always end up with tons of loot early on. Use the Crossbow first and then make those nails rain on them. This is one of the deadliest combos you can equip in Rust early on.
2. Pump Shotgun
During the early game, fights would be close and quick. These intimate moments are decided by your skills but mostly your weapon. The best weapon for face-to-face duels in the early game is the Pump Shotgun.
If an enemy comes close enough you can easily one-tap them and send them back to their sleeping bag. You can use 12 Gauge Buckshot shells as well as 12 Gauge Slugs. But your main ammo for this weapon early would be Handmade Shells. Pair it with a melee weapon like the Machete or a Sword and anyone who comes near you is as good as dead.
A favorite tactic of mine is crouching around corners and waiting for enemies to rush in—one clear shot can end the fight before it starts.
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1. Revolver
The king of the best early-game weapons in Rust is the Revolver. This craftable gun is like a shotgun with a faster rate of fire. Unlocking and crafting this firearm is a significant step up in firepower compared to primitive weapons.
To craft this weapon, you only need a Workbench level 1, cloth, metal fragments, and a metal pipe. It uses pistol bullets as ammo and packs 8 rounds. Unlike most guns, the Revolver doesn’t need any High-Quality Metal to craft, making it more accessible early on. Metal pipes can easily be found on basic crates and barrels.
Once you get your hands on this weapon, it’s game over for crossbow users with you. This also marks your entrance to the mid-game where getting the next tier of weapons is your next priority.
Conclusion
Those are the best early-game weapons in Rust. Their, rate of fire, damage, range, and accessibility make them the best weapons to pick up during the start of your adventure. While there are other alternatives such as the Compound Bow and the Handmade SMG, they also come with bigger drawbacks and costs.
So if you want to get ahead in your next wipe, make sure to add these weapons to your checklist. They are easily found or craftable and cheap yet they get the job done very effectively.
If you want to up your game and make sure every arrow and bullet finds its target, you should try out our Rust hack.
