Advanced Raiding Guide

Every raiding decision in Rust ultimately comes down to sulfur efficiency. Knowing the exact sulfur cost for every structure and the most efficient explosive type for each target is essential for successful raids.

Door destruction costs (sorted by sulfur efficiency): - Wooden Door: 1 satchel (480 sulfur) or 250 handmade shells (0 sulfur, just materials) - Sheet Metal Door: 4 satchels (1,920 sulfur) or 63 explosive ammo (1,575 sulfur) or 1 C4 (2,200 sulfur) - Garage Door: 9 satchels (4,320 sulfur) or 150 explosive ammo (3,750 sulfur) or 3 rockets (4,200 sulfur) - Armored Door: 12 satchels (5,760 sulfur) or 200 explosive ammo (5,000 sulfur) or 4 rockets (5,600 sulfur) or 2 C4 (4,400 sulfur)

Wall destruction costs: - Wood Wall: 1 satchel (480 sulfur) or flamethrower or incendiary rounds - Stone Wall: 10 satchels (4,800 sulfur) or 2 C4 (4,400 sulfur) or 4 rockets (5,600 sulfur) or ~185 explosive ammo (4,625 sulfur) - Sheet Metal Wall: 4 satchels from soft side (1,920 sulfur) or 2 C4 (4,400 sulfur) or 4 rockets (5,600 sulfur) - Armored Wall: 46 satchels (22,080 sulfur) or 3 C4 (6,600 sulfur) or 8 rockets (11,200 sulfur)

Important: Soft-side raiding (hitting the interior side of a wall) is significantly cheaper for some materials. A stone wall takes 10 satchels from the front but only about 8 from the soft side. Sheet metal walls are dramatically easier from the soft side (4 satchels vs 23). Always check if you can access the soft side of walls during a raid.

Roof and floor costs: Equivalent to walls of the same material. Stone floor: 2 C4 or 4 rockets. Going through a floor is sometimes cheaper than going through a wall if it gives you a shorter path to the loot room.

Each explosive type has different strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases. Understanding when to use each type maximizes your sulfur efficiency.

Satchel Charges (480 sulfur each): Pros: Cheapest per unit, available at Workbench Level 1, no tech tree investment needed. Cons: Can dud (fail to detonate, requiring you to pick it up and re-throw), inconsistent detonation time (5-12 seconds randomly), loud and visible. Best for: Early-wipe raiding when you do not have access to higher-tier explosives. Wooden doors and wooden structures. Budget raids on small bases.

Rockets (1,400 sulfur each): Pros: Splash damage (damages multiple structures in a line), consistent detonation, good for walls. Cons: Expensive per shot, requires Workbench Level 3 and Rocket Launcher (not consumed but expensive to craft), loud. Best for: Walled bases where you can angle rockets to damage two walls simultaneously (splash damage). Large raids where you need to clear many walls. Compound walls.

Timed Explosive Charge / C4 (2,200 sulfur each): Pros: Highest single-target damage, consistent detonation (10 seconds), destroys stone walls in 2 units. Cons: Most expensive per unit, requires Workbench Level 3, single-target only (no splash). Best for: Doors (especially armored doors where C4 is most sulfur-efficient), single walls that need to be destroyed quickly, situations where splash damage is not useful.

Explosive 5.56 Ammo (25 sulfur per round): Pros: Can be crafted in large quantities, silent with a silencer, precise targeting. Cons: Least sulfur-efficient overall, slow (each magazine does limited damage), requires an automatic rifle. Best for: Doors (most sulfur-efficient for sheet metal and garage doors), finishing off damaged structures, stealth raids where noise is a concern.

Optimal combination: The most sulfur-efficient raid on a standard stone base uses C4 for walls (2 per stone wall = 4,400 sulfur) and explosive ammo for doors (63 rounds per sheet metal door = 1,575 sulfur). This combination minimizes total sulfur expenditure.

Before committing explosives to a raid, analyze the target base to find the cheapest path to the loot room. A poorly planned raid wastes thousands of sulfur on unnecessary walls.

External reconnaissance: 1. Walk around the entire base and count walls, doors, and floors on each side 2. Look for windows -- they indicate rooms and possible loot locations 3. Check for soft-side walls (visible from the texture) that reduce raid cost 4. Note the TC location (often near the center or in the most protected room) 5. Identify the likely loot room (usually the most centrally located room with the most wall layers protecting it)

Path calculation method: For each potential entry point, count the number of walls and doors between the exterior and the likely loot room. Multiply each by its sulfur cost. Choose the path with the lowest total sulfur expenditure.

Example analysis: A 2x2 base with single honeycomb, stone walls, and garage doors. - Front door path: 1 garage door + 1 sheet metal door + 1 stone wall = 3,750 + 1,575 + 4,400 = 9,725 sulfur - Side wall path: 2 stone walls = 8,800 sulfur - Roof path: 1 stone roof + 1 stone floor = 8,800 sulfur The side wall and roof paths are cheaper than the front door path despite seeming like they require more effort.

Common weak points: 1. Roofs: Many players upgrade walls to sheet metal or armored but leave the roof as stone. Always check the roof material. 2. Foundations: If a base is on uneven terrain, some foundation sides may be exposed at ground level and vulnerable to attack. 3. Window frames: If the base has window bars instead of full walls, the window frame section is significantly weaker than a full wall. 4. Twig remnants: Poorly maintained bases sometimes have twig sections visible. These can be destroyed with a melee weapon. 5. TC shacks: External TC shacks are often weaker than the main base. Destroying them first gives you building privilege, allowing you to build raid towers.

Online raiding (raiding while the base owners are present) is the most challenging but most rewarding raiding activity in Rust. It requires not just explosives but combat skills, team coordination, and tactical planning.

Pre-raid preparation: 1. Build a raid base within 30-60 seconds running distance. Stock it with 3-5 full PvP kits per teammate, extra explosives, building materials, and medical supplies. 2. Scout the target for 15-30 minutes. Note how many players are online, their activity patterns, and their external defenses (turrets, traps, compound walls). 3. Disable external turrets with explosive ammo from range before approaching the main base. Each turret takes approximately 30 explosive ammo rounds (750 sulfur) to destroy. 4. Assign roles: demo player (places explosives), roof watch (prevents escape), flank watch (watches for counter-raiders), PvP fighters (engage defenders).

Breaching protocol: 1. Breach the first door or wall 2. Immediately establish a foothold -- place your own doors in breached doorframes to prevent defenders from pushing you back out 3. Seal rooms behind you as you advance so defenders cannot flank through cleared areas 4. Always check for shotgun traps before entering rooms 5. Place sleeping bags in cleared rooms so you respawn inside the base if killed

Dealing with defenders: - Defenders know their base layout and can use it against you (shotgun traps, turrets, tight corridors) - Use flashes and smokes if you have them (rare in Rust but available from certain monuments) - Expect defenders to suicide-rush with explosives -- they may try to destroy your raid base or blow up shared walls to redirect your path - Watch for defenders trying to seal breached walls with armored walls. If they gain building privilege in their own base, they can repair faster than you can destroy

Loot extraction during online raids: Do not wait until the raid is complete to start extracting loot. As you clear rooms, have a designated loot runner transport high-value items back to your raid base. This prevents defenders from reclaiming loot by counter-pushing cleared rooms.

Counter-raiders are the biggest threat during any raid. The sound of explosions attracts every player within several grid squares, and they arrive armed and hungry for free loot.

Counter-raid defense during your raids: 1. Post a sentry at your raid base at all times. This player watches for approaching enemies and warns the team. 2. Place auto turrets at your raid base facing outward. Even a single turret deters casual counter-raiders. 3. Build your raid base on defensible terrain (near rocks, on a hill, in a building). A raid base in an open field is an easy target. 4. Keep the majority of your explosives in the raid base, not on your person. If you die during the raid, the enemy gets whatever you are carrying. Minimize carried explosives to what you need for the next 1-2 breaches. 5. Have a rotation plan: if counter-raiders arrive, the raid team should have a protocol for who continues the raid and who handles the counter.

How to counter-raid others: 1. Wait until the raiders are committed (actively blowing walls). They will have their guard down. 2. Approach from the opposite side of the base from the raid, if possible. Use the base itself as cover between you and the raiders. 3. Target the raid base first. If you destroy their raid base (or seal their sleeping bags), dead raiders cannot return. 4. Loot quickly. Grab explosives and high-value items from fallen raiders and immediately retreat to your base. Do not linger at the raid site. 5. If the raiders are too strong to fight directly, wait for them to enter the base they are raiding. Once they are inside, they are in a confined space and vulnerable.

Counter-raid kits: Always have a counter-raid kit ready at your base -- a full PvP loadout that you can grab and deploy in under 30 seconds. When you hear explosions nearby, every second matters. The faster you arrive, the more likely the raiders are still exposed and vulnerable.

A successful raid generates more value than it costs. Planning the economic viability of a raid before committing sulfur prevents wasteful attacks.

Raid cost estimation: 1. Identify the target base type and estimate the wall/door count to the loot room 2. Calculate total sulfur needed (use the reference table from section 1) 3. Factor in PvP losses: assume you will lose 1-2 kits per team member during the raid (2,000-5,000 sulfur equivalent in gear per kit) 4. Add 20% sulfur buffer for unexpected walls, bunkers, or additional doors 5. Total cost = explosive sulfur + kit replacement + buffer

Raid value estimation: 1. Estimate the target's inventory based on their play pattern (monument runners have components, farmers have resources, PvP players have weapons) 2. A small 2x1 base on day 2 of wipe typically contains 500-2,000 scrap worth of items 3. A medium 2x2 honeycombed base on day 3-4 typically contains 2,000-8,000 scrap worth of items 4. A large compound on day 5+ can contain 10,000+ scrap worth of items

Profitability threshold: Only raid if the estimated value exceeds twice the raid cost. This accounts for imperfect intelligence (the base might contain less than expected) and the time investment.

Sulfur farming rate: A single player with a jackhammer and Pure Ore Tea can farm approximately 3,000-5,000 sulfur ore per hour. A trio farming together produces 10,000-15,000 sulfur ore per hour. A C4-level raid on a medium base costs approximately 20,000 sulfur, which takes a trio roughly 2 hours of focused sulfur farming.

Raid timing: The best time to raid is Thursday through Saturday on weekly wipe servers, when players have accumulated maximum loot but have not yet used it. Raiding on the first day yields minimal loot (players have not had time to accumulate). Raiding the day before wipe is pointless (everything is wiped anyway). The sweet spot is mid-wipe when bases are stocked but defenses have not been fully expanded.