In survival sandboxes, it’s all about them resources, and I’m hard-pressed to think anything would be better at harvesting resources than a gigantic rig purpose-built for the task. Players of Rust can now take advantage of such a rig with the arrival of a new excavator. This, of course, means there’s something new for people to fight over.
The excavator is a massive installation that requires at minimum four people to effectively operate owing to its several points of control and interest. First, though, it needs fuel — diesel to be precise — which can be found at the Junkyard, at Oil Rigs, or the top of the Dome. You can even exchange low-grade fuel for diesel, but it won’t come cheaply. Getting the excavator won’t quite come easily either, as players will need to clear out NPCs guarding the rig. Once that job’s all done, though, simply head to the control room, select the resource to mine, and let the big wheels scoop it all up and drop it at two different drop points. Bear in mind, however, that the rig’s running engine will also activate RF #4777, which apparently means players will be alerted to the rig’s operation and can come to take control of the rig and its tasty resources for themselves.
The update has also provided improved performance for “barren” maps, an anti-hack measure that kills players the moment they break under terrain, and a number of other optimizations and fixes. All of the details are in the change list, while a video dramatizing the use of the excavator is below.
