In 'a bit of an experiment' Rust's latest update makes softcore mode even softer, and some changes may be brought over 'to the vanilla game in future'

Rust is, famously, an unforgiving affair, a survival game where someone murdering you and stealing everything you own is also known as 'Tuesday'. But Facepunch's open-world cruelty simulator does have at least one merciful bone in its emaciated, battle-scarred body. In 2021, Facepunch added a softcore mode, which mitigates some of the vanilla game's brutality with features like safe spawning zones and the ability to recover some of your loot upon death.

This mode is also the focus for Rust's latest update, and it appears the grizzled survival game is further mellowing in its old age. As of this update, softcore mode is going even softer, and at least one of the changes may have implications for Rust as a whole.

The update, titled 'Soft Refresh', makes an array of changes to softcore mode, but chief among them is the addition of deployable debris. To be clear, this isn't debris deployed by players. Rather it's debris left over by deployable items (like wooden boxes and storage barrels) when they are destroyed.

How does this feature make softcore mode easier? In two ways, actually. First, destroyed deployables can be repaired, rather than having to be crafted again from scratch. Second, these wrecked storage items only drop half their contents. The other half remains safely trapped inside the wreckage/detritus/smouldering pile of leftover slag, and can only be accessed by their owner.

In other words, a raid on your base no longer results in you losing everything. Now you merely lose half of everything. This is also the feature which may have broader ramifications for Rust. As Facepunch notes in its Steam update, "Whilst this feature is only applied to the softcore game mode, it's a bit of an experiment, and we may bring it over to the vanilla game in future."

On the subject of halves, the update to softcore mode also alters respawning, so players now spawn with 50% of their inventory intact by default. This 50% is also spread across all stacked items, rather than just randomly selecting half of your inventory's contents. "No more sprinting to Outpost, hoping your stuff didn’t get looted, and waiting around to reclaim your bits and pieces," Facepunch writes. "The system is now faster, cleaner, and more forgiving."

Other changes to softcore mode include a 25% reduction in all bullet damage, an increase on upkeep on doors to "discourage massive sprawling bases", and a change to how sleeping bags work, so that players get a one-shot respawn on them even after they've been destroyed.

While the update's focus is mainly on softcore mode, there are a few changes that apply more broadly. The main one, though, is that bees have been nerfed. Bees were introduced in Rust's last update, letting you create beehives and craft bee grenades. But it seems the world's best insect was a little too effective in both making honey and stinging your enemies to death. As of this update, bees now create less honeycomb and are sensitive to temperature changes, while damage taken from bee stings now depends on how much clothing you're wearing.

Finally, the update provides a glimpse of Rust's upcoming new Jungle biome. This environment will facilitate new early-game weapons, and also feature "a whole cast of deadly new wildlife including crocodiles, snakes, and more." Presumably, this added menagerie also includes tigers, given the screenshot of one peering through some foliage that I added above. Facepunch doesn't specify when the jungle biome will launch, but it's apparently in its final development stages, with a public test kicking off later this month.