Going Up? With the RUST Elevator Update
Introduced in the RUST Elevator Update, a massive list of fixes and changes and the long-awaited elevator component delivery has taken the RUST base building system to new heights. If you don’t like using elevators, you’re going to have to take steps to avoid them, considering how cheap and easy they are to install. This post will help you learn how to acquire, use, and most importantly set up elevators in RUST.
RUST’s elevators aren’t going to make or break the game, except for a stability bug to iron out, but they will become ubiquitous. Like many building components, the RUST elevator will have its ups and downs. And while their primary function will be to carry you between floors and lift your spirits, they have the added benefit of letting us whip out all the fun elevator puns. They work on so many levels.
In this RUST Elevator guide, we’ll show you how to:
- Finding the Elevator Component
- Craft the Component
- Install the Elevator
- Power an Elevator
- Set Up an Elevator Call Switch
Finding the RUST elevator component
You’re not likely to stumble upon an elevator blueprint in the wild. You can only find the components in locked, elite, and military tier crates. And while you can loot them from the oil rig and heavy-scientists, but no matter the source, the RUST elevator is locked to a lower than 2 percent drop rate. If you run oil-rig frequently, you might get lucky, but that’s hardly a dependable method.
Instead, the easiest way to get your hands on an elevator is to purchase one from the outpost. Each elevator component will cost 250 scrap. Bring an extra 125 scrap if you plan to research the blueprint at the outpost research table. Alternatively, consider merely buying the elevator parts you need all at once at the outpost.
A single elevator component won’t get you anywhere. Placed on a square foundation or flooring, you’ve only made the base level of the elevator. To reach higher floors, you will have to stack elevator components. 250 scrap per level isn’t too steep a cost compared to the gears involved in crafting
Crafting the RUST elevator
To craft an elevator in RUST, you’ll need the following:
- Level 2 workbench
- 5 High-Quality Metal
- 300 Metal Frags
- 3 gears
Altogether it’s expensive compared to stairs, but there is the alternative of purchasing the elevator components you need for scrap rather than hunting for gears. Press Q to bring up the crafting menu, type the elevator into the search bar, or look at the top of the electrical tab to find the elevators.
Installing a RUST elevator
Once you’ve crafted or purchased as many elevator components as you have floors, you can start placing them in your elevator shaft.
You can only place the component on an empty square foundation, with no impediments on the shaft’s foundation or above. You cannot place floor frames or any other components other than walls and doorways, and electrical wiring.
The elevator has two open sides at the front and back, and a chainlink fence is running vertically along the left and right sides. This siding means your elevator shaft doorways can be either the front or back of the elevator, but never the sides.
When you place the components on top of one another, the motor that powers the elevator will move to the stack’s topmost elevator component.
When considering base security, it’s important to remember that the elevator is a somewhat vulnerable component in raiding the elevator. You should consider all elevator components as if they were made of wood and prone to burning.
Even the elevator shaft’s lower frames that appear to be metal will lose health in a fire. And lastly, remember that if any lower elevator component breaks, all other components stacked on top of it will fall as well.
Powering the RUST elevator
As with all electrical components, the elevator requires power to operate. Thankfully it’s a tiny amount of power needed, which doesn’t change even when your elevator gets quite tall. Once you’ve decided on the power source you would like to use, grab a wire tool, and plug it into your source.
Run the wiring to the elevator’s input, which is at the top of the shaft, on the motor’s underside that hangs from the roof. Keep in mind that anyone can activate a powered elevator. There’s nothing locking people out from using the elevator.
Setting up a RUST elevator call switch
To get the elevator to come to you, you’ll need to set up a call switch. At the appropriate floor, place an electrical trigger. We recommend the big red button you can purchase from the outpost for 30 scrap.
Using the wire tool, run power from the trigger to the black power sockets on the lower edge frames of the elevator shaft visible on each floor. The call switch for the floor you want will connect at the height you’re plugging in from the button or switch.
Nothing stops you from setting up an external control system where 2 or 3 buttons in an entirely different room control the elevator’s height. You need only run the cables far enough.
Note that this can also be an unpowered trigger, which doesn’t require power, unlike the electrical switch. Much like the same way, you can trigger a generator with an electrical floor pad without a power source.
No need to hire an attendant
But you could if you wanted. Like most RUST components, elevators are unlikely to affect the base-building meta tangibly. Considering how flimsy they are, they are useless in terms of base defense, except for several RUST base builds that would have worked just as well with stairs.
As they block the use of floor frames and thus ladder hatches, they only come into the game as a quality of life change and a fast way of traveling upwards. Realistically, an elevator shaft in any other context is a liability in base design.
But they’re fun, fast, and cheap. So get out there and try elevators out in your favorite base design. And if you’re not a fan of elevators, well, I guess we were just raised differently.
