High Quality Metal Ore is a crucial building and crafting resource in RUST, once smelted, that can be acquired through several in-game means and is also spawnable through the F1 console. It is considered a core resource due to player reliance on using it for endgame progression and base security.
The primary purpose of high quality metal ore is its utility for providing the highest protection structures available to be built in-game. It takes roughly 4 times the number of explosives to blow through a high quality wall as it would a Stone wall. It is also a primary component in the endgame best doors, the Armored Double and Single doors.
Alternatively, high quality metal is absolutely essential for anyone wanting to craft weapons instead of scavenging or PVPing for them. Everything from the popular low-tier Python Revolver to the must-have top-tier Bolt Action Rifle requires substantial high quality metal to craft. Couple this with nearly all weapon attachments being crafted almost exclusively from this material, and you begin to understand the overwhelming need to keep it around.
One of the more overlooked aspects of high quality metal demand comes in the form of electrical parts. As the game progresses, the need for more technical base defense becomes warranted, and teams lack the ability to create Auto Turrets and all that goes into setting up a proper electrical system. One of the chief bottlenecks in this acceleration would be high quality metal. Almost all high-tier electrical parts require it to craft. After its crafted, the need to make more guns for said turrets increases the needed total.
So how do teams supplement this need when there is such high demand? In addition to farming and smelting it, the cooked variant may be gathered as a byproduct of mining the defeated remains of the Attack Helicopter and Bradley APC.
The most lucrative way to acquire high quality metal is through recycling components farmed through barrels and crates. If you find yourself with a surplus, it is worth mentioning that Bandit Camp will buy it at a rate of 2 Scrap per 1 high quality metal.
Check out our guide for more information on how to quickly collect high quality metal.
