Mortar

The Mortar is a deployable siege and PvP-type weapon, primarily used as a stationary assault implement for breaking down other player-deployed structures and defenses or simple crowd control. It was added to RUST in the May 2026 Update, after a long period of concept limbo.

Modes of Acquisition

• Crafting: Workbench Level 2 Crafting / Tech Tree
• Loot Sources: Does not currently appear in loot tables.
• Research: Can be learned via Research Tables.
• Purchase: Cannot be bought in-game from NPC vendors. May be purchased from applicable player shops.
• Console Access: Spawnable via F1 console on servers with appropriate permissions.

Control System

The Mortar leaves little to the imagination with regards to its resemblance to the real-world object: it is a stationary weapon of destruction instead of something to be piloted around. Once deployed into the desired position (building priv required), players must select/load their desired ammunition.

Based on extensive testing, the Mortar doesn’t follow a realistic parabolic trajectory. Long story short, the physics are kinda backward, but it still works.

• Middle-angle ranges, like 40-50, are baseline and are around where the dot is at 80 meters.
• Higher angles don’t travel as far and the Unity physics drag reduces the traveling distance, down to about 45-60 meters.
• Lower angles are ‘dragged’ less, so they go considerably further than mid to high angles, well north of 100 meters, despite their tooltips that say sub 50 maximum.

Controls:

• Aiming a Mortar is more trial and error, as is the landing zone for ordinance. It will take the inexperienced a few shots to get used to it, and even then, the kill zone varies from shot to shot.
• Line up the Mortar the best that you can to estimate it firing at roughly what you want to hit, keeping the previous instruction about Angle and distance in mind. You may adjust it in every which way using ASDW or your mouse.
• Once you think it’s going where you want it, press the E key, which will initiate a roughly 5-second firing procedure
• You may alternate between missile types between rounds, and at current, may fire at will without pressing reload, as the reload mechanic is baked into the firing time
• You may pick up the Mortar once dismounted with a hammer
• The Mortar starts with 1000 health and takes 15 damage with every shot it takes, which may be repaired via hammer, wood, and metal fragments

Ammunition Types

Based on its real-world model, the Mortar uses what one would expect: Either the Mortar Shell, which is geared more towards raiding, or the Fragmentation Mortar Shell, which delivers deadly crowd control wherever it hits. 

Right now, the damage against simple stone buildings for the Mortar Shell is around 22 health per hit, which will likely increase. Fragmentation Mortars are almost guaranteed to hit players on 1 shot.