Reinforced Wooden Shield

The Reinforced Wooden Shield is a hand-held defensive item in RUST that can be equipped to the backpack slot and held in the left hand. This shield dramatically increases a player’s degree of survivability by a considerable margin when used.

Defensively, shields work in a relatively common sense, line-of-sight way.  If you have a shield in your hand and facing forward, then projectives and other combative forms of attack should be at least partially mitigated against said attack. This being said, it is important to note that while worn on one’s back, if not actually in the hand, the shield doesn’t reduce incoming damage at all.

Because of this defensive tool’s backpack slot usage, players cannot equip Large Backpacks, Small Backpacks, Diving Tanks, or Parachutes while this item is slotted. To use any shield, the player must also have a main-hand appropriately slotted weapon out and ready to use. Find the full list at the bottom of this article. Items usable are also labeled “Shield Compatible” below their item descriptions.

Shields really encompass their new item type in the lexicon of RUST items and thus must be described case-by-case. The Reinforced Wooden Shield is one of the more significant yet less durable shield types available, having 300 maximum health points, and is slightly easier to hide behind than some other sizes and materials. This means that it can take roughly 300 projectile impacts from various sources before it is compromised to the point of breaking.  

These impacts will either entirely negate damage taken by the player or, in accordance with its damage reduction statistic, make a successful unmitigated impact.  Damage taken to the shield is visible on its icon in the form of a green health bar and above the player’s vital statistics. Once this number reaches zero, the shield breaks.

Using a shield is a mixed bag of mathematics, requiring understanding a simple mechanic to make the most of its defensive properties. Shields can only be used (raised) for 4 seconds at a time, much like a stamina bar when riding a horse. When that 4-second window is gone, it takes an equal amount of time to regenerate. This also works fractionally, with a minimum of 0.5 seconds being used at any given time. A full half-second will be used even if you only raise the shield to block for 0.25 seconds. It will then, by rule, take another half second to regenerate that use of time. Transitioning back to using a weapon from a shield has a small timer of 0.2 seconds added.

In the case of the Reinforced Wooden Shield, there is a damage protection coefficient of 75%, meaning that if used appropriately, 75% of shield impact damage should be absorbed by the shield itself instead of the player. At least 25% should still get through. If a successful hit is made to the player’s body instead of the shield, the damage will register as if no shield were equipped.

The Reinforced Wooden Shield earns low to moderate marks while protecting players from scientists, as its surface area is on the higher side, allowing those portions of the player’s torso that scientists aim for to be blocked more frequently. Unfortunately, the lower protection coefficient almost negates the added size.

Players may hold the Right Mouse Button to shield themselves from frontal attack after drawing it alongside a weapon to effectively use the shield.

How to Obtain the Reinforced Wooden Shield in RUST

The Reinforced Wooden Shield is craftable by players, either through researching one directly or from the Tier 2 Workbench tech tree.  It may also drop from crates and scientists found throughout the world.  It may be worn by anyone.  Once the blueprint is known, it may be crafted as follows:

1. Obtain access to a Tier 1 Workbench or higher.
2. Gather 1 Road Sign, 10 Cloth, and 200 Wood.
3. In your crafting menu, type Reinforced Wooden Shield and select it to craft.
4. Press the Craft button and wait the required time.

Which Weapons are Compatible with a Reinforced Wooden Shield in RUST

The following weapon types have the capacity to be used with the Reinforced Wooden Shield:

1. Abyss Reinforced Wooden Hatchet
2. Bone Club
3. Bone Knife
4. Butcher Knife
5. Candy Cane Club
6. Combat Knife
7. Concrete Hatchet
8. Concrete Pickaxe
9. Flashlight
10. Frontier Hatchet
11. Hatchet
12. High Caliber Revolver
13. Lunar New Year Spear
14. M92 Pistol
15. Machete
16. Mini Crossbow
17. Nailgun
18. Prototype 17
19. Prototype Hatchet
20. Python Revolver
21. Revolver
22. Salvaged Sword
23. Semi-Automatic Pistol
24. Shovel
25. Skinning Knife
26. Stone Hatchet
27. Stone Pickaxe
28. Stone Spear
29. Vampire Stake
30. Water Pistol
31. Wooden Spear