What is the RUST Softcore Game Mode?
RUST’s Softcore Game Mode, introduced in the Softcore Gamemode Update, is the first game mode officially added by Facepunch, designed to soften the overall RUST experience for players who find the default gameplay too “hardcore.” In the September 1st, 2022 update, Facepunch introduced an official RUST Hardcore game mode that is, in effect, the antithesis of the Softcore Game Mode.
Since its inception, RUST‘s primary goal has been to survive by any means necessary. For many players, this is one of the major draws to RUST itself; for others, however, this can be a real detractor.
The Softcore Game Mode sets out to balance the brutal nature of the game by addressing a few key areas, such as:
- On death, you can retain half of your inventory when you die outside of your building privilege area, and respawn with that half.
- Building Upkeep tax increase specific to doors (to penalize long door paths).
- Bullet damage in PVP is reduced by 25%.
- Sleeping Bags, Beach Towels, and Beds now allow for one final respawn after they are destroyed, and will break completely afterwards.
- Players can choose to respawn at Bandit Town or Outpost safe zones.
- You can view only the wounded players’ inventory contents.
- The max team capacity defaults to 4 and includes the number of people who can auth on a Tool Cupboard.
- Backpacks are not dropped when downed.
- Tea effects are kept upon death.
How to Enable Softcore Game Mode on Your Server
To enable RUST’s Softcore Game Mode, you must first have administrative access to the server in question and then modify the start-up configuration to include the server.gamemode "softcore" variable. Additionally, the setting can be applied while the server is running using the following command, gamemode.set softcore but be warned, it will kill all currently connected players.
RUST Game Modes Comparison Table
| Name | Value | Description | Available |
| Deathmatch | teamdm | N/A | No |
| Hardcore | hardcore | An experimental game mode designed to provide a harder version of standard RUST gameplay. | Yes |
| King of the Hill Solo | koth_solo | N/A | No |
| King of the Hill Team | koth_team | N/A | No |
| One Death | onedeath | N/A | No |
| Softcore | softcore | An experimental game mode designed to provide a softer version of standard RUST gameplay. | Yes |
| Team Deathmatch | teamdm | N/A | No |
| Vanilla | vanilla | This is the default mode of RUST. | Yes |
| Primitive | primitive | This game mode strips away most modern and end-game content, leaving players in a near-permanent “primitive” state. | Yes |
What lies ahead for RUST and the many game modes to come? Who knows, but we know everyone is welcoming these great developments!
