"Rust" Excavator Guide
A veteran "Rust" degenerate with 4.5k hours, a rock, and a dream.
Excavator in Rust
An older monument that receives a meaningful change in the tail end of 2021, the excavator allows players to use diesel fuel to excavate resources rather than farming for them. It can even allow players to entirely skip farming stone and metal for upkeep. However, it's not easily done, nor is it easily controlled due to that value.
How It Works
In order to use the excavator, you'll have to do a handful of things. Grab your diesel fuel and head to the monument, from there you'll need to:
- Clear the scientists defending the excavator.
- Go into the central area and then into the big room in the center a few levels up.
- Deposit the diesel fuel into the container.
- Start the excavator via the console next to the diesel container.
- Go out on the arm that extends to the digging part of the excavator and into one of the control cabins on either side. From there you can select what resource you are gathering. You must do this every time you start an inactive excavator or it will use the fuel but not generate any resources.
- From here you will be generating resources. You must claim them from 2 separate locations beside the main area. You'll see a conveyor belt that splits in two with each side leading to a deposit area. You must collect the resources from both areas.
Please be warned! Not only can players easily spot the excavator arm moving and know you are using it, but it also emits a radio frequency that players anywhere can use to be alerted to someone using excavator. Expect company!
This whole thing isn't entirely straightforward your first time in, so refer to the screenshots below for more clarity.
Starting the Excavator
Setting the Resources to be Harvested
Run down the arm that's digging and into one of the cabins on either side. Both have a control console
Read More From Levelskip
Collecting the Resources
Earning Free Airdrops
Using the diesel will also charge the "comsys" and after it reaches 100% (or 5 diesel fuel spent) you can call in an airport directly onto excavator that will reach the ground when the next charge reaches roughly 70%. Should you be strong enough to hold excavator for a longer period of time, this is an incredible way to accrue loot but it does further notify all nearby players of what is happening.
Comsys Charging for Free Airports
Acquiring Diesel
As it's necessary to use excavator, you'll need to find a nearby source that consistently gives it if you wish to make running excavator a part of your wipe. Fortunately diesel can come from a handful of locations. It can be found in:
- Small and Large Oil Rig
- Junkyard
- Dome
- Outpost purchased with 300 low grade fuel
If you find it in a monument simply walk up to it and grab it. Diesel barrels are black barrels that otherwise look like the standard junk barrels found scattered around the map.
Finding Diesel
Resources Generatoed
| Resources | Amount | Diesel | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
High Quality Metal Ore | 100 | 1 | 2 minutes |
Sulfur Ore | 2000 | 1 | 2 minutes |
Stones | 10000 | 1 | 2 minutes |
Metal Fragments | 5000 | 1 | 2 minutes |
Airdrop | 1 | 5 spent on resources | 10 minutes + drop time |
Final Thoughts
For a long time excavator was a dead monument with very little reason to go there. The scientist loot offered some meaningful value for the odd player and that was all. Now with the increased resource output as of late 2021, excavator is a high tier monument that can allow a controlling group to bypass farming. That incredibly high value brings the attention of many players, making this monument now an awesome element to the game. It also maintains its value over the wipe while scrap oriented monuments lose their appeal as players reach tier 3 and learn their desired blueprints. Overall I'm very pleased with the monument.
