The February 5, 2026 update for Rust introduces a large-scale expansion focused on naval gameplay, offshore exploration, and permanent new systems that affect progression and player movement across every Rust server. The update adds modular boat construction, a new Deep Sea biome with timed resets, expanded NPC missions, and revised naval encounters that significantly reshape ocean activity.

Modular Boat Construction System

A new modular boat system allows players to build fully customizable watercraft directly on the ocean surface.

Rust player driving modular boat

Boat construction requires placing a Boat Building Station in shallow water and inserting a Boat Plan. From there, players assemble boats using snap-based components placed on a floating build grid.

Key mechanics and limits include:

  • Boats are built from modular parts, including hull sections, decks, sails, steering wheels, anchors, ladders, ramps, cannons, and a compact Tier 2 engine.
  • Each placed component consumes wood and low-grade fuel during construction.
  • Boats are limited to a maximum footprint of 10 foundations long by 5 foundations wide, with a strict height limit to prevent vertical stacking.
  • Boat handling and speed are governed by a weight-to-thrust system, meaning heavier builds reduce acceleration and top speed.
  • Boats use a tool cupboard-style upkeep system that requires resources to maintain ownership.
  • Once launched into water, boats are locked in place and cannot be moved onto land.
  • Boats can only be modified while a Boat Building Station is present in the player’s inventory.
  • All boat damage is tracked through a single shared health pool rather than per-part durability.
  • When a boat’s health reaches zero, the entire vessel is permanently destroyed.
Rust Modular boat sailing in the ocean

Naval combat has been expanded to support full boat-to-boat engagements between players and NPC forces.

  • Player-built boats are fully destructible.
  • Explosive damage applies physical force, causing vessels to shift position when hit.
  • Boats can be attacked using rockets, HV rockets, incendiary rounds, and mounted cannons.
  • Mounted cannons are placeable components and function as heavy naval weapons.

This system allows sustained sea battles with meaningful risk, as destroyed boats cannot be recovered.

The Deep Sea Biome Explained

The update introduces the Deep Sea biome, a large offshore zone separate from the main island.

  • The Deep Sea is accessed by sailing beyond the southern edge of the map.
  • The biome consists of a vast ocean region with storm conditions and unique points of interest.
  • The entire Deep Sea zone fully resets its terrain and loot on a timed cycle, which by default occurs every 3 hours.
  • A visible countdown timer appears on the player map, showing when the next reset will occur.
  • Reset timing is controlled by server settings and may vary per Rust server.

These resets allow repeated high-value exploration without permanent depletion.

Floating City Monument

Rust Floating City

A major new offshore monument, the Floating City, acts as a permanent ocean hub.

  • The Floating City functions as a safe zone, that combines all amenities from Outpost, Bandit Camp, and Fishing Village.
  • It contains vendors selling firearms, boats, diving gear, clothing, and other supplies.
  • Fish can be exchanged for scrap through vendor systems.
  • The monument includes a greenhouse, multiple recyclers, and multiple interior gambling facilities, and features such as arcade machines are present too.

Tropical Islands

Rust mounted cannon on tropical island

Scattered throughout the Deep Sea biome are tropical islands that serve as exploration and combat locations.

  • Islands feature white sand beaches, dense vegetation, NPC scientist guards, lootable structures, and ore spawns.
  • Some islands contain mounted cannons that players can operate.
  • Island docks now contain increased quantities of crude oil barrels.
  • A new consumable item, coconuts, restores health, calories, and hydration.

Ghost Ships, PT Boats And More

Rust Ghost Ship

Ghost Ships

  • Ghost Ships spawn as static vessels in the Deep Sea.
  • Multiple variants exist, each guarded by NPC crews.
  • Ships contain military and normal loot crates and locked crates like Oilrig.

PT Boats

  • PT Boats are heavily armed AI patrol craft.
  • They feature mounted .50 caliber turrets, machine guns, and onboard storage.
  • PT Boats aggressively engage players and patrol open waters.

RHIB Overhaul

The RHIB receives a full visual and functional update.

  • The model has been rebuilt to modern visual standards.
  • A mounted headlight has been added for night and storm navigation.
  • RHIBs are now actively used by patrolling scientist NPCs in offshore encounters.

Deep Sea Loot And New NPC Missions

The Naval Update also improves Deep Sea loot tables and introduces new NPC missions.

Deep Sea Reward Improvements

Several reward systems tied to Deep Sea exploration have been increased:

  • There is now a chance for a Supply Drop terminal to spawn on Deep Sea island ruins.
  • Loot has been increased on island cannon crates.
  • The quantity of crude barrels has been increased on island docks.

New NPC Missions

The update introduces permanent NPC-driven missions that provide structured offshore objectives with fixed rewards.

Oil Rig Retrieval Mission

  • A new mission NPC located at Outpost assigns this objective.
  • Players must retrieve a soda can from an Oil Rig monument.
  • Completing the mission awards 200 Scrap.
  • Activating the crate during the mission also grants 3 Semi-Auto Rifles.

Floating City Scientist Mission

  • A second mission NPC is located inside the Floating City.
  • Players must eliminate 8 RHIB patrolling scientists.
  • Completing the mission rewards 1 Rocket Launcher and 7 HV Rockets.

Additional Content

Artist Pack DLC

The update also introduces the Artist Pack DLC, adding creative tools and decorative items that expand player building and customization options.

Rust player shooting with paintball gun on an easel

The Artist Pack DLC includes the following cosmetic and creative items:

  • Paintball Overalls
  • Paintball Gun
  • Paintable Reactive Target
  • Ornate Picture Frames
  • Light-Up Frames
  • Shutter Frames
  • Frameless Canvases
  • Portable Easel
  • Paintable Window
  • Rosette Award Sprays

Twitch Drops - Home Brewed 4

The Home Brewed 4 Twitch Drops event runs from February 5 through February 15, offering limited-time cosmetic rewards.

Home Brewed 4 twich drops

System Improvements And Additional Changes

Beyond the naval features, this update delivers a wide range of refinements across interface behavior, animation systems, rendering, server performance, and gameplay logic. These changes focus on stability, clarity, and long-term performance across live and staging environments.

Interface, Input, And Player Feedback

Several usability issues affecting in-game interfaces and feedback systems were corrected:

  • Radar rotation now behaves consistently with player orientation.
  • Paint color application now correctly reflects selected tints.
  • Exiting sign painting with the Escape key now saves changes instead of discarding them.
  • Various map and UI adjustments were made to improve workcart and storage interactions.

Character Animation And Interaction Systems

A broad set of animation fixes and additions improve consistency and presentation:

  • Vehicle animation updates were applied to snowmobiles and boogie boards.
  • Three-player poker now uses a dedicated animation set.
  • Gesture animations were stabilized, resolving audio playback issues and reset errors.
  • Injecting other players with medical syringes now uses updated animations.
  • Player animation pooling issues were fixed to prevent reuse errors.
  • One-shot animations no longer break when players move out of network range.

Visual Rendering And Graphics Behavior

Rendering and lighting systems received targeted improvements:

  • Ambient lighting levels were adjusted to improve visibility in dark environments.
  • Lightbulb materials were updated to render as opaque rather than emissive.
  • General shader behavior was improved, including decal layer transmission in the standard shader.
  • The shadow mask graphics option was removed.
  • Client performance issues related to session handling were fixed.
  • Cloud rendering now behaves correctly during demo playback with weather overrides.

Server, Engine, And Performance Changes

Under-the-hood work focused on stability and scalability:

  • Server profiling capabilities were expanded.
  • Occlusion systems received fixes and additional safeguards.
  • TriggerParent volume processing was optimized.
  • Indirect instancing and IO budget handling were improved.
  • CCTV performance budgets were adjusted.
  • Door allocation logic was corrected.
  • Burst compile errors and final build blockers were resolved.
  • A crash related to native grids and buoyancy batching was fixed.
  • Object pooling issues were corrected for custom icons, vending clusters, and timed explosives.
  • SyncVar inheritance behavior was fixed.
  • Toast notification delivery issues were resolved.
  • Servers now run on a custom Unity 2022.3.41x1 build.
  • Discord SDK 1.8 was integrated.
  • AI mountable sync bypass behavior was improved.
  • Skip domain reload issues were addressed.

Gameplay Behavior And Edge Case Fixes

Several gameplay systems and edge cases were corrected:

  • A previous roof stability fix was rolled back and permanently disabled due to performance concerns.
  • Tug boats have been removed in this update, with the possibility of reintroduction in the future.
  • Rugs can now be placed on windows correctly.
  • Mission rewards now properly check inventory space, respect stack sizes, and calculate slots accurately.
  • Parachutes were added to the hotbar for easier access.
  • Saving behavior for child storage containers in workcarts was improved.
  • Map configuration related to workcart storage was adjusted.
  • Junkpile ladder clipping was fixed.
  • Photo frames no longer render images onto their own frame geometry.
  • Vending machine visibility issues were resolved.
  • Stay-close death logic was corrected.
  • Caboose slot machine interaction issues were fixed.
  • NMS loot now respawns correctly after server restarts.


Hosting A Rust Server To Experience The Naval Update

Experiencing the full scope of the Naval Update is best done on a dedicated Rust server where modular boats, Deep Sea resets, and NPC missions can be explored without limitation. Players and communities can also use a Rust staging server to test boat builds, offshore routing, and mission strategies before applying them to live environments.

Reliable Rust server hosting allows server owners to support the increased activity introduced by naval combat, Deep Sea exploration, and offshore NPC encounters while maintaining stable performance throughout the new update cycle.