Summary
The only aim in Rust is to survive. To do this you will need to overcome struggles such as hunger, thirst and cold. Build a fire. Build a shelter. Kill animals for meat. Protect yourself from other players, and kill them for meat. Create alliances with other players and form a town. Do whatever it takes to survive. -http://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/Rust/
(what a common geared player may look like)
The Basics
When starting out, you will be washed up with a rock, torch, and no clothes on your back. Your first step is to probably start hitting a tree with a rock in hopes of getting wood and crafting a spear for defense. Your next step will be to pick "hemp". These are marijuana style plants that give anywhere from 0-10 cloth. Collecting enough of these will later allow you to craft items needed for survival. The third thing you will want to look for are "Stone Nodes". These are round rocks about the height of your character. These are 3 different colors based on the materials they give from mining them. Stone colored obviously gives stone, Metallic colored gives metal ore, and yellow colored gives sulfur ore. Once enough stone/wood is farmed, a player can craft a (building plan) and an (hammer). These tools will allow you to build a home, and upgrade accordingly. After building a home, adding a door, sleeping bag, boxes, and furnaces the player should start snowballing to his/her next objective.
( A common 2x2 "starter" home.)
Graphics
The graphics in Rust are in my opinion great. The colors really contrast, and shadows are more realistic than not. Rust has its own special look that i really like. And with fairly recent graphics overhauls, This game has looked better than its previous self. Due to this, Rust has become one of the best looking survival games on steam.
(Look at the smooth edges)
Weapons
Weapons are the driving force behind Rust. And its what all players work towards. Some of the starting weapons may include: a bone knife, spear, bow, hatchet, rock, and even an eoka pistol. But once a player farms enough, guns can be crafted and used. (These can also be stolen off of dead players, airdrops, and downed helis). Some of the guns include the Ak74u, Bolt action rifle, Semi rifle, p250, pump shotgun, Tommy, and so on. While these are in no particular order, they are all good in there own ways. (well talk about this later in the article.)
A full list of weapons can be found here: http://rust.wikia.com/wiki/Items
(Amount of gear from PvP)
Components
The component system is the most recently added mechanic into Rust. It deals with finding parts and pieces in radtowns, junk piles, and more. These bits and bobs are used to craft nearly everything in Rust. An example of this would be needing a spring and a pipe in order the make a pistol, or needing 2 gears to make an armored door.
A better understanding and full list of components can be found here: https://www.rustafied.com/updates/2016/11/1/component-system-what-you-need-to-know
(A radtown where components can be found)
PvP
The player versus player and looting aspect of rust is what brings massive amount of new players to join. Rusts mechanics for fighting and raiding are great and have always been that way. Why its hard to stress how great it is here, check out some rust raiding and pvping videos on my youtube:
The Animals
Animals are buggy as hell, bears run through rocks, chickens attack you for 11 damage, and pigs have a blood thirst like no other. But i guess the perfect game cant exist.
(Buggy Animals)
Top Guns
Guns like previously said, are the building blocks of rust. But... some guns are better than others. The ak74u is for sure the number one. but is outclassed in range by the bolt. It is hard to label a gun better than another, each one has its own cost, damage, negatives and positives. But you can sure play favorites. Find your favorite by playing, or watching my Rust gun video:
Base Building
Like i stressed before base building is very important, but it is far from simple. It takes time to build a base how you want, and there is no correct way to build one. From honeycomb, to wall stacking, rust base building is something you can never get tired of. Base defense plays a massive part into building a base. You do not want to slap a chest on a open foundation. You want to add walls, spikes, landmines, doors, and even auto turrets. This is the other half of rust.
(On the building test server)
Ending
In the end rust is one of the best survival games on the steam market. Why it does not have the best possible mechanics, animals suck, and the community consist of sodium chloride and skins alone, rust is an experience you cannot afford to miss.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeT6OCl_V7Poz6KfzT5HbAQ
More screenshots on my profile: http://steamcommunity.com/id/AWESOMNAUT/