Hey there, fellow survivor! Tired of getting your wooden shack blown up every other night? I’ve been there.
Nothing’s more frustrating than logging in to find your hard work reduced to splinters. That’s exactly why I learned to build a rust stone wall the hard way, through countless raids and rebuilds.
A stone wall in Rust is your ticket to actually keeping your loot safe. It’s not just stronger than wood; it’s also a psychological barrier that makes raiders think twice before wasting their resources.
Ready to upgrade from flimsy wood to fortress-strong stone? Let’s get into it.
What is a Stone Wall in Rust?
Think of stone walls as your first real upgrade in the base-building world. While twig walls are just for planning and wood walls are basically kindling waiting for a match, stone walls actually make raiders think twice before attacking your base.
Wood walls are cheap and quick, but about as protective as a paper umbrella in a hurricane. Any player with a few hatchets can chop through them in minutes.
Stone walls are where things get serious. They require explosives to break through efficiently, which means casual raiders will usually look for easier targets. This is your sweet spot for mid-game bases.
Sheet metal walls are tougher than stone, but they cost significantly more resources. They’re great for high-value rooms like your loot room or tool cupboard area.
Armored walls are the ultimate defense, but ridiculously expensive. Unless you’re swimming in high-quality metal, save these for your most critical areas.
How to Build and Upgrade to a Stone Wall
Gathering Materials
Before you can build your stone fortress, you’ll need to gather the right stuff. Here’s what you’re looking for:
Essential items:
- Building Plan (craft this with 10 wood)
- Hammer (20 wood + 5 metal fragments)
- Stone (lots of it, we’ll get to exact numbers)
- Wood for the initial twig frame
- A Tool Cupboard to maintain everything
The Best Ways to Farm Stone Efficiently
Hit those stone nodes scattered around the map; they’re everywhere once you start looking.
Use a salvaged icepick if you’ve got one, or a regular pickaxe if you’re still in the early game. Each node gives you around 1,000 stone, sometimes more with better tools.
If you’re feeling ambitious and have the necessary resources, consider building a mining quarry.
Plop it down on a stone node and it’ll passively generate stone while you do other things. Just remember to fuel it with low-grade fuel.
How Much Explosive Ammo for a Stone Wall?
Here’s the info every defender needs to know and every potential raider is definitely calculating:
Explosive ammo: 63 rounds to destroy one side of a stone wall. That’s about 1,575 sulfur’s worth of ammo, plus the time to craft it all.
Other raid tools for comparison:
| Raid Tool | Amount Needed | Total Sulfur Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rockets | 2 rockets | 2,800 sulfur |
| Satchel Charges | 4 satchels | 1,920 sulfur |
| C4 | 1 C4 | 2,200 sulfur |
From a cost-efficiency standpoint, satchels are actually the cheapest way to break stone walls, but they’re loud and time-consuming to use.
Explosive ammo is quieter and more controlled, which is why online raiders often prefer it.
Wall Orientation: Hard Side vs. Soft Side
This is huge, and most new players mess it up. Every wall has two sides: a hard side and a soft side. The soft side has visible wooden support beams, while the hard side looks smooth.
Always face the hard side outward. The Raiders need a lot more explosives to break through the hard defense. If you mess up and place a wall backward, don’t panic; just hit the soft side with your hammer, and you can rotate it.
When placing walls, you can tell which way they’ll face by looking at the ghost image. Take an extra second to make sure you’re getting the orientation right. Trust me, it’s easier to do it right the first time than to fix it later.
Advanced Placement Tips & Tricks
Want your walls to look professional? Here are some pro tips:
- Avoid gaps and overlaps: Use the terrain to your advantage and take time to line things up properly. Gaps are weak points that raiders love to exploit.
- Use the mouse wheel: You can rotate walls before placing them. This is crucial for getting clean corners and proper alignment.
- Check your angles: Walk around and look at your walls from different perspectives before finalizing placement. What looks good from one angle might have issues from another.
- Use environmental markers: Line up your walls with rocks, trees, or other landmarks to keep everything straight.
Base Upkeep and Maintenance
Stone walls don’t maintain themselves. They have upkeep costs that get deducted from your TC over time. Make sure you’re keeping stone in your TC to prevent decay.
If the walls start decaying, you can repair them with stone and your hammer. It’s cheaper than rebuilding, so stay on top of maintenance.
After building, consider adding window bars, embrasures, or other defensive elements. These small additions can make a huge difference in defending your base.
Raiding and Defense Considerations
Stone walls are much tougher than wood; they require serious firepower to break. If someone tries to raid with explosive ammo, expect them to use about 182 rounds per wall.
Raiders can use satchel charges (4 needed for stone walls), rockets (2 needed), or C4 (1 needed) to break through. But here’s the thing: that’s expensive, and most casual raiders won’t bother.
To make your walls even tougher, consider:
- Adding multiple layers (raiders hate this)
- Using honeycomb designs to create more walls to break
- Placing external TCs to prevent raiders from building near your base
- Adding traps and defensive elements around your perimeter
Conclusion
There you have it, everything I wish someone had told me when I first started building in Rust!
Stone walls changed my gameplay from constantly respawning on the beach to actually enjoying this brutal survival game.
Remember, every expert builder started exactly where you are now. My first stone base looked like a disaster, but each attempt taught me something new.
Don’t get discouraged if your stone walls aren’t perfect right away in Rust; even wonky stone walls are infinitely better than pristine wooden ones that raiders can demolish with their eyes closed.
Start small, practice the fundamentals, and gradually work up to more complex designs. Before you know it, you’ll be the one with the intimidating stone fortress that makes other players think twice.
