Rustafied wrote:Player-maintained monuments
Player-maintained monuments continue to get more intertwined with the rest of the map. Monument blockers have been adjusted across Launch Site, Military Tunnels, Missile Silo, Large Oil Rig, and Small Oil Rig. Their health and protection have been tuned, with the current target putting a blocker at one C4 or five satchels to destroy. They also have visible health when attacked and effects as they move through their damage states, making the whole process a little less mysterious than beating on a pile of debris and hoping for the best.
Having never heard of "monument blockers" before, I AIed it, and got this:
Gemini wrote:A monument blocker is an experimental feature being tested on the Rust Staging Branch designed to slow down early-game progression by barricading access to high-tier monuments on server wipe day.
How It Works
- Wipe Day Restraints: When a server wipes, debris like blast doors, collapsed corridors, barrels, tables, and wooden barricades spawn at high-tier locations. This stops players from instantly "speedrunning" keycard puzzle rooms.
- Affected Locations: The blockades primarily obstruct high-reward monuments like the Launch Site, Large Oil Rig, and Military Tunnels.
- Removal Methods: Players can bypass the blockers by destroying them using tools or weapons like rockets or a jackhammer. Breaking certain barricades down with a jackhammer also yields metal fragments.
- Decay Timer: According to developer notes shared on the Rust Discord, monument blockers are also programmed to start decaying naturally after 24 hours, opening up the monuments over time even if players don't blast through them.
Part of a Bigger System
These blockers tie into a larger, upcoming "Player-Maintained Monuments" system. Instead of monuments existing solely as static loot spawns, Facepunch is moving toward a loop where players must clear out debris, repair pipes, and restore power grids to bring the monuments back online.
If you want to plan for the next wipe, I can help you figure out which tools are most cost-effective to clear them or detail how the new player-maintained power grids work. What would you like to explore next?
Since this feature is restricted to top-tier monuments, it won't affect us directly. But I am glad it slows down the clans from getting the coolest stuff on wipe day, obviously. Anything that gives people more to do in the game is good in my book. And note that as more and more of the playerbase moves to monthly servers, preventing people from teching up too fast and spreading progression out becomes a priority.
You can see some of these blockers in this video, I think they look appropriate:
Rust Monuments Blocked Off & Many Other Changes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PVI8L3K1Pc
