Blueprint research

[Hudson633]

Many craftable items in Rust need to be unlocked to be craftable, which is either done by spending scrap on a workbench tech tree, or by using a blueprint - this is sometimes referred to as "researching".

Unlocking items can give a sense of progression, and is a popular aspect of the game, essentially acting as an arms race.

When a server wipes, it's referred to as a hard wipe if this research "knowledge" gets reset, and a soft wipe if the knowledge carries on to the next wipe.

Workbench research cost

Including the Workbench Tax, the total number of scrap it would cost to unlock every blueprint on the workbench (as of November 2024) is:

Level	Scrap
Tier 1	5,035
Tier 2	13,217
Tier 3	7,620
Total	25,872

The workbench itself has a scrap cost - you'd need 50 scrap to craft a level 1 workbench, and 500 scrap to craft a level 2, and 1,250 scrap to craft a level 3 (and would also need other resources like wood and metal to craft them). Some players use a vending machine to buy a workbench, as raiders often sell a captured workbench for less scrap that it would cost to craft. Workbench research follows a research tree - to unlock the items at the end of the tree (such as the rocket launcher) then you'd have to research many of the items in the chain of research above it.

Research table

A research table allows you to skip the tech tree if you wanted to research a specific item, but you'd need one of the items you wanted to research (to essentially "reverse engineer" it). This would still cost scrap, and would destroy the item, though it (unlike the workbench) would produce a blueprint which could be given to a teammate.

History

You used to find blueprints when going around looting, and could spend scrap at a workbench to conduct experiments that produced a random blueprint.

Trivia

According to Facepunch stats, the most commonly researched items are Pistol ammo, Rifle ammo, and the Medical syringe.

References

http://web.archive.org/web/20240612160713/https://rust.facepunch.com/news/tech-tree-update

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