Rust Naval Update: Everything to Know Before the Launch

The Rust Naval Update was expected to set sail in December 2025, but has been delayed by Facepunch until February 5th, 2026. It is the biggest ocean focused overhaul Rust has ever attempted. Expect modular boats you can build and customize, a treacherous Deep Sea biome with new loot and events, sprawling Floating City ocean monuments, and high stakes naval combat with AI patrols. Facepunch previously delayed the patch from November for extra polish and balance, and opened AUX01 (pre-staging) so players, server owners, and modders can put the new systems through their paces ahead of release. All mechanics seen on AUX01/Staging are subject to change until they hit the live branch.

What’s Coming in the Rust Naval Update

• Modular, player-built boats (station, plan, parts, weapons). 
• Deep Sea biome with new events, weather, and loot loops.
• Floating City (Ocean Monument) that mixes vendors, activities, and PvP. 
• Naval combat & AI: Ghost Ships, patrol craft (including PT boats), and an overhauled RHIB.
• Progression & economy tuning rolled out ahead of launch to support the naval meta.
• Disclaimer: AUX01/Staging; subject to change.

If you only have a minute, that’s the headline. The rest of this guide digs deeper, especially into what these systems mean for players, server admins, and the broader Rust economy.

Building and Customizing Your Boat

For the first time, Rust treats boats as buildable platforms, not just disposable taxis.

How boatbuilding works (on staging): you’ll place a Boat Building Station, craft a Boat Plan, and begin assembling. Hull platforms set your footprint; engines/steering determine speed and handling; anchors and storage turn your craft into a mobile base of operations; and weapons, from improvised deck guns to proper cannons, give your crew some bite. The current AUX01/Staging implementation is fluid, so names, stats, and recipes may change before going live.

Costs and upkeep. Boats draw on familiar currencies, scrap, low grade fuel, and component sinks, so choices have weight. A zippy interceptor with a single engine drinks less fuel and is easier to hide; a two engine gunboat hauls faster and hits harder but eats fuel, parts, and attention. You’ll feel the upkeep curve in the midgame, especially if your group maintains multiple hulls for different roles (scout, hauler, raider). If you’re hosting your own community, bookmark our guide to Optimizing Rust Server Performance to prepare for boat heavy hotspots.

Gameplay impact. Modular boats close practical gaps that used to make shoreline bases risky and offshore living clunky. 

Expect to see:

• Mobile staging for raids and counter raids, complete with onboard storage and respawn options.
• Coastal logistics, faster, safer scrap runs between fishing villages, harbors, and ocean POIs.
• Specialization: fast interceptors to harass, bulky barges to haul, and turreted “floaters” to siege.

Design tradeoffs are the heart of the system: add armor or cargo and you’ll likely lose speed; add engines and your fuel bill climbs. It feels like building a mini base, only everything moves.

Modding note: If you rely on plugins, see How to install or update uMod/Oxide on your Rust server before you try boat centric plugins on staging.

Naval Combat and Ocean Encounters

The ocean is no longer a quiet commute. The update layers AI driven threats and PvP catalysts across the water:

• Ghost Ships & Scientist patrols roam sea lanes, forcing route planning, ambushes, and cooperative clears.
• PT boats act as fast, armed opponents you can’t ignore; they’ll gatekeep chokepoints and punish sloppy crews.
• RHIB overhaul: the long time staple gets a fresh pass so it can keep up with the modular era.
• Hull HP & sinking (staging): boat fights are tactile, hits matter, fires spread, and bad damage control sinks ships.

Tactics to expect. Smarter groups will run two boat teams, a fast tackler to force fights and a heavier platform to finish them. Smoke and elevation from waves create natural cover; weather and swell direction can make or break a chase. And once sinking is in play, board or burn becomes a real decision: do you take their gear, or send the whole thing down?

Admin tip: Use RustAdmin (download & setup) to watch player heatmaps and intervene on problem routes during the first week.

Exploring the Deep Sea: New Biome and Loot Zones

Past the island’s continental shelf is the Deep Sea, a zone with rougher weather, bigger swells, and better rewards. It’s not a simple “more water” expansion, it’s a different problem set:

• Navigation risk: low visibility, choppy seas, and fewer safe “pull out” spots make long runs tense.
• Event density: ocean events and ship encounters add high value targets that double as PvP magnets.
• Loot identity: early staging builds point to unique Deep Sea tables you won’t casually farm on shore.

Floating City (Ocean Monument)

The headline POI is a Floating City, part vendor hub, part combat sandbox. On staging, it’s not a safe zone. You’ll find shops and activities next to PvP killboxes, which means holding the area is more than just good business; it becomes map control. Groups that build offshore or along key approach routes may dictate traffic and prices during primetime.

Risk vs. reward. The Deep Sea is tuned to be rewarding enough to justify the voyage while staying dangerous enough to spark fights. You’ll bring better kits, more fuel, and a plan, and you’ll still sometimes get caught by AI patrols or a patient clan waiting behind the fog line.

Mapping note: Running custom maps? See How to use a custom map with your Rust server to test ocean POI placement before launch.

Game Balance and Economy Changes

Facepunch spent November adjusting the progression curve so the naval meta has room to breathe. Research costs, tech tree paths, scrap flow, and certain workbench interactions have been streamlined so players get to meaningful gear without hours of monument treadmill. The big picture goal is clear: shorter “dead zones” in progression, more varied routes to competitiveness, and fewer reasons to dodge ocean content because the opportunity cost is too steep.

What this means in practice:

• Fuel matters. You’ll burn more low grade than before if you live on the water; expect to loop oil routes or run comps more often.
• Scrap pressure shifts. Boat parts, upgrades, and repair cycles siphon scrap away from traditional spend, pushing groups to ocean POIs for replenishment.
• Tech decisions feel tighter. Committing to naval gear early may delay other toys. That’s healthy friction, it creates divergent strategies across the wipe instead of mirror-match bases.

If you’re trying to squeeze more headroom from your hardware while the new meta settles, our Rust server performance optimization primer covers common wins (entity caps, restarts, net settings) in plain language.

Testing Phase and Update Delay (February 2026)

Confirmed delay. The Naval Update moved from November to December 2025 to finish polish and verify the patch “launches truly seaworthy" before Facepunch made the decision just recently to delay it again until February next year. Game wide systems updates benefit massively from another round of QA and server stress, so this short slip is more relief than heartbreak for most of the community.

How to test early (players):

1. In Steam, find Rust - Staging Branch in your Library.
2. Right-click → Properties → Betas.
3. Select “aux01 - prestaging.”
4. Download updates and launch the Staging build.

For server owners: if your account has access, use SteamCMD to pull the appropriate testing branch (e.g., -beta aux01), then follow How to update your Rust server to keep builds fresh while you test. Also consider automating wipe day file chores via How to automatically wipe files on Rust wipe day.

Community Reactions and Expectations

The r/playrust and Discord pulse so far: cautious optimism. Many players welcomed the delay, arguing that Rust’s best patches take an extra lap for stability, AI behavior, and performance. The hype centers on modular boats (“finally, a reason to live offshore”) and the Deep Sea loop (“new endgame that isn’t just oil rig 24/7”). Energy is high, but so are concerns:

• Server performance in ocean hotspots, especially around Floating City and event clusters.
• Balance pain points, fuel costs, rare component bottlenecks, or oppressive AI.
• PvP pacing, if patrol craft and Ghost Ships will feel like content or constant interruptions.

Running community events around the launch? Use How to add tags to your Rust server so players can find your naval rule set quickly.

What to Expect at Launch

New PvP lanes. Open water becomes the new highway system. Clans will camp chokepoints, blockade harbors, and set interceptor traps along deep water routes. Counterplay emerges quickly: bait ships, smoke screens from weather, and low profile hulls hugging the coastline.

Base raiding by sea. Shoreline bases are back in fashion. Expect littoral raiding, night runs with fast boats, decoy wakes to split defenders, and offshore respawn boats parked behind rock lines. Builders will adapt with sea walls, angled embrasures, and better antiboat kill zones.

Economy shakeups. Deep Sea and Floating City redistribute scrap and high tier loot; groups that control ocean nodes will snowball. Inland factions will still flourish, but they’ll need alliances or trade to keep pace with naval megas.

For server owners: a quick prep checklist

• Spin up a staging mirror with your live plugins, map size, and typical pop; tune restart cadence and entity caps with ocean hotspots in mind.
• Audit plugins that touch vehicles, AI, loot tables, and monuments; if you mod, use How to install uMod/Oxide plugins to keep deployments clean.
• Track population spikes and errors with RustAdmin; if false kicks crop up, sanity check with Why is my Rust server kicking me when I try to connect?
• Lock down access for private tests using Whitelist/Private server mode.

Need a hand? You can stand up a mirrored test environment with our Rust server hosting to validate performance before your main community migrates.

FAQ About the Rust Naval Update

When is the Rust Naval Update coming out? 

February 5, 2026. Facepunch delayed the patch from November to December to finish polish and balance. The team then recently decided to delay the update again until 2026. Exact hours on the 5th the update will be available may vary by platform and region.

What new features are included? 

On AUX01/Staging: modular boats (buildable, upgradeable craft), the Deep Sea biome, Floating City ocean monuments, and naval combat with AI patrols (Ghost Ships, PT boats, and an RHIB refresh). All staging mechanics are subject to change before the live build.

Can players test the update early? 

Yes. Switch to Rust - Staging Branch, then in Properties → Betas choose “aux01 - prestaging.” Download any updates and start testing. UI labels can move between client updates; if you can’t see AUX01, check community notes or try again later. Hosting your own tests? Start with How to setup a Rust server and How to use an FTP client with your Rust service.

Will it affect servers or performance? 

Likely. Ocean POIs and AI boats concentrate players and entities into tight spaces, especially around Floating City and event lanes. Mirror your live setup on a staging server, test popular plugins that touch vehicles/AI/monuments, and plan extra restarts during the first week as heat maps settle. For recurring wipe chores, see Automating wipe day.

Is Floating City a safe zone? 

On staging, no, it mixes vendors and activities with PvP. Treat it like a high value flashpoint rather than a sanctuary. Live behavior can change at release, so check patch notes on launch day.

Do boats have upkeep like bases? 

On staging, modular boats consume fuel and degrade with combat and use. Exact repair, decay, or upkeep rules may change; expect adjustments during the first hotfixes after launch. If anything goes sideways after a patch, How to update your Rust server and How to reinstall your Rust server are handy triage steps.

Anchors Away This February

To recap, the Rust Naval Update lands February 5, 2026 with buildable boats, the Deep Sea biome, Floating City POIs, and naval combat that turns the ocean into a living battlefield. The extra month of polish should pay off in stability and balance, and AUX01/Staging gives everyone, from sweaty PvPers to meticulous server admins, a chance to prepare. If you’re plotting sea borne raids, building an offshore empire, or tuning a 200 slot server for the rush, it’s time to fuel up, chart a course, and set sail.