Rust Starter Base Design (2026)
For wipe-day players · 1x1 footprint, one storey plus roof, wood throughout
A minimal wipe-day base to protect your first loot while you farm toward a real base. Prioritises a sleeping bag, a locked door and a tool cupboard.
Starter Base build cost
The reference build we cost is a 1x1 footprint, one storey plus roof, wood throughout — 6 building blocks plus doors and a tool cupboard. Every rate below is what the game charges for that piece: the twig it is placed as, then the upgrade. A floor or roof costs half a wall, a doorway or window 70%.
| Piece | Qty | Cost each |
|---|---|---|
| Wood foundation | 1 | 50 wood + 200 wood |
| Wood wall | 3 | 50 wood + 200 wood |
| Wood doorway | 1 | 35 wood + 140 wood |
| Wood roof | 1 | 25 wood + 100 wood |
| Wooden door | 1 | 300 wood |
| Tool cupboard | 1 | 1,000 wood |
| Total | 2,600 wood | |
Starter Base upkeep
Rust bills upkeep by building-block count: 10% of build cost per day for the first 15 blocks, 15% for the next 50, 20% for the next 125 and 33.3% after that. At 6 blocks this design pays a blended 10.0% a day, doors included; the tool cupboard itself costs nothing to keep.
Over a full seven-day wipe cycle that is 938 wood — the number worth checking before you commit to a size. Work out how long your TC lasts.
What it costs to raid
Cost of the cheapest route from outside to the loot room, searched by the base planner on the exact piece list above — doors included, because a door on the outside is what a raider actually breaks.
| Raider has to break | Rockets | C4 |
|---|---|---|
| 1× Wooden Wall | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 |
That is 2,800 sulfur in rockets, or 2,200 sulfur in C4. The cheapest method that can break the whole path is 1× incendiary rocket at 300 sulfur. Compare every explosive.
Pros
- checkCheap and fast
- checkProtects early progression
Cons
- closeNot a long-term home
Place two doors as an airlock so you're never exposed when entering.
Building and raid data verified against Livestock. The piece list above is our reference build for this archetype, published so the totals can be checked — your own layout will differ.
Compare with other designs
Related guides
A no-BS Rust base building guide: building tiers, upkeep, tool cupboards, bunkers, airlocks and honeycomb, plus the raid costs that actually matter.
A real player's Rust raid guide: exact sulfur costs per structure, C4 vs rockets vs satchels vs eco raiding, online/offline tactics and defence.