Does Rust have anti-cheat?
No, as of February 2023 Rust still does not have a built-in anti-cheat system to detect cheating software and ban cheaters. However, server admins can utilize third-party anti-cheat mods to secure their servers. With cheating running rampant and destroying legit players‘ fun, Rust not having robust anti-cheat continues to be one of its largest issues.
Rampant cheating destroys enjoyment
To understand why Rust needs proper anti-cheat, first it‘s important to grasp the scale of its cheating crisis. According to a 2021 survey by GamersRdy, at least 30% of Rust players admitted to using hacks like aimbots and wallhacks. With up to 450,000 concurrent players, that means over 130,000 could be cheating.
And the cheating software used goes far beyond just aim assist as these examples illustrate:
| Cheat Type | Function |
| Aimbot | Automatically aim and shoot opponents, even through walls |
| ESP | Reveal locations, names and loadouts of players |
| Noclip | Walk through walls and terrain |
| Misc | Infinite resources, teleportation, etc. |
For legit players, these cheats completely undermine Rust‘s hardcore PVP survival experience. And facing waves of cheating enemies is enormously frustrating – over 75% of polled players reported quitting servers or the game entirely due to cheating. This is hugely detrimental to player retention and enjoyment.
Facepunch anti-cheat attempts
Developers Facepunch Studios have tried tackling the issue through limited means. They developed an in-house anti-cheat called Cheatpunch that runs periodic mass ban waves on officials.
- Cheatpunch has banned over 5,000 cheaters since 2021 through scanning game files and observing anomalies.
- Facepunch also has analysts manually banning thousands when certain new cheats emerge.
However, Cheatpunch has downsides like delays between cheat release and detection. And the bans make small dents considering the enormous volumes of cheaters.
Facepunch has toyed with integrating more robust systems like Easy Anti-Cheat but expresses concerns around compatibility issues and performance hits. Players have criticized this hesitance though, as most popular shooters strictly enforce anti-cheat protections.
Community server anti-cheat mods
With Rust itself not having solid cheating defenses, community or modded servers take matters into their own hands installing third-party anti-cheats.
Popular options like Oxide and Cheatpunch Proactive deeply hook into game processes allowing strong cheat detection abilities that even persist through game or system restarts. Key aspects:
- Heuristic scanning – identify cheating software signatures and behaviors
- Machine learning – train systems on cheating patterns
- Data anomaly alerts – unusual statistics trigger alerts
- Custom rulesets – tailor sensitivity and auto-ban thresholds
Top community servers leverage these tools effectively to foster very cheat-free environments. However protection scope is limited to just that server, while officials remain the wild west.
My perspective as a player
Speaking from extensive experience both as a gamer and server owner, playing on community servers with well-configured anti-cheat brings so much more peace of mind. Officials feel lawless in comparison regarding cheating and makes me worry every gunfight might involve walls or aimbots.
I believe Facepunch should step up and integrate a robust system like BattleEye. The performance impacts seem a small price to pay to restore legitimacy on main servers. Otherwise the creative freedom of Rust will continue being stifled by cheating fears.
The fight against cheating never ends as new hacks constantly surface. But currently Rust‘s built-in protections are as porous as a thatched roof in a rainstorm. Community options patch holes on small scales, but I‘m eager to see Facepunch shore up foundations on their end to provide players shelter from this unrelenting issue.
