Rust Decay Calculator
Calculate how long every Rust structure lasts without upkeep. Twig, wood, stone, sheet metal, armored — exact decay timers and HP loss rates. Plan tool-cupboard (TC) checks so your base never decays when you're offline.
Building Material
Time to Destroy (no Tool Cupboard)
Decay Time
5h
outdoors
Grace Period
24h
before decay starts
Block HP
500 HP
Blocks with a Tool Cupboard (TC) providing upkeep do NOT decay. Upkeep resources are consumed from the TC to prevent decay.
All Material Decay Times
| Tier | Outdoors | Sheltered | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twig | 1h | 1h | 10 |
| Wood | 3h | 6h | 250 |
| Stone | 5h | 8h | 500 |
| Sheet Metal | 8h | 12h | 1000 |
| Armored | 12h | 16h | 2000 |
Place a Tool Cupboard and stock it with upkeep resources (wood/stone/metal/HQM) to prevent decay completely. Use our Upkeep Calculator to compute exact resource needs per day.
How Rust Base Decay Actually Works
Every structure in Rust loses HP over time when it's not protected by a Tool Cupboard (TC) with enough upkeep resources. Twig decays in 1 hour, wood in 3 hours, stone in 5 hours, sheet metal in 8 hours, armored in 12 hours (once HP reaches zero).
The TC protects everything inside its 40-meter building-zone radius. If you don't have a TC, decay applies to every piece immediately. If you have a TC but it runs out of upkeep resources (wood for wood, stone for stone, metal frags for sheet, HQM for armored), decay resumes for that tier only.
Upkeep consumes a percentage of the building cost per hour based on how full your TC is (0-100% = 30% cost/hour when below half-full, down to 10% cost/hour when topped off). The calculator shows the exact hourly upkeep rate for each tier so you know what to stockpile before logging off.
Long wipe servers (weekly/biweekly) are where decay math matters most — offline protection means the difference between coming back to a standing base and starting from scratch. If decay has destroyed your outer walls too often, you probably need to rebuild with better tier or add a roof alarm server to get offline alerts.
Rust Decay Calculator — FAQ
How long does wood take to decay in Rust?
Wood decays at 3 HP per hour once its protection timer expires. A full HP wood wall (250 HP) takes ~3 hours to go from 100% to 0% HP if there's no Tool Cupboard protecting it.
Does a Tool Cupboard fully prevent decay in Rust?
Yes — as long as the TC has enough resources to cover the hourly upkeep cost for each building tier in its 40-meter zone. If the TC runs out of (e.g.) metal fragments, the sheet metal pieces in range will start decaying while wood and stone stay safe.
How long do sheet metal walls last in Rust?
Sheet metal decays at ~12.5 HP/hour, so a full 1000 HP sheet wall lasts ~8 hours without TC protection. Armored (2000 HP) lasts ~12 hours. Decay only starts after the protection timer expires (24 hours after last upkeep).
Can I turn off decay on my own Rust server?
Yes — if you host with XGamingServer, you can set decay.scale to 0 in the admin panel to disable decay entirely, or increase it above 1 to speed up base cleanup on high-churn servers.
Does upkeep decay when I'm offline?
Yes. The TC burns upkeep resources continuously whether you're online or not. That's why it's critical to top up TCs before logging off for long stretches — an empty TC = decay resumes for every tier below the resource it's missing.
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