A sheet metal wall in Rust takes 8 rockets to break, which costs 11,200 sulfur. It also takes 4 C4 (8,800 sulfur), 23 satchel charges (11,040 sulfur) or 400 explosive 5.56 rounds (10,000 sulfur). C4 is the cheapest single explosive, and 3 C4 plus about 70 explo rounds is cheaper still at 8,350 sulfur.
Sheet metal is the standard wall of a mid-wipe base: 1,000 HP for 200 metal fragments. It’s where satchel raiding stops making sense and C4 starts. Here is every explosive that breaks one, what it costs and how long it takes.
How Many Rockets for a Sheet Metal Wall?
8 rockets break a sheet metal wall from either side, for 11,200 sulfur. Firing all eight takes about 42 sec with reloads.
That’s 2,400 sulfur more than 4 C4 for the same hole, so rockets are rarely the best choice on a metal wall you can walk up to. They earn their price when you can’t get close: walls behind turrets, walls high up a tower, or a raid where defenders are shooting at anyone near the base. Our rocket guide covers the recipe and launcher.
How Many C4 for a Sheet Metal Wall?
4 C4 break a sheet metal wall, for 8,800 sulfur. It’s the cheapest single explosive and the fastest, about 14 sec from the first stick to an open wall.
3 C4 isn’t enough on its own: each charge does about 275 damage to sheet metal, so three leave the wall on about 175 HP. That’s not wasted, though. It’s the start of the cheapest combo in the next section. Full recipe in our C4 guide.
How Many Satchels for a Sheet Metal Wall?
23 satchel charges break a sheet metal wall, for 11,040 sulfur. Throwing all of them takes about 42 sec.
Satchels are cheap per charge but terrible per wall. Each one does only about 43 damage to sheet metal, and with duds you need 26 or 27 to be safe. If satchels are all you have, look for a sheet metal door (4 satchels) or a stone doorway instead. See our satchel guide.
How Much Explo Ammo for a Sheet Metal Wall?
400 rounds of explosive 5.56 break a sheet metal wall, for 10,000 sulfur. The count barely moves between guns (398 to 400), and the soft side only saves a round. Expect about 2 min 51 sec of fire with a semi-automatic rifle.
Explo ammo needs a Workbench 3, like C4, so it doesn’t unlock anything earlier. Its real use on metal walls is finishing a wall that C4 has nearly broken. More in our explosive ammo guide.
Every Explosive vs a Sheet Metal Wall (Full Table)
Here is every explosive that can break a sheet metal wall, sorted from the cheapest to the most expensive in sulfur. Amounts are for one undamaged sheet metal wall in vanilla Rust, hitting the hard side. Raid time is how long it takes to land that many from the moment you start, with no defenders.
| Explosive | Amount | Sulfur | Raid time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timed Explosive Charge (C4)Cheapest | 4 | 8,800 | 14 sec | Workbench 3, sticks and blows in 10 sec |
| Explosive 5.56 Ammo | 400 | 10,000 | 2 min 51 sec | Workbench 3, 2 rounds per craft |
| Satchel Charge | 23 | 11,040 | 42 sec | Workbench 1, can dud |
| Rocket | 8 | 11,200 | 42 sec | Workbench 3, fired from range |
| High Velocity Rocket | 67 | 13,400 | 6 min 36 sec | Workbench 2, weak vs buildings |
| Beancan Grenade | 112 | 13,440 | 7 min 3 sec | Workbench 1, can dud |
| F1 Grenade | 993 | 59,580 | 41 min 24 sec | Workbench 2, never worth it |
| MLRS Rocket | 6 | Loot only | n/a | Loot only, from the MLRS |
| 40mm HE Grenade | 57 | Loot only | 1 min 13 sec | Loot only, grenade launcher |
The Cheapest Way to Break a Sheet Metal Wall
3 C4 + about 70 explosive 5.56 rounds = 8,350 sulfur. Three charges take the wall down to about 175 HP and 70 rounds finish it. That saves 450 sulfur per wall over straight 4 C4, which adds up to almost two free C4 across an eight wall raid.
| Combo | Sulfur | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 3 C4 + 70 explo ammo | 8,350 | Cheapest, needs a rifle and 30 seconds |
| 4 C4 | 8,800 | Fastest, no shooting |
| 3 C4 + 5 satchels | 9,000 | You have satchels and no rifle |
| 400 explo ammo | 10,000 | No C4 at all |
| 23 satchels | 11,040 | Early wipe, no Workbench 3 |
| 8 rockets | 11,200 | Range only |
Without sulfur, the soft side of a sheet metal wall can be broken with tools, but it’s a long job: about 30 salvaged icepicks and 35 minutes. Our eco raid calculator has every tool.
Does the Sheet Metal Wall Soft Side Matter?
Not for explosives. C4, rockets, satchels, beancans and HV rockets do the same damage to both faces, and explo ammo saves a single round (399 instead of 400). For melee it’s a different story: the soft side takes about ten times the tool damage, which is what makes the 30 icepick raid above possible at all. Our metal wall guide explains the soft side and upkeep.
Sheet Metal Wall vs Other Walls
Sheet metal doubles a stone wall’s HP and doubles its raid cost: 2 C4 becomes 4, 10 satchels becomes 23. An armored wall doubles it again to 8 C4. Doors don’t scale the same way, which is why raiders target them:
| Target | HP | Rockets | C4 | Satchels | Explo ammo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone wall | 500 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 185 |
| Sheet metal wall | 1,000 | 8 | 4 | 23 | 400 |
| Armored wall | 2,000 | 15 | 8 | 46 | 799 |
| Garage door | 600 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 150 |
| Armored door | 1,000 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 250 |
A sheet metal doorway has the same 1,000 HP as the wall, so an armored door in a metal doorway (3 C4) is only one C4 cheaper than going through the wall beside it.
Need a different target? Every raid cost page on the site:
Tips for Raiding a Sheet Metal Wall
- Stop at three C4. Three charges leave about 175 HP. Finish with explo ammo or satchels and save 450 sulfur a wall.
- Find the door. A garage door is 2 C4 and an armored door 3, both cheaper than a metal wall.
- Skip the satchels. 23 satchels plus spares for duds is more sulfur than 4 C4, and much slower.
- Save rockets for range. If you can stand at the wall, C4 is cheaper. Rockets are for walls you can’t reach.
- Watch for decay. Sheet metal decays in 8 hours without upkeep. An abandoned base may already be half broken.
Raiding more than one wall? Click the whole path into the raid calculator and get the total sulfur and farm list.
Open the Raid CalculatorPlanning the raid around the wipe? The Rust force wipe countdown on our home page shows exactly when every official server wipes next, so you know how long a base will still be standing. For every target on one sheet, grab the free printable Rust raid chart.
Sheet Metal Wall Raid Cost FAQ
How many rockets for a sheet metal wall in Rust?
8 rockets, which is 11,200 sulfur. It’s the same from both sides.
How many C4 for a sheet metal wall?
4 C4, which is 8,800 sulfur. 3 C4 plus about 70 explosive 5.56 rounds also works and costs 8,350.
How many satchels for a sheet metal wall?
23 satchel charges, 11,040 sulfur. Bring 26 or 27 in case of duds.
How much explo ammo for a sheet metal wall?
About 400 explosive 5.56 rounds (398 to 400 depending on the gun), 10,000 sulfur.
How many beancans for a sheet metal wall?
112 beancan grenades, 13,440 sulfur and about 7 minutes. Not worth it.
How many HV rockets for a sheet metal wall?
67 high velocity rockets, 13,400 sulfur. HV rockets do very little to buildings.
What’s the cheapest way to break a sheet metal wall?
3 C4 plus about 70 rounds of explosive 5.56 for 8,350 sulfur. Straight 4 C4 is 8,800.
How much HP does a sheet metal wall have?
1,000 HP. Upgrading a wall to sheet metal costs 200 metal fragments.
Sources
- Explosive amounts and raid times: RustLabs durability data as exported by rustplusplus (hard side, vanilla), the same data our raid calculator uses.
- Recipes, workbench levels and sulfur per explosive: Rust game item files (October 2026).
- Satchel and beancan dud behaviour: Facepunch Rust wiki, Satchel Charge.