Rifts are the glowing portal doors that open around the map during the Rust Halloween event. Walk through one and you are pulled into a short underground dungeon full of scarecrows and loot crates, and the only way home is back through the door you came in. In the 2026 Darkness Falls lore, either cultists are opening them or a Cobalt experiment code-named R.U.I.N. went horribly wrong.
This Rust Halloween rifts guide covers how to find a portal, what a dungeon looks like inside (straight from the game files), how many scarecrows and crates you will meet, how much a run is worth, what to bring, how to get out, and the server setting that controls how many rifts spawn. Rifts were live on every vanilla server until the November 5, 2026 force wipe and return with Halloween 2027. For the rest of the event, see our Darkness Falls update overview.
halloweendungeon.population 1. Each one leads to a small procedural mine tunnel dungeon with 2 to 5 scarecrows and 2 to 4 crates (brown and military), worth about 17 scrap in crates on average before scarecrow drops. Leave through the same portal you entered. Portals stay open for a limited time and then collapse. Bring Vampire Stakes (one stab kills an undead), a shotgun, a flashlight, meds and empty slots, and nothing you cannot afford to lose. Rifts end with the event on November 5.
- What Rifts Are
- Finding One
- Inside a Dungeon
- Loot
- What to Bring
- Getting Out
- Server Settings
- History
- FAQ
What Are Rifts in Rust?
A rift is the Halloween version of a portal event. Facepunch added them in Halloween 2022, and they come back every year with the event. A portal door appears somewhere on the island with blue sparks swirling around it, stays open for a while, then collapses and a new one opens somewhere else. Interact with it and you are teleported into a self-contained dungeon away from the main map.
In the game files the portal is the halloweenportalentry entity, the way out is halloweenportalexit, and the dungeon itself is minedungeon, a procedural dungeon that the server builds from mine tunnel pieces each time. The scarecrows inside are their own NPC type, scarecrow_dungeon, separate from the ones that roam the map. Christmas uses the same system with a gingerbread version, which is why the files also hold xmasportalentry and xmas tunnel pieces.
| Rift fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Event | Halloween (Darkness Falls 2026), October 22 to November 5, 2026 |
| Added | Halloween 2022 |
| Where | Random spots on the map, not tied to monuments |
| How many | About 16 on a 4,500 size map at default settings |
| Open for | A limited time, then the portal collapses (no public timer) |
| Inside | Procedural mine tunnel dungeon, 2 to 5 scarecrows, 2 to 4 crates |
| Exit | Back through the portal you entered |
| Server convar | halloweendungeon.population (default 1) |
| Game entities | halloweenportalentry, halloweenportalexit, minedungeon, scarecrow_dungeon |
How to Find a Rift
There is no map marker. You find rifts by looking for them, and the blue glow is the giveaway.
- Hunt at night. The portal frame glows bright blue and throws sparks, so on a dark night you can see one from far across open ground. In daylight it is a floating metal door that is easy to miss in trees.
- Sweep open ground. Portals appear out in the open world rather than inside buildings, so ride through fields, forests and along roads.
- Roam on a horse or bike. With about 16 on a normal map, you cover more ground on a horse or a motorbike, and you can farm scarecrows on the way.
- Listen for other players. A crowd of gunfire somewhere quiet often means a group found one. That can be a trap as much as a clue.
Inside a Rust Halloween Dungeon
Each dungeon is a short mine tunnel maze. Rustafied found more than 15 layouts when rifts launched, and the 2026 game files explain why: the server assembles every dungeon from 19 mine tunnel pieces (straight sections in both directions, four corners, four T-junctions, a four-way crossroads, four collapsed dead ends and four exits), so the layout changes every time.
- Scarecrows. Expect 2 to 5 of them. They are melee NPCs with sickles, pitchforks and chainsaws, and in tight tunnels they reach you fast.
- Crates. 2 to 4 crates, a mix of brown (basic tier) and green military crates, usually in the side rooms and corners.
- Darkness. Some corners are lit and some are not. A flashlight or a torch saves you from walking into a chainsaw.
- Other players. A portal is not private. Anyone who reaches the same door can follow you in, so keep an eye behind you.
Rustafied logged these real dungeon rolls when rifts were added, and the 2026 dungeons still fall in the same range:
| Dungeon roll | Scarecrows | Crates | Crate scrap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example 1 | 5 | 1 brown, 1 military | 13 |
| Example 2 | 3 | 2 military | 16 |
| Example 3 | 4 | 1 brown, 1 military | 13 |
| Example 4 | 5 | 3 brown | 15 |
| Example 5 | 2 | 1 brown, 3 military | 29 |
| Average | 3.8 | 2.8 | ~17 |
Rust Halloween Dungeon Loot
A dungeon pays out twice: once from the crates and once from the scarecrows you kill on the way.
- Brown crates hold 5 scrap plus tools, components and the odd weapon.
- Military crates hold 8 scrap and the best chance at a gun, ammo and attachments. Exact rolls are in our Rust loot tables.
- Scarecrows drop Halloween loot like the ones on the surface: chocolate or corn (50% each), metal blades and rope (39.6%), a sickle, pitchfork or butcher knife (29.4%), medium Frankenstein parts (16.7% each), and rare costumes like the Ghost Costume (2.3%). Light and heavy pet parts drop at 8.3%. That makes rifts a good way to finish a Frankenstein pet.
Our maths: an average dungeon gives about 17 scrap from crates alone. Add three or four scarecrow corpses worth of components to recycle and it beats a loop of most small monuments, with no radiation and no keycards. It is still worth less than a full Oxum’s Gas Station run, so rifts are best as a side stop while you roam.
What to Bring Into a Rift
Dungeons are close range fights in tight tunnels, and the portal will not stay open forever. Few players come back out with everything they took in, so bring a cheap, focused kit.
| Bring | Why |
|---|---|
| Vampire Stakes | One stab kills an undead and gives extra loot. They come from Small Loot Bags (11.1%, 3 to 5 each) and undead corpses. |
| Pump Shotgun or Double Barrel | Scarecrows rush you in tight tunnels. A shotgun stops them at the corner. |
| Bow and arrows | A cheap backup if you are early in the wipe |
| Flashlight or torch | Some tunnel sections are pitch black |
| Syringes and bandages | Chainsaw hits stack bleeding fast |
| Empty slots | Crates and corpses fill your inventory quickly |
| Leave at home | Your best armour, rockets, explosives and loot bags you have not opened |
How to Get Out of a Rust Halloween Dungeon
Walk back to the portal door you came through and interact with it. You come out where you went in. In 2026 Facepunch gave the exit a clearer interaction prompt, because players kept getting stuck looking for a way out. There is no second exit.
Facepunch also fixed dungeon spawning, scarecrow navigation and how dungeons show on the map for Darkness Falls, so dungeons spawn and scarecrows move through them more reliably than in past years. Portals do not last forever. Facepunch does not publish the timer, so loot the crates, grab the corpses and head back instead of waiting around.
Rift Settings for Server Owners
Server owners and admins control how many rifts spawn with one convar. Players on vanilla servers cannot change it.
| Setting | Portals on a 4,500 map | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
halloweendungeon.population 0 | 0 | Turn rifts off (performance, or a no-event server) |
halloweendungeon.population 0.5 | About 8 | Fewer portals on a small or busy server |
halloweendungeon.population 1 | About 16 | Vanilla default |
halloweendungeon.population 2 | About 32 (our estimate) | A Halloween focused or PvE server |
Type the convar on its own to see the current value. Put it in your server.cfg to keep it after a restart. The full list of Halloween commands and spawn names is in our Halloween event guide, and every admin command is in our Rust admin commands list.
Rift History: 2022 to 2026
| Year | What changed |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Rifts added with Halloween. Portals spawn around the map and lead to procedural dungeons with scarecrows and crates. |
| 2023 to 2025 | Rifts return every Halloween. The Vampire Stake (2023) becomes the best tool for clearing them. |
| 2026 (Darkness Falls) | New R.U.I.N. lore, clearer exit prompt, fixes for dungeon spawning, navigation and map visibility. |
Rifts close for the year on the November 5 force wipe. See exactly how long you have left.
Rust force wipe countdownRust Halloween Rifts FAQ
What are rifts in Rust?
Rifts are Halloween portals: glowing blue doors that spawn at random spots on the map during the Halloween event. Going through one teleports you into a short dungeon with scarecrows and loot crates.
How do you find a portal in Rust Halloween?
Look for the blue glow and sparks, which are easiest to see at night across open fields and forests. There is no map marker, and a normal 4,500 size map has about 16 portals at a time.
How do you get out of a Halloween dungeon in Rust?
Go back to the portal door you came in through and interact with it. You return to the spot where you entered. There is no other exit.
What loot is in Rust Halloween dungeons?
2 to 4 crates, a mix of brown and military crates worth about 17 scrap on average, plus loot from the 2 to 5 scarecrows inside: food, components, event melee weapons, Frankenstein pet parts and rare costumes.
How long do Rust Halloween portals last?
A limited time. Each portal stays open for a while, then collapses and a new one opens somewhere else. Facepunch does not publish the exact timer, so loot quickly.
Can other players follow you into a rift?
Yes. Anyone who reaches the same portal can enter the same dungeon, and groups often camp portals to catch players coming back out with loot.
What does halloweendungeon.population do?
It is the server convar for the number of Halloween portals. The default is 1, which spawns about 16 portals on a 4,500 size map. 0.5 halves that and 0 turns rifts off. Only admins can change it.
When do rifts end in 2026?
With the Halloween event on November 5, 2026, the November force wipe day.
Sources and Further Reading
- Facepunch, Halloween 2026 devblog (rifts, R.U.I.N. lore, halloweendungeon.population)
- Rustafied, Halloween Event Goes Live (2026 exit prompt and dungeon fixes)
- Rustafied, Halloween is here (2022) (first rifts, dungeon rolls and in-game screenshots)
- Corrosion Hour, Halloween dungeon population (portal count per map)
- Carbon game data, prefabs and entities (portal, dungeon and tunnel piece prefabs, last updated October 15, 2026)
- Related: Darkness Falls update, Rust Halloween event, Rust Halloween skins 2026