Not every scrap in Rust has to come from a barrel or a fight. Seven NPCs standing in the game’s safe zones hand out missions: short jobs like finding a lost bottle, hunting deer, catching fish or running the Oil Rig, and they pay you in scrap, gear and a few items you would struggle to get any other way on wipe day.
This Rust missions guide lists every mission giver and where to find them, what each mission asks you to do, what it pays, how to accept and abandon missions, the five naval missions added in February 2026, and which missions are actually worth your time.
- What They Are
- How They Work
- All Missions
- Bandit Camp
- Ranch & Barn
- Fishing Village
- Outpost
- Naval Missions
- Best Missions
- FAQ
What Are Missions in Rust?
Missions are Rust’s take on quests. Facepunch added them in the Missions and QoL update in October 2021, starting with a handful of NPCs at the Bandit Camp, Outpost, Fishing Villages and the Ranch, and has added more since. CZ-721 at the Outpost got his first real job in July 2025, and the Naval Update on 5 February 2026 added five sea missions and the Floating City’s mission giver.
Every mission giver stands inside a safe zone, so picking up a mission is risk free. The job itself usually is not: you still have to walk, sail or fight your way to the objective on a live server. Missions are solo. They are not shared with your team or clan, so each player has to take and finish their own.
The rewards are aimed at the early game: scrap, starter weapons like the Hatchet and Crossbow, teas, fishing gear and boats. A few missions pay well into the mid game too, like the 300 scrap from Keeping Afloat and the Rocket Launcher from Gone Killing.
How Missions Work in Rust
- Find a mission NPC. They stand in the safe zones listed below. Some, like CZ-721 and the Vagabond, are easy to walk past.
- Press E to talk. A dialogue window opens. Pick the mission you want and accept it.
- Do the objective. The mission name and its current objective show at the top left of your screen.
- Hand it in. Go back and talk to the same NPC. The reward goes straight into your inventory.
A few rules catch new players out:
- One mission at a time. Finish or drop your current mission before taking another.
- Abandon from the TAB menu. Press TAB and use the Abandon Mission button in the mission panel at the top left. There is no confirmation, and you get a lockout before you can take that mission again.
- Cooldowns. Most repeatable missions lock for about an hour after you finish them. A failed Treasure Hunter run only locks for 5 minutes.
- Some are chains. The Lumberjack’s missions unlock in order, and the Fisherman’s Oiled Up only opens after Go Fish.
- Missions are not wipe-proof. Like everything else, mission progress and the Outpost spawn point reset on a wipe. Check when the next force wipe is.
Every Rust Mission and Reward
| Mission | NPC (location) | Objective | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Bottles | Lumberjack (Bandit Camp) | Find his vodka bottle in the forest | Hatchet |
| Collect Vood | Lumberjack (Bandit Camp) | Harvest and bring back 2,000 wood | Crossbow, 15 wooden arrows, 75 scrap |
| Wildlife Cull | Lumberjack (Bandit Camp) | Kill any 3 animals | Lumberjack Hoodie, pants, Bucket Helmet, Basic Wood Tea |
| Keeping Afloat | Lumberjack (Bandit Camp or Outpost) | Take 3,000 wood to his contact at the Floating City | 300 scrap |
| Boar Hunt | Hunter (Ranch, Large Barn) | Hunt boars | 150 scrap, Basic Ore Tea |
| Deer Hunt | Hunter (Ranch, Large Barn) | Kill 3 deer | 150 scrap, Basic Scrap Tea |
| Treasure Hunter | Hunter (Ranch, Large Barn) | Reach the treasure location he marks | Mystery reward |
| Tackle the Day | Fisherman (Fishing Village) | Recover lost tackle from the coastline | Handmade Fishing Rod, 15 grubs, Basic Harvesting Tea |
| Go Fish | Fisherman (Fishing Village) | Catch 3 fish | Kayak, paddle, 75 scrap |
| Oiled Up | Fisherman (Fishing Village) | Open oil barrels at sea and bring back 100 crude oil | 250 scrap, 3 Fish Pies |
| An Important Broadcast | Dive Master (Fishing Village) | Play the Fishing Village 24/7 station on a boombox at an Underwater Lab | 100 scrap, Double Diving Tank, 50 bonus scrap |
| Outpost Validation | CZ-721 (Outpost) | Find his documents, usually in a bucket beside a toilet | Permanent Outpost spawn point |
| Oil Rig Raid | CZ-721 (Outpost) | Grab the soda can from the Oil Rig security room | 200 scrap, bonus Semi-Automatic Rifle |
| Beep in the Deep | Vagabond (Outpost) | Dig up buried treasure on a Deep Sea island with a metal detector | 100 scrap plus the treasure box |
| Gone Killing | Floating Citizen (Floating City) | Kill 8 scientists on patrol boats | Rocket Launcher, 6 HV rockets |
Mission rewards get rebalanced from time to time, and guides disagree on a few of them (Collect Vood used to pay 25 arrows and no scrap). The in-game mission panel always shows the current reward before you accept.
Bandit Camp Missions: the Lumberjack
The Lumberjack stands next to the Stuff vendor inside the Bandit Camp. His missions are the best fresh-spawn starter in the game, because they hand you tools in the order you need them.
- Lost Bottles. He has lost his vodka bottle in the forest. Find it and bring it back for a Hatchet.
- Collect Vood. Use that hatchet to harvest 2,000 wood and hand it over. You get a Crossbow, 15 wooden arrows and 75 scrap, which is a real wipe day weapon for the price of an hour of chopping.
- Wildlife Cull. Kill any 3 animals. Chickens count. The mission panel does not track kills, so count them yourself. The reward is a Lumberjack Hoodie, pants, a Bucket Helmet and a Basic Wood Tea.
- Keeping Afloat. A naval mission added in February 2026. Bring 3,000 wood out to his contact at the Floating City in the Deep Sea for 300 scrap. Depending on the server, this one is given at the Bandit Camp or the Outpost.
If you only do one, do Collect Vood. Pair it with a Scrap Tea or Wood Tea and a barrel run on the way back.
Ranch and Large Barn Missions: the Hunter
The Hunter stands at the Ranch and the Large Barn, the two horse-trading safe zones. His jobs are solo hunting runs on a one hour cooldown each.
- Boar Hunt. Hunt boars and report back for 150 scrap and a Basic Ore Tea.
- Deer Hunt. Kill 3 deer for 150 scrap and a Basic Scrap Tea.
- Treasure Hunter. Reach the treasure location he gives you. The reward is shown as a mystery icon until you claim it. You have 6 hours to finish, and the cooldown is 1 hour on success and 5 minutes on a fail. It used to be called Vagabond Treasure before a 2026 patch renamed it.
Run Boar Hunt and Deer Hunt back to back on a horse and you clear 300 scrap an hour without going near a monument. The teas you get are worth keeping too: an Ore Tea for your next mining trip and a Scrap Tea for your next barrel run.
Fishing Village Missions: Fisherman and Dive Master
Every Fishing Village has two mission givers.
The Fisherman runs three missions, each on a one hour cooldown after you finish it:
- Tackle the Day. Find his lost tackle on the coastline. You get a Handmade Fishing Rod, 15 grubs and a Basic Harvesting Tea, which is a full starter kit for fishing.
- Go Fish. Catch 3 fish and bring them back for a Kayak, a paddle and 75 scrap.
- Oiled Up. Opens after Go Fish. Head out to sea, break the floating oil barrels and bring back 100 crude oil for 250 scrap and 3 Fish Pies. Use the kayak from Go Fish to get there.
The Dive Master got his mission with the Naval Update. An Important Broadcast asks you to tune a boombox to the Fishing Village 24/7 station inside an Underwater Lab. It pays 100 scrap and a Double Diving Tank, and switching more than one boombox to the station earns 50 bonus scrap.
Outpost Missions: CZ-721 and the Vagabond
Two mission givers stand in the Outpost.
CZ-721 is the NPC waving a radiation detector on the corner between the casino and the recyclers. He has two jobs:
- Outpost Validation. Find his documents somewhere in the Outpost. They are usually in a bucket beside a toilet. Hand them in and you unlock a permanent spawn point at the Outpost. It has a 30 minute cooldown, does not count towards your sleeping bag limit and lasts until the wipe or a map change.
- Oil Rig Raid. Fetch a soda can from the security room on the Oil Rig. The base reward is 200 scrap, and there is an optional bonus objective tied to the hackable crate that adds a Semi-Automatic Rifle. The rig is guarded by heavy scientists, so this is the toughest Outpost job.
The Vagabond stands near the Outpost’s drone shop in a burlap headwrap and grey jacket. His naval mission, Beep in the Deep, sends you to a Deep Sea island with a metal detector to dig up buried treasure worth about 100 scrap plus the treasure box. A 2026 patch removed the trip back: the mission completes when you find the treasure.
Naval Missions in Rust
The Naval Update on 5 February 2026 added five missions built around the new Deep Sea: Keeping Afloat, Beep in the Deep, An Important Broadcast, Oil Rig Raid and Gone Killing. Some start on the mainland and send you offshore, and some happen entirely in the Deep Sea.
Gone Killing is the only one with a new mission giver. The Floating Citizen waits on the docks of the Floating City in scuba gear. Kill 8 scientists riding patrol boats and come back for a Rocket Launcher and 6 High Velocity Rockets. Patrol boats guard ghost ships, sit around the Oil Rig while its crate unlocks, and hunt players in the Deep Sea, so a rifle with a scope does most of the work.
The Floating City is only reachable by a sea-going boat such as a RHIB, a PT boat or a player-built boat. See our boat building guide if you need one, and watch for naval scientists on the Deep Sea islands.
Best Rust Missions to Run
- Outpost Validation, always. It takes five minutes and gives you a free respawn next to recyclers and vendors for the whole wipe.
- Collect Vood on wipe day. A crossbow and scrap for wood you were going to farm anyway.
- Oiled Up for solos. 250 scrap for a kayak trip is one of the best scrap rates in the game for zero PvP.
- Gone Killing once you have a boat. A Rocket Launcher before you have a Workbench 2 and its 120 scrap blueprint is a huge early-wipe swing.
- Deer and Boar Hunt on a horse. 300 scrap an hour, plus teas, without entering a monument.
- Oil Rig Raid only if you are hitting the rig anyway. 200 scrap is small next to the rig’s locked crate, so treat it as a bonus.
Rust Missions FAQ
How do you start a mission in Rust?
Walk up to a mission NPC in a safe zone such as the Outpost, Bandit Camp, a Fishing Village or the Ranch, press E to open the dialogue and pick a mission. The objective then shows at the top left of your screen.
Where are the mission NPCs in Rust?
The Lumberjack is at Bandit Camp, CZ-721 and the Vagabond are at the Outpost, the Fisherman and Dive Master are at every Fishing Village, the Hunter is at the Ranch and Large Barn, and the Floating Citizen is on the docks of the Floating City in the Deep Sea.
How do you abandon a mission in Rust?
Press TAB and click Abandon Mission in the mission panel at the top left. There is no confirmation, and there is a lockout before you can take the same mission again.
Can you do more than one mission at once in Rust?
No. You can only have one active mission at a time, so finish or abandon your current mission before taking a new one.
Are Rust missions shared with your team?
No. Missions are solo, so every player in a team or clan has to accept and complete their own.
What is the best mission in Rust?
Outpost Validation from CZ-721 is the most useful, because it gives a permanent Outpost spawn point for the wipe. For loot, Collect Vood gives a wipe day crossbow, Keeping Afloat pays 300 scrap and Gone Killing gives a Rocket Launcher and 6 HV rockets.
How do you get the Outpost spawn point in Rust?
Take the Outpost Validation mission from CZ-721 at the Outpost, find his documents (usually in a bucket beside a toilet) and hand them back. The spawn point has a 30 minute cooldown, does not count towards your bag limit and lasts until the wipe.
How long is the mission cooldown in Rust?
Most repeatable missions lock for about one hour after you complete them. The Hunter’s Treasure Hunter mission locks for 1 hour on success and only 5 minutes if you fail it.
What missions were added in the Rust Naval Update?
The February 2026 Naval Update added five missions: Keeping Afloat, Beep in the Deep, An Important Broadcast, Oil Rig Raid and Gone Killing, plus the Floating Citizen mission giver at the Floating City.
Sources and Further Reading
- Mission system, NPCs and abandon rules: Rustafied, Missions and QoL update
- Mission list and rewards: Corrosion Hour, Rust Missions Overview
- Naval missions: SkinLords, new missions with the Naval Update
- Naval Update patch notes: Facepunch, Naval Update
- Mission renames and reward icons: Facepunch changelog