Everything on Blight Light wants to hurt you: Blight creatures, bosses, armed NPCs and the zombies that rise every night. This page explains what they can do to you, what dying costs, and how to stay alive.
At a glance#
| On death you lose | What you carry (it stays on your body), some skill XP, some ZLevels XP |
| Your backpack | Stays with you when you die |
| Respawn | At your bed or sleeping bag. Without one, at the Hub |
| Free respawn kit | Yes, for your first 10 hours of playtime |
| Diseases and injuries | The Z13 virus, rabies and concussion |
| The cure | The Blight Serum cures the Z13 virus and rabies. Painkillers end a concussion |
| Night zombies | 5 waves on most nights, scaled to the gear you carry |
Your active diseases and injuries show as status bars on the right side of your screen, above your health.
When you die#
Death works close to vanilla Rust. To get your things back, you walk back to your body.
What you lose#
| What | What happens |
|---|---|
| Inventory, hotbar and clothing | Stay on your body for you to loot |
| Your backpack | Stays with you. Nothing in it drops |
| Skill XP | You lose 20% of the progress in your current level (10% if a player killed you). You never drop a level |
| ZLevels XP | If you had been alive for at least 10 minutes, each ZLevels skill loses up to half of the XP its next level needs. Suicide costs nothing |
| Diseases and injuries | All cleared |
Warning: If you die while infected with the Z13 virus, your body rises as a zombie 10 seconds later, carrying everything from your main inventory. Kill it to get your gear back.
Respawning#
- You respawn at your bed or sleeping bag.
- With no bed or bag, you respawn at the Hub. See The Hub.
- New players get a free respawn kit: Burlap Headwrap, Burlap Shirt, Burlap Gloves, Pants and Boots; a Semi-Automatic Pistol with a Weapon Flashlight and 100 Pistol Bullets; a Baseball Bat, 5 Bandages, 2 Corn and a Rock.
Your first 2 respawns each give the kit. After that you get it at most once every 10 minutes, and it stops once you have played 10 hours in total. See Kits.
Tip: Put a sleeping bag near every place you fight. The walk back to your body is the real cost of dying here.
Diseases and injuries#
You see a disease or injury straight away as a status bar. Timers pause while you are offline, so logging out does not wait them out.
| Condition | How you catch it | What it does | How long | Cure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z13 virus | 6% of melee hits from zombies and scarecrows. The Bloater's and the Corrupted Juggernaut's hits | Poison damage every 18 to 20 seconds. If you die, you rise as a zombie | Until cured | Blight Serum |
| Rabies | Melee hits from wolves (5%), boars and bears (3%) | Poison damage every 18 to 20 seconds | Until cured | Blight Serum |
| Concussion | Hits from the Warden and The Heretic | Your vision blurs every 18 to 20 seconds | 6 to 7 minutes | Painkillers, or wait it out |
The cures#
| Cure | Cures | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Blight Serum | The Z13 virus, rabies, tapeworm | The shop (/shop, Medical, 3,000 CC), the Hub's Medical vending machine (2,000 Scrap), or crafted by the Emergency Responder |
| Painkillers | Concussion | The shop (750 CC), the Hub (1,000 Scrap), or crafted by the Responder |
| Splint | A broken leg | The shop (500 CC), the Hub (1,500 Scrap), or crafted by the Responder |
The Emergency Responder role crafts all three in the Medical tab of /craft. See Crafting and Roles.
Tip: Carry one Blight Serum into any night or any Blight fight. The Z13 virus never wears off on its own.
Effects creatures put on you#
Blight creatures and bosses have abilities that hit everyone near them who they can see: within 15 m (10 m for The Heretic). Big hits warn you first with a lock-on chirp and a ring of sparks: step out of the ring.
| Effect | What happens to you | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | You start bleeding | Husk, Watcher, The Heretic, the Warden, the World Breaker |
| Radiation | Adds radiation | Spitter, Bloater, Plague Bearer, The Heretic |
| Shock | A burst of electric damage | Wretch, the Warden, Robert the Builder, the Rider of the Apocalypse |
| Fire | A patch of fire at your feet | Pyromaniac, Plague Bearer, the World Breaker |
| Spikes | Floor spikes under you for 20 seconds | Marksman, the Stalker, the Warden, the Rider |
| Freeze | Your body temperature drops to freezing | Frozen Undead, the Rider |
| Drain | Takes your food and water | Plague Bearer, the World Breaker |
| Knockdown | Downs you on the spot | Reaper |
| Concussion | Blurred vision (see above) | The Heretic, the Warden |
| Z13 virus | The infection (see above) | Bloater, Corrupted Juggernaut |
The Bloater explodes when it dies. Every creature's full kit is on its card in the Bestiary.
Tip: Most abilities only fire while you are within 15 m. If you can fight from range, stay back.
How NPCs fight#
The armed NPCs at monuments, on the roads and in events fight smarter than vanilla scientists.
- They listen. Gunshots are heard from their full hearing range, footsteps from a third of it, and crouch-walking from only a ninth. Crouch to get much closer before they hear you.
- They move while they shoot. They crouch and step to the side between bursts, so they are harder to hit.
- They heal. Most NPCs carry medical syringes and use them mid-fight.
- They throw grenades. Many NPCs carry grenades. Damage taken from NPC F1 grenades: 30% (70% less than vanilla).
- They ride. Some events, such as the Convoy, bring NPCs in vehicles.
How hard a fight is depends on where you are:
| Where | What sets the difficulty |
|---|---|
| Arena boss fights | The team: +10% boss health for every extra fighter. See Bosses & the Arena |
| Heli, Dungeons, Raidable Bases, RaidMe | The tier you pick |
| Night zombies | The gear you carry |
Night zombies#
On most nights the dead rise in waves around players who are out in the open: 5 waves, a few zombies per player, and the more dangerous your gear, the tougher they get. Zombies hit for the Z13 virus. The full guide, with every tier, class and reward, is on Night Zombies.
Staying alive: quick checklist#
- Carry bandages, syringes, food and water on every trip.
- Carry a Blight Serum at night and in Blight fights.
- Keep Anti-Radiation Pills for radiation.
- Set sleeping bags near the places you fight.
- Watch the status bars on the right of your screen.
Related pages: Bestiary · Night Zombies · Progression · Cooking