Rust Printed and Polished update arrived on PC on 5 November 2026, bringing a major change to blueprint progression, a new Uzi 9mm, roaming scientist boats and several useful additions for players raising animals. Facepunch also made a substantial set of performance improvements and adjusted some existing items.
The Rust Printed and Polished update makes a big difference to your next wipe: you’ll need blueprint items for tech tree unlocks rather than Scrap. Scrap still has a job at the research table. Here’s what has changed.
Rust Printed and Polished update: the biggest changes
These are the main changes you’ll notice when you load into a server:
| Area | What changed on 5 November |
|---|---|
| Tech trees | Blueprint Fragments, Pages and Books replace Scrap for unlocking nodes. |
| Weapons | The Uzi 9mm has folded automatic and unfolded semi-automatic configurations. |
| Deep sea | The regular cycle begins after lighthouse repair, with an exception for maps that have no lighthouse. |
| Ocean threats | Rare armed scientist boats now patrol around the mainland. |
| Livestock | Shears, Wool Armour Inserts and improvements to animal ownership and care. |
| Survival | Crocodile Pie deters selected animals, and several tea effects were reduced. |
| Performance | Changes to memory, frame pacing, base loading and network traffic. |
Rust Printed and Polished update: new blueprint progression
The Rust Printed and Polished update uses a different currency at each workbench level. Level 1 nodes take Blueprint Fragments, level 2 takes Blueprint Pages and level 3 takes Blueprint Books. You still use Scrap to research an item at the research table. Crafting a workbench itself no longer requires blueprint fragments.
Basic fragments now appear in common loot such as barrels and boxes, with a path to upgrade them into higher blueprint tiers. Puzzle rooms and tougher areas remain the quickest route to progression. Facepunch also changed two workbench upgrades: Salvage now has a 20% chance to preserve a blueprint when used, while Prototype has a flat 25% success rate and no longer doubles the cost.
Collect blueprint items for tech trees and keep Scrap for researching an item directly. Our blueprint progression guide covers the three tiers separately.
New Uzi 9mm fire modes
The Uzi 9mm switches behaviour depending on its stock. Folded, it fires automatically and can be used with a shield. Unfolded, it fires semi-automatically with greater accuracy. Hold your fire-mode button to change between them. The game uses your configured input, so check your controls rather than assuming one universal keyboard or controller key.
The Rust Printed and Polished update gives the Uzi a useful trade-off: automatic fire and shield compatibility on one side, more accurate individual shots on the other. Neither configuration has a confirmed damage advantage in the patch notes.
Lighthouse repairs unlock the regular deep-sea cycle
On a map with a lighthouse, players now have to complete a lighthouse repair before the normal deep-sea cycle starts. The cycle opens immediately when the repair is finished and then continues as usual. If the map contains several lighthouses, they share resources and progress, so completing one completes them all.
Maps without a lighthouse start with the deep-sea cycle active. This is not the Bandit Camp Air Wolf helipad repair from October. Read the lighthouse repair guide for the exact activation rules.
Rust Printed and Polished update: mainland scientist boats
Rust now has rare scientist patrol boats around the main island. Up to two groups can arrive and patrol for as long as an hour. They target geared players under rules similar to the patrol helicopter, but unlike some world events, they do not announce themselves with a map marker or notification.
Boat AI has improved too. Scientist craft navigate obstacles and swap targets more smoothly, turrets respond more reliably, and another scientist takes the driver’s seat if the original driver is killed. These mainland patrols are not the same feature as the lighthouse-controlled deep sea.
Shears, Wool Armour Inserts and Crocodile Pie
Sheep farmers get Shears, a default blueprint item crafted at a level 1 workbench. Shears collect more Wool and cannot hurt a sheep through an accidental hit on its skin. Wool also has a new use: the level 1 tech tree includes a Wool Armour Insert, which gives a modest increase to melee and projectile protection and a much larger boost to cold resistance.
Crocodile Pie is made at the cooking workbench using Crocodile Meat. Its effect discourages nearby wolves, bears, boars, sharks and bees. Rams and bulls will not run away, but they also will not charge. The Rich version lasts twice as long as the standard pie. The November changes also make livestock easier to own and manage, with clearer trough and animal information.
Crocodile Pie doesn’t keep you safe from armed players or scientist NPCs. Its effect is for the listed animals.
Rust Printed and Polished update: other changes to know
Rust now supports core gameplay using Steam Input gamepads, with additional controller settings for the inventory and crafting menus. Mirrored L-shaped and U-shaped stairs have been added; Facepunch says you can flip them using Shift + R while placing them or with a hammer within ten minutes of placement.
The Nailgun has a visual overhaul, including its model and animations. Crow flocks can circle corpses inland, while seagulls gather over occupied coastal and water monuments. Four new telephone conversations provide weather forecasts, power-grid status, the travelling vendor countdown and available apartment rooms. Some oak and palm trees now produce apples or coconuts, too. Pure, Milky, Creamy and Advanced teas have all had their effectiveness reduced.
How much faster does Rust run after this update?
Facepunch’s staging results for the Rust Printed and Polished update showed around 10% higher median frame rates across players and roughly 1.6 GB lower total memory usage. The team also reported garbage collection running around every 12 minutes instead of six and up to 25% less network traffic in a 500-player server test.
Those are staging results, not guaranteed gains for every PC. Much of the work tackles stutters when loading large bases, firing guns and entering busy areas. Rust also moved to Unity 6000.3.26f1. If you’re comparing performance, use the same server and graphics settings before and after the patch rather than expecting the headline percentage on every system.
Is Printed and Polished the November PC update?
Yes. The Rust Printed and Polished update is Facepunch’s 5 November 2026 PC release. It is separate from the October Livestock update and the Halloween event, even though it builds on the livestock systems introduced in October. Console Edition follows a separate update schedule, so PC patch details should not be presented as a confirmed console changelog.
Official source: Facepunch Studios: Printed and Polished patch notes.
