Wipes on Rust servers - schedule, causes and types

A wipe means clearing a server, whether it's a global wipe or maps only.

Global wipe - complete deletion of all data on the server, whether it be players' items, their recipes and buildings, as well as the replacement of the game map.

Regular wipe- implies a selective cleanup of the server. Most often, administrators only replace the map on the server, while removing buildings and items from the players. But recipes, or some other progress keeps saved.

What are wipes for?

First of all, wipe administrators produce to offload server resources. After all, for a long time of uninterrupted operation of the server, a lot of unnecessary buildings have accumulated on it, a large number of items, sleeping players and other data, which certainly negatively affects server performance.

The wipe is also accompanied by any manipulation with the server. For example, moving to new hardware or updating the game version.

However, one of the most important reasons for a wipe is the loss of interest in the game. For example, when you and your friends have the best equipment and the most impregnable base on the server, sooner or later you will lose interest in the game, because you have achieved everything you can. And raids on the bases of other players will no longer be so interesting and exciting. And if you are a beginner and went to a server where there was no wipe for a long time, then you will certainly come across the fact that you have nowhere to build a base, you will always be humiliated by other players who have been playing for a long time and have a clear advantage in equipment. Because of such cyberbullying, you will quickly lose interest in the game. These are the reasons for wipes to be are produced regularly. It allows you to maintain balance and increase the replay value of the game dozens of times.

When do server wipes happen?

If you play on official rust servers, you don't have to worry about frequent wipes. They are produced after the release of the global update of the game - every first Thursday of the month. Most often from 17:00 to 22:00 UTC time.

On modified servers, the situation is slightly worse. It all depends on the administrators of your server. No one except them can know when the next wipe will be and what it will be like. But most often, administrators try to stick to a certain schedule so that players can expect on stability and build their plans based on this schedule. But still, there is no guarantee that the hardware will not break on your server tomorrow or the administrator will not want to make changes to the server code.

Most owners of more or less large modified servers adhere to a two-week wipe cycle - in the first week, a regular wipe is performed, with the removal of buildings, and in the second, a global one with updating the game to the current version. Again, this has to do with replayability. It is beneficial for server owners to keep the interest of as many players as possible.