🗓️ Rust server guide

Choosing a Rust wipe schedule: weekly, biweekly or monthly

Your wipe schedule decides who your server is for. Wipe too often and builders never finish anything; wipe too rarely and the server is owned by one group by week two. Here's how to pick.

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6 min read · Updated October 2026 · Free guide for Rust server owners
🗓️ October · biweekly
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Forced wipe · 1st ThursdayYour mid-month wipe

Map wipes, blueprint wipes and the forced wipe

  • A map wipe resets the world — bases, items and terrain. Players keep what they've learned.
  • A blueprint (BP) wipe also resets what players have researched, putting everyone back to the start.
  • Facepunch forces a map wipe on every server on the first Thursday of each month with the monthly update, so whatever schedule you choose has to fit around it.

Weekly

Fast, intense and popular with PvP players and groups who play a lot in short bursts. The server is busiest in the first two or three days. Downsides: casual and solo players rarely get to enjoy a finished base, and population drops sharply late in the week.

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Biweekly

The most common middle ground. Long enough to build and raid properly, short enough that a dominant group doesn't own the server for a month. A popular pattern is to wipe on forced-wipe Thursday and again two weeks later.

Monthly

Suits PvE, roleplay, building and older or casual players. Bases can get ambitious and community events have time to happen. Downside: on PvP servers the strongest group can snowball, and new players may join a server that's already “decided”.

Picking a wipe time

  • Pick a time when your target region is awake and free — evenings for your main region, or early afternoon on weekends.
  • Keep it consistent. Players plan around it, and a consistent time builds a wipe-day crowd.
  • Put the schedule in your server name or tags and on your Discord, and post a countdown.
Tip: Watch when your population actually drops. If it falls off a cliff by day four of a biweekly wipe, your players may want a weekly one.

How PlayerAnalytics helps

PlayerAnalytics shows your population across each wipe and your peak hours, so you can see how long players really stay engaged before choosing a schedule. Your public page shows the next wipe with a countdown, leaderboards reset with the wipe, and an automatic wipe recap with podiums posts to your Discord.
Rust server analytics →Wipe leaderboards →

Questions

How often do Rust servers wipe?

Most community servers wipe weekly, biweekly or monthly. Every server is map-wiped by Facepunch on the first Thursday of each month.

What's the difference between a map wipe and a BP wipe?

A map wipe resets the world and everything built or stored in it. A blueprint wipe also resets what players have researched.

What's the best wipe schedule for a new Rust server?

Biweekly is the safest default — it suits the widest range of players. Adjust once you can see how long your population stays engaged.

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