Abandoned Military Base – Rust Monument Guide

Abandoned Military Base is one of the newest monuments in Rust, added in November 2021. As such, it has been a welcome addition to the game for almost a year now. 

This guide contains the general strategy and meta for the Abandoned Military Base, a map with Crate spawn locations, and callouts so you can more easily navigate the monument.  It also has a section about the MLRS system, and how to use it.

For info on how to read the map and some more general information about the guide please refer to the Map Key in the Main Guide.

General Info

Abandoned Military Base is a tier-two monument on the island of Rust. It contains a few new and important elements; chief among them being the MLRS system, which can fire MLRS rockets. 

This monument only spawns in the desert and is surrounded by a sand wall with barbed wire on top. Inside, there are many different types of buildings: barracks, auto-repair tents, low-grade processors, mess halls, and more. Since this monument is procedurally generated, it will be different every time.

Strategy and Meta

The Abandoned Military Base has some of the highest Crate respawn rates in the game. It also benefits from being walled-in, which means that – similar to the Dome – it can be held very easily using its two chokepoints (the Entrances, #6).

One thing that makes this monument so powerful is that its Crates respawn faster than its scientists. To capitalize on this, you should run back to this monument every 15 minutes or so (assuming you’re on a high-population server). The monument regularly spawns between 3 and 5 Military Crates, alongside the usual Component Crates.

Although this monument has no radiation, it is heavily guarded by at least 10 scientists. They are equipped with LR-300s and MP5A4s, dealing decent damage. This shouldn’t be a problem, even in the early game, if you take them slowly using your bow. Just make sure to stay stocked up on bandages and ammunition. By the late game, these scientists will be easily dispatched, so this base shouldn’t pose any real problems.

Some specific tips for clearing out the scientists include:

• Take your time. Most scientists are spread out enough that you can kill them one at a time without being overwhelmed.
• One of the walls may appear totally solid to you, but scientists can sometimes walk through them. Be aware of this.
• Each scientist drops up to 5 cloth, depending on the flesh-gather percentage of the tool used. They also have a 51-52% chance of dropping ammo upon death.

Callouts

The following callouts correspond to the numbers in the image above. Because the base is randomly generated, there may be multiple locations corresponding to individual callouts, or the locations corresponding to these callouts may not exist:

1. MLRS Launcher
2. Heli Pad
3. Mess Hall
4. Oil Pipes
5. Electrical Pylon
6. Entrance (Use appropriate directions on your map, e.g., “South Entrance”)

How to Use the MLRS launcher

The MLRS launcher is the crown jewel of the Abandoned Military Base. It can quickly destroy or inflict massive damage on most bases from quite a distance. 

To fire the MLRS, you will need an aiming module and 1-12 MLRS rockets. Once you have those, it can be used to bombard any base on the map outside of monument protection. Be aware, though, that MLRS rockets can be shot down by a SAM site, so be sure that there are none of them are operational wherever you want to fire. Combining a raid party with an MLRS launch will use the MLRS to its maximum effectiveness, as you will be able to strike while the enemy is finding shelter from your bombardment.

Finding Supplies

Aiming modules for the MLRS can be found in locked Crates on the Large and Small Oil Rigs, in chinook-dropped Crates, and on the Cargo Ship. MLRS rockets can be acquired from APC Crates, Heli Crates, and Elite Crates. The best odds are the APC Crates, which have a 99% chance of dropping one.

Abandoned Military Base is a useful monument for both farming, and for its MLRS system, and should be taken advantage of. Check out our other Monument Guides for more information on the other monuments.