Rust map sizes: the size list and player counts
Quick answer: a Rust map is a square from 1000 to 6000 metres on a side, and a server with no size set builds a 4500 m map. Most servers pick something from 3500 to 4500 m: as a rule of thumb, 3500 m suits about 50 to 100 players and 4500 m about 150 to 200.
Rust map size calculator
Section titled “Rust map size calculator”Pick a size to see the heightmap it needs, how much ground it covers and how many players servers usually run on it. The bottom row shows what Rust’s own procedural map only builds once the map is big enough. Hover a label for what it means.
- Heightmap
- 4097 × 4097
- Any map from 1,000 to 1,025 mAny map from 1,026 to 2,049 mAny map from 2,050 to 4,097 mAny map from 4,098 to 6,000 m
- World area
- 20.25 km²
- 4,500 × 4,500 m
- Players
- Up to about 30About 30 to 50About 50 to 100About 100 to 150About 150 to 200200 or more
- Rule of thumb
- Launch Site3,500 m
- Giant Excavator Pit3,500 m
- Ring road4,000 m
- Lakes and oases4,000 m
- Rail ring4,250 m
- Canyons4,500 m
- Mountains5,000 m
Smallest, largest and default map size
Section titled “Smallest, largest and default map size”| Map size | |
|---|---|
| Smallest | 1,000 m |
| Largest | 6,000 m |
| Default | 4,500 m |
The size is the length of one side, so a 4500 m map is 4.5 km by 4.5 km. You set it with server.worldsize in your server.cfg or on the server’s command line. A number outside the range is pulled back to the nearest limit, so server.worldsize 8000 builds a 6000 m map. Changing the size builds a new map, the same as a wipe.
A custom map carries its own size inside the .map file, and the server ignores server.worldsize for it. In Crucible Heightmap you type the size into the Map Size field: any whole number from 1000 to 6000, starting at 3800.
Rust map size list
Section titled “Rust map size list”| Map size | Heightmap | Area | Players (rule of thumb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 m | 513 × 513 | 1 km² | Up to about 30 |
| 2,000 m | 1025 × 1025 | 4 km² | Up to about 30 |
| 2,500 m | 2049 × 2049 | 6.25 km² | Up to about 30 |
| 3,000 m | 2049 × 2049 | 9 km² | About 30 to 50 |
| 3,500 m | 2049 × 2049 | 12.25 km² | About 50 to 100 |
| 4,000 m | 2049 × 2049 | 16 km² | About 100 to 150 |
| 4,500 m (default) | 4097 × 4097 | 20.25 km² | About 150 to 200 |
| 5,000 m | 4097 × 4097 | 25 km² | 200 or more |
| 6,000 m | 4097 × 4097 | 36 km² | 200 or more |
The player counts are the community’s rule of thumb, gathered from what server hosts recommend, and those guides disagree by a wide margin. Rust itself sets no link between map size and players: the player cap is its own setting, see max players. Treat the counts as a starting point:
- Small maps (up to 3000 m) put everyone close together: fast fights, quick wipes, and a small server or a group of friends fills them.
- 3500 to 4000 m is where most servers sit and a popular pick for a vanilla server. From 3500 m a procedural map can place every main monument, the Launch Site included, with space between bases.
- 4500 m and up gives big clans room to spread out and long runs between monuments. The biggest maps suit busy, build and roleplay servers, and they need a stronger server to run.
A bigger map is also more work to finish when you build it yourself: more ground to fill with monuments, roads and prefabs before it feels alive.
What a bigger map unlocks
Section titled “What a bigger map unlocks”Rust’s own procedural map only builds some things once the map is big enough. Below the size in this table, that piece is never placed:
| On a procedural map | Needs a map of at least |
|---|---|
| Launch Site | 3,500 m |
| Giant Excavator Pit | 3,500 m |
| Ring road | 4,000 m |
| Lake and oasis landmarks | 4,000 m |
| Rail ring above ground | 4,250 m |
| Canyons | 4,500 m |
| Mountains | 5,000 m |
No other monument has a size limit in the game files. On a small map the rest still need room and the right ground to place, so a small procedural map simply ends up with fewer of them. Every monument with its size is on the Rust monuments list.
None of this applies to a custom map. You place monuments yourself in RustEdit or Creator, so a 3000 m custom map can have a Launch Site if you leave room for it.
Heightmap resolution for each size
Section titled “Heightmap resolution for each size”Every map size goes with one heightmap resolution: 513, 1025, 2049 or 4097 pixels square. Crucible Heightmap works it out from the size you type, the same way RustEdit does, and exports at it. The full table, the size where each step changes and why it has to match are on Rust heightmap resolution.