In Rust, placing multiple external tool cupboards around your base can prevent random players from building into your compound or constructing a raid base too close to your own base. For example, if you want to set up a compound with large furnaces for smelting materials, you’ll need to have external TC’s around the base to protect it.
Finding Areas Without Building Privilege
To place a tool cupboard next to a base in Rust, you need to find an area without building privileges. Building privileges extend approximately 8 square building blocks from the last building structure placed.
As you move further away from your base in Rust, you’ll notice that the building privilege disappears.
Building an External TC and Putting in Upkeep
The triangular design is more efficient than a square design in Rust because it requires one fewer wall, resulting in fewer materials needed for upkeep and a lower building cost. For example, to create a secure triangular base, you can place two walls on a triangle foundation and then add a tool cupboard. After the upkeep is inside, you can fully seal the base with a final wall.
In Rust, it’s generally recommended to put enough upkeep in the external TC to last for the entire wipe. If you don’t have the necessary materials, you can place a wall with a window cut-out and add a reinforced window to seal it off. While it’s possible to remove the reinforced window to add more upkeep, this will increase the cost of building the external TC.
External TC vs. Multi TC
Players may confuse ‘external TC’ and ‘multi TC,’ which are different things that serve distinct purposes in Rust. Builders can connect multiple Tool Cupboards to their base to add an anti-griefing defense and spread the overall upkeep costs among multiple TCs rather than just one.
Placing external TCs in Rust does not require any special expertise and is done to block other players from building in a particular area.
View our guide on connecting an additional Tool Cupboard to your base as an anti-griefing measure.
Literally used to think multi tc was the same thing as external tc. Didn’t know it was so simple