Top 10 Best Armor Pieces in Rust

By Erika Lentz

Rust is an awesome survival game that pits players against each other and against the elements. While having the best weapons around is essential, you also have to be defensive-minded in some cases as well. But there are a ton of different pieces of armor in this game, so where would you even begin? You’ll need to consider the type of damage in addition to the penalties you get from certain types of armor. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 best armor pieces in Rust. We’ll talk about their stats and also lay out the pros and cons of each piece.

10. Bone Helmet

Looking like something straight out of a horror movie, the Bone Helmet is a deer skull helmet that both protects you and looks fierce at the same time. This is a good helmet for the start of the game, before you can access better armors, such as those made of metal. It is also one of the few pieces of armor whose blueprint you’ll know as a default.

This helmet takes 60 seconds to craft using 15 pieces of cloth and 50 bone fragments. You can also buy skins for it on GamerAll or Steam. For this helmet, you get choices of Rudolph Skull Mask, The Plague Doctor, Uprising Deer Skull Mask, and Demonic Deer Skull, as if this thing weren’t creepy enough already.

There are 11 different types of damage that you can incur in this game, and each piece of armor protects you from a selection of them. The Bone Helmet provides 25% more protection from projectile damage, 40% from melee, 13% from bites, 4% from radiation, and 7% from explosions.

9. Coffee Can Helmet

The Coffee Can Helmet is a pretty good choice of helmet throughout the game. It is pretty solid all-around when it comes to damage protection. Visually, it isn’t the most impressive, but it certainly gets the job done. It requires a good amount of crafting items, but they are pretty easy to find, making this an overall easy item to get ahold of. It also has good damage protection.

This helmet is both lootable and craftable. You can find it in Supply Drops, Locked Crates, Oil Rig Locked Crates, Elite Tier Crates, Military Crates, and on Oil Rig Scientists and Heavy Scientists. For crafting, you need to obtain the Coffee Can Helmet Blueprint and Sewing Kit Blueprint. This helmet takes 30 seconds to craft and requires Workbench Level 2. You need 15 pieces of cloth, 60 metal fragments, and a sewing kit to craft this helmet. There are over 50 different skins available for this helmet.

This helmet protects against the same types of damage that the Bone Helmet does. It has a slightly lower protection increase for bite damage, but higher protection increases for the other types. With the Coffee Can Helmet, you get 35% more protection against projectile damage, 50% from melee, 8% from bites, 5% from radiation, and 8% from explosions.

8. Road Sign Kilt

The Road Sign Kilt is one of the best types of leg armor in Rust. It works well as both mid and end-game armor. You’ll certainly look like you’re in the middle of the apocalypse, but maybe that’s what you’re going for.

You can loot it in the same areas as you would the Coffee Can Helmet. In addition, you can also craft it, but first you’ll need to obtain the Sewing Kit Blueprint, Road Signs Blueprint, and Road Sign Kilt Blueprint. Then, you can craft this piece of armor with a Workbench Level 2. It takes 30 seconds to craft and you’ll need 10 pieces of leather, a road sign, and 2 sewing kits. There are more than 60 skins available for the Road Sign Kilt.

Unfortunately, the Road Sign Kilt does come with 8% less protection from cold. However, for those of you who don’t mind a little nip in the air, this is a good choice since it gives you 20% more protection from projectiles, 25% from melee damage, and 10% from bites.

7. Road Sign Jacket

To complete your fabulous apocalypse, look, you can get the Road Sign Jacket. This is a good choice of armor for mid-game play.

This can be found as loot in the same places as the Road Sign Kilt. With the Sewing Kit Blueprint, Road Signs Blueprint, and Road Sign Jacket Blueprint, you can also craft it. You need a Workbench Level 2, 20 pieces of leather, 2 road signs, and 2 sewing kits. The Road Sign Jacket takes 30 seconds to craft. There are also more than 60 skins available for the Road Sign Jacket.

This piece of armor has the same protection changes as the Road Sign Kilt, including the 8% drop in protection from cold.

6. Riot Helmet

This awesome helmet offers protection against more types of damage at once than any piece of armor we’ve talked about so far. This is a great piece of armor to use throughout the game, and you’ll look extremely fierce too.

The Riot Helmet is available as loot from Supply Drops, Sunken Chests, Crates, and Oil Rig Scientists. You can also craft it after obtaining the Riot Helmet Blueprint. To craft this helmet, you need 10 pieces of cloth and 50 metal fragments. You must have Workbench Level 1, and this helmet takes 30 seconds to craft. There are 15 skins available for the Riot Helmet.

The Riot Helmet is by-far one of the best choices for protection against melee damage, with an 80% increase. It also increases protection from projectiles by 25%, bites by 13%, radiation by 5%, cold by 6%, and explosions by 8%. It also camouflages very well considering it is jet black and form-fitting. Use it to sneak through the shadows and stealthily take down your enemies.

5. Metal Chest Plate

The Metal Chest Plate is a good choice for when you’re roaming about trying to loot whatever you can find. It is best used as end-game armor since it can take a while to gather all of the ingredients you need to craft it.

Speaking of loot, though, you can find this armor in Oil Rig Locked Crates, Locked Crates, Elite Tier Crates, Helicopter Crates, and on Heavy Scientists. It takes a lot of stuff to craft, but you can do it after obtaining the Sewing Kit Blueprint and Metal Chest Plate Blueprint. This armor takes 45 seconds to craft at Workbench Level 3. You’ll need 50 pieces of leather, 25 high quality metals, and 8 sewing kits. There are nearly 70 skins available for the Metal Chest Plate.

Like the other metallic pieces of armor in this game, this drops your protection from cold by 8%. However, you get 25% more protection from projectiles, 20% more from melee damage, and 3% more from bites.

4. Metal Facemask

To go along with the Metal Chest Plate, the Metal Facemask is almost medieval looking and offers some pretty awesome damage protection. It protects your whole head, providing more protection than many other head pieces in the game. It is pretty tough to make, since it requires a lot of ingredients, but the damage protection is well worth the wait.

You can find Metal Facemasks in the same loot areas as you would find Metal Chest Plates. You can also craft it at Workbench Level 3 with the Sewing Kit Blueprint and Metal Facemask Blueprint. It takes 45 seconds to craft and requires 50 pieces of leather, 15 high quality metals, and 6 sewing kits. There are almost 100 skins to choose from for the Metal Facemask.

Although this is a metal piece, it drops the cold protection less than many of the others. It only drops cold protection by 4% rather than the 8% we’ve discussed with some of the other armor choices. This helmet gives you an incredible 50% increase in protection from projectiles, 70% from melee damage, 8% from bites, and 8% from explosions.

3. Heavy Plate Pants

Heavy armor isn’t for everyone but, in terms of brute force, this is definitely the way to go. The Heavy Plate Pants will have a movement penalty, though, so keep that in mind. Your speed will be reduced by 30%. Also keep in mind that heat and cold effects will be amplified, so use these intelligently.

These can be looted from Locked Crates, Oil Rig Locked Crates, Elite Tier Crates, Military Crates, and on both Oil Rig Scientists and Heavy Scientists. Once you get the Heavy Plate Pants Blueprint, you can craft these with a Workbench Level 2. It takes 45 seconds to craft and you’ll need 1 piece of sheet metal and 4 pieces of high-quality metals. None of the Heavy Plate armors have custom skins for them.

Again, this has a speed reduction penalty of 30% and a cold protection penalty of 17%. However, you get an increased protection from projectiles by 75%, melee damage by 70%, bites by 12%, radiation by 7%, and explosions by 17%.

2. Heavy Plate Jacket

You simply cannot have those awesome looking pants without the jacket to match. Like with the Heavy Plate Pants, this piece of armor comes with a few penalties. However, the protection it provides makes it totally worthwhile. Just remember to be smart about when you use it.

The Heavy Plate Jacket is found in the same loot locations as the Heavy Plate Pants. You can craft it at Workbench Level 2 with the Heavy Plate Jacket Blueprint. It is more difficult to craft than the Heavy Plate Pants, though. You’ll need 2 pieces of sheet metal and 4 pieces of high-quality metal. It takes 45 seconds to craft this jacket.

We’ll get the penalties out of the way to start. This jacket has a speed reduction of 30% and also prevents you from being able to aim down sights on your weapons. You get 17% reduced protection from cold as well. All of that being said, the Heavy Plate Jacket provides 75% increased protection from projectiles, 70% from melee damage, 12% from bites, and 7% from radiation, and 17% from explosions.

1. Heavy Plate Helmet

The final piece needed to compliment this look is the Heavy Plate Helmet. Like the other heavy metal pieces, it has a few penalties, so you need to know where it’s best to use it. But it also has some of the best protection of any armor in the game.

The Heavy Plate Helmet can be found in the same places you would find the Heavy Plate Pants and Heavy Plate Jacket. It can also be crafted at Workbench Level 2 with the Heavy Plate Helmet Blueprint. It takes 45 seconds to craft this item and you’ll need 1 piece of sheet metal and 4 pieces of high-quality metal.

Regarding penalties, this helmet comes with a speed reduction of 20% and it also obstructs your vision partially. Keep in mind as well that metal armor of any type is more susceptible to fire damage. You’ll have 17% reduced protection from the cold as well. However, this helmet gives you a whopping 90% more protection against projectiles, 80% against melee damage, 13% against bites, 7% against radiation, and 17% from explosions.

Conclusion

The further you progress in the game, the harder you’ll need to work for the good armor. But that payoff is very much worth the wait. You can see from our list that you have a ton of different armor choices depending on your style of play and what you’re more concerned about. For example, some armors are better for elemental protection but not so much for combat protection, and vice versa. You may have to play around with these a little bit before you find what best works for you. Be sure to check out the custom skins available as well. You need good protection but you’ll want to look great as you slash through your enemies as well.

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