Most weekly Rust servers wipe every Thursday at a host-chosen time. Faster pace, smaller bases, more PvP. The default choice for solos and small groups who can't commit a full month to one server.
5-15 hours a week of playtime, want to fully progress in one wipe, prefer PvP over big-base management. Weekly is the default solo choice.
Coming back after time away. Weekly's compressed cycle means you can hit AK by day 4 without competing against month-long progression of established clans.
Weekly works for duos but a 2x1 base is harder to defend on the compressed timeline. Bi-weekly is often the better midpoint.
5+ player groups outgrow weekly. Honeycomb walls, multiple bunkers, the whole tech tree — these need monthly servers to fully realise.
| Aspect | Weekly | Monthly (Facepunch official) |
|---|---|---|
| Wipe day | Every Thursday (host-chosen) | 1st Thursday of each month, 19:00 UTC |
| Cycle length | 7 days | ~30 days |
| Pace | Fast — AK by day 3-4 | Slower — full progression by day 7-10 |
| Typical base size | 1×1 or 2×1 | 2×2 to 4×4 honeycomb |
| PvP / farming ratio | PvP-heavy | Balanced — significant farming time |
| Solo viability | Excellent | Hard — clans dominate |
| Required playtime | 5-15 hours / week | 20-40+ hours / month |
| BP wipe | Most weekly servers wipe BPs every Thursday too | Default modern: BPs wipe with force wipe every month |
| Server population | Often fills wipe day, drops by midweek | Sustained 100-200+ for full month |
A Rust weekly wipe server resets its map (and usually blueprints) every 7 days, almost always on Thursday at a time of the host's choosing. The 7-day cadence is the most popular wipe schedule in the community-server scene because it matches casual playtime: even players with only 5-10 hours a week can fully progress through a wipe instead of perpetually playing catch-up to month-long-established clans.
Servers list their exact wipe time in the description (in-game server browser), usually as something like Wipes: Thu 17:00 BST or Forced wipe every Thursday 19:00 EST. Some hosts wipe at the same UTC time as the official Facepunch monthly force wipe so weekly players can ride the official wipe energy alongside everyone else.
Weekly is the default solo / small-group format. Three things make it that way:
Weekly is a great fit for: solo players, small duos, returning players coming back after time away, casual players with patchy schedules, and PvP-focused players who don't enjoy heavy farming. Monthly Facepunch officials are better for: established clans, players with 30+ hours a week to invest, builders who love designing complex bases, and anyone who wants the full Rust progression arc to play out properly.
Some servers wipe every other Thursday (14 days) as a midpoint between weekly chaos and monthly grind. Bi-weekly is popular among trios and small clans who want more time to invest in proper bases without committing a full month to one server. The pace is brisk but not breakneck — AKs by day 5-6, full sheet-metal bases by day 8-10.
The in-game server browser is the canonical tool. Filter by Vanilla or Modded based on preference, sort by player count (50-200 is the sweet spot for weeklies — too small and the server won't fill, too big and you spawn-camp through the early hours), and look for "Weekly" or "WEEKLY THU" in the server name. BattleMetrics tracks population over time and is the gold standard for spotting servers that consistently fill on wipe day vs ones that pop once and die.
Once you find a server you like, plan around its wipe day in your week. Use our live wipe countdown for monthly Facepunch official wipes if you want to sync your weekly server with the official meta refresh. Read our Wipe Prep Checklist for the first-six-hours playbook — just as relevant on weekly servers as monthly.