Rust now has NPCs who can give you missions
Let the computer tell you what to do
Grim survival shooter Rust's descriptively named "Missions & QoL" update is a doozy. You can now talk to NPCs scattered around the world who will give you missions to perform, "from catching fish or harvesting lumber to hunting sharks and uncovering hidden treasure."
Here's a trailer which introduces the system, among other additions:
A post on the Rust blog explains that this is just a first iteration, and that although the system is capable of much more, the missions available currently are geared towards new players. "We will be expanding on this in the coming months to include PvP missions (capture and hold, delivery, ambush) and eventually even bounty hunting," they say.
Rust has previously relied on its players to create fun and terror for each other, with survival mechanics pushing survivors towards theft, violence and home defense. As an oft-murdered rookie, I appreciate an NPC on-ramp, but I'm interested in how much further they take the system.
The rest of the update adds a new camper van module for customisable vehicles, and is primarily quality-of-life focused. You can now move the signs you've hand-painted, boats are now easier to flip rightside up, and you can land vehicles on the cargo ship without them sliding off. The full changelog is several dozen items long.
Missions are available now, and Rust's next update will arrive on October 28th at 7pm BST/2pm EST when "a mandatory server and client update to enable some new spooky features" for Halloween.