There are a lot of items in Rust that need metal fragments to be crafted. Most importantly, bullets are made from metal fragments, making them one of the most important resources in the game.
Unfortunately, this is not one of those materials that you can easily pick up in the wilderness and take it back home, like wood and stone.
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The best way to get metal fragments in Rust is by mining metal ore in the wild and smelting it in a furnace. This way, you have an endlessly renewable source of metal fragments that isn’t extremely risky to get.
However, there are more ways you can get metal fragments in Rust, which some might even consider better, which we have listed below.
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How to Get Metal Fragments in Rust
There are four simple ways to get metal fragments in Rust:
- Smelt Empty Cans or Metal Ore
- Recycle Items
- Buy from Bandit Camp or Outpost
- Loot from Players
How to Smelt Metal Ore and Empty Cans for Metal Fragments in Rust
The most efficient and inexpensive method to get metal fragments in Rust is by smelting metal ores at furnaces. You can only smelt metal ore into metal fragments at furnaces. You can’t do it at other random fires.
However, players can smelt empty bean and tuna cans at any type of fire to get metal fragments. Since they are abundant in ruins, players can easily get some food and metal fragments in their runs around the map.
You can smelt empty cans at campfires, refineries, fireplaces, and even barbeques. Still, metal ore is the easiest resource to find besides wood and stone, so it might be best to build a furnace in your base.
Furnaces are available in the crafting menu from the moment the game starts, and they cost 200 stones, 100 wood, and 50 low-grade fuel to make. You will also need wood afterward to start the fire and smelt the metal ore.
How to Recycle Items to Get Metal Fragments
In special named locations along the map, players can find Recyclers that will allow them to destroy items and get some of their base materials back.
One of the best items that you can pick up along the way and recycle is sheet metal. This big piece of metal is only useful for making armor that you will most likely never make.
Since you can also find it relatively easily when breaking barrels around the world, it’s best to keep them and recycle them when you get the first chance.
The best places to go and recycle your stuff are the bandit camp, and the outpost since the risk of getting killed and looted with all your metal fragments there is extremely low.
To recycle an item, all you need to do is find a Recycler, which can be found easily in one of the mentioned locations, and place the unwanted items in the upper slots. Then, just turn it on and wait for it to do its magic.
Trade Scraps for Metal Fragments at the Bandit Camp or Outpost in Rust
There is one trading station in the world of Rust where players can trade scraps for metal fragments. This location is incredibly safe, allowing you to get this resource almost risk-free.
In the Outpost, players can buy 250 metal fragments for 25 scraps at the Resource Exchange vending machine. This is a really good deal that will allow players to get a lot of metal fragments.
Unfortunately, the stock is usually limited, so you will have to fight other players to see who can buy it first.
Due to how easy it is to get scraps in Rust, many players usually prefer getting metal fragments from the Outpost through trade. Since you can also recycle components here, the Outpost is the best place to get metal fragments in the game.
Kill and Loot Players for Metal Fragments
This last method might not sound like a decent option for some, but it is the chosen method of most veteran players.
Since there are a lot of players that get fragments from Recyclers, you can stalk some in undefended named locations and kill whoever uses them.
You can also stalk around the Outpost and kill players that get out and start heading toward their base. However, since there are so many ways to get in and out of the Outpost, you would spend your time better actually trying to use the other methods.
That’s everything you need to know about how to get metal fragments in Rust!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
