A Hidden Gem Within Rust Itself
For most players, myself included, playing Rust is all about surviving and thriving in one of the harshest game environments that exist today.
It mainly consists of gathering valuable resources, building the most protected base you can afford, and battling other players to hoard as much loot as possible back to your home.
A Tranquil and Peaceful Haven
However, I recently discovered a hidden gem within Rust itself. A tranquil and peaceful haven I had never even heard of, even after several years of playing the game.
What I am referring to is PvE servers; or more specifically – zombie PvE servers. There are many different kinds of PvE servers. Some bad, some great, and they all vary in terms of content, rulesets, and player activity.
I found my personal and occasional escape from the brutality of PvP in Rust, on a completely free-to-play, no pay-to-win server, that offered me a multitude of content I’d sorely been missing, without even realizing I did.
For me, that server was [EU] Zombie Nation PvE.
Hand-crafted plugins, fully customized server
The server offers a fully customized and unique system, with plugins that are hand-crafted to meet its player’s every need, and provide the player with a PvE Rust experience that cannot be found anywhere else.
What instantly grabbed my attention when I randomly stumbled across this beauty was the fact that it was advertised as a f2p, and no p2w, alternative, unlike the sea of similar servers that heavily charge its players for memberships, locking content behind paywalls, with room for players with deep pockets to severely outpace its competition, by simply paying their way to riches.
“WE DO NOT WANT YOUR MONEY!”
Something that stood out, even more, was the fact that the people running the server did not want monetary contribution in any way. They’ve even stated so on their website; “WE DO NOT WANT YOUR MONEY!”
This screamed potential. And I was dead right. I had more fun in my first week of playing this server than I’ve had in months of playing Rust the traditional way.
Strangers I now call my friends
First off, the social environment was actually helpful and friendly. I know what you’re thinking; it’s Rust… friendly players? Yeah right! But yes, the server has an incredible community, and I quickly joined a clan where I met up with many strangers – strangers I now call my friends.
Different tiers of difficulty: Normal, Hardcore, Ultra, or even Hell
To name a few of my personal favorite things to do on this server; spawning different tiers of difficulty Bradley’s, heli’s, or even waves of zombies that attack your base in a base-defense mini-game.
It also includes something they call Z-Hunt, where you hunt down zombies that move from zone to zone throughout the map, as your objective is to hunt down as many zombies as possible within a certain time-frame, for increased loot, and experience gain.
Detailed and unique skill system
The server also houses a detailed and intricate skill system, unlike any system I’ve ever seen before on similar PvE servers. A skill system enriched with many possibilities, as well as a prestige function.
Massive player-driven economy
I was also amazed at the level of depth the server’s player-driven economy had, where some players could spend all day trading and hustling to get ahead; an economy that was equally driven by both customers, as well as the seller. Everything had a value, even the most irrelevant of resources, and everything could be traded.
To top it all off, at the end of its bi-weekly wipe-cycle, the server hosts an all-out PvP event on the very last day before wipe, where the entire server clash in the most epic server-wide war I’ve ever witnessed in my time in Rust.
Immense fun
A truly spectacular event, that brought with it an immense amount of fun. And the day after, everything was back to normal on a fresh wipe day, and players returned to their easy-going and peaceful selves.
This covers only a fraction of what is available to do on this server though. There are raidable bases, both PvE and PvP (limited zones where PvP is allowed), there’s questing, playtime rewards, fun building, as well as custom rankings and high scores.
Rankings and high scores
Personally, I swiftly got hooked on setting high scores, as I went nuts trying to beat records like killing Bradley’s of different tiers of difficulty, as fast as possible.
On top of all this, there seems to be a very active staff on Zombie Nation, as they strive to continuously improve their server for the benefit of their players. Something I can certainly get behind.
As previously stated, this covers only a fraction of what Zombie Nation has to offer. Below I will link to their Battlemetrics server page, as well as their personal homepage; and I recommend you go check it out for yourselves.
An escape from traditional gameplay
It has surely been the most amazing break from traditional Rust gameplay for me personally, and it still serves as a cherished escape whenever normal gameplay on PvP servers becomes too overwhelming.
Sometimes I even play on this server for weeks at a time without ever going back to PvP.
Try it for yourselves
But don’t take my word for it, go check it out for yourselves.
I can almost guarantee you will find joy in playing on this server, as it doesn’t matter if you are a PvE carebear, or a hardcore PvPer. There is most definitely something that will catch your attention either way.
Highly recommended. Enjoy!
https://www.battlemetrics.com/servers/rust/7570196
You will find any necessary information on how to find and join the server here.
Zombie Nation’s own site, where you can personally read up on what the server has to offer, and why it might be the perfect server for you.
