Vantic for Rust Console Edition
Rust Console PvE Server Mode
A Rust Console PvE server stops players killing each other everywhere except the places and times the owner allows. Vantic's PvE mode does this from the dashboard: switch it on, mark the PvP areas you want, such as a monument or an arena you draw, and set PvP windows if you want open fighting on a schedule. Inside a PvP area a kill counts as PvP, with rewards and bounties. Anywhere else it is a rule break: the bot calls it out in game, logs it for your admins and can send the killer to your prison for the minutes you set. Offline raid protection follows the same schedule. We tested it on a live server on 30 October 2026, and a kill inside a Launch Site PvP area counted as PvP, with nobody jailed, within three minutes of going live.
PvE everywhere. PvP only where and when you say. A kill anywhere else is called out and can be jailed.
Updated 3 November 2026
What PvE mode does
PvE mode lives on the PvE tab of your server's dashboard and is part of Premium. Everything below is set there, and none of it needs a plugin, because console servers cannot run one.
PvE across the map
Switch it on and players cannot hurt each other anywhere you have not allowed it. Scientists, animals and the environment are still fair game, and every NPC kill still counts in the PvE column of the Rust Console leaderboards.
PvP areas you choose
Mark a monument on the PvE tab, or draw a PvP zone of your own, and that area plays by PvP rules. Add or move one and the map is updated within a minute. A kill counts as PvP when the killer is standing inside the area.
PvP windows on a schedule
Set the days and hours when PvP opens, for a weekend war or a nightly hour, in your own timezone. When the window closes, PvE rules come back on their own.
Rule breaks called out, and jailed if you want
A kill outside every PvP area pays nothing. The bot names it in game, posts it to your admin log and, if you set jail minutes, sends the killer to the prison you set on the Prison tab, for up to seven days. The admin side is covered on Rust Console admin alerts.
Raiding is your call
Blocked by default, which stops all base damage map-wide. Allowed, bases stay raidable while players still cannot hurt each other. Offline raid protection follows the same PvP schedule, so the two never fight.
NPC difficulty and PvE rewards
Pick how tough the NPCs are, pay your currency for scientist kills, and switch every player-kill challenge off in one click, so a Rust Console economy built for PvP keeps working on PvE.
Five console zone rules we learned running PvE
Console servers build PvE out of the game's own zones, and those zones have rules that only show up once real players are fighting in them. We found these running PvE mode on a live community server in October 2026. Vantic handles each one for you, but they matter if you ever set zones up by hand.
1. A PvP zone inside a PvE zone does nothing
When a zone with PvP off and a zone with PvP on overlap, PvP off wins. So a PvP arena drawn inside a server-wide PvE zone never lets a shot through. Vantic leaves your PvP areas uncovered instead of stacking zones on top of each other.
2. Monument PvP zones are the exception
A monument's own PvP zone beats any zone you draw. That makes monuments the easiest PvP areas on a PvE server: add a marker for each one on the PvE tab, so a kill there is counted as legal.
3. Damage follows the target, not the shooter
The game decides damage by where the target stands. A player inside a PvP area can be shot from the PvE ground around it, but a player on the PvE ground cannot be shot from inside. That is why Vantic judges a kill by where the killer stood: from outside, it is a rule break, and the game says so to everyone.
4. A PvP area has a floor and a ceiling
A PvP area only reaches as deep as its zone. A round one goes down as far as its radius, a square one half its height, and the train tunnels underneath stay PvE unless the zone reaches them.
5. Round areas keep their rim PvE
A round PvP area is kept inside its bubble, so nothing outside the red ring is ever PvP, and the rim itself stays PvE. Draw a square zone if you want the fight to reach the edge.
Proof from a live server
PvP areas inside PvE mode went live on 30 October 2026 on a Premium community server. Within three minutes a player killed another inside the server's Launch Site PvP area. It counted as PvP, and nobody was jailed for it.
The same day, a player inside a round PvP bubble shot someone standing just outside it. That is how rule 5 was found, and why round areas have kept every fight inside the bubble since. Every fix to PvE mode is listed, with its date, on the changelog.
| Where the killer stands | What the kill counts as | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a PvP area | PvP | Kill feed, rewards, leaderboards, and any bounty on the victim is collected |
| On the PvE ground | A rule break | Called out in game, posted to your admin log, jailed if you set minutes |
| Anywhere, during a PvP window | PvP | Everything works as it does on a PvP server |
What our own numbers say
Across every server running Vantic in the 60 days to 3 November 2026, players killed scientists more than 48,000 times and killed each other about 14,200 times. Our own test servers are left out. Even on PvP servers most of the fighting is already against NPCs, which is why PvE mode keeps NPC hunting, its rewards and its leaderboard column running as normal.
Owners have drawn 77 custom zones and changed them nearly 300 times since zones arrived in the dashboard on 7 October 2026. Every PvP area on a PvE server is one of those zones or a monument marker, set by the owner, not by us.
Setting it up
Open the PvE tab on your server's dashboard and switch PvE mode on. Add a marker for each monument you want as a PvP area, or draw your own zones on the Zones tab. Set PvP windows if you want them, choose whether raiding is blocked, and set jail minutes once your prison is placed on the Prison tab.
Bounties switch off when PvE mode goes on. Turn them back on under Switches if you want them collectable inside your PvP areas. Switch PvE mode off and the server goes back to normal PvP rules.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make my Rust Console server PvE?
You can turn PvP off for the whole server in your host's settings, but then nowhere allows fighting. For PvE with PvP areas or PvP hours, use a PvE mode like Vantic's: switch it on in the dashboard, mark the areas where fighting is allowed, and set any PvP windows.
Can I have PvP zones on a PvE server?
Yes. Mark monuments as PvP areas on the PvE tab or draw your own zones, and Vantic leaves those areas open for fighting. A drawn PvP zone on its own cannot switch fighting back on inside a server-wide PvE zone, because on console the PvP-off zone wins.
What happens if someone kills a player outside a PvP area?
It is a rule break. It pays nothing, the bot names it in game, posts it to your admin log, and jails the killer for the minutes you set. It is judged by where the killer stood, because the game lets a shot into a PvP area land from outside it.
Does PvE mode stop raiding?
It is your choice. By default raiding is blocked and there is no base damage anywhere. Set it to allowed and bases stay raidable while players still cannot hurt each other.
Do bounties work on a PvE server?
Bounties switch off when PvE mode goes on. Turn them back on under Switches and they are collected only by kills inside your PvP areas.
Do the tunnels under a PvP area count as PvP?
Only if the zone reaches them. A round area goes down as far as its radius and a square one half its height, so tunnels deeper than that stay PvE.
Is PvE mode free?
No, PvE mode is part of Premium, A$20 a month per server. The free plan includes the server connection and the killfeed.
Sources
Keep exploring
Rust Console offline raid protection · Rust Console admin alerts · Rust Console killfeed bot · Rust Console economy bot · Rust Console live radar · Rust Console leaderboards · the live network ladder