Arctic Research Base – Rust Monument Guide

In this guide, we will be exploring the Arctic Research Base monument. This guide contains the general strategy and meta for the monument, a map with Crate spawn locations, and callouts so you can more easily navigate the monument. It also has information on the unique snowmobiles here, and how to access them.

For info on how to read the map and some more general information about the guide, please refer to the Map Key in the Main Guide.

General Info

Arctic Research Base is a small, snow-covered monument hidden on the edge of the map. Its wealth of Crates, Lowgrade fuel, and Food have made it a staple monument for looting. The Lowgrade fuel spawns, especially, are extremely generous. It is protected by self-healing scientists with winter-camo suits and is a popular monument for players, making it an exciting place for challenging PvE and PvP encounters. It is also the only location that spawns snowmobiles and is the only scientific monument with a Recycler.

Strategy and Meta

If you are raiding Arctic Research Base, be aware that it is the only monument in the game where the scientists will heal themselves over time, and so you should finish them quickly, before they have a chance to do so. They are spread out enough that you should be able to pick them off easily enough, even considering that, but it means that you shouldn’t play too cautiously, or else you will only be giving time to the scientists to heal.

In addition to scientists, the great loot here should have you expecting to encounter other players here, so should be mindful of ways to fight them. In these events, doors are your best friend. Camping them effectively will often mean the difference between killing or being killed. Using footsteps and other audio can let you know from where your enemies will approach so that you can get behind cover and watch the door they will come from, ready to fire. With this strategy, it is wise to rotate after every two kills, so that the enemy isn’t able to plan around your exact location and use flashes or grenades to flush you out (which is a good strategy, generally, if you find yourself pitted against an opponent using this technique against you).

Crates and Callouts

The following callouts correspond to the numbers on the image above:

1. Train Tunnel
2. Propane Storage / Lowgrade spawns
3. Golf Ball / Recycler
4. Wind Turbines
5. Card Rooms / Snowmobile spawn
6. South Entrance (use the appropriate direction for your map)

How to Get the Snowmobiles

To access the snowmobiles at Arctic Research Base, all you will need is a Blue Card, which you can swipe to enter the two Card Rooms. One of these will contain the snowmobile. The other Blue Card Room will have a Red Card, so don’t forget to grab that while you are here.

There are two versions of the snowmobile: the Tomaha version and the Post-Apocalypse ‘Tin Can’ version, but they both function the same. They each start with 20 units of low-grade fuel, have 12 slots of storage, 300 HP, two seats, and burn 9 fuel per running minute. Their fast speed and low rate of fuel consumption make them ideal for duo teams. Additionally, they are effective in both snow and sand, so you can take the snowmobile from here and also use it as a fast transport in the desert.

Make sure to pick up these wintery vehicles at Arctic Research Base next wipe! Afterward, make sure to check out our other Monument Guides for information on the other monuments.