How to Build a Rust Raid Calculator That Players Can Actually Use

Creating a functional raid calculator for the survival video game Rust requires separating the game data into three main categories. The first category is the targets, which can be walls, doors, foundations, or other objects found in the game. Each target requires a display name, hit points, a category, supported damage sources, and any conditions that may affect the results.

By treating targets as objects with rules rather than just labels, it's easier to add new building pieces and deployables without having to rewrite the calculation logic.

The second category is damage sources, which can include weapons like rockets, C4, satchel charges, or explosive ammunition. For each damage source, the calculator should provide data on damage per hit, the number of hits required, and the recipe used to craft the weapon. It's crucial to ensure that the calculator's basic estimates, such as hits = ceil(target_hp / damage_per_hit), take into account the game's actual damage values, splash behavior, and any balance changes that may have occurred within the game.

The final category is resource costs, which helps provide a more comprehensive answer to players. This includes materials such as sulfur, charcoal, metal fragments, cloth, and rope, among others. By keeping the recipes separate from the target calculations, it's easier to reuse the same recipe across multiple targets and to maintain balance updates. The total cost of the raid is calculated as total_cost = number_of_charges × recipe_cost. This separation also makes it easier to manage changes in the future.

When designing the calculation flow, the interface should follow the planning process a player would go through when raiding. Players should be able to choose one or more targets, select the damage source, set the target quantity, and then add the results to a raid table. This table should display every row, making it easy to review hits and total resources for each scenario.

Players can then remove any unneeded scenarios without having to start over. The summary should provide immediate answers to practical questions such as how many hits are required, how many explosives should be crafted, how much sulfur is needed, and what other resources are necessary. Players should also be informed if any results depend on certain assumptions, so they can understand the reasoning behind the calculator's output.

Finally, the mobile experience should be designed first and foremost for raid planning on mobile devices, with large target and source cards, one-handed quantity controls, clear "add to table" actions, and a compact totals section. The most important numbers should remain visible while players scroll through their plan, ensuring they can quickly check their raid list before leaving a safe zone or joining a fight.