Common Rust Game Troubleshooting Tips

[Aurora]

This list of Rust game troubleshooting solutions is a compilation of fixes posted by players and staff in our Discord.  All solutions have been tested and reported to work for players experiencing the specific issues listed.  Feel free to reply to the thread and post your own  game  fixes. For ease of linking, please create a new reply for each one you add! ♥

[Aurora]

Problem:  Various Errors

• Frequent disconnects from the server 
• Frequent game freezing
• Error messages including: EAC Violation (excluding EAC temp ban), ArgumentOutOfRangeException, NullReferenceException, Steam Auth Timeout (when game is launched through Steam) that persist after a restart of the PC, Steam client and Rust.
• Game closes (crash)

Solution 1: Download updates and Verify the Integrity of the Game Files
Ensure both your Steam app and Rust client is up-to-date and no downloads are pending.

Download Updates:

1.    Close Rust and Steam out completely
2.    Launch Steam and check for a pending Steam client update
3.    Select Library, then select Rust from the list
4.    Download any pending updates

Verify the Integrity of the Game Files:

1.    Open Steam, select Library, then right-click on Rust
2.    Select Local Files, and then select Verify integrity of game files

Relaunch Steam & Rust. If this did not fix the issue, keep reading...

Solution 2: Opt out of Steam beta, and Clear the Steam download cache.
If you still experience the error after following the steps above, continue with the following steps

Opt out of Steam Beta

1.    Open Steam, select Settings, and then select Account and press the Change button under Beta Participation. 
2.    In the Beta Participation menu, select None – Opt out of all beta programs.
3.    Restart your Steam client.

Clear the Download Cache

1.    Open Steam, select Settings, and then select Downloads and press the Clear Download Cache button. 
2.    Select OK to confirm. You will need to login to Steam again.

Relaunch Steam & Rust. If this did not fix the issue, keep reading...

Solution 3: Reinstall Steam & Rust
If you still experience the error after following the easier (and less time consuming) steps above, most users in our Discord report that a complete reinstall of their Steam and Rust fix the issue.

[Aurora]

Problem:  Sleeping - Can't Wake up!

• I can't wake up when I log in
• I'm stuck in sleeping mode
• I can't wake up when I respawn (or revive on modded servers)

Solution 1: Press: ESC, ESC, and then Left-mouse click. 
Hit Escape (opens the game menu). Hit Escape a second time (closes the menu).  Click the screen to wake up.

Solution 2: Press: ESC, ESC, and then press Space bar (jump key).

If this did not fix the issue, keep reading...

Solution 3: F1 Kill and Logout
If the above does not wake you up, then take the following steps in the order listed, exactly as described:

1. Press F1 to open the console
2. Type Kill and press Enter.
3. Disconnect from the server when the kill screen displays: do not respawn!
   •  To Disconnect from the server:
   • Press ESC to open the game menu
   •  Select Disconnect
4. Close Rust out completely
5. Launch Rust  and reconnect to the server
6. Once connected, select Respawn from the death screen. Only Respawn will work – do not select Revive if that option is available to you.

[Aurora]

Problem: Red Error text Covering Game

• My screen is covered in red text
• Constant red errors scrolling on my screen

Solution 1: This will stop the error text from scrolling in-game.
Note: The errors will still appear in your console, but you'll be able to play without the annoyance of scrolling red error text in your game.

1.    Press F1 to open the console
2.    Type the following in the console and press Enter:

console.erroroverlay false

Thank you @Darktweets for sharing this fix!
 

[Aurora]

Problem: I can't reload my weapon
This is a pretty common problem that is usually the result of terrible net code between you and the game.

Solution: Look into the sky while reloading (Press R to reload).

[Aurora]

Problem: 

• Steam Status "InvalidAuthSession"
• Crashing to desktop following a video driver update

Solution 1: Change your in-game display from Exclusive mode to borderless

1. Select Options on the left-hand menu
   - If Rust is open, Press ESC to open game menu and then select Options
2. Select Screen from within the Options menu
3. Use the left or right arrows to set screen Mode to Borderless

If this did not fix the issue, go back to the first reply in this thread and go through the steps to Download updates and Verify the Integrity of the Game Files

[Lord McGuffin]

You should pin this btw.

[Aurora]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:46 PM, Lord McGuffin said:

You should pin this btw.

Done
 

[Aurora]

Problem: Packet flooding: RPC

• Packet flooding: RPC error
• Timeout/ Disconnected in certain area of map

Packet flooding is a very generic kick message that often happens when your client exceeds our servers max packet threshold which is set in place to prevent a single client from bogging down our entire network. Sometimes players will get this error -- or simply disconnect with a timeout message. These errors can be a client-side issue when loading a large number of signs or skins in heavily populated area of the map. 

Solution 1: Turn off signs 

1.    Press ESC to open the game menu
2.    Select Options
3.    Under the Censorship menu toggle the Hide Signs button to ON
4.    Restart your Rust game and reconnect to the server

Solution 2: If you still experience the error after following the steps above, continue with the following steps: Hide Skins: 

1.    Press F1 to open the console
2.    Type the following in the console and press Enter:

itemskins false 

3.    Restart your Rust game and reconnect to the server

Solution 3: In most situations, users in our Discord report that simply hiding signs and/or skins will fix the issue.  If not, try the following in addition to the previous steps:

Turn down draw distance under Graphics Options
•    Press ESC to open the game menu
•    Select Options, and then select Graphics
•    Drag the slider to left on Draw Distance

Ensure culling is off under Experimental Settings
•    Press ESC to open the game menu
•    Select Experimental
•    Toggle the Occlusion Culling button to OFF
•    Restart your Rust game and reconnect to the server

Note: For persistent issues you can try turning all Experimental options to OFF