Rust Server Wipes Explained: Map vs Blueprint Wipes and Scheduling

01Understand the forced monthly wipe

On the first Thursday of every month (the update lands around 7pm UK time), Facepunch releases a mandatory client and server update. It changes world generation, so every server — official, community, and modded — must wipe its map when it updates. You cannot opt out: an un-updated server can no longer accept updated clients.

Blueprint wipes are different. Facepunch only forces a global blueprint wipe occasionally, alongside major progression-changing updates. In a normal month, whether blueprints survive is entirely your choice as the server owner.

02Know the difference between map and blueprint wipes

Rust stores progression in two separate places, so there are two kinds of wipe:

• Map wipe — deletes the world save: terrain, every base, deployed item, stashed loot, and player inventories. Players keep their learned blueprints, so they can re-craft what they knew as soon as they gather materials.
• Blueprint (BP) wipe — additionally deletes the per-player blueprint database, so everyone relearns tech from scratch. This is the “full wipe” that resets long-term progression and levels the field for new players.

A map wipe without a BP wipe keeps veterans moving fast (they rush guns on day one); a full wipe slows everyone down and is the bigger reset. Many servers therefore map-wipe frequently but BP-wipe only monthly.

03Wipe the map by deleting the save files

The world lives in your server's identity folder, e.g. server/my-server-identity/. With the server stopped, delete the map files:

proceduralmap.4500.12345.264.sav
proceduralmap.4500.12345.264.sav.1
proceduralmap.4500.12345.264.sav.2
proceduralmap.4500.12345.264.map

The filename encodes map size, seed, and save version. Delete the .sav backups too, or the server can quietly restore the old world. To generate a genuinely different map, change server.seed (any number) or server.worldsize in your launch parameters before starting — same seed and size means the same terrain, just emptied. Most hosting panels wrap all of this in a “wipe map” button.

04Wipe blueprints by deleting the player database

For a full wipe, also delete the blueprint database from the same folder:

player.blueprints.5.db

(The number is the blueprint data version and varies.) Leave player.deaths.db, player.identities.db, and your bans file alone unless you deliberately want those reset — deleting bans un-bans everyone. If you run Oxide, plugin data in oxide/data (economy balances, kit cooldowns, player stats) is separate again and only resets if you clear it yourself.

05Pick a schedule and publish it

The common patterns, in rough order of popularity:

• Monthly — wipe only when forced, BPs usually kept or wiped quarterly. Suits slower, build-focused communities.
• Fortnightly (biweekly) — map wipe every two weeks, BP wipe monthly on forced-wipe day. The mainstream choice for community and lightly modded servers.
• Weekly — map wipe every week (often Thursday or Friday evening), BP wipe monthly. Standard for high-pop and PvP servers where fresh starts drive traffic.

Whatever you choose, put it in the server name or description (players filter by it), wipe at a consistent day and time, and announce exceptions well in advance. Population spikes on wipe day and decays toward the next one — an erratic schedule is the fastest way to lose a player base.

Run it on HostPanel: our Rust server hosting plans let you schedule automatic map and blueprint wipes — with seed rotation — from the panel, so wipe day happens even when you are at work.

Troubleshooting

You wiped, but the old world came back

You deleted the main .sav but left the .sav.1/.sav.2 backups, or the server was still running and wrote a fresh save on shutdown. Stop the server first, delete all save variants, then boot.

New map, but everyone still has their blueprints (or vice versa)

Map and BP data are separate files — deleting one never touches the other. If BPs survived a “full wipe”, the player.blueprints.X.db file was missed; if BPs vanished on a map-only wipe, a panel “full wipe” button deleted more than you intended.

Server invisible or clients cannot connect after forced-wipe Thursday

The server has not taken the monthly update, or Oxide has not been updated to match. Update the server via SteamCMD (or your panel), reinstall the new Oxide build if you run plugins, then wipe and boot — version-mismatched servers are hidden from updated clients.