Rust's Power Trip update lets players restart the power plant and crash satellites

Facepunch is shipping a major Rust update this month called Power Trip, built around a new system called Player Maintained Monuments. The core idea: players can now actively power up existing landmarks on the map, unlocking new features and pulling the whole server into the loop.

The headline mechanic is the power plant revival. Heavy Fuses — found as loot — get slotted into new special fuse boxes at the power plant. Not everything switches on at once; some connected systems need more fuses than others. Once the plant is running, the transformer poles along roads start supplying power to electrical circuits, and those powerline poles can now be climbed without a ladder — just walk up and jump. Recyclers outside safezones (the green ones) take a 10% efficiency nerf from their 50% baseline, dropping to 40%, but restoring to 60% with sufficient power from the plant. At maximum power, their cycle time also tightens from 5s to 4.5s. Yellow recyclers inside safezones stay untouched. A new red recycler exclusive to the power plant offers 75% efficiency, but only works at max power.

The update also adds a brand-new in-game event: Satellite Crash. Players can power up a Satellite Control Computer at the Launch Site using tech trash and an aiming module, then take control of an orbiting satellite. From there, thruster buttons let you steer the crash site — though the controls aren't labeled, so figuring out which button does what is part of the challenge. Once locked in, the satellite begins its descent, visible to every player on the server, making the crash site a contested loot event for the whole map.

Rust has been steadily building out its electrical and monument systems for years, and Player Maintained Monuments is a natural evolution of that — shifting monuments from static landmarks into dynamic objectives that reward server-wide cooperation or competition. The Power Trip update is due this month.