Rust is getting its first paid DLC: musical instruments

Rust
(Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust is getting some more new stuff next month, and for the first time ever you'll have to pay something extra for it. The first premium DLC for Rust will feature playable musical instruments, 10 of them in all, including a piano, drums, sousaphone (pictured above), and yes, even a cowbell.

The premium DLC will cost $10, though Rust's devblog says it will be initially discounted. The DLC will arrive on December 5, though the instruments are available now to play with and try out for free on Rust's staging server branch.

These aren't just instruments where you hold down a key and they automatically play a song. "We've created a whole new control system to play the instruments," the devblog says.

"You can now bind the standard note range (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) to any key. From there you can bind sharp and octave modifier keys which allow you to play over 20 notes on some instruments." This new music system will be applied to Rust's existing acoustic guitar as well when the DLC arrives. You can also plug in a MIDI device and play some of the instruments in real time.  

Here's a look at some (nude) players in a jam session:

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Even if you don't purchase the DLC, there are still ways to join in on the fun. If a DLC owner crafts a musical instrument for you (or if you murder someone and take theirs) and you'll be able to play it. 

And if you're worried about being hounded at all hours of the night by roving sousaphone and xylophone players, no need to worry. Facepunch's community support manager Errn tweeted that the instruments will have their own dedicated volume slider.

Here are the rest of the instruments in the DLC:

The Plumber's Trumpet

The Plumber's Trumpet (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust musical instruments

The Canbourine (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust musical instruments

The Shovel Bass (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust

The Wheelbarrow Piano (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust

The Junkyard Drumkit (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust

The Pan Flute (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust

The Jerry Can Guitar (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust

The Cowbell (Image credit: Facepunch)

Rust

Xylobones (Image credit: Facepunch)
Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.