Author: Mike6FO

We will update this page as we get more info. But this is what we know so far.

Key take aways for those who don’t want to read all this:

• Skinbox will no longer have approved game skins unless you have them in your game inventory. (This has been completed.)
• Building Skins plugin will be removed. (This is in place, see Building Tools)
• Raidable bases will no longer have skinned items and will have some items removed from loot tables. (This has been completed.)
• DLC items in the shop (like the new Abyss barrels) will be removed. (This has been completed).
• Wallpapers that are part of a DLC pack will be removed. (But you can still use purchased ones by right clicking when you have the wallpaper tool selected).

On July 16th 2025, Facepunch released new Terms of Service for servers. In these new terms, servers are no longer allowed to provide players with access to DLC content/skins the player does not own. What does this mean? Currently, HNC Rust as well as several other servers provide users access to Skinbox (or similar) that allows players to apply skins to items regardless if the player owns the skin. Under the new terms, we will not be allowed to do that any longer.

So what will change?
Our hope is to retain Skinbox but with a set of workshop skins that are not “Accepted in game”. Unfortunately, about 98% of the skins currently in Skinbox are “Accepted in game” and will have to be removed unless you have that skin in your game inventory. You can now also request skins to be added if you find a skin in the workshop. See Requesting Skins. Of course, if any current workshop skin gets “Accepted in game”, it will have to be removed from Skinbox.

What else will change?
Building Skins (/bskin) will also have to be removed as the new TOS applies to them as well. Certain items in the shop will also have to be removed. Items like the Abyss barrels, Bamboo barrels, Medieval items, etc. Basically, anything that is part of a skin pack or item pack will have to be removed. This will also include wallpapers. Just last month, we added the new wallpaper planner plugin that gave players access to wallpapers with the new wallpaper tool. Any wallpaper that is part of a DLC pack will have to be removed as well. Raidable bases will become very generic now. All loot items will be base items (no skins) and several items will have to be removed from the loot table as well.

When will this all happen?
Technically, the new terms are in effect now. But Facepunch has set a “grace period” of August 7th (August force wipe) for everyone to become compliant. However, since there is a lot to do, we will be working over the next few weeks towards becoming compliant with these new rules. So, over the next few weeks, you will start to see some items removed.

Why would they do this?
Well, we aren’t going to speculate on that one. Facepunch has known about plugins like Skinbox for years and have been OK with them. We don’t know why they chose to suddenly change their views here, but that is indeed their prerogative as they are the developers of the game.

What does this mean going forward?
This one we also don’t know how to answer. There are rumors of other “drastic” changes coming down the pipe. There is no actual info on what said changes will be, so there is no point in trying to speculate.

Some users have reported they are getting SSL errors when trying to connect for the first time after a wipe. This happens when their computer is trying to download the Rust map file. This seems to be caused by their computer either being blocked (due to country restrictions) or by outdated SSL certificates on their computer. Here are a couple of things you can try:

Option ONE:
Please note, HNC Rust will not provide help/support for this option. You can follow these steps at your own risk. HNC Rust makes NO warranties or guarantees of safeness or effectiveness.

• Before starting, make sure your Windows is up-to-date with all current patches from Windows Update.
• Make sure you have the correct root cert installed. As of July 2025, the current root cert needed is the GTS Root R4. You can find it listed on the GTS PKI page under Root CAs or directly here.
• You will need to download the certificate file and install it into your Windows trusted root store. You can follow the directions on Microsoft’s page to install a trusted root cert at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/skype-sdk/sdn/articles/installing-the-trusted-root-certificate. You only need to follow the steps in the section “Installing a trusted root certificate” and can ignore the section on adding the certificate snap-in.
• If Windows reports the certificate is already installed, you do not need to reinstall it as this will not help the issue.
• After installing, you should restart your computer.

Option TWO:

If you prefer not to install the above cert, or you are still getting the error after installing the cert, you can download the current map file below. You will need to place this map in your Rust’s maps folder. By default, this is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rust\maps
If you are not able to download the map file below, please create a ticket in #admin-help on our Discord.

December 2025 Map. This map should be valid December 4th at 2pm US Eastern till January 1st at 2pm US Eastern for HNC Rust.