Rust Survival Guide: How to Deal With the Patrol Helicopter

leadballoon
Jul 28
2 min read

By Slick — July 28, 2025 - leadballoon.gg

If you hear those rotors and feel your screen shake, it's already too late.

The Patrol Helicopter — or just “Heli” — is one of Rust’s most dangerous mid- to late-game threats. It hunts, it punishes, and it doesn’t stop until someone’s dead or it is.

But with the right gear, timing, and dirty tricks, you can not only survive Heli — you can profit from it.

What Triggers the Patrol Helicopter?

Every 2–4 in-game hours, Heli will spawn and begin sweeping the map looking for:

Players with more than 2 clothing pieces
Players holding weapons (except bows or spears)
Vehicles in motion with geared drivers

If it sees you, it locks on, opens fire, and burns everything around you.

How to Avoid Getting Targeted

If you’re not ready to fight, don’t even tempt it.

DO:

Hide indoors the moment you hear it
Remove visible weapons and armor
Stay still or crouched in bushes/trees
Use caves, tunnels, or underground entrances

DON'T:

Run out into the open
Shoot at it from a twig roof
Drive a minicopter mid-sweep
Try to flex if your base isn’t metal

How to Fight and Kill It

Fighting Heli is high risk, high reward — if you’re prepared.

🔧 Recommended Loadout:

Guns: L96, Bolt, AK, M249, or HV Rockets
Armor: Full metal or roadsign set
Base: Multi-floor, metal roof, covered firing angles
Meds: 10+ syringes, bandages, full food
Extras: Fire extinguisher or water buckets for fire patches

Engagement Tips:

Shoot from inside bases with metal roofing
Use peeks, windows, or roof embrasures
Don’t stand near doors or edges — splash damage kills
Take breaks — Heli only locks on when you’re actively firing or visible

What Happens When It Dies?

When Heli hits 0 HP, it spins out and crashes, spawning:

2–4 military crates
Fire that burns for ~3 minutes
Heat zones that can kill you on approach

Bring water, hazmat, or wait it out.

The Loot

Crates can contain:

AKs
LRs
Explosives
Rockets
M39s
M249 (rare)

Killing Heli is one of the fastest ways to skip straight to endgame gear.

Common Mistakes

Roof camping without cover
Fighting it with wood structures
Challenging Heli solo with just an AK
Running up to crash sites too early (fire will kill you)

leadballoon.gg Tip

On our Vanilla and PvE servers, Heli behavior is mostly vanilla-aligned — but we’ve added slight delay timers and less aggro radius to make it slightly more survivable for newer players.