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Offline protection in survival games depends on the specific game and the server you play on. In Rust, a stocked Tool Cupboard stops your base from decaying, but it does not stop other players from raiding it while you are away. In ARK, some servers can enable Offline Raiding Prevention, which makes a tribe’s structures, creatures and characters invulnerable while every tribe member is logged off, but only if the server operator has turned that setting on. Before you log off, confirm which protection your server actually provides, and what it does not cover.
Rust: upkeep prevents decay, not raids
The Rust Wiki describes the Tool Cupboard, commonly called a “TC,” as the item that prevents a base from decaying and also limits who can build on the base and nearby. Those are two different jobs, and only one of them addresses time spent offline. The Facepunch item page documents the Tool Cupboard as a craftable building item that, in its standard recipe, costs 1,000 wood. Facepunch Rust Wiki, “Tool Cupboard, decay and building privilege” and Facepunch Rust Wiki, “Tool Cupboard item”.
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How the upkeep system protects against decay
A Tool Cupboard consumes upkeep resources to hold back decay on the buildings it covers. Keep the cupboard supplied for as long as you expect to be away. If the upkeep runs out, the base begins to decay. Decay is slow compared with a raid, but a base that has run out of upkeep for a long absence can be lost without a single player attacking it.
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What a destroyed cupboard does to your timer
The Rust Wiki states that a destroyed Tool Cupboard can consume up to 24 hours of remaining upkeep to delay decay. This is a grief-protection rule for the decay timer, not a shield against the raid itself. If someone destroys the cupboard, the 24-hour allowance buys you time to respond. It does nothing to stop the attack that destroyed it.
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Why a stocked cupboard is not raid immunity
Players often read “protected by a TC” as meaning the base is safe while they are offline. The official documentation does not support that reading. A supplied cupboard keeps your buildings from decaying. Anyone who can reach and damage the base can still raid it while you are away, and Rust has no equivalent of the ARK setting described below in its standard documentation. Community threads about this gap are easy to find, including Reddit r/playrust, “Why isn’t there any Offline base protection?”
ARK: a server setting, not a default
ARK’s protection is handled by the server configuration rather than by an in-game building item. The ARK Official Community Wiki documents the PreventOfflinePvP option. When it is enabled, tribe characters, creatures and structures become invulnerable while all tribe members are logged off. The Official Community Wiki page is the reference for the setting names used below. ARK Official Community Wiki, “Server configuration”
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The activation delay
PreventOfflinePvPInterval controls how long the server waits after the last tribe member logs off before the protection activates. The community configuration reference lists 10 seconds for official PvE servers. That figure describes the reference’s stated default for those servers, not a guarantee for every community server or every game version, so confirm the value with the operator of the server you play on.
What still kills you or your creatures
Offline protection does not cover everything. The same reference notes that starvation still applies while protection is active, and that characters or creatures can still die if they drown. A tribe that protects its base but leaves creatures unfed or stranded near water can lose them anyway. Plan feeding and positioning before you log off.
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Community servers and server settings
Because the feature is a server option, an ARK server with it disabled gives you no offline protection at all, regardless of what your tribe does in game. Ask the operator directly whether PreventOfflinePvP is enabled, what the interval is, and whether any custom rules override it. Reddit r/playark, “Offline protection” shows that players ask this question about ARK servers too.
Compare the protection each system gives
| Question | Rust (Tool Cupboard upkeep) | ARK (Offline Raiding Prevention) |
|---|---|---|
| Does it stop raids while you are offline? | No. Upkeep manages decay; the Rust Wiki does not describe it as blocking raids. | Yes, when the server enables PreventOfflinePvP, for structures, creatures and characters of a tribe whose members are all offline. |
| What controls it? | Upkeep resources supplied to a Tool Cupboard you keep protected. | Server configuration set by the operator. |
| Activation delay | Not applicable. | Set by PreventOfflinePvPInterval; 10 seconds is the figure the community configuration reference lists for official PvE servers. |
| Exceptions | Decay begins once upkeep runs out. A destroyed cupboard can consume up to 24 hours of remaining upkeep (Rust Wiki). | Starvation still applies; characters and creatures can still die by drowning (ARK Official Community Wiki). |
| Source of the rule | Facepunch Rust Wiki, official. | ARK Official Community Wiki, community-maintained reference. |
Before you log off: a checklist
- Confirm the game and the server type you are on. Protection is set by the game or the server, so the same tribe can be protected on one server and exposed on another.
- In Rust, keep the Tool Cupboard supplied with upkeep for the full length of your absence, and make sure each building you care about is covered by a cupboard or connected to one under the building system.
- In ARK, ask the operator whether
PreventOfflinePvPis enabled and whatPreventOfflinePvPIntervalis set to, then check the server’s written rules for any exceptions. - Account for starvation and drowning before a long absence, even when offline protection is active.
- Check the server’s current rules and browser tags before you join or stay on a server. Tags help you find a server style, but they do not list every custom offline-raid policy.
Choosing a server with the protection you want
If the server you play on has no offline protection, you have three options: ask the operator to enable it, move to a server whose written rules include it, or host a private server where you control the settings. Facepunch documents its server modes and browser tags, including a PvE mode, in its Server Gamemodes and Server Browser Tags pages. Use those to narrow your search, then read each server’s own rules, since a PvE tag does not guarantee a specific offline-raid policy.
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