Mounted Ballista
A ballista mounted on wheels, designed for mobility and capable of firing bolts at distant targets. Can be towed by horses.
The Mounted Ballista is a siege engine in Rust, placed as a frame with 150 health. The frame takes at least 10 hammer hits and 750 × Wood to finish. You craft it at a Level 2 Workbench, and its blueprint costs 40 scrap to research.
About the Mounted Ballista
Recycling it returns the Gears only by chance, 50% of the time.
On the tech tree it sits behind 12 other unlocks: Ballista, Battering Ram, Python Revolver, F1 Grenade, Semi-Automatic Pistol, Homemade Landmine and 6 more. In all, 23 loot sources drop it; the full list of where it drops gives the chance for each.
Mounted Ballista health and decay
Outside a tool cupboard's range it holds for 2 hours, then decays from full health to nothing in 2 hours.
How to craft the Mounted Ballista
Crafting one takes 25 seconds at a Level 2 Workbench and costs 250 × Metal Fragments, 1 × Gears and 2 × Sheet Metal.
250 
1 
2 
How to get the Mounted Ballista blueprint
Research it for 40 scrap, or unlock it on the Level 2 tech tree for 13 Blueprint Pages in total.
1 Item 
40 Scrap Blueprint 40 
Node 
1 Blueprint Page Unlocked 13 Building it up
A placed Mounted Ballista is a frame that has to be built up with a hammer: 10 hits, using these materials.
×750 Reduction is how much of that damage type never lands. Damage taken is the rest: at 50% reduction a hit for 100 does 50. A negative reduction means the hit lands harder than it would bare.
What the Mounted Ballista recycles into
A green recycler always gives back 125 × Metal Fragments and 1 × Sheet Metal for one.
×125 ×1 50% ×150 ×1 60% 20% 
×187 ×1 50% 75% 50% 
×100 40% 80% 
High Velocity Rocket ×1258— 
200 
300 20 
2 
Homing Missile ×1383— 100 150 20 2 
1 
Rocket ×1168.8— 1,400 1,950 40 4 100 
30 
Timed Explosive Charge ×1330— 2,200 3,000 2 200 60 
5 
Satchel Charge ×36320% 1,440 2,160 240 30 
3 
40mm HE Grenade ×723.8—— 
Beancan Grenade ×1213.515% 1,440 2,160 240 
Explosive 5.56 Rifle Ammo ×1411— 350 420 70 
Survey Charge ×285.4— 1,680 2,520 280 560 140 From full health (150 HP), each one placed on it: damage per hit is after its protection. Duds are throws that fizzle and need another throw, not counted in Needed. Costs are for the whole count, crafted from raw materials.
Where to find the Mounted Ballista
Treasure Box has the best chance at 1.6%, followed by Locked Crate at 1.3% and Elite Crate at 0.78%.
Stats checked against the Rust game files on 13 November 2026.
