Riot Helmet
A makeshift riot Helmet. Great at deflecting melee attacks.
Wearing the Riot Helmet in Rust protects your head. Hits to the head take 25% less bullet and arrow damage and 80% less melee damage. It also gives 5 radiation protection and 35% cold protection. You craft it at a Level 1 Workbench, and its blueprint costs 40 scrap to research.
About the Riot Helmet
Against blasts, which hit no single body part, its 50% explosion protection counts as 8.3%. It has room for up to 3 armor inserts, each adding its own protection and movement penalty to the piece.
From full condition it soaks up 150 damage before it breaks.
On the tech tree it sits behind 4 other unlocks: Miners Hat, Improvised Balaclava, Beenie Hat and Tank Top. In all, 25 loot sources drop it; the full list of where it drops gives the chance for each.
Riot Helmet protection and stats
Against animal bites it gives 80% protection, and its full protection table covers every other damage type. Among the 35 protective head pieces, it ranks joint 9th for bullet protection.
How to craft the Riot Helmet
Crafting one takes 15 seconds at a Level 1 Workbench and costs 10 × Cloth and 50 × Metal Fragments.
10 
50 
How to get the Riot Helmet blueprint
Research it for 40 scrap, or unlock it on the Level 1 tech tree for 5 Blueprint Fragments in total.
1 Item 
40 Scrap Blueprint 40 
Node 
1 Blueprint Fragment Unlocked 5 How to repair the Riot Helmet
A full repair at a Repair Bench costs 3 × Cloth and 11 × Metal Fragments, and you need its blueprint.
×3 ×11 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 Riot Helmet recycles into
A green recycler always gives back 5 × Cloth and 25 × Metal Fragments for one.
×5 ×25 ×6 ×30 
×7 ×37 50% 50% 
×4 ×20 Where to find the Riot Helmet
Supply Drop has the best chance at 36%, followed by Present Drop at 11% and Sunken Chest at 1.1%.
Stats checked against the Rust game files on 13 November 2026.
