Increase Gather Rates on Your Rust Server

A 2x or 5x Rust server is a normal server with a plugin that multiplies what players get from trees, ore, quarries and pickups. This guide uses Gather Manager from uMod, then covers Carbon's built-in module and the one gather multiplier Rust itself has. Checked against Gather Manager 2.2.78 (last released August 2022) on uMod, October 2026. Because that release is old, check the plugin's uMod page for a newer one after each monthly Rust update.

Install Gather Manager

Gather Manager needs Oxide or Carbon. If the Plugins tab says Your server runs plain Rust, start with How to install Oxide/uMod plugins on your Rust server.

1. Open Plugins, stay on Store, search for Gather Manager and press Install.
2. On Oxide, a newly installed plugin stays unloaded until the server restarts or you type oxide.load GatherManager in the Console. On Carbon it loads by itself.
3. Check the Console for the plugin loading. On first load it writes GatherManager.json to its config folder (oxide/config on Oxide, carbon/configs on Carbon).

Set rates from the Console

The commands only work from the server console or for a Rust admin, so the Console tab is the easiest place. The shape is:

gather.rate <type> <resource> <multiplier>

The <type> is one of dispenser (trees, ore nodes and corpses), pickup (items picked up off the ground), quarry, excavator or survey (survey charges). The <multiplier> must be above 0, and remove as the multiplier clears a rate you set. For a 2x server:

gather.rate dispenser * 2
gather.rate pickup * 2
gather.rate quarry * 2

The * means every resource you haven't given its own rate. To give one resource a different rate, put its name in place of *. Run gather.resources to print the names the plugin accepts, which cover the food and resource items. Other commands from the plugin:

• quarry.tickrate <seconds> changes how often a Mining Quarry produces. The minimum is 1.
• excavator.tickrate <seconds> saves a tick rate for the Giant Excavator. The excavator itself picks it up when the plugin reloads (oxide.reload GatherManager, or c.reload GatherManager on Carbon), and quarries that are running are re-timed straight away.
• dispenser.scale <tree|ore|corpse> <multiplier> sets the resource amount for that dispenser type.
• gather.dispensers lists the dispenser types.
• Players can type /gather in chat to see the rates in force. Admins also see the commands.

Each rate command writes to the plugin's config, so the rates stay after a restart.

Edit the config instead

Open Plugins, switch to Installed, press Config on Gather Manager, then Save and Reload plugin. Under Options you will find GatherResourceModifiers (the dispenser type), PickupResourceModifiers, QuarryResourceModifiers, ExcavatorResourceModifiers and SurveyResourceModifiers, each a list of resource names and multipliers. MiningQuarryResourceTickRate and ExcavatorResourceTickRate hold the tick rates, and ExcavatorBeltSpeedMax and ExcavatorTimeForFullResources tune the excavator. Settings and Messages only change the chat prefix and the plugin's wording.

Carbon's built-in module

Carbon includes an optional GatherManager module, off by default. c.modules in the Console lists it, and c.setmodule GatherManager true enables it. Its settings are in carbon/modules/GatherManager/config.json as four lists, Pickup, Gather, Quarry and Excavator, each with a "*" fallback. In this module the resource names are item shortnames, such as seed.hemp. Carbon's docs say the module forces the modded tag on.

Rust's own softcore multiplier

Rust has a built-in softcore game mode. Its gamemodesoftcore.gather_rate convar is described in the game as a global multiplier for resources gathered from ores, trees, logs, wild plants and animals, default 2. To switch the mode on, open the Startup tab, put +server.gamemode softcore in Additional Arguments, save and restart. The boot log then prints Gamemode Convar :softcore. Use Additional Arguments for this, as that route is tested. Softcore also changes what players keep when they die, through a reclaim backpack, so it is a different style of server and not only a faster one.

Common problems

1. "is not a valid resource" - the name doesn't match. Copy it from gather.resources.
2. Rates unchanged after the monthly update - run Settings > Reinstall, then look for a newer plugin version, as in the Oxide guide.
3. "You don't have permission to use this command" - you are running it in game without being a Rust admin. Use the Console tab, or see Rust server.cfg and admin commands.
4. gather.rate isn't recognised on Oxide - the plugin is still unloaded. Restart, or run oxide.load GatherManager. On Carbon it loads by itself, so check the Console for a compile error instead.