Researching returns! Plus a look at the new dungeons, the new assault rifle, the future of the XP system, and more.

We've seen some impressive performance gains this week, so we hope you'll all receive those benefits. Let us know! Plus a look the Military Tunnels and the 'new' Lighthouse, some nice screenshots of the pending graphics update (above), and much more.

We're listening: this patch has a heap of community requested tweaks and balances, from the crossbow de-nerfing and armour and weapon re-balancing, to building rotation and the revive mechanics. A lot has been done. We're working on making the game less of a grind, and have news on upcoming XP changes and item researching returning to the game. Additionally, the Double-Barrelled Shotgun and the Satchel Charges are now in. This patch wipes the maps.

Weapon balancing, combat logging, and tweaks to raiding, plus a look at graphics improvements, new explosives, better shop-fronts, and more.

Lots of fixes and optimisation this week including the XP system, Gunplay, Graphics and more ...

Changes to the XP system means the Official servers will be wiping XP and maps to get everyone back on a level playing field. Community servers can revert if they choose to. Apologies, but it needs to be done. Aside from the XP stuff, we're rebooting gunplay, building sexier airfields, and more.

Time to start over. The XP system is here.

No patch as we're focused on the XP update for next week. On the prerelease branch you can try the new UI, the quick crafting menu, and the level-up animation. The blog also has details on making gunplay great again, upcoming armour, and more.

Look at that! The beginnings of a graphical overhaul. Also, XP system details, anti-hack changes, menu rework, and more. We're upgrading servers with this patch, so there will be some extended downtime. We'll <a href="https://twitter.com/playrust">tweet</a> when that's all resolved.