Route a soundboard into Rust proximity voice—and know when Voice Props change the range
Rust voice uses the bindable voice action for nearby speech, while Voice Props such as the megaphone and Microphone Stand can project a player’s voice through different in-world paths. BordQ combines your physical microphone and selected clips before the signal reaches the game, so nearby players hear one intentional voice-chat feed instead of audio leaking from speakers into an open mic.
Positional speech can reveal that a player is outside a base, and a Microphone Stand or connected speakers can turn a private clip into a much larger broadcast. This guide keeps the route useful and predictable: headphones stay on the real playback device, CABLE Output becomes the game microphone, and every effect is triggered deliberately.
Proximity is part of Rust gameplay—not just a call channel.
Rust voice uses the bindable voice action for nearby speech, while Voice Props such as the megaphone and Microphone Stand can project a player’s voice through different in-world paths. That makes distance, channel choice, and microphone mode part of the setup. A clip that works in a private lobby can reach the wrong people—or no one—when the selected voice channel changes.
Positional speech can reveal that a player is outside a base, and a Microphone Stand or connected speakers can turn a private clip into a much larger broadcast. Keep incoming game sound out of VB-Cable. Only the mic-and-clip mix should enter CABLE Input; otherwise teammates, strangers, or the game itself may hear an echoing copy of their own audio.
Rust has no reliable in-game microphone picker, so the destination is the Windows and Steam default recording route. That redirects every default-following app to CABLE Output; BordQ must keep mixing your real microphone into the cable or you can go silent outside the game too.
- Virtual Cable (Output): VB-Cable Input
- Rust voice input: CABLE Output · Windows + Steam defaults · proximity or Voice Prop
Three ways to use audio in Rust
These routes solve different needs. The dedicated cable is the only one that mixes live speech and triggered clips without relying on acoustic speaker pickup.
- BordQ → normal proximity voice
Short nearby interactions with positional range and the normal voice binding.
Anyone in range may hear it and locate you.
Use this as the default soundboard route. Use this route when that behavior matches the lobby and the people in it.
- BordQ → Voice Props
Intentional projection through a megaphone, Microphone Stand, or connected audio system.
It can reach farther and server rules may restrict music or spam.
Use only when you understand the prop’s activation and audience. Use this route when that behavior matches the lobby and the people in it.
- Internet audio stream or long music
Purpose-built server events where the owner and rights permit it.
Copyright, DMCA, bandwidth, moderation, and disruption risks are much higher.
Do not treat a public server as an unrestricted radio station. Use this route when that behavior matches the lobby and the people in it.
Route BordQ into Rust in five steps
Configure the devices from source to destination, then test with one short clip before joining a live session.
- Install BordQ and expose VB-Cable
Install BordQ on Windows and allow its audio-driver setup to finish. Restart Windows if CABLE Input and CABLE Output do not appear immediately.
CABLE Input is a playback device; CABLE Output is the recording device the game must listen to.
- Build the BordQ mix
In BordQ Audio Setup, select your physical microphone and set Virtual Cable (Output) to VB-Cable Input. Play a short, normalized clip and confirm the output meter moves.
Keep your headset or speakers as the Windows playback device. Do not send incoming game audio into the cable.
- Make CABLE Output the Windows default before launching Rust
With your physical microphone selected as BordQ’s Microphone Input and VB-Cable Input selected as BordQ’s Virtual Cable output, open Windows Settings → System → Sound → Input and choose CABLE Output. Then open More sound settings → Recording, right-click CABLE Output, and set both Default Device and Default Communication Device. In Steam → Settings → Voice, also set Voice Input Device to CABLE Output, then launch or restart Rust.
This change is system-wide: every app that follows the Windows default now hears the cable. Keep BordQ running with your real microphone mixed in, or those apps receive silence—or clips without your voice. Restore your physical mic as both defaults after playing if you do not want that behavior elsewhere.
- Choose the correct channel and mic mode
Bind and test Rust’s voice action, then decide whether the clip should be normal proximity speech or intentionally projected through an equipped Voice Prop. A megaphone or Microphone Stand changes the in-world result; it does not replace the Windows input-device route.
Use push-to-talk for precise timing when possible. Open mic can broadcast accidental clips, keyboard noise, or a feedback path.
- Test at real distance with another player
Join your own server or a consenting server test with a friend. Start with ordinary proximity speech at close and longer range. Only then test a megaphone or Microphone Stand, watching for double capture through speakers or an open physical mic.
A moving Windows meter proves the cable works; another player hearing the clip through the intended channel proves the complete route works.
Normal voice and projected Voice Props are not the same broadcast
Rust applies its own channel, distance, and gameplay rules after Windows delivers the signal.
- Voice action — Nearby positional speech
The standard route for a BordQ mic-and-clip mix.
- Megaphone — Player-carried projection
Activation and greater reach make accidental playback more disruptive.
- Microphone Stand — Powered audio network
Can feed connected speakers and behaves like an in-world PA system.
Treat a soundboard like speech: short, readable, and appropriate for the current lobby. A working audio route does not override mute, privacy, distance, server, or moderation rules.
Fix a Rust soundboard that is silent, doubled, or in the wrong channel
Follow the meters in order. Change one device or voice setting at a time so the actual break remains visible.
- CABLE Output has no meter activity — Return to BordQ and confirm Virtual Cable (Output) is VB-Cable Input. Check Windows microphone privacy and restart after installing the driver.
- The meter moves, but nobody hears the clip — Close Rust; confirm CABLE Output is both Default Device and Default Communication Device under Windows Recording, and that Steam Voice Input Device also says CABLE Output. Verify BordQ is mixing the real microphone, then relaunch the game.
- Other players hear themselves or a delayed echo — Incoming game audio is entering the cable or speaker sound is reaching an open physical mic. Keep game playback on headphones, remove loopback routes, and monitor only once.
- Normal proximity works, but the Microphone Stand is silent — The Windows route is already proven. Check the prop’s power, activation, selected voice mode, connected speakers, and audio I/O. Test the stand without also holding the normal voice action to avoid two copies.
The questions worth checking before a live lobby
Which device does Rust actually use?
Rust follows the Windows/Steam voice input rather than offering a dependable in-game selector. Set CABLE Output as both Default Device and Default Communication Device, and match Steam’s Voice Input Device. This affects other default-following apps until you restore your physical microphone.
Can I keep talking while using the soundboard?
Yes. Select your physical microphone inside BordQ, then BordQ mixes speech and clips into CABLE Output. Set levels so speech remains understandable when an effect plays.
Why can I hear the clip but other players cannot?
Local monitoring only proves your listening path. Check the CABLE Output recording meter, the game input device, the selected voice channel, microphone mode, distance, and mute state with another player.
Should I use open mic or push-to-talk?
Push-to-talk gives the cleanest control for clips and reduces accidental noise. Open mic can work, but it makes feedback, repeated effects, and unintended broadcasts easier.
Is using a soundboard allowed?
Server rules vary. Ask before broadcasting music or repeated effects, respect mute and moderation, and use only audio you have rights to share. Facepunch specifically warns about copyright and DMCA exposure when internet audio is streamed through Voice Props.
Official Rust references
Game settings and voice behavior can change with patches. These first-party pages support the mechanics described here.
Give Rust one clean mic-and-clip feed.
Download BordQ, send its mic-and-clip mix to VB-Cable Input, make CABLE Output the Windows recording and communications default, match Steam’s Voice Input Device, then launch Rust and test one short clip. Pro unlocks the full soundboard workspace without a subscription.
Use the same clean route without repeating the same mistakes
- Understand VB-Cable — Learn why Input is the sending end, Output is the recording end, and how to fix missing devices.
- ARC Raiders soundboard — See how ARC Raiders changes the same virtual-microphone route with its own proximity rules.
- DayZ soundboard — See how DayZ changes the same virtual-microphone route with its own proximity rules.
- Build the BordQ soundboard — Import clips, normalize levels, assign global hotkeys, and organize game-specific profiles.