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Dust is one of the more complex resources in the world of Remnant that deserves its own topic. We encourage you to read up on what dust is and how it works elsewhere, but we will quickly summarize it for you here as well.

Dust is a natural resource that is mined from the ground in remnant. It comes in the form of crystalline structures, like gems! There are different types of dust that have different elemental properties. For example, fire dust is red and can add a fire effect, lightning dust is yellow and can add an electrical effect. This means that if you augment your bullets with fire dust they can set things on fire with small explosions upon impact, or send an electrical shock into an enemy with lightning dust.

The known dust colors are: (For dust with an unknown effect, they are unusable for the time being and are listed here so that when it is known it will be filled in.)

Red (Fire, or Burn)
Dark Orange (Rock, or Stone; Can be used to create rocks.)
Bright Orange (Unknown, but heat/fire related)
Yellow (Electricity, or Lightning)
Green (Plant)
Dark Blue (Unknown, but ice/cold related)
Blue (Water)
Pale Blue (Ice; Can be used to create ice in any shape, such as crystals, thin sheets or even large structures like curved ramps or platforms that float in water.)
Cyan (Hard-Light; Can be used to form solid objects made of light energy.)
Black/Purple - (Gravity; Black increases gravity and purple lessens it)
White (Wind, or Air)

You can use dust to augment your semblance abilities as well. Some people might have the ability to create darts of raw aura that attack their enemies. If they add some electrical dust into the mix these darts can apply that effect.

Dust can also fuel machines and weapons alike. It is easily the most valuable resource in the RWBY series and adds a lot of flavor to your fighting style. Unfortunately, not every region has a plentiful supply of dust. Vale has a minimal natural supply and constantly suffers from power outages due to lack of dust. Students at Beacon have been given a set supply that they must make do with until more dust can be found.

(1.) Eight Plus Three (8+3) ▬ The 8+3 rule is that you can have 8 small dust (vile or crystal shards), and 3 large dust. The 8 smaller viles or shards can be used to augment bullets, darts, or a melee attack to apply a small elemental effect. The three large dust crystals or jars can be used to create a large effect (think elemental grenades). Some people smash it against the floor, others strategically place it and shoot it.
(2.) Melee Dust Exception ▬ Melee weapons when augmented with small dust get up to 3 hits with the elemental effects (missing will not cause loss of effect unless you hit/effect the terrain, or atmosphere); or up to 5 posts of duration, potentially more hits, but no guarantees depending on the strength (your judge will decide this when your weapon is being approved, but please select your preferred option).
(3.) Refined Dust Vs Crystal Shards ▬ Even though the uses are actually different in the series (i.e., refined is used for fuel and is more easily triggered/ignited, and crystals need to be smashed or shot to activate), we will not be forcing such a distinction in this guild. The primary thing we are concerned about is the size of the effect, and how much it is being used.
(4.) Augmented Projectiles ▬ You are only allowed to have eight augmented projectiles. These can be any size bullet/round, up to darts, or even javelins, but the effect will all be roughly the same. Rocket propelled grenades or large projectiles will still only have a tiny on-hit effect unless you apply your large dust to the shot to augment the entire area of effect.
(5.) Small Dust Effect ▬ The small dust effect has these these dimensions (length X width X height): 1ftx1ftx1ft.
(6.) Large Dust Effect ▬ The large dust effect has these dimensions (length X width X height): 10ftx10ftx10ft. Shrapnel effects are allowed for this one within that space. The only exception is dark orange dust.
(7.) Recharge ▬ Dust is recharged after a day change; that is when a characters ration of dust is replenished. The exception being if your character is on a multi-day mission and unable to return to base to resupply their ration. A mission mod may allow you to find extra dust during a mission, but due to the shortage it is rare for NPCs to have extra dust.
(8. ) Large Dust & Weapons - The vast majority of weapons cannot handle large dust. The weapon will simply shatter trying to contain that much energy and will cause damage to anyone in the immediate area. The exception is extra-large weapons, such as rocket launchers or grenade launchers. For melee weapons, they need to be the size of a great sword, claymore or larger.
(9. ) Large Dust & Semblances - You cannot use large dust with your semblance until you reach the advanced profile at 150 posts. The effect of the large dust will need to be approved on your advanced profile. Any attempt to use large dust in conjunction with your semblance pre-advanced profile will end up in your character being negatively impacted by the attempt.
(10.) Dark orange dust: The total weight of rock or stone created cannot exceed 1000 pounds. The large dust effect has these dimensions (length X width X height): 3ftx3ftx3ft.

If you have questions please direct them to the crew who will help you understand, but before you do that, we encourage you to read the fan wiki on dust. This will answer most of your questions! You can combine dust types for hybrid or new effects. Fire + Water = Steam as a common example. Please talk to your mods in missions if you are unsure as well.