Tips on how to extend and balance gameplay progression - Rust

I've played for over 200 hours of this, and it has always seemed to me how much dominance a group of people armed with full Kevlar and military weaponry have. I find that to be a little unsettling, especially to new players or people starting fresh on a server. Don't worry about me not having experience with this situation; I've been brimming with Kevlar, resources, guns and other assorted firepower for at least a week in my unraidable house. I can basically dominate anyone that tries to touch me with my overpowered guns. M4- 3 hit kill (about 6 on Kevlar people)-fully automatic. Really? No one but other end game players stand a chance versus me. The other guns, too. Mp5- 4-8 hit kill, also automatic. P250, 4-6(7?) hit kill, gets tons of them. Then the shotgun, which actually isn't really too overpowered. Also the bolt action; if you are smart, then you stand a chance against it since it shoots very slowly. In addition, I'm f*cking OVERLOADED with guns. I have a large chest literally filled with guns I do not use. Mind you I play with only 2 other people on a server that averages 30 players! The other groups on the server easily double or triple the amount of guns I have. The following idea could change that imbalance of power! The next update will include durability, which is the first step to fixing this. However, the mil-spec weaponry is still very powerful and can last an entire extended battle without needing to be repaired or whatnot. What I suggest is that, after adding more basic and handmade weaponry, the current mil-spec guns could be, instead of replaced outright, remodeled to be very rusty. Every shot would have a chance to jam the gun, based on the gun's level of durability. Say 80-100% condition had a 3% chance to jam, 50-80% would be a 6% chance, then anything below that would make each bullet have a 15% chance to jam the gun. When a gun jams, the user would have to do a specific action (maybe use a special tool, repair bench, or do Far-Cry 2 style where you pull the slide multiple times, leaving you at a disadvantage during the battle). Each time the gun jams it could remove a certain percentage of the gun's condition, making extended use worse. This would be so that the Kevlar-warmongering people would be at a disadvantage to fight all the time, risking their gun jamming in a battle. The mil-spec guns would only then be used for special situations, like base defense or a really fast lighting raid, where you need to kill a person or not be pressured to unjam your gun in a base. An additional bonus to having this feature- realism! The guns in this game are in no way new, stored in perfect conditions, or fully functional. You should expect some suckiness in the guns in a post apocalyptic game where people start with nothing. Additional words: Like I said before, before something like this should be implemented, add more cruddy guns first. Instead of going out and saying, "I'm gunna bring my M4 with me for long/medium range combat!" you would instead say: "I'm going to bring my revolver/pipe shotgun/other lower quality gun (a semi auto .22 rifle for medium range shooting would be cool). Some changes may or may not also be made to the bolt action rifle, because since it isn't a military grade weapon and super rusty as such it wouldn't experience the downsides. It also isn't overpowered compared to the other guns for its cost. Post what you think of this and remember to add what else you think they should add or change concerning this. I'm probably gunna edit this sometimes to bring in more suggestions and more.

I like the idea, but what about people bringing 3 or 4 M4's and just switching between them?

You dominate because you play on a server that averages 30 ppl. Some of your ideas aren't bad though.

I would like to see some newer easier to craft guns (and possibly a slight nerf to the m4) but the handcannon can still wreck people in full kevlar if you are smart with it. As to the gun jamming that would just favor those who can afford to carry around 2-4 M4s.

according to their trello they will make it ALOT harder to research stuff. You should try to start on a wiped server when that update is released

The thing is, if people bring a couple of M4's, the stakes are much higher than before, when they only had 1 M4. It would basically produce the same effect of having 1 M4 like it is now. As well as making mil-spec weapons harder to craft, so they're more like relics than anything else really.] In addition, they will be adding weight in the near future, and I believe that weapons and armor will have the greatest effect on that, making carrying 2 M4's (or a different gun) much less viable if you want to carry more stuff. I think the M4 should be nerfed a little bit too, maybe make it on par with the P250 on terms of damage?