Why would you hate rust? I played on a cracked server for a while but got pissed after all my shit was robbed by hackers. I imagine this isnt as much of a problem on the official servers for people who actually own the game. I realize it can be kinda grindy, but I don't mind going out for some low intensity mining or whatever enjoying scenery.
The one thing that I didn't like was the high quality metal update when they added that- it became too difficult to get to the late game, meaning that some players were essentially gods if they played long enough, which was bullshit. I haven't been following it, but I really hope they toned down the "curve".