14 — Raiding (Offensive)

Last updated: May 18, 2026

Defending raids is covered in 01_Building.md and 02_Base_Designs.md. This file is the other side: how to be the raider. Scouting, costing the raid, executing, and getting out alive with the loot.

Should you raid this base?

Before spending a single C4, ask:

1. Is the loot worth the explosives? A 1x1 stash holds maybe 500 scrap and basic components. Costs you 1-2 rockets. Marginal. A 2x2 with industrial setup holds 10k+ scrap, components, guns. Worth a real raid kit.
2. Is the base offline? Online raids are 3x harder. Check around the base for sleeping bodies, smoke from furnaces, recent activity sounds.
3. What's the layered defense? Auto-turrets, embrasures, shotgun traps, SAM site — every one of those adds cost and risk.
4. Can someone counter-raid you while you're stuck on this base? If you live next door to a clan, raiding mid-pop means inviting reprisal.

If yes-yes-no-no, raid. If any are uncertain, scout more first.

Scouting

The pre-raid intel pass. Do not skip this.

Walk the base perimeter at night with cover. Note:

• Where's the front door (where they enter)?
• Is the TC visible? (Some bases have a glass-walled TC room visible from outside.)
• Are there auto-turrets? Where are they aimed?
• How many honeycomb layers visible? Count walls between exterior and where loot likely is.
• Vehicle bay external? Garage door?
• Sleeping bag exposure (any beds you can see through embrasures)?

Watch from a distance during day for 30 minutes:

• Player count online?
• Loot run frequency (people leaving and returning)?
• Any cargo runs, monument runs in progress?
• Tea brewing visible (smoke from greenhouse)?

Use a minicopter for aerial recon if you have one. Be quiet — engine sound carries.

Raid math (cost to breach)

See 10_Cheatsheets.md for the full table. Quick reference:

Always go soft-side. The soft side is the wood-frame-visible side. Inside a base, soft sides face outward of every wall (because the defender's hard side faces in). When raiding from outside in, you'll be on the hard side of each layer. Plan to go around if possible — look for windows / weak spots.

Tools of the trade

Explosives

Raid Kit (typical 2x2 stone raid)

• 6-8 C4 (covers full breach + bunker)
• 2-4 satchels (cheap soak on outer wood doors)
• 1 hammer (replace doors after raid)
• 1 sheet metal door (replace TC door)
• Hazmat suit (for radiation if base near a monument)
• 200 bandages and 5 large medkits (for counter-raid defense)
• Backup AK + 200 rounds + spare armor

Raid Tower

A vertical pillar of foundation+wall blocks built next to the base, giving you a sniper / shooting platform. Built fast from twig, upgraded to stone if you need it to last.

Build cost: ~500 wood for a 5-foundation-tall tower.

Use case: rooftop access on tall bases, sniper position on clan compounds.

Online vs Offline

Offline raids

Definition: the base owner isn't in-game.

• Pros: no defender response, no counter-raid, calm execution.
• Cons: still risk of online players patrolling, of raiders dying to traps/turrets.
• Tools: smart alarm on a friend's base can ping you when someone goes offline. (Or actually, watching from a window.)
• Timing: late server-night (3-6 AM server time) is the offline sweet spot for most bases.

Online raids

Definition: defender is online.

• Pros: sometimes the loot drops directly (kill defender, take their inventory).
• Cons: active defense, faster raiders die.
• Required: team of 3+, coordinated comms, surge damage.
• Tactics: distract from one side, breach from another. Suppress embrasures with one player while the other plants C4.

Step-by-step: raiding a 2x2 stone solo offline

You found a 2x2 solo base with honeycomb. Owner offline (confirmed by zero footstep sound, no activity for 20 minutes). You have 6 C4 + 2 satchels.

1. Scout the front door side first. Walk the perimeter at dawn. Identify the TC location by looking at the upgrade pattern (TC room walls are usually sheet metal / armored, contrasting with the rest).
2. Position your raid tower. Build a 3-foundation tower on the opposite side from the front door, slightly to one side. Climb up with twig blocks.
3. From the tower, scout the interior through any windows or open frames. Identify the loot room and TC room.
4. Plan the breach path. You want to go from outside → TC room in the fewest C4 possible. Usually that means: external wall (1 C4) → honeycomb wall (1 C4) → TC room door (1 C4) or wall (1 C4). Total ~4 C4 for TC + 2 C4 for the soul stash bunker = 6 C4.
5. Plant C4. Stand close to the wall, hold E, place. Move at least 5m away before it detonates. C4 has a 10-second fuse.
6. First breach. When wall 1 breaks, immediately push in. Place a sleeping bag inside the base if you have one (in case you die mid-raid).
7. Second breach. Same pattern. Each breach = move forward.
8. TC room reached. Auth on the TC, break locks on any internal doors, scoop all loot.
9. Loot the bunker. If there's a soul-stash bunker under the TC, that's typically another 1-2 C4 to crack.
10. Replace the front door with a new sheet metal door + your own lock if you want to occupy the base.
11. Extract loot back to your base. Multiple trips if needed. Watch your back — other players notice raid sounds.

Step-by-step: raiding a clan compound online

You and 4 teammates want to raid a 3x3 clan compound. They're online. You have a Scrap Heli, full kits, 20 rockets, 8 C4.

1. One scout moves into a sniper position. SAR + scope. Calls out defender positions.
2. Two breachers move on a perimeter wall, opposite from where defenders are concentrated.
3. One support brings extra explosives and stays mobile.
4. One driver holds the Scrap Heli ready for extraction. Land in a safe spot 100m away.
5. First rocket volley at the exterior wall. 4 rockets per stone wall soft side, you have 5 walls to break through. Plan total 20+ rockets just on exterior path.
6. As wall comes down, breachers push in. Support follows with C4 for interior.
7. Snipers and defenders trade fire — sniper keeps defenders off the breach.
8. Loot extraction by the Scrap Heli driver. Land, load, leave.
9. Defenders may counter-raid your base in the next 24 hours. Have a backup base or stay vigilant.

Common mistakes

1. Wasting C4 on hard side. Always seek soft side. Costs 2x.
2. No raid tower for visibility. You can't fight what you can't see.
3. Forgetting to bring a hammer + replacement door. You can occupy the base and reset to your TC.
4. Sleeping bag in the open during a raid. Place it in cover, behind a wall.
5. Loud minicopter approach. Defender hears the engine, retreats to bunker. Land 200m away.
6. Hitting Bradley en route. Bradley shoots your minicopter from 100m. Avoid Launch Site air space.
7. Bringing your best armor. Wear mid-tier metal. If you die, the kit isn't your wipe-ender.

Pro tips

• Raid in the morning for offline targets. Most players online at night, offline during US work hours.
• Stack scrap tea before — recyclables you find in the base recycle for +50% bonus.
• Don't engage Bradley during a Launch Site raid. Stick to the puzzle path and let Bradley patrol elsewhere.
• Watch for second-base hidden caches. Many serious players have a "raid bait" main base and a hidden actual base nearby.
• Don't talk on chat about the raid in advance. Server chat is monitored by streamers, clans, and griefers.
• Bring satchels for outer wood doors and weak walls. Cheap soak before you spend C4 on stone.
• The biggest win is loot you can carry home. Don't grief-destroy what you can't haul — leave it for the owner's reset.
• Online raids are dynamic. Plans break. Have a "if X dies, do Y" with your team.
• After a successful raid, log off for an hour. Lets the heat fade. Counter-raiders search for you immediately.