In this guide on the topic of raiding in DayZ, we reveal everything about the best raiding methods, which method destroys a metal or wooden wall the fastest, how to crack locks, and how to raid a base without any tools.
Everything about raiding in this article:
Especially for a base not solely made of wood, using explosives is advisable. Explosives cause direct damage to the wall, as well as to the frame and surroundings. For example, you can tear down a metal wall with just two pieces of plastic explosives. Grenades, claymores, and mines are also optimally used for this variant, but you will need significantly more explosives.
The Explosives Guide: DayZ's Explosives Guide – Spawn, Crafting & Tips & Tricks
In addition to the high cost, as these resources are difficult to find, the loudness is also a major issue. However, since this involves only one or a few short explosions, this variant is somewhat quieter than raiding with ammunition. Especially if you're alone and confident that the base you've targeted hides good equipment, explosives are a good choice for you. Below, we list how many explosives you need to destroy a wall.
You should always position enough explosives in front of the wall to be destroyed, to demolish the panel and the frame. This is true regardless of whether it's a wooden or metal wall. Moreover, explosives can be placed so that they destroy two walls at once by positioning them exactly where the two walls meet.
The greatest advantage of a raid with ammunition is the fact that the time you need to destroy a wall drastically decreases if you are with a larger group. Each player in your group can shoot at the wall simultaneously, ensuring that you enter the enemy base in the shortest time possible. Naturally, you should remember that the loudness of the shots will certainly attract all players in the vicinity.
In addition, you should consider the type of ammunition, the rate of fire, the magazine capacity, and your weapon itself. With the current update, we have also updated the list of the best raid weapons. The best ammunition for a raid and some honorable mentions of weapons can be found further down:
Ammo Types to destroy wooden and metal walls:
| Caliber | Bullets per Wooden Wall | Bullets per Metal Wall (WIP) |
| .22 | 1558 | |
| .380 | 1336 | |
| 9 MM | 1079 | |
| .45 ACP | 834 | |
| 12g Buckshot | 834 (Pellets!) | |
| 5.45x39 | 500 | |
| 7.62x39 | 350 | 450 |
| 5.56 | 300 | 400 |
| 9x39 | 388 | |
| .357 | 267 | |
| .308 | 258 | |
| 7.62x54 | 258 | |
| 12 G Slug | 258 |
The AKM, with its 7.62x39 caliber and the sheer size of its magazine, makes it onto this list. If you possess an AKM along with seven filled 75-round drum magazines, a wall can be destroyed in 34.3 seconds. The weapons and magazines are relatively easy to find, and of course, you can opt for standard magazines, especially when playing with several friends.
Similar to the AKM, the M4 is a solid choice, as it also allows for a large magazine capacity. The 5.56mm ammunition deals as much damage as the 7.62x39mm. However, the M4 has a much higher rate of fire. Unfortunately, it's prone to malfunctions, which we can't account for in the timing. Without malfunctions, a wall can be destroyed in 27.4 seconds.
Again, benefit from a relatively large magazine and use the strongest ammunition for destroying walls. With the 20-round drum magazines and 12g slugs, you can shoot through a wall relatively quickly. Unfortunately, the Vaiga's low rate of fire slightly reduces the damage of the slugs, meaning it takes a total of 40 seconds to destroy a wall.
Also equipped with the strongest ammunition, the LAR is a good choice for infiltrating an enemy base. However, since the ammunition and the weapon are somewhat rare and require specific magazines, it might not be the best choice. But if you're traveling with a group of players, having one or two LARs can be beneficial, as they quickly inflict significant damage on walls. It takes 33.6 seconds to destroy a wall using the LAR.
The 5.45x39mm ammunition of the AK 74 has the same damage values as the 5.56mm or 7.62x39mm ammunition of the AKM or the M4. Thus, it is also a viable option if you plan to raid a base. Additionally, the 45-round magazines allow for less frequent reloading, and both the weapon and ammunition are relatively easy to find. With the AK 74, you need 41.8 seconds.
You can also gain access to a base using melee weapons. However, you should consider that you'll need several melee weapons or sharpening stones. Moreover, different weapons vary greatly in damage. Therefore, with a simple stone knife, it will take much longer than with an axe or pickaxe. The biggest advantage of this method is its quietness, as attacking with melee weapons is barely audible.
Be sure that the owner of the base you've targeted is away for as long as possible or even logged out. Nothing is worse than being discovered by the owner while comfortably hacking at their base with a pickaxe. So, make sure you won't be disturbed while raiding. We now list all melee weapons and the number of hits needed to break down a wall.
List of All Melee Weapons, Sorted by Hits per Wall
Using your fists only takes about 45 minutes to tear down a wall. This time is greatly reduced if you have access to various melee weapons. So, if you're near a small town or an industrial area, this option is a good choice, as it will take you more time to find suitable weapons + ammunition or explosives.
In DayZ, there are two different ways to lock your base. The blue lock consists of only three digits, while the red lock has four digits. If you plan to pick a lock, you need to pay close attention to which type of lock the chosen base has. Especially the blue locks with three digits can be cracked relatively quickly. To try all combinations, you need only about 10 to 15 minutes.
If you want to crack a red lock with four digits, you should plan for about one to two hours. At least if you intend to go through all combinations, like with the blue lock. However, various approaches can help you find the desired combination much faster. We reveal the two best ways to successfully pick a lock.
Players often choose a combination that lies in the upper half of the possible combinations. This means with a red lock, you start with 5000, and with a blue lock, you start with 500 and work your way up. If you're not lucky, you can either start at 0 and slowly try all possibilities up to the halfway mark or conversely, start at 4999 and then go backwards through all combinations to 0000.
For this option, you should prepare a pen and paper to note the combinations you have already tried, as you are not systematically trying all combinations. Often the chosen numbers are not directly obvious but are still meant to be easily remembered. Therefore, some players choose number sequences like their birth year, so start with 1950 and test all years up to 2010. Afterward, you should try combinations like 1234, 0405, etc. If none of this works, you have no choice but to try all remaining combinations digit by digit.
The last method we want to highlight in this article is a different kind of raiding. Here, you benefit from mistakes that may have been made during the construction of the base. This means you closely examine the base and its surroundings to find unsecured ways in. For example, by climbing over buildings or other objects near the base.
You can also use vehicles or other players to get over a wall. However, there are other weaknesses that a base can have. In rare cases, there are small gaps on the ground through which you can crawl, or a window is not closed off by a wall. As you can see, this method depends heavily on the construction of the base and requires a bit of luck, but it often works more than you might think.
There's a simple and quick answer: Explosions. Anything that explodes in any form helps you gain access to the enemy base as quickly as possible. However, explosives are also not easy to come by and thus are probably the most expensive method to rob your foes. Especially if you are not sure about the quality of your opponents' equipment, a raid with explosives can backfire quickly.
Another option is raiding with ammunition. Depending on the type of ammunition, you may need large quantities, but often players have a considerable amount of ammo lying around, especially if they have been playing on a server for a long time. Moreover, this method is especially fast if you are not alone. Each player in your group greatly increases the speed at which you destroy a wall.
For the last method, where you tear down the walls of the enemy base, you need melee weapons. Of course, it's important which melee weapon you use, and even with the best weapon, you need more than one. A major advantage is that this method makes almost no noise, putting you in a much more relaxed situation compared to the previous options. But there's also the classic lock picking and the chance to enter a base without destruction through various maneuvers. In the following sections, we describe all the options in detail and explain which ammunition is most sensible, how much explosives you need, or which melee weapon is the best.
In the first section of the article, we showed you how to quickly take over and/or destroy an enemy base. In the second section, however, we want to present the other side and show you how to secure your base in DayZ as effectively as possible against raid attacks. For this, we'll share all the tricks we've gathered in 10,000 hours of playing DayZ!
Select secluded locations to set up your base. Absolute must-haves include access routes for vehicles and a good overview of the surroundings. Absolute no-nos, on the other hand, are the edge of a map, stand-alone bases, and construction sites in the woods. Using the DayZ heatmap, you can see where most players in DayZ are located. With this knowledge, you can choose the location for your base!
Start building your base compactly and primarily look for buildings with one or two entrances. In our early days, we used to retreat to factory halls or high-rise buildings. These can be easily closed off with one or two walls. Once you've done that, you can expand your base inward.
In contrast to this method are gigantic bases that stand free and encompass several buildings. We've seen such bases in DayZ a few times, with three rows of walls, several tents inside, watchtowers, and so on. Seriously, don't do that! Because as often as we have discovered such bases, we have also cracked them. Being undiscovered is always a higher priority than having to actively defend yourself!
When you log out of your base, equip the area around your base with mines, bear traps, and tripwires -- the best anti-player traps we have listed. Traps will not prevent every raid, but for solo players or duos, an injured comrade might deter them from their actual raiding intent. Once you're logged back in, you can resume active defense.
If other players do manage to get into your base and/or take you out, you should have a stash near your base. This stash should be well hidden so that your enemies don't notice when you return. Such a stash is helpful because you can run back to your base directly after respawning, equip yourself there, and then take revenge.
With these strategies and insights, you're now well-equipped to master both the offensive and defensive aspects of base raiding in DayZ, enhancing your overall gameplay experience.
