To protect a Discord server from raids, make joining harder for brand-new accounts with a higher verification level, turn on Discord's AutoMod filters, and keep a plan for the moment a raid starts: pause invites, lock things down, remove the raiders, then clean up. This guide covers each step, using Discord's built-in tools first and showing where a bot like Better Tickets helps.
What a raid looks like
A raid is a burst of accounts joining together, often created minutes earlier, that flood channels with spam, mass mentions, slurs or scam links. Some raids also DM your members. Raids are short and noisy; the damage is the cleanup and the members who leave.
Before a raid: set up your defenses
Pick a verification level
Server Settings → Safety Setup sets who can talk. Discord's levels are:
| Level | Requirement before members can talk |
|---|---|
| None | Unrestricted |
| Low | A verified email on the account |
| Medium | Registered on Discord for more than 5 minutes |
| High | A member of the server for more than 10 minutes |
| Highest | A verified phone number |
Medium or High stops the laziest raids, because freshly made accounts can't post straight away. Keep the higher levels for when you're under attack.
Turn on AutoMod
Discord's built-in AutoMod can block messages with too many mentions, block content that's widely reported as spam, filter custom keywords (including regular expressions), and post alerts to a staff channel. Set an alert channel so your team sees what's being blocked.
Lock down permissions
- Remove Mention @everyone and @here from
@everyone. - Don't let new members post links or attach files until they've been around a while; a role given after verification or a short wait works well.
- Keep invite links limited, and delete old ones you no longer use.
Discord permissions explained shows how to set these up without breaking other channels.
Add an automatic jail
A bot can catch what AutoMod lets through. Better Tickets' auto-jail triggers jail a member when a message matches a word list or regex: their roles are removed, they get a jail role and a private channel, and the matching message can be deleted. Staff can then review the case instead of chasing messages. Test patterns first with the regex tester.
During a raid: lock down fast
Pause invites
In Discord's Security Actions, pause invites so no more accounts can join. Existing invite links stay visible but stop working while paused. You can also pause DMs between members who aren't friends. Both can be paused for up to 24 hours.
Raise the verification level
Move to High or Highest so any raiders still waiting can't talk.
Slow channels down
Turn on slowmode in the channels being flooded, or lock them temporarily.
Remove the raiders
Ban the accounts involved. Sorting the member list by join date helps; raid accounts usually joined within seconds of each other and are often brand new. Paste a few IDs into the Discord ID to date tool to check account age.
After a raid: clean up
- Delete the spam. Banning a member can also delete their recent messages.
- Report the raid. Discord's Report Raids option lets you describe what happened.
- Tell your members. A short note that it's over and not to click links from the raid helps.
- Restore settings. Resume invites and lower the verification level once things are calm.
- Review what got through. Tighten AutoMod keywords or add auto-jail triggers for the patterns you saw.
For handling individual rule-breakers rather than raids, see the Discord moderation and jail system guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Discord raid?
A raid is when many accounts join a server at once, often new or automated ones, to spam messages, mentions, slurs or scam links. The goal is usually disruption.
How do I stop a raid that's happening right now?
Pause invites so no more accounts can join, then raise the verification level and remove the raiders. In Discord's Security Actions you can pause invites and DMs between non-friend members for up to 24 hours.
Which verification level stops raids best?
Higher levels slow raids down. Medium requires accounts to be registered for 5 minutes, High requires 10 minutes in the server before talking, and Highest requires a verified phone number. Many servers raise the level during an attack and lower it afterwards.
Can a bot stop raids automatically?
Bots and Discord's AutoMod can block common raid behavior, such as mass mentions and known spam. Better Tickets can jail members automatically when their messages match words or regex patterns, which isolates them for staff review.
Should I report a raid to Discord?
Yes. Discord has a Report Raids option in server settings where you can describe what happened, such as channel spam, DM spam or mention spam.