Last updated: October 20, 2026 · Category: Guide · Editorial review · About the authors
Key Takeaways
- During a raid, stop new joins first: pause invites. Then slow the chat, raise the Verification Level, and tighten AutoMod before you remove anyone.
- Remove raiders in bulk from the Members page, then report the raid to Discord.
- Afterward, check anything that counts joins, such as invite leaderboards and giveaway entries, since raid accounts can inflate them.
Discord's How to Protect Your Server from Raids 101 article (retrieved 2026-09-28) defines a raid as "when a large number of users or bots join a server at once for disruptive or malicious intents and purposes." If it is happening now, pause your invites first, then follow the steps below in order. Prevention settings come after the response plan.
During a Raid: Step by Step
1. Pause invites
Go to Server Settings > Invites > Pause Invites. Discord's Pause Invites FAQ (retrieved 2026-09-28) says pausing covers "invite links, embeds, and vanity URLs" without revoking them, and that it also stops joins through Server Discovery. You can unpause later with the same links intact.
Pausing from Server Settings needs the Manage Server permission, and the Pause Invites FAQ says it currently works "on desktop devices." On mobile, use Security Actions from the server dropdown menu instead. Discord's Activity Alerts + Security Actions article (retrieved 2026-09-28) says Security Actions can pause invites and DMs between non-friends in the server, for a duration you choose.
2. Slow the chat
Turn on Slowmode in the channels being flooded: right-click the channel, then Edit Channel > Overview > Slowmode. Discord says it limits how many messages each member can send, "based on a timed cooldown."
3. Raise the Verification Level
Go to Server Settings > Safety Setup > Verification Level and raise it to High or Highest. The Raids 101 article says higher levels require a verified email, phone number, and/or time in the server before members can interact. Discord suggests returning to your previous level once the raid is over.
4. Tighten AutoMod
In Server Settings > AutoMod, add the words and links raiders are posting to a Custom Keyword Rule. Turn on Block Message, Send Alert, and Timeout Member. Lower the Block Mention Spam limit if raiders are mass-pinging. Discord AutoMod explains each rule.
5. Remove the raiders
Time out anyone still posting, then find the rest of the raid wave. Discord's Members Page article (retrieved 2026-09-28) describes the tools: sort by Member Since (Newest first), filter by Joined Discord to spot new accounts, or filter by Join Method to see who used a specific invite code. Then select those members and choose Ban Members. Discord says this needs both Manage Server and Ban Members, and it asks for your 2FA code or password. According to Discord's guild resource documentation (retrieved 2026-09-28), a ban can also delete up to 7 days of each member's previous messages. Kick vs. ban vs. timeout covers each action.
6. Report the raid
Open the server dropdown menu and choose Report Raid. Discord says this needs the Ban Members or Kick Members permission and is "only accessible on the Desktop client and in Community servers."
7. Unpause carefully
Once the raiders are gone, lower the Verification Level back to where it was, remove raid-specific AutoMod terms you no longer need, and unpause invites. Pauses set through Security Actions end at the time you chose. You can then mark the alert as resolved and leave a note for other moderators.
After the Raid: Clean Up the Numbers
A raid leaves more than messages behind. If raiders joined through a member's invite link, that member's invite count may now include them. The same applies to anything that counts joins or messages: invite leaderboards, milestone roles, and giveaway entries.
Review those before you announce any winner or reward. With InviteForge's Anti-Fake enabled, joins from accounts newer than your threshold are marked fake and left out of real counts. Anti-Fake is off by default, and older accounts still pass it. How to recover from an invite farming incident walks through the cleanup without resetting everything.
Before the Next Raid: Prevention Settings
Discord's Raids 101 article recommends these settings in advance:
| Setting | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| AutoMod rules with alerts | Server Settings > AutoMod | Blocks and flags raid messages before they post |
| Remove @everyone and @here mentions from regular roles | Server Settings > Roles | Stops raiders from pinging the whole server |
| Raid Protection alerts | Server Settings > Safety Setup > Raid Protection | Detects likely join-raids and alerts you |
| Verification Level | Server Settings > Safety Setup | Blocks accounts without a verified email or phone from chatting; Discord suggests Low as a baseline for public servers |
| Explicit media content filter | Server Settings > Safety Setup | Scans and blocks explicit media |
| Trusted moderators | Your staff team | Someone online to respond fast |
About Raid Protection, Discord says that when a raid is detected, it will "require CAPTCHA for new joiners within the next hour," and send an alert to a channel you choose. Discord notes it is "gradually rolling out Raid Protection alerts to community servers" and that availability may be limited.
Discord's Activity Alerts also warn you about unusual activity, such as abnormal numbers of joins or DMs. Admins and members with Kick Members, Timeout Members, Ban Members, or Manage Server can see them. Not every spike is a raid. Setting up verification for a large community covers telling growth apart from an attack.
A verification gate adds another layer. It keeps new accounts out of your channels until they complete a step. How Discord verification bots work covers the setup. These are recommendations to combine with Discord's settings, not replacements for them.
Raid vs. Nuke
A raid comes from outside the server. Server owners often use nuke for damage from inside: an account or bot that already has high permissions deletes channels or roles, or mass-bans members. Discord's help articles do not define the term, so treat it as community shorthand.
The defenses differ. For raids, you control joins and chat. For nukes, you limit who holds destructive permissions:
- Administrator, which Discord's Roles and Permissions article says "grants all permissions"
- Manage Channels, Manage Roles, Ban Members, and Kick Members, each of which can do damage on its own
Keep bot roles below your staff roles. The same article says members "cannot ban, kick, or change nicknames of users with equal or higher roles." Discord's permissions documentation (retrieved 2026-09-28) applies the same rule to bots: a bot can only kick or ban members whose highest role is below its own. Role position does not protect channels, though. The same documentation says other permissions "do not obey the role hierarchy," so grant Manage Channels sparingly.
Check what each bot requests before you add it. If a nuke happens, Discord's audit log (retrieved 2026-09-28) can show the user or app that made each change, so you know what to remove and what to restore.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a raid on Discord?
Discord defines a raid as a large number of users or bots joining a server at once for disruptive or malicious purposes. Discord says raiding is against its Terms of Service.
What should I do first if my Discord server is being raided?
Pause invites under Server Settings, then Invites, so no more raiders can join. Then slow the chat with Slowmode, raise the Verification Level, and tighten AutoMod before removing the raiders.
What is the difference between a raid and a nuke?
A raid comes from outside: many accounts join and flood the server. Server owners often use “nuke” for damage from inside, when an account or bot that already has high permissions deletes channels or roles, or mass-bans members. Limiting who holds Administrator and other destructive permissions reduces that risk.
Can I report a raid to Discord?
Yes. Open the server dropdown menu and choose Report Raid. Discord says you need the Ban Members or Kick Members permission, and the option is only on the desktop app in Community servers.
Does pausing invites remove the raiders already inside?
No. Pausing invites only stops new joins through your invite links, embeds, and vanity URL. Raiders already in the server still need to be timed out, kicked, or banned.