How to play Dead Raid: a beginner's guide
Dead Raid is a free round-based zombie survival shooter that runs in your browser, solo or in co-op with up to four players. You raid a building that is generated fresh every match, earn points for every hit, spend them on guns, doors and perks, and hold out for as many rounds as you can. This guide takes you from your first raid to round 20 and beyond.
- Free to play
- No download
- 1–4 players
- 30 guns
- 20 zombie types
- 14 power-ups
Your first raid
- Open the gameGo to deadraid.com/play in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on a PC, phone or tablet. Play as a guest straight away, or make a free account so your progress is saved on any device.
- DeployPress Deploy in the lobby to start a solo raid, or host a squad first and bring friends. See playing with friends.
- Hold the windowsYou start in one room of the building with a pistol and 500 points. Zombies climb in through the windows after ripping off the planks. Shoot them, and rebuild the planks when it is quiet.
- Spend your pointsEvery hit and kill earns points. Buy a better gun off the wall, open a door to reach more of the building, and save up for the mystery crate and the perk machines.
- Pick a perk, then go againAfter every round you choose one of three perks. The next round is bigger and faster. The raid ends when the whole squad is down.
Controls
On phones and tablets the game shows touch controls instead. Play in landscape.
- W A S DMove
- MouseAim
- Left clickFire
- Right clickAim down sights
- ShiftSprint
- SpaceJump
- RReload
- E or FUse, buy, rebuild
- QSwap weapon
- 1 2 3Pick a weapon
- VKnife
- GClass ability
- HSentry (Engineer)
- Esc or PPause
Points, doors and barricades
Points are the currency of a raid. You earn them for every hit and every kill, for rebuilding planks, and from power-ups. You spend them on everything else.
Barricades
Every window starts boarded up. Zombies have to tear the planks off before they can climb in, which buys you time. Stand at a window and hold E to nail the planks back; each one pays points.
Doors, debris and power
Most of the building is locked at the start. Pay points to open doors and clear debris, find the power switch to bring the perk machines online, and look for the keycard that opens the keycard doors. More rooms mean more wall guns and more space to run, but also more windows to watch.
Wall traps
A wall trap costs 1,000 points, runs for 20 seconds and then needs 40 seconds to cool down. Switch it on when the corridor in front of it is full.
Going down
At zero health you go down instead of dying outright, and a teammate can revive you. Going down costs you every perk you have: the ones you bought at the machines and the round perks. When every player is down, the raid is over.
Getting better guns
- Wall boards sell a fixed gun for 600 to 2,500 points, and ammo for it afterwards.
- The mystery crate gives a random gun for 950 points, with about a 4% chance of the Arc Railgun.
- The Upgrade Forge raises the gun in your hands by one tier. Mk II costs 5,000 points and doubles its damage; there are 10 tiers, up to Mk XI.
Zombie health grows every round, so a gun that felt strong in round 5 needs the Forge by round 12. All 30 guns with their stats are on the weapons page.
Perk machines and round perks
There are two kinds of perk in a match. The 10 perk machines sell strong perks for points once the power is on. Round perks are free: after every round you pick one of three, and they stack. Go down and you lose both kinds and start again from nothing.
| Machine | Price | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ironhide Ale | 2,500 | Max health 250 |
| Quickload Cola | 3,000 | Reload 50% faster |
| Rapidfire Brew | 2,000 | Fire rate +33% |
| Fleetfoot Fizz | 2,000 | Move +15%, aim faster |
| Second Chance Soda | 1,500 (500 solo) | Co-op: revive 2x faster. Solo: revive yourself once |
| Double Barrel Stout | 2,000 | Weapon damage +33% |
| Sharpshooter Schnapps | 1,500 | Headshot damage +50%, spread & recoil -35% |
| Hoarder's Hooch | 1,500 | Reserve ammo +60%, magazine +25% |
| Bulwark Brandy | 2,500 | Damage taken -15%, burn / frost / shock -40% |
| Lifeblood Lager | 2,000 | Health comes back 2x faster and sooner |
| Perk | Effect |
|---|---|
| Toughness | +15 max health |
| Quick Hands | Reload 7% faster |
| Hollow Points | +6% weapon damage |
| Fleet Foot | +4% move speed |
| Trigger Discipline | +5% fire rate |
| Deep Pockets | +12% reserve ammo capacity |
| Extended Mags | +8% magazine size |
| Vampire | Heal 1 HP per kill |
| Regenerator | Health regen +5/s and starts 0.25 s sooner |
| Deadeye | +12% headshot damage |
| Greed | +6% points earned |
| Butcher | +30% knife damage |
| Carpenter | Rebuild 15% faster, +3 points per plank |
| Lucky Charm | +10% power-up drop chance |
| Iron Skin | -4% damage taken |
| Scavenger | Zombies drop ammo 20% more often |
| Second Wind | +1 self-revive when downed (once per party) |
| Steady Aim | -7% bullet spread & recoil |
| Penetrator | Bullets pierce +1 zombie |
| Gambler | Mystery crate costs 5% less |
| Lucky Shot | 3% chance a bullet deals double damage |
| Point Blank | +10% damage to zombies within 5 m |
| Long Shot | +12% damage to zombies beyond 15 m |
| Frenzy | +2% damage per kill in the last 3 s (up to 5 kills) |
| Desperation | +20% damage while below 35% health |
| Hold the Line | -10% damage taken while below 35% health |
| Defiant | +30% damage while downed |
| Final Rounds | +15% damage with the last quarter of the magazine |
| Recycler | Headshots have a 10% chance to put a round back |
| Reaper | Every kill puts 1 round back in the magazine |
| Adrenaline | Heal 4 HP per headshot kill |
| Bloodletter | Heal 8 HP per knife kill |
| Momentum | +10% move speed for 2 s after a kill |
| Hazmat | Burn, frost, shock & toxic effects -15% |
| Field Medic | Revive teammates 12% faster |
| Bargain Hunter | Wall guns & wall ammo 8% cheaper |
| Loyalty Card | Perk machines 8% cheaper |
The 14 power-ups
Zombies sometimes leave a glowing power-up where they die. Walk over it to grab it. They fade after a while, so decide fast whether it is worth the run.
| Power-up | Lasts | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ■ Max Ammo | instant | Refills the ammo of every gun the squad is carrying. |
| ■ Insta-kill | 30 s | Every hit kills, whatever the zombie. |
| ■ Double Points | 30 s | All points are doubled. |
| ■ Nuke | instant | Kills every zombie on the map and gives everyone 400 points. |
| ■ Carpenter | instant | Rebuilds every window and gives everyone 200 points. |
| ■ Fire Sale | 30 s | The mystery crate costs 10 points. |
| ■ Bonus Points | instant | 500 points for everyone. |
| ■ Blood Rush | 20 s | The squad moves 20% faster and fires 25% faster. |
| ■ Blood Money | instant | Everyone gets 500 to 2,000 points. |
| ■ Zombie Blood | 15 s | Zombies ignore the player who grabs it. |
| ■ Free Perk | instant | A random perk-machine perk for everyone, free. |
| ■ Time Warp | 10 s | Every zombie is slowed. |
| ■ Shield | 20 s | The squad takes 75% less damage. |
| ■ Kill Shot | 20 s | Every headshot kills instantly. |
What you keep after the match
- Cash. The points you earned are paid into your bank: every 10,000 points is $100. Cash buys spawn pistols, attachments, ammo types and weapon skins.
- Levels. Kills level you up. Every level is one skill point for the class skill trees, and higher levels unlock better spawn pistols.
- The leaderboard. Every match you finish counts toward the weekly top 10, which resets on Monday. Matches run on the server, so scores cannot be faked.
Guns bought in a match, Forge upgrades, perks and points stay in that match. The next raid starts fresh, in a new building.
Ten tips for new survivors
- Aim for the headHeadshots do double damage or more with everything but shotguns, and they go straight through armour.
- Rebuild between wavesThe quiet seconds at the end of a round are for planks. They pay points and slow the next wave.
- Buy a wall gun earlyThe pistol is fine for two or three rounds. After that an SMG or a rifle off the wall pays for itself.
- Find the power firstNo power, no perk machines. Opening the way to the switch is worth more than a second gun.
- Do not open every doorEach new room has windows. Open what you can hold.
- Learn the special zombiesKill Medics, Screamers and Summoners first, and Exploders far away. The zombie guide has all 20 types.
- Save the abilityYour class ability is on a long cooldown. Keep it for the moment the room is full, not the start of the round.
- Upgrade before round 10From round 10 zombie health climbs faster. Have your main gun through the Forge by then.
- Prepare for hound roundsRounds 5, 10, 15 and on are Hellhounds only. Reload, pick a wall to stand against and shoot low.
- Stay together in co-opA downed teammate two rooms away is a lost teammate. Hold one area as a squad.
How to play FAQ
Is Dead Raid free?
Yes. Dead Raid is free to play in your browser. There is nothing to download or install.
Can I play Dead Raid without an account?
Yes. Choose "continue as guest" and you are in a raid in seconds. Guest progress is kept in that browser only; a free account saves your bank, level, weapons, skins and skills on the server so you can continue on any device.
What are the controls in Dead Raid?
On a PC: WASD to move, mouse to aim, left click to fire, right click to aim down sights, Shift to sprint, R to reload, E or F to use and rebuild, Q to swap weapon, V for the knife and G for your class ability. On phones and tablets the game shows touch controls.
How do I get more points?
Hit and kill zombies, rebuild barricades, and grab Double Points, Bonus Points and Blood Money power-ups. The Greed round perk adds 12% to everything you earn.
What is the mystery crate?
A crate that gives a random gun for 950 points. It can roll any of 30 weapons, including the Arc Railgun, which is found nowhere else.
How does a raid end?
When every player in the squad is down at the same time. There is no final round: the goal is to survive as many rounds as you can and beat your best.
Does Dead Raid work on a phone?
Yes. It runs on modern Android phones, iPhones and tablets in the browser, in landscape, with touch controls.