How do you protect a Discord server from a raid?
8
Configuration steps
5
Final tests
4
Errors solved
~9 min
Reading time
The answer
The short answer
To protect a Discord server from a raid, set up three layers at once: the entry gate (verification plus a minimum account age), automatic response thresholds for join waves and spam, and a log channel that records how the incident unfolded. Manual moderation alone will not keep up — the first damage happens within seconds. In Venon Security you enable those three layers on the Community → Onboarding and verification, Security → Raid protection and Moderation → Logs screens. Below you have the full set of steps, the field values and a way to check that the defence really worked.
The content is checked against the bot's configuration — last verified: 2026-08-06.
Context
What the problem is
A raid combines several vectors at once: a sudden wave of freshly created accounts, spam across many channels, mass mentions and phishing links. The moderation team gets dozens of events a minute, and every manual decision costs a few seconds. That is why the defence has to be set up before the attack starts — during one you only get to limit the losses.
Without an extra bot
What you can do with Discord alone
- 01
Raise Discord's native verification level (Server settings → Moderation) — Discord will then require a confirmed email address or phone number.
- 02
Take the Send Messages and Embed Links permissions away from @everyone on the channels where new people do not need to write.
- 03
Leave one public entry channel with the rules, and hide the rest from anyone without the access role.
- 04
Agree in writing who declares a lockdown, who clears the channels and who writes the announcement for the community.
Venon Security
What Venon Security adds
AntiRaid and RaidWatch measure the join and message rates and fire slowmode, a mute, a kick, a ban or a lockdown themselves — without waiting for a moderator.
Verify stops new people at the entry gate, and AntiFake scores the account's risk (age, name pattern) and can send it to quarantine.
AutoMod and LinkShield remove spam and phishing during the wave, and the log categories record the author, the content and the action taken for later analysis.
Configuration
Configuration step by step
0 of 8 steps
Check the bot's permissions and role position
Discord server settings → RolesThis is the one step most later configurations fall apart on. The bot will not grant a role or remove anyone whose role sits above its own — no matter what you set in the panel.
- Drag the Venon Security role above every role it is meant to manage (Verified, Muted and so on).
- Leave the bot these permissions: Manage Roles, Manage Messages, Manage Channels, Kick Members, Ban Members, Moderate Members.
- Do not grant Administrator — the full set above is enough, and it limits the damage if the bot is ever compromised.
Enable the entry gate and verification
Panel → Community → Onboarding and verificationThe gate cuts off the cheapest form of attack — accounts created in bulk a minute before the raid. Start with the simplest verification type; switch to a captcha only once you see real bot traffic.
- Verification active: on.
- Verification type: Button (the least friction), or Captcha (image) if bots are already getting through.
- Verification channel and Role after verification: point to the entry channel and the access role.
- Min. account age (days): 3–7 days filters out most accounts created for the attack.
- Use the Automatic setup button if you have no channel and role yet, then Publish the panel.
Set the AntiRaid thresholds
Panel → Security → Raid protection/venonsec-panelThe thresholds depend on the size of your server. Set them slightly above your normal peak-hour traffic, so a promotion does not trigger a lockdown.
- Join wave (joins/min): small server 5, medium 10, large 20–30.
- Message spam (msg/5s): 5 is a safe starting point.
- Slowmode (seconds) and Slowmode duration (seconds): the first, least invasive response.
- Automatic lockdown plus Lockdown duration (minutes): enable only after watching the thresholds for a few days.
Enable RaidWatch and an alert channel
Panel → Security → Raid protection → Monitoring and alertsRaidWatch is the observation layer: it measures the event rate in short windows and writes to the staff channel. That way you see the attack even when nobody happens to be watching the chat.
- RaidWatch active: on; Alert channel (ID): a private staff channel.
- Window thresholds: Messages / min, Joins / 5 min, Fast joins (count), Fast join window (s).
- Automatic responses: start with Mute on spam; enable Kick / Ban / Lockdown on a raid deliberately.
- The Detected events (7 days) and Recent alerts cards show whether the thresholds are realistic.
Enable scoring for new accounts
Panel → Security → Accounts and riskAntiFake scores the risk of every join instead of applying one rigid rule. Accounts with a high score can be sent to quarantine rather than banned outright.
- AntiFake enabled and Raid detection: on.
- Quarantine role (ID): a role with no channel access — safer than an immediate ban.
- Log channel (ID): where the risk reports go.
- The New account risk distribution and Join trend cards show whether the threshold is catching ordinary members.
Turn content protection on for the duration of the wave
Panel → Security → Content protectionA raid almost always carries spam and links. AutoMod together with LinkShield takes that traffic off automatically, so the moderators handle decisions rather than deleting messages.
- AutoMod active, Anti-spam and Mention limit: on.
- Max. mentions in a message: 4–5 is enough for a normal conversation.
- LinkShield active and Block Discord invites: on.
- Response to a violation: Delete the message and Log to the moderation log channel.
Set up the log channels
Panel → Moderation → the Logs tabWithout logs, all that is left after an incident is screenshots and memory. The Automatic setup button creates the full set of channels in one category and sets the permissions right away.
- Click Automatic setup, then enable at least these categories: Moderation, Deleted messages, Roles, Invites.
- Log access role (ID): the staff role — log channels should be invisible to @everyone.
Make a backup and rehearse the procedure
Panel → Server → Backups/backup createA backup saves the roles, the channels and the module configuration. It is the last line of defence if an attacker manages to delete something — and at the same time a point of reference after the incident.
- Create a copy with a description, for example before a promotional campaign.
- Rehearse emergency mode with the team: Panel → Security → Emergency mode is manual-first, meaning a lockdown and recovery both require human approval.
- Set an Emergency notification channel, so the staff receive alerts even while the server is locked down.
The steps you tick are saved in your browser — you can come back and finish later.
Verification
How to check the configuration worked
- 1
Join the server on a second, ordinary account with no roles — you should see only the verification channel and the rules.
- 2
Go through verification: the access role appears within seconds, and the Roles log category carries an entry about it being granted.
- 3
On a test channel send 6 short messages in 5 seconds — AutoMod should remove them and leave an entry in the moderation logs.
- 4
Go back to Panel → Security → Raid protection: after the test the Detected events (7 days) card shows a non-zero counter.
- 5
Run /venonsec-panel and check that every shield reports an active state.
Diagnostics
When something does not work
The bot does not grant the role after verification.
- Cause
- The Venon Security role sits below the granted role in the role list, or the bot lacks the Manage Roles permission.
- Fix
- Server settings → Roles: drag the bot's role above the target role and check its permissions. Then repeat verification on a test account.
AntiRaid fires a lockdown during an ordinary influx of people.
- Cause
- The Join wave (joins/min) threshold is lower than the server's real traffic after an announcement or a stream.
- Fix
- Check the Detected events (7 days) card, raise the threshold above your usual peak and turn Automatic lockdown off until the thresholds settle.
Nothing shows up in the log channel.
- Cause
- The log category is switched off, or it has no channel assigned.
- Fix
- Panel → Moderation → Logs: use Automatic setup or assign a channel to the Moderation category by hand, and check that the category switch is on.
New accounts write on ordinary channels despite verification.
- Cause
- The @everyone role still has Send Messages on those channels — Venon does not change permission overrides it did not create itself.
- Fix
- On every channel except the entry one, take View Channel or Send Messages away from @everyone and grant them to the access role.
Honestly
What this configuration does not solve
Verification will not tell a determined human from a bot — it raises the cost of entry, but it does not eliminate an attack run by hand.
Venon works at the level of Discord's API. It will not stop an attack on Discord's own infrastructure and will not protect members' accounts from being compromised elsewhere.
The bot will not automatically recreate channels deleted by an attacker. Restoring channels from a backup is off by default, because it is a risky operation and needs a deliberate decision.
No configuration helps if the attacker takes over an account with the Administrator permission. Require 2FA for administrative roles in the server settings.
Venon does not moderate private messages between members — Discord gives bots no such access.
Commands
The commands used in this guide
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Related guides
How do you prepare a Discord server for an attack?
How to prepare a Discord server for an attack: a permission audit, 2FA, a backup, protection thresholds, emergency mode and a procedure for the staff.
Read the guideHow do you set up verification on Discord?
How to set up verification on Discord: the entry channel, the access role, the verification type, a minimum account age and a test on a second account.
Read the guideHow do you set up AutoMod on Discord?
How to set up AutoMod on Discord: anti-spam, anti-caps and mention-limit thresholds, word blacklists and actions per detector. With a test and the usual mistakes.
Read the guide
FAQ
FAQ – common questions
Is AutoMod alone enough against a raid?+
No. AutoMod works on message content, and a raid starts with a wave of joins. Without an entry gate and AntiRaid thresholds the bots get in and spread across the channels before the first content filter reacts.
When should you lock the server down?+
When the rate of new accounts and spam exceeds what manual moderation can handle, or when you see coordinated messages from many accounts at once. In Venon a lockdown can fire automatically once an AntiRaid threshold is crossed, while emergency mode requires an administrator's approval.
Which AntiRaid thresholds suit a small server?+
On a server of a few hundred people, start with 5 joins per minute and 5 messages per 5 seconds, with slowmode as the response. After a week check the Detected events card and only then tighten or loosen them.
Will defensive settings slow ordinary members down?+
If the thresholds match your real traffic, an average member will not notice them beyond a one-off verification. The problem appears when thresholds are copied from a large server onto a small one — which is why it pays to watch the logs for a few days.
Set this up in your own Venon Security panel
Every screen mentioned in the guide is in the web panel. You save the configuration by hand and see its state before anything takes effect on the server.