Build and Defend Your Raft Raft Layout Tier List

Layout is the difference between the two official pictures: a four-plank victim and a two-story box. This list ranks footprints, not paint jobs. Build steps sit in how to build. Defense pieces sit in defenses.

S tier — compact fortress

4x4 or 5x5 square, walls, inner chest, one door, spiked skirt. This is the promo fortress minus the palm. You can strafe. Cannons cover short sides. Raiders cannot walk a 30-tile pier.

Put the Crafting Table inside the ring. Offset the ladder if you add a second floor so guests do not drop onto the crate.

A tier — starter square

3x3 closed box. Ugly. Alive. The correct hour-one target from Getting Started. Expand to 4x4 only after walls exist, not before.

B tier — stacked keep

Two stories on a closed square. Official hour-100 energy: lamps, roof deck, maybe a gun. Only B until the ground ring is leak-proof. Height without a door plan is a sniper nest you forget to look down from.

C tier — pretty boat

Long hull with a pointed bow. Looks like a ship, plays like a hallway. Cannons on the bow do not cover the long sides. Only build this for screenshots on a private moment, then go back to a square when the lobby fills.

D tier — runway

Skinny dock, chests on the lip, no walls. The default new-player shape. Raiders love you. If this is your raft, stop reading and print four walls.

F tier — maze mega deck

Huge footprint, random rooms, three ladders, open water on two sides. You will get lost in your own house. A crew might hold it. A solo will not. Solo versus crew is honest about this.

How to migrate without wiping

You do not need to delete a bad dock in one click. Wall a square in the middle, move chests in, then chew the unused pier off. Keep barrel float under whatever remains. The raft priority tool is the order; this page is the shape.

Raiding layouts

When you raid, target D and C. Skip S unless you brought a crew and a raid loadout meant for a break. Scouting is just layout reading from the water: count walls, count guns, count glowing chests.

After Saturday

If a patch changes how pieces snap, a compact fortress might gain a legal gap. Walk the ring. Screenshot. Rebuild S-tier before you add the palm back. Saturday patches is the log.

Barrels, corners, and camera

A square is easier to camera-scan. You can stand in the middle, spin, and see every lip. A long boat makes you choose a bow or a stern to watch. Raiders pick the end you are not watching. That is why S-tier is compact even if the hour-100 screenshot looks wide — look again: the fortress is still a box with a skirt, not a cruise liner.

When you add barrels, follow the footprint. A 4x4 with missing float on one corner becomes a tilt in a fight. Repair float before you add a second floor. Raft priority lists that on purpose.

Copy the box, not the thumbnail’s furniture. The thumbnail is a finish line.

If you already built a long dock, do not panic-delete it during a raid. Wall a square in the middle tonight, move the chest in, and chew the unused pier tomorrow. Layout rank is a destination, not an excuse to stand in the Shop while someone boards.