Alt (slow walk) - Rotate held prop
Z (undo) - Ghost through nailed props
Shift (sprint) - Freeze prop in place
R (reload) - Remove a nail
RMB (aim) - Nail a prop

Caders have to balance building, gathering props, and repairing. Trying to do everything alone leads to weak and rushed cades. Any help is greatly appreciated and will better your team's chance of surviving.

During pre-game you have 3 minutes before any zombies spawn so please help out your caders! A single helper can double the amount of props available which will mean the difference between surviving and dying out on wave 4. This is especially decisive on high pop since more props are needed to survive.


Therefore, your goal is to bring good props to the generators. Anything long and thin is a good prop. This includes: doors, bicycles, wooden beams, bed frames, planks and shelves. These props are universally helpful. Any other props are usually design specific. When in doubt, ask your cader what props they need.

First, rethink whether the +10 worth is crucial to your build. An extra 10 hp or 7% speed is really negligible when you're spending 5/6 waves hidden behind a barricade. Any points you gain during the round are void if your barricade doesn't last.

If your build absolutely requires noodle arms then look for doors around the map and break them. Destroying doors is a huge time-sink for caders which takes away precious time to gather and build up defenses.

Managing a cade takes more attention than any one person can reasonably provide. Watching prop health and potential hazards is a team effort. Especially with multi-entrance cades, its essential to call out damage.

If you have unused nails or scrap donating them to your cader is a major help. Quad nailing props is expensive. Scrap can buy more nails and is essential for upgrading repair speed. A perfected hammer will easily double repair speed and may be more cost-efficient than buying a prop duplicator or barricade kit. However, any of these options are better than wasting 90 points on a corrupted fragment to abandon your team for last-human.

Disclaimer: This guide is written for FWKZT's Mall of the Dead server. While cading mechanics remain largely the same across servers, you may have to plan around different metas and bosses.

Cades (aka barricades) are the defenses you build to protect the human team from the zombies. These are made from movable props found around the map which can be nailed into the terrain to block zombies. The variety of props and cading locations available allows for endless creativity and experimentation. Although cades come in all different shapes and sizes, they follow a common set of principles.

The two fundamentals of cading are durability and defendability.

The durability of your cade is the amount of damage it can withstand before the zombie team breaks through. Durability can be summarized as the combined HP of all props that must be broken for a zombie to fit through the barricade. Because there are multiple points of failure for any given cade, its best to assume that zombies will attack the weakest path inside. (However, we will later see that zombies attack in a predictable way which we can exploit).

• Normal Zombies
  This makes up the majority of all zombie classes, including bosses. They have the same hitbox as humans so anywhere that you can fit through the zombies can also.
  
• Crawlers
  Crawlers share the same hitbox as headcrabs, however, since they cannot jump, you only have to worry about proofing the bottom of your cade. Although weaker than normal zombies, crawlers are still very dangerous. Use small props to plug any holes they might fit through. Letting any crawlers into your cade may cause your team to retreat prematurely.
  
• Headcrabs
  Headcrabs are a rather minor threat and generally not worth the effort to cade around. However, they are still very much a nuisance and will distract your team. Since headcrabs are infrequently used, it's often better to plug holes after it becomes an issue than to plan your cade around stopping them entirely.

All cades suffer from the square-cube law. If you make your cade 2x as big, then you'll need 4x as many props to cover all of the new ways zombies can enter. Therefore, each additional prop will have less marginal utility. In order to maximize the use of each prop, your cade must be both small and adaptable. This will optimize the amount of hp you can fit in a space and minimize the amount of wasted props. This is where adaptability is key.

As your cade breaks you must swap in fresh props to the side that is being attacked. Failing to do so will make any chance at surviving slim. To do this, you will need to build your cade with prop redundancy. This means that multiple props overlap the zombie's hitbox. When one prop breaks, the other can still block zombies from getting in. This will give you time to orient and nail a replacement prop. Continually replacing props ensures that each is used completely and will vastly extend the lifespan of your cade. Never let a single prop be a source of failure. This will make it impossible to replace and you'll inevitably end up with wasted props.

There are two facets of zombie psychology that can be exploited to your team's gain.

This means that you can skimp out on reinforcing the top by allocating more props to the lower half. From experience, trying to rally the z-team to attack the weaker top is fruitless since kleiners and bots alike fail to perceive more than two dimensions. However, try to maintain no more than a 70/30 ratio when it comes to the durability of each half. Ideally, doing this will fracture the z-team into attacking both halves.

This tip applies to locations with multiple entrances. If you want to funnel zombies into attacking a specific area then you need to make it look weak.

Why would I want to do this?

One entrance is usually better than another. It may be easier to cade, have a longer hallway, or make headshots/melee more viable. In this case you need to control where the zombies will make their nest. Since antlion players are usually better, they will act rationally and create a nest next to the easiest way in.

Now to make a cade appear weak but actually be strong you will need to rely again on adaptability and dynamic cading. For example, in a classic door cade, keep a smaller number of doors nailed and reserve the rest for when those props become sufficiently damaged. An additional benefit to doing this is that all of the damage will be focused on relatively fewer props. Destroyed props are safer to replace compared to when all props are evenly damaged.

Shooting visibility is the most important factor in the survival of your cade. While durability adds strength, visibility acts as a multiplier, preventing zombies from damaging your props. Even with an incredibly HP-dense cade, without anyone able to defend, it will inevitably fail. That being said, there are various shooting angles to consider that each have their own benefits and drawbacks.

+ Long visibility range
- Zombies can strafe both horizontally and vertically, making it difficult to land headshots

+ Very easy headshots
+ Allows for melee weapons to be used easily
- Very minimal range; zombies are guaranteed to land at least one attack
- Zombies can hit humans that get too close

+ Very easy headshots
- Players are vulnerable to jumping zombie attacks
- Very minimal range

Often, front and side angles are used in conjunction, which covers both of their weaknesses and allows for a 180 degree range of cover. Top-down angles are generally inferior to side angles, but are still viable. Balancing both visibility and the durability of your cade is where skill comes into play. As you gain experience, you'll learn how to orient props in ways that maximize their use without blocking your defenders.

Creating a good killbox for the human team is vital. To do this, you want to place your props as far back as possible. This will maximize the distance that zombies have to travel to attack your cade.

Zombies can freely break these shelves from the side of the cade without being killed. This is incredibly bad practice and will result in your team losing.

Zombies now have to enter human sight to attack these props. However, because these shelves are still close to the edge, zombies can strafe back and forth while attacking. This will make it harder for your team to kill them.

Strafe attacking is now impossible and zombies have to fully cross the killbox before they can damage the cade. Because of the distance between the props and the end of the corridor, your team can kill zombies before they can land any attacks. Additionally, the sides are now open for melee users and you can use the gap to nail thin props for reinforcement.

Standard Cades are esentially any cade that layers props along the top and bottom of an entrance while leaving the middle open for long range shooting. These are among the easiest to build for beginners and are great for defending wide entrances. Shelf cades are often the most common for having great visibility and durability, however many other heavy props like bookshelves, fridges, and metal display stands can work as well.

Example HP: 4,285-4,960
Combined Repairable: 9,739-11,273

Stack cades rely on using many long and thin props combined at the center of an entrance. These cades are extremely viable but are only effective on narrow entrances and require specific props to work. Commonly used props include wooden I-beams, bicycles, doors and anything else that can be stacked closely together. Given the minimalist design of stack cades, its very easy to replace broken props which affords a near impenetrable defense. In this example, chairs, concrete barriers, and wooden planks are stockpiled for reinforcing.

Walls enable humans to stay out past wave 1 and can relieve pressure off of other caders. When making a wall, you should keep in mind the distance between the wall and the zombie's spawn so that they can be killed well before attacking any props. Additionally, walls should be made from less usable props like wooden boxes so that better props can be saved for the main cade. Always communicate with your team so that you can avoid fighting over props and be sure to let others know when there is a breach. Despite its many points of failure, a good wall can easily last until wave 3 and prevents kleiners from trying to kill themselves.


Similarly to walls, sharkcages should be built around visibility rather than durability. They can be thrown up quickly which relieves much of the pressure with cading. However, because these cades offer little protection for humans they can lead to deaths on your team. Shade and Cremator are especially dangerous to this example because of its open design. Its often better to save props for the main cade, but if there's more props than you can reasonably use then building a shark cage is viable. In later waves, remaining props from the shark cage can also be used for reinforcement since zombies rarely destroy the entire shark cage.


Skycading is an incredibly niche, but powerful type of cade. Since skycades provide no protection until they are finished, it's best to have another teammate create a main cade to buy you time. However, when pulled off correctly, skycades can only be damaged by weaker dps sources, namely fasties, antlion spit and Cremator.

Building the skycades consists of two parts, the bridge, and the perch at the top. The bridge should act as a stairway upwards. In order to dismantle the bridge easily, props must be nailed prop to prop.

When building the perch you should try to prevent fast zombies from latching onto the walls. Ideally, fast zombies should only be able to damage the cade by lunge attacks, which will considerably lower their dps compared to their normal attack. Teleporters can be used to travel in and out of a skycade, however, this depends on the design since they will only work on terrain floors.

After the teleporter is up and the skycade is finished, the bridge can be safely dismantled piece by piece. This will minimize the chance that it gets stuck.

This skycade is fairly low in height, however, it's possible to get skycades upwards of 40+ feet on maps like revival redux.

On skycades with a floor made of props, you will need to nail the top-most prop of the bridge to the terrain, or to a part of the skycade that is nailed to the terrain. If this is not done, then unnailing the bridge will cause the entire skycade to fall with it. Only after the top of the bridge is nailed should the bottom nail of the bridge be removed.
After everyone is inside, you can unnail the top part of the bridge which should hopefully fall to the ground. Expect most of your team to die during this transition as many people struggle to climb the bridge and you'll be forced to leave some behind.

Even the best of cades will fall if there are too few humans to defend it. Cades will often be nested within each other to provide multiple lines of defense. The most significant killer of humans in cades is when one layer breaks and the humans are forced to retreat to the next. Deaths outside of the cade can create a perpetuating cycle. Dropped backpacks will tempt loot goblins from your team who will run outside to grab it. This will often result in their death as well, therefore tempting even more goblins. While you can't always prevent deaths from greed or natural selection, you still bear the responsibility to ensure that your team can safely retreat before they are overrun.

No one knows your cade better than you do. Therefore, it's absolutely essential that you tell your team when it is time to retreat. Give a 20s warning so people can pack up their deployables and then a very loud and vocal 5s order to fall back. Standing out until the last prop breaks is not worth it. A delayed response will cause unnecessary casualties for your team. Not only are you losing a shooter but you are also creating another enemy zombie.

Since its not always possible to monitor damage at the front. You should design your cade so that the humans should know exactly which prop will be the last to hold the zombies back. It is easy to overlook this fact which will lead to a false sense of security for your defenders. Only after the prop breaks and the zombies rush in will they realize the need to fall back. Additionally, small gaps in the top of a cade can lead to a boss jumping over and decimating your team.

• Shade - Shade weaponizes unnailed props. Keep all props within view of the zombies nailed to the ground. Stay aware of any props Shade might try to throw in from the outside. You'll have to be quick to grab and nail these props before it can kill anyone.
  
• Cremator/Puke Pus - These bosses deal long range AoE damage to props and players. This can be blocked entirely by buying a projectile shield for 30 points at the arsenal. You likely won't have many points to spare, so work with your team to make sure there is a shield up.

There will always be late retreaters in your cade, skirting to the next line of defense one hit away from death. Humans are incredibly vulnerable while phasing through props as they are both slow and defenseless. During this phase, approaching zombies are free to attack humans through open props like shelves. Although a relatively small benefit, adding a buffer out of props like wooden boxes and barrels can obscure your defenders and may mean the difference between life and death.

Cading can be a rush against the clock. Especially in later waves, zombies will be able to chew through props in seconds, much faster than your ability to build up. It's impossible to do everything yourself. Therefore you must rely on your team.

Cading priority is on a first come first serve basis. Call out the generator/location you are cading in text chat so that staff know who has the right to cade. If someone claims a spot before you do, you are free to ask if they need any help, but they have the right to say no.

During the pre-round ask people to bring props to your cade. Ideally, you should be organizing the props within the cade and planning the design. Anyone can throw props around, but few can actually cade. Therefore the less time you spend running around the map, the more time you can spend building an effective cade.

If you're consistently getting overrun by zombies before you can fully build up your cade then you need to allow others to help you build. Its very easy to become overwhelmed with props and uncertainty on how to use them. If you need help, ask for it. Usually other caders can help by making backup cades, providing nails, or maintaining the front.

• Put multiple nails (up to 4) in props that will be heavily attacked as this will increase its max health and max repair by 75 per nail. If you run out of nails ask your teammates or alternatively you can always unnail these when the prop is about to break.
  
  
• Always survey your cading spot before cading. This includes checking for breakable windows/doors and any side entrances.
  
  
• When placing blue shelves along their width, place them at at 15 degree angle. Otherwise, zombies can crouch jump through the middle and void your defenses.
  
  
• Create "chairs" for your shooters. This will allow them to crouch for better accuracy while remaining at a height to land headshots.
  
  
• Look for opportunities to recade during intermission. However, be wary of bosses and camping zombies.
  
  
• Experiment on low pop or single player. Cading on high pop can be stressful and is not conducive to trying new things.

• Don't nail props to other props unless absolutely necessary. If the base prop (nailed to the terrain) breaks, then any props connected to it will break as well. Sometimes nailing props together is required for small props that are far from any terrain. In this case, ensure that this prop will always break before its anchor does.
  
  
• Don't make props overhang entrances, this will allow zombies to break these props outside of view. Props should always be as far back as possible, which will give your shooters more time to kill the zombies before they can deal any damage.
  
  
• Only nail what's necessary! Don't nail excess props to the entrance, it will only make it harder to shoot out of the cade.

Hopefully this guide gives you a leg-up in cading, however, the only way you can truly learn to cade is through experimentation. Incorporate these mechanics and be sure to try new things! You can always improve your designs so never allow yourself to become locked into a specific style.