How Escape From DayZ Survived a 980 Gbps Pulse Wave DDoS
Escape From DayZ's wipe-day attack reached a reported peak near 980 Gbps. See the bursts and how VYKIX's VxShield protection handles this traffic.
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Escape From DayZ was running on VYKIX with VxShield when a DDoS attack hit during a wipe. Players were returning to a fresh world, and the incoming traffic reached a reported peak near 980 Gbps.
The traffic arrived in bursts. It rose, fell and returned, leaving groups of narrow spikes across the charts below. A drop in traffic between bursts did not mean the campaign had ended.
Escape From DayZ is also listed in our historical server-ranking capture, a separate snapshot taken outside this incident.
Two groups of bursts in the traffic overview. The later group reaches the reported peak near 980 Gbit/s.
What a Pulse Wave DDoS Attack Is
A pulse wave sends repeated short bursts of traffic. The close-up from Escape From DayZ shows the load rising and falling several times. We do not have the raw samples to calculate an exact interval between those bursts.
Filtering has to handle each rise as it arrives. Its response depends on the rules in place, detection timing and available network and packet-processing capacity. Check whether valid game traffic and browser requests can pass during the burst as well as in the gap that follows.
The closer traffic view shows the repeated rise and fall of individual bursts.
The Apparent Source Networks
This chart groups the traffic by the network associated with its source address. Some names in the legend are cut off. Those addresses do not tell us who controlled the traffic or where the attackers were, and the chart does not identify the networks as Tier-1 providers.
The flood grouped by apparent source network, with several legend entries truncated.
Why Wipe Day Is the Worst Time to Be Unprotected
A wipe can bring returning players to the server in a short window. Include that pattern in testing: check the game process under the load you expect, then test browser queries and player connections.
If joins fail, compare those checks before changing the setup. A busy game process, a failed listing service and an upstream flood can each prevent access, but fixing one will not fix the others.
How VxShield Held the Line
We use VxShield to filter traffic before it reaches the DayZ host. Its upstream layer handles the flood, while our game filters check packets against the active profile. Each new burst puts those controls back to work; a quiet gap does not end the response.
Our Anycast edge provides that filtering path. The published 17 Tbps figure is the protection network’s filtering capacity, rather than a capacity assigned to each DayZ server. The active rules and packet-processing resources affect how the network handles a particular burst.
Track game sessions alongside network traffic when checking the response. This gives you a way to see whether a spike coincided with failed joins or disconnected players.
For the hardware side of server planning, our Rearmed 5.9 GHz build account follows the tuning and cooling work on a separate DayZ build.
Escape From DayZ During the Wipe
We reported that Escape From DayZ stayed online through the wipe-day attack. The traffic charts show the bursts and their approximate scale, but we no longer have the game-session, downtime or packet-loss records to measure the effect on players.
For a later flood with a detailed mitigation report, read the 2.56 Tbps Ground Zero case study. The Echoes of Chernobyl packet-spoofing account explains the problem of traffic imitating DayZ packets, and the KarmaKrew A2S account covers query abuse. Use the DayZ DDoS protection docs to review the configuration.
Common Questions
What is a pulse wave DDoS attack?
It is a series of short traffic bursts with quieter periods between them. The Escape From DayZ charts show that pattern and a reported peak near 980 Gbps; the spacing between bursts need not be constant.
How big was the DDoS attack on Escape From DayZ?
We reported a peak near 980 Gbps during the wipe. The original charts show repeated bursts with traffic grouped across several apparent source networks.
Why do DDoS attacks happen on wipe day?
A failed connection during a wipe can disrupt players returning for the fresh start. We placed this attack during a wipe in our incident report, but we do not know the attacker’s motive or how many players were connected.
Can VxShield stop a pulse wave DDoS attack?
VxShield filters traffic at the edge, where active rules, detection timing and processing capacity determine the response to a burst. For Escape From DayZ, our incident report described the server staying online.
How do I protect my DayZ server from DDoS on wipe day?
Confirm how your provider handles short bursts and which game and query checks are active. Arrange to collect traffic charts, browser tests and player-session logs during the wipe. VYKIX DayZ hosting includes VxShield.
Before opening a wipe, review the protection profile and decide which logs to collect if connections fail. VYKIX plans include VxShield. Eligible switchers can receive best-effort migration and seven days added to the paid plan once we confirm the scope; terms apply.
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