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Turrets vs Cannons

Turrets in Build and Defend Your Raft — shorter range than cannons, lean anti-personnel, why your turret isn't shooting, and the new Tesla Coil.

Build and Defend Your Raft Wiki Editors Updated October 5, 2026
Build and Defend Your Raft — Turrets vs Cannons gameplay

Turrets are the second automated defense piece, unlocked on the higher Crafting Table tiers alongside reinforced gear. They look like cannons’ little sibling — and then someone boards your raft and gets deleted. Here’s how turrets actually differ from cannons.

Turret vs cannon at a glance

Turret Cannon
Detection range Short proximity radius Longer range, engages distant rafts
Best target Players (boarders, swimmers) Structures and rafts
Anti-building damage Lower — under community review Higher, especially upgraded
Fire control Fully automatic Fully automatic
Cap Shared with cannons (Raft Weapons upgrade raises both) Same
Cost profile Higher-tier Crafting Table unlock Heavy metal cost

Why your turret isn’t shooting

The most common turret complaint in the official Discord — “why is my turret not shooting?” — has a confirmed answer from the dev side: turrets have a shorter proximity range than cannons. A turret that feels dead is usually just deployed too far from where the fight happens.

Fix: place turrets on the deck where boarders land and near doors/chest rooms, not on the outer rim where you’d put cannons. Turrets are interior defense; cannons are perimeter defense.

The structure damage question

Players noticed turrets seem to do less damage to walls and more to players — “people are breaking my metal structures while I cannot crack their wood walls,” one defender wrote, describing cannon-era damage feel. The dev team has said they’ll test the turret-vs-structure numbers, so treat the exact split as unconfirmed until an official note lands.

What’s confirmed from play:

  • Turrets shred unarmored boarders fast.
  • Neither turrets nor low-level cannons delete reinforced walls quickly — upgrade cannons for siege work.
  • Damage seems to land harder from a moving raft, per the dev team’s own observation — kiting while shooting beats standing still.

The rotation complaint

A recurring balance request in the official Discord asks for turrets to get a wider (270–360°) firing arc — right now a turret’s placement angle matters a lot. Until that changes: rotate-check every turret after you build. A turret facing inland is decoration.

For a defended mid-game raft, the community standard is:

  1. Cannons on the perimeter — front and flanks with clear water view.
  2. Turrets inside — covering the deck, the stairs up, and the chest room.
  3. Raft Weapons upgrade as soon as metal allows — it raises the cap on both at once.

The Tesla Coil joins the anti-personnel slot (September 6)

The September 6 patch added the Tesla Coil: it chains lightning onto nearby enemies, with two placement rules that matter —

  • Walls block the beam, so it wants the open approach lane, not a nook in your build.
  • It upgrades through the Hammer (Tier III available in the store), and like every defense it now rebuilds itself after being destroyed.

Run it next to your turrets on the boarding lane; chain damage is at its best when a crew lands together. Placement math and priority live in the best defense guide.