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A typical scene: you’re standing outside a car dealership when a player runs up and starts shooting without saying a word. That’s DM. The violation isn’t the shooting itself—it’s having no reason for it. If the characters argued in-game beforehand, agreed to a duel, or are both in a DM zone, there’s no reason to punish anyone. Damaging a car counts too, so “I only shot out the tires” won’t get you off the hook.
At the HR department, they check this with a direct question: “Are you allowed to kill players without a reason?” The correct answer is: “No. You must have a valid reason.”
- DM / ДМDeathMatch (deathmatch)
Killing or damaging another player without a valid IC reason. Damaging vehicles also counts. Defensive DM is allowed (video evidence is required if you report it). Exceptions: regular in-game conflicts, criminal organization territories, agreed-upon duels, and high-crime areas.
Example: A player walks up to a random person on the street and starts hitting or shooting them without any conflict or backstory.
Punishment: Jail for 90 minutes · rule 2.19
- Mass DM / ТДМMass DeathMatch (mass deathmatch)
Killing or damaging three or more players without a valid IC reason.
Punishment: Warn / Ban for 3–7 days · rule 2.20
- DB / ДБDriveBy (drive-by)
Killing or damaging someone without a valid IC reason while in any vehicle (running them over or shooting from a vehicle). Exception: allowed during a family container capture.
Punishment: Jail for 60 minutes · rule 2.13
- SK / СКSpawn Kill (spawn kill)
Killing or damaging someone on the home territory of any faction or organization, at a player's spawn point, or at or near the exit of an enclosed interior.
Punishment: Jail for 60 minutes / Warn (for two or more kills) · rule 2.16
- Зона повышенной криминальной активности (DM-зона, PVP-зона)High Crime Activity Zone
An area where large shootouts happen regularly (the rules give the 24/7 store by the entrance to Arzamas as an example). DM without an IC reason is allowed, but you must not interfere with uninvolved players or deliberately attack random players (including those driving by); admins can introduce restrictions or disable the zone.
- ДуэльDuel
One-on-one fight: challenge a player via the radial menu → Interaction → Challenge to a Duel, or use /duel [ID]. Modes: ranked fight, duel, and training. Level 4 required. Agreed duels involving DM do not count as violations if they don't interfere with other players.
Tell DM apart from a fair fight
Rule 2.19 lists situations where damage without a separate IC reason isn’t punished:
- Self-defense—you fight back against someone who attacked first. It’s allowed, but you need video evidence if you’re punished.
- A regular in-game conflict between players that grew out of roleplay.
- The territory of criminal organizations.
- An agreed duel—challenge someone through the radial menu (Interaction → Challenge to a duel) or with the
/duel [ID]command. Available from level 4; it counts as long as you don’t bother other players. - An area with high criminal activity, also known as a DM zone.
Against the rules or okay?
- Against the rules: You walk up to a random player at the train station and start hitting them. Okay: Someone attacked you first, and you fight back—that’s self-defense DM.
- Against the rules: You shoot out someone’s tires for fun. Okay: You challenge a player to a duel, they accept, and you don’t bother anyone nearby.
- Against the rules: You shoot at a car that’s just passing by the 24/7 store in a DM zone. Okay: You have a shootout in the same zone with players who chose to join in.
- Against the rules: You ram a trucker to ruin their route. DM or ramming a player doing a system job—such as a trucker, bus driver, or diver—gets you a 3-day ban under the Russian version of the rules; the English version (rule 2.04) says a 10-day ban.
Don’t confuse DM with DB, SK, TK, or Mass DM
These terms all involve damage without a reason. The difference is how, where, and who you do it to.
| Term | Meaning | Rule | Punishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| DM | Damage or a kill without an IC reason | 2.19 | 90 minutes in jail |
| DB | The same, but from a vehicle or with a vehicle | 2.13 | 60 minutes in jail |
| SK | Damage at a spawn point, on a faction’s designated territory, or by an interior exit | 2.16 | 60 minutes in jail; a warn for 2+ kills |
| TK | Killing a faction member or ally | 2.15 | 60 minutes in jail; a warn for 2+ kills |
| Mass DM | DM against three or more players | 2.20 | A warn or a 3–7 day ban |
| Ramming someone on the job | DM or ramming a player doing a system job | 2.19 (2.04 in the English version) | 3-day ban (10 days in the English version) |
Mass DM is the harshest punishment in the table. A warn gets you kicked out of your faction and blocks you from joining any faction for 10 days. See what a warn does for details. TK and SK are covered separately in the article about TK.
Sources disagree on the Mass DM threshold: the rules say “three or more players,” while the forum test on terminology says “more than three.” When asked in a voice interview, answer according to the rules: three or more.
Follow the DM zone rules
A DM zone, officially called an area with high criminal activity, is a place where large shootouts happen every day. One example in the rules is the 24/7 store by the entrance to Arzamas (map). DM without an IC reason is allowed there, but keep these three rules in mind:
- Don’t interfere with players who aren’t involved in the conflict.
- Don’t deliberately attack random players, including those just passing by.
- Admins can restrict or disable the zone entirely if there are many complaints or people abuse it.
My advice: if you’re just passing through, take another route. The rules protect you, but complaints can take up to 48 hours to review, and no one will give you back the medkits or time you spent.
Defend yourself from DM without getting punished
You can fight back if someone attacks you—that’s self-defense DM. The problem is proving it: if you’re punished for shooting back, you can only get the punishment removed with video. Here’s what to do:
- Turn on screen recording in dangerous areas. On Android, use the notification shade; on iOS, go to Control Center → Screen Recording.
- At the start of the recording, enter . This shows the server time in the video; without it, your evidence may not be accepted.
- If the violation is happening right now, use so the admins can see it in-game.
- If some time has passed, file a complaint on the forum: your server’s section → “Complaints” → “Player Complaints,” within 72 hours of the violation.
- Upload unedited video to YouTube, Yandex.Disk, or Imgur. If it’s over 3 minutes long, add timestamps.
Only people involved in the situation can file complaints. You can’t file one for a friend who was killed right in front of you—they have to do it themselves.
Don’t rack up punishments
Rule 2.39 counts six or more violations in 7 days as abuse—a 7–15 day ban. The rules give this example: five DM punishments, and the sixth counts as abuse. Punishments for text chat violations and kicks don’t count toward this total.
Government employees are held to stricter standards. For law enforcement factions, damage without an IC reason on their organization’s territory means 90 minutes in jail; Mass DM there means a warn (general rules for government organizations, rule 1.11). The Army can’t attack anyone outside the military base, which starts beyond the gate (Army).
If you were punished unfairly, there’s only one option: the forum. How to appeal jail, a warn, or a ban, and which section to post in, is explained on the page about warns, demorgan, and bans.
