How do nukes work? Atom bomb vs hydrogen bomb vs MIRV

Conqora FAQ · updated 2026-10-16

Nukes are what make Conqora matches swing. A leader at 70% can lose a third of their army to one well-placed hydrogen bomb. Here is how every nuclear option works.

The Missile Silo

A Missile Silo costs 1M gold and launches one weapon at a time, then cools down for 75 seconds (45 with the fast economy). You aim by clicking anywhere in range. Build silos deep inside your land: a silo on the border is captured along with its tile.

The weapons

What a blast does

• Kills the troops on every tile inside it.
• Destroys buildings and units, including warships and aircraft carriers in the radius.
• Leaves fallout: tiles that grow no troops and are slow to attack across for a long time.

Air defence

SAM Launchers shoot at nukes (80% hit chance) and bombers (85%) in range, then reload. Against a MIRV each SAM gets one shot at a warhead, so it takes several SAMs to blunt one.

See it before you launch

Press T to show every SAM range on the map. While the overlay is on, the nuke preview turns orange when your target sits inside enemy SAM cover: the bomb will probably be shot down. White means clear, red means you can't launch there.

Nuke bombers

An Aircraft Carrier can send a Nuke Bomber that drops an atom bomb near its target, no silo needed. Aim it at or near an enemy warship or carrier and the bomber locks on and follows the ship until it releases. Bombers fly slower than missiles, so SAMs and warships can shoot them down on the way.

Nukes and alliances

A blast that kills an ally's troops or lands on their tiles breaks the alliance and makes you a traitor. Check where the outer radius falls before launching near a friend.

When to nuke

• When the leader passes 60%: coordinate with allies using the Target mark.
• When a border stalls: an atom bomb on the defense posts opens it.
• When a fleet blockades you: a nuke bomber on the carrier group.
• Never on your own land unless the alternative is losing it.

Full details: nukes guide · Conqora as a nuclear war game.

Nuke maths: what you actually get for your gold

The price list looks simple, but the value per gold is very different between the three weapons. A few worked numbers help you pick the right one.

So the hydrogen bomb is the best area for your money, and the atom bomb is the best precision for your money. The MIRV is not about efficiency at all: it exists so one launch can hit a huge empire everywhere at once, spreading warheads with an inner radius of 12 and an outer radius of 18 tiles over the target's land.

Range and timing

A silo reaches targets within about 150 tiles. On a big map like World or the Giant World Map, that means a silo in your heartland may not reach a rival on the far side of the ocean. Either build a second silo closer to the front (still well inside your borders) or use a Nuke Bomber from a carrier, which only needs the carrier within reach.

The 75-second cooldown (45 seconds with the fast economy) is the real limit on how many bombs you can throw. One silo gives you at most four launches in five minutes on the classic economy. If you plan a nuclear finish, two silos launching in the same minute beat one silo launching twice, because SAMs reload between shots.

Walkthrough: breaking a leader at 60%

You hold 22% of the map, an ally holds 15%, and the leader sits at 60% and climbing toward the 80% win line. Here's a realistic plan:

1. Find the gaps. Press T. The leader's SAM circles show up, and you can see which of their cities sit outside the cover.
2. Pick the target. You want the region where their cities and ports are packed together, not empty border land. Troops die in the blast, but buildings are what keep a leader growing.
3. Remove one SAM if needed. If the best target is covered, an air raid from your carrier can destroy that SAM first. The preview shows exactly which building it will hit.
4. Coordinate. Mark the leader with Target so your ally sees it, and send "Nuke" in quick chat.
5. Launch together. Your hydrogen bomb and your ally's atom bombs land in the same minute from different directions. Each SAM shoots, then has to reload.
6. Attack straight after. The blast kills the troops in the area. Send a land or boat attack into the edge of the damaged zone before the leader can refill it, but keep away from the fallout itself, which is slow to attack across.

Common nuke mistakes

• Launching into an orange preview. With the T overlay on, orange means the target is under enemy SAM cover. An 80% hit chance means four out of five bombs in that spot never land.
• Nuking your own border. Fallout grows no troops. If you aim with the centre of the blast on your own edge, you are crippling your own land. Put the edge of the blast on the border, not the middle.
• Forgetting the outer radius near allies. A hydrogen bomb's 100-tile radius is larger than it looks when you are zoomed out. If it kills your ally's troops or lands on their tiles, the alliance breaks and you become the traitor.
• Building the silo on the front line. A silo is captured with its tile. A boat landing next to it can take your 1M investment in seconds.
• Spending everything on one bomb. A hydrogen bomb with no troops left to follow it up just leaves a crater the leader walks back into.

Beginner vs advanced use

If you're new, use atom bombs as a tool, not a finisher: one on a cluster of defense posts that has stopped your attack, or one on a boat landing that has just taken a coastal city. 750K is affordable by mid-game and teaches you how the blast and fallout look.

If you're experienced, think in combinations. An air raid removes a SAM, a hydrogen bomb follows, a nuke bomber hunts the fleet that would have counter-landed. In hotspots games, three bombs on a rival's gold mine destroy it for everyone and leave a crater.

Map-specific notes

• World and Giant World Map: slow early game, nukes arrive in the second half. Range matters; plan a second silo or a carrier.
• Europe: borders are tight, so allies are always close. Check the outer radius every time.
• Island maps (Britannia, Oceania): land targets are small and coastal. Nuke bombers and fleets do a lot of the nuclear work.

More questions

Can you nuke your ally in Conqora?

You can launch the bomb, but if the blast kills your ally's troops or lands on their tiles, the alliance breaks and you get the traitor mark: halved defence and slower attacks for 30 seconds, visible to everyone.

How far can a missile silo shoot?

About 150 tiles from the silo. Further targets need a second silo or a carrier's nuke bomber.

Does a nuke destroy warships and carriers?

Yes. Units inside the blast are destroyed, including warships and aircraft carriers. Aiming a nuke bomber at or near an enemy ship makes it lock on and follow the ship.

Can I nuke in every game?

No. Quick games with the "No nukes" modifier don't sell silos or SAMs at all, so the match is decided by troops and ships.

Which nuke should I buy first?

An atom bomb. It's cheap enough to use in the mid-game and precise enough to open a stalled border. Save the hydrogen bomb for the leader. More in the nukes guide and how to defend against nukes.

Related questions

Play Conqora free

More answers in the Conqora FAQ and the guides. Updated 2026-10-16.