How do I defend against nukes?

Conqora FAQ · updated 2026-10-16

SAM Launchers

A SAM Launcher shoots at nukes and bombers passing through its range: 80% hit chance against a bomb, 85% against a bomber, then a reload. It's your main defence.

Where to put them

• In front of what you want to protect, on the side the nukes come from. A SAM behind a city only sees the bomb after it has landed.
• Overlapping: two SAMs covering each other's blind spots stop a lot more than two SAMs far apart.
• Around ports and factories: your income is the first target of a smart opponent.

Check your coverage

Press T to draw every SAM range on the map, yours and everyone else's. Gaps in your cover are obvious, and so are the gaps in your enemy's.

Against MIRVs

A MIRV splits into many warheads. Each SAM gets about one shot per MIRV at 50%, so a single SAM barely dents it. Three or four spread across your core take a real bite. Better still: don't be the player worth 35M gold of MIRV.

Spread out

Twelve buildings in a 30-tile circle is a gift to an atom bomb. Spread cities and ports along your land, and keep the silo deep inside.

Kill the threat first

• An air raid from your carrier destroys one building, including an enemy missile silo or SAM before your own strike.
• A boat landing next to a border silo captures it.
• An embargo and a coordinated attack slow down the player saving for a hydrogen bomb.

Diplomacy is defence

Players nuke the leader and the traitor. Stay second on the leaderboard until the late game, keep your alliances, and mark the real leader as the target so the bombs go there.

More: how nukes work · nukes guide.

SAM maths: how many do you need?

Every SAM launcher has an 80% chance to hit a nuke and 85% to hit a bomber, then reloads (about 75 seconds). A few worked numbers show why placement beats raw quantity:

The last row is the one that loses games. A single SAM is very good against a single bomb, and useless against the second bomb arriving a few seconds later. Smart opponents launch together from different directions for exactly this reason. Two overlapping SAMs don't just raise the hit chance, they give you a second shot while the first one reloads.

The cost of cover

The first SAM costs 1.5M, the next ones 3M each (the price rises by 1.5M and caps at 3M). Three SAMs is therefore 7.5M: more than a hydrogen bomb. That's why you can't cover everything, and why you should cover what matters most: the cluster of cities and ports that produces your troop capacity and your gold.

Best places for a SAM launcher

1. Between the threat and your core. If the leader's silos are to the east, your SAMs belong on the eastern side of your cities, so the bomb flies through their range before it lands.
2. Covering your densest building cluster. A level-3 port or a group of upgraded cities is worth far more than empty land.
3. Overlapping with a second SAM so every important building sits under two circles.
4. Not on the border. A SAM on the edge of your land can be captured by a boat landing or a land push, just like a silo.
5. Near your silo. An opponent who sees your silo will want to remove it before it fires.

Press T after each build to check that the circles actually cover what you meant them to.

Walkthrough: someone is saving for a hydrogen bomb

You are second on the leaderboard at 30%. The player at 40% has just built a missile silo facing you. Here's what to do in the next few minutes:

• Press T and look at your gaps. Any city outside SAM cover is a target.
• Build one SAM over your core, then spread out. Your next city goes somewhere else, not into the same 30-tile circle an atom bomb would wipe.
• Make them prefer someone else. Mark the 40% player as Target for your allies. A player busy defending against three neighbours rarely has gold left for a 5M bomb.
• Hit the silo. If you have a carrier, an air raid (150K) destroys one building within 110 tiles of it, including a silo or the SAM protecting it. A 150K raid that deletes a 1M silo is one of the best trades in the game.
• Keep troops ready behind the blast zone. If a bomb lands, the attacker will push into the damaged land. Troops that weren't inside the radius can hold the line.

Defending against bombers and fleets

Nuke bombers fly slower than missiles. They can be shot down by SAMs (85%) and by warships they pass over. If an enemy carrier sits off your coast:

• A warship near your ports both protects trade routes and shoots at planes.
• Spread your own warships and carriers out. A bomber aimed at or near a ship locks on and follows it, and one atom bomb can sink a whole group parked together.
• Your own nuke bomber aimed at their carrier is often the cleanest answer.

Common mistakes

• Building SAMs behind the target. The bomb lands before it reaches their range.
• Thinking a Defense Post helps. Defense posts make land harder to take by attack. A blast destroys buildings, posts included.
• One SAM, then nothing. The second bomb in the same minute walks straight through.
• Becoming the obvious leader too early. At 55% with no allies, everyone's nukes point at you.

Beginner vs advanced

Beginners: build one SAM over your best cities once someone on the map has a silo, and spread your buildings. That alone stops most casual strikes.

Advanced players: track who has silos and carriers, keep two overlapping SAMs over your economy, air-raid the threat early, and use diplomacy so the bombs land on the real leader. In ranked 1v1 and team games there are fewer players to share the danger, so the cover has to be there before the enemy silo goes up.

More questions

How do you stop a MIRV in Conqora?

You mostly don't stop it, you blunt it. A MIRV splits into many warheads over your land, and each SAM gets roughly one 50% shot. Three or four SAMs spread across your core take out a few warheads. The real defence is not becoming the player worth a 35M weapon, and destroying the silo with an air raid before it launches.

Can a SAM stop a hydrogen bomb?

Yes, with the same 80% chance as against an atom bomb, if the SAM is ready and the bomb passes through its range.

How many SAMs should I build?

One as soon as an enemy silo appears, two overlapping over your core by the mid-game, and three or four spread out if you are the leader late in the game.

Does fallout hurt me if I'm next to a blast?

Fallout tiles grow no troops and are slow to attack across. If a blast lands near you, your own tiles inside the radius are affected too.

More: how nukes work, aircraft carriers, strategy tips.

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