There are a variety of offensive options available in Civilization 6, allowing players to wage war in many different ways. That said, no weapon is more powerful than Civ 6’s nukes, and they are tools that fans will certainly want to consider as they enter the game’s late eras.

However, some players may not be totally clear on exactly how to use nukes in Civilization 6, and this guide is here to shine some light on this matter. The strike is one of the most effective means of safely eviscerating an opponent’s defenses and it is worth knowing how to pull it off.

Research Nuclear Fission

To begin, players that want to use nuclear weapons in Civilization 6 must first climb the Technology tree until they reach Nuclear Fission. Researching this tech will unlock the ability to build Nuclear Devices. This obviously not available until much later on in the game, so don’t plan on being a nuclear specialist all game long.

It’s not mandated, but it’s also wise to brush up on tips for reducing warmonger penalties since dropping one of these babies is going to add a significant chunk to that particular undesirable statistic. For players who want the upgraded Thermonuclear Device, research Nuclear Fusion as well.

Complete The Manhattan Project

From there, players must then complete the Manhattan Project, which can be found under Projects in Choose Production. This will cause the Build Nuclear Device Project to become available after the project itself has been wrapped up.

Much like the Nuclear Device, the Thermonuclear Device also has its own research project: Project Ivy. With these in the bag, gamers are well on their way to winning with a domination victory toward the later rounds.

Get Access To Uranium

Sometimes players can complete every step and still not have access to Uranium in their sprawling empire. It’s often a matter of luck as far as where the deposits will appear. If one is close by, consider dropping a culture bomb to expand the territory a little bit.

If that’s not possible, consider trading for some. Many civilizations that are on the peaceful side don’t have big plans for large quantities of Uranium and need just enough to power their reactors. Given enough rounds, players should have plenty to build what they need.

Build A Nuke

Nukes don’t just come automatically equipped on certain units. They must be built. Find it under the units section of the production menu, although they behave very differently than a standard unit.

There is some good news for gamers who played Civilization 5 and it’s that once they are built, they don’t need to be manually moved around the map. The days of keeping them protected are over. Think of it as a currency to spend rather than a unit to move.

Build A Unit Or Structure Capable Of Nuclear Launches

The only thing left to do is fire off the nuke itself, which can be done from any of the following units or improvements:

  • Bombers Jet Bombers Nuclear Submarines Missile Silos

All a player must do to use the nuke is select one of these units or improvements after they have built a Nuclear or Thermonuclear Device. From there, players will choose to launch a WMD Strike, and they will then target the city or area that they want to hit with a nuke.

Civilization 6 was released on October 21st, 2016, and is available on PC, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.