Going Nuclear in Civ 6: How to Use Nukes

In Civ 6, you spend most of your time trying to build up a civilization. What about those times when you need to bring a civilization to its knees?

Launching nukes is one of the most powerful moves you can make in the game. Unfortunately, many players don’t know how this whole process works. Keep reading to unlock the power of nuclear weapons for your own game.

Fission Accomplished

You can’t launch what you can’t build. Before you can build any nuclear weapons, you need to unleash the power of fission.

Keep rising through the technology tree during your game. Eventually, you’ll have the option to research Nuclear Fission. Once you research this, you’ll be nearly ready to build nuclear weapons.

The Manhattan Project

Unfortunately, you can’t just immediately jump to building nukes. You must first complete an intermediary step. Just like in real life, that step is completing The Manhattan Project.

Over in Projects, check out your different options for “Choose Production.” Once you complete The Manhattan Project, you will now have the ability to Build Nuclear Device.

That sounds simple enough, but completing the Manhattan Project involves having the right materials. Specifically, you’re going to need uranium. That’s not too difficult to gather, but if you’re impatient to launch nukes, make sure you gather the uranium sooner rather than later.

Launch the Nukes

Here’s the fun part: you are now ready to launch nukes! That means you must make a hard decision: how do you want to start launching these weapons?

You can launch nukes directly from the ground by using Missile Silos. Or you can launch them from the water by using Nuclear Submarines. Finally, you can launch them from the air using Bombers and Jet Bombers.

Once you build a device and select your launching unit, you can launch a WMD strike on an enemy city. Soon, that city will be wiped out, and you’ll be better positioned to rule the world (mwahahah).

An Even Bigger Boom

If you’re researching how to launch nukes in Civ 6, chances are that you like to create major explosions. In that case, you may want to know that you can get an even bigger boom from your nuclear attacks.

Once you research Nuclear Fusion in the Technology tree, you’ll have the opportunity to complete Operation Ivy Project. Once you do so, you’ll have access to the biggest boom of them all: thermonuclear weapons.

The thermonuclear devices take longer to research and build, but you launch them in the same way you launch the regular nukes. Once you unleash the power of this technology, though, you’ll see the time was well worth it!

How to Launch Nukes: What’s Next?

Now you know how to launch nukes in Civ 6. But do you know how to unlock your full potential as a player?

We wrote the complete guide to Tall vs Wide gameplay in Civ 6. Check it out and learn what your playstyle really is!