OpenFront Water Nukes Guide

Direct answer: what are Water Nukes in OpenFront?

Water Nukes in OpenFront is an optional v31 game mode in which nuclear strikes permanently convert destroyed land tiles into water. The crater becomes part of the map instead of remaining land covered by fallout.

The new water is functional terrain, so ships can use water created during the match.

The mode is off by default. A host can enable it in the game-options panel. Public games that use it display a Water Nukes modifier badge before players spawn.

The most important defensive answer is speed. Conversion is batched after the strike. If a tile is re-conquered before the conversion check and is no longer unowned land, it can remain land.

Concepts and prerequisites

Water Nukes changes terrain, not the basic price or documented blast radius of a weapon. An Atom Bomb still has inner 12 and outer 30 reach. A Hydrogen Bomb still has inner 80 and outer 100 reach.

Atom and Hydrogen Bombs are still valid SAM targets. In v33.1, the MIRV carrier is not targeted, but separated warheads follow the normal SAM trajectory and timing checks.

Launching MIRV also puts its Missile Silo on cooldown. The modifier does not turn every weapon into an unblockable strike.

The v31 release paired Water Nukes with inland-water trading. Ports, Warships, and trade ships can work on any body of water, rather than only on ocean water.

Those two changes create the strategic twist. A strike can remove territory, cut a land bridge, and also create a new naval route through land that previously blocked ships.

How terrain conversion resolves

The strike first removes ownership from affected land. The game then queues eligible empty land for conversion rather than changing every tile at the first instant of impact.

At the later flush, the game checks whether each queued tile is still unowned land. Tiles that still meet that condition become water. Tiles reclaimed before that check can stay land.

The conversion also clears fallout on tiles that become water, because water does not retain land fallout.

Water Nuke edges are smoother than normal ragged fallout. The documented implementation uses sampled and averaged angles to avoid scattered single land pixels around the new shoreline.

Normal nuke versus Water Nuke

Question	Normal nuke	Water Nukes mode
What is left behind?	Land with fallout	Water on converted tiles
Can land troops reclaim it later?	Yes, after conditions permit	Only before conversion; not after it is water
Does fallout remain?	Yes, then clears	Converted water cannot hold it
What does the edge look like?	Ragged outer spread	Smoothed crater boundary
Can ships use the result?	No new water is created	Yes, if the crater connects into usable water
Does weapon radius increase?	No	No
Does SAM behavior change?	No	No

Weapon and defense data

Item	Cost	Documented reach	SAM interaction
Atom Bomb	750,000 G	Inner 12 / outer 30 tiles	Interceptable
Hydrogen Bomb	5,000,000 G	Inner 80 / outer 100 tiles	Interceptable
MIRV	25M + 15M per prior launch	Splits into MIRV warheads	Carrier not targeted; launch triggers Silo cooldown
MIRV warhead	Included with MIRV	Inner 12 / outer 18 tiles	Normal in-flight SAM target
SAM Launcher	First costs 1,500,000 G	Starts at 70 tiles, scales upward	90-tick cooldown

Decide what the strike is meant to change

Before launching, name the result in one sentence. “Remove this army” is a normal nuclear objective. “Cut this corridor” or “connect this waterway” is a Water Nukes objective.

Cut a land bridge

Target the narrowest part of the bridge, not the largest troop cluster nearby. A successful conversion can separate two land areas and force future movement onto transports or another route.

Open an inland naval lane

Look for land between an existing lake, sea, or crater and the interior target. The new water matters most when it joins a body of water that your naval units can already reach.

Break a coastal spine

Thin coastal territory is vulnerable because one converted band can separate inland buildings from the remaining land network. Aim for the connective terrain, not merely the visible coastline.

Step-by-step attacking plan

Step 1: confirm the modifier

Check the lobby card or game options for Water Nukes. Also check for Nukes Disabled and SAMs Disabled.

Step 2: trace the desired shoreline

Identify the land you want gone and the water you want connected. Use the documented outer reach as a planning boundary.

Step 3: inspect SAM coverage

Atom and Hydrogen Bombs can be intercepted. If the target is covered, choose another line, remove the defense, or accept the risk.

Step 4: prepare the exploitation force

Have the next action ready before the launch. That may be a land push, transport route, Warships for the new water, or a Port plan.

Step 5: launch and watch ownership

After impact, watch the fresh crater. The conversion check cares about whether tiles remain unowned.

Step 6: reassess the map

Once conversion completes, treat the crater as real terrain. Check the new coast, navigable connection, nearby Ports, and routes.

Step-by-step defensive plan

Step 1: recognize the match before expanding

In Water Nukes mode, a one-tile-thick corridor is more than a temporary weakness. Favor depth around Cities, Silos, SAMs, and Ports.

Step 2: build nuclear defense early enough

A SAM Launcher takes 300 ticks, documented as about 30 seconds. It cannot be added after the projectile is already close.

Step 3: keep re-expansion capacity nearby

The conversion window creates the only direct way to save queued terrain as land. Keep enough troops and a connected border to push back into fresh unowned tiles.

Step 4: prepare a naval fallback

If the land is converted, switch from recovery to adaptation. Ports, Warships, trade ships, and transports can turn the new water into a route.

Common failure modes

Assuming every blast creates permanent water

Permanent conversion only applies when the Water Nukes modifier is active. Normal matches leave land and fallout.

Targeting the army instead of the connector

The largest troop cluster may not sit on the most important terrain. A smaller strike on a narrow bridge can change movement for the rest of the match.

Forgetting the conversion delay

Freshly emptied tiles are not automatically safe permanent water. A defender can reclaim eligible land before the batched conversion check.

Creating an isolated pond

New water is navigable, but a sealed crater may not connect to the fleet you already own.

Opening a route for the opponent

The new water is not exclusive to the attacker. A defender with better Ports or nearby Warships may gain more from the channel.

Next reading

Learn the exact weapon values in the units database. Check Silo and SAM costs in the structures database. Plan layered defense with the nuclear deterrence guide.