Warzone 2 nuke guide

(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

The Call of Duty: Warzone 2 nuke was initially a rumor until someone detonated it three days after launch. It was a far cry from the nuke in the original Warzone, a one-off event that was used to transform the original Verdansk and usher in the Cold War era with the revamped '84 version. This time around, it doesn't have such lasting consequences.

The Warzone 2 nuke works similarly to the old Tactical Nuke killstreak in that, once it's been set off, it's game over for everyone in the match. Unlike the killstreak though, you'll need to locate a number of specific items during a game—and fend off anyone else with the same idea. Still, if you're dead-set on winning regardless of the cost, here's how to get the nuke in Warzone 2.

How to get a nuke in Warzone 2

If you want to activate the nuke in Warzone 2, you will need to do a little legwork first. There are several stages you'll need to complete to bring total devastation to everyone on the Al Mazrah map and good teamwork will very much come into play.

Here's how to get a Warzone 2 nuke:

Win five consecutive Warzone 2 matches
Start the Champion's Quest contract
Find the three elements that make up the nuke
Wait for the bomb site to show up on the map
Arm the nuke with the three components
Defend the bomb against other players for two minutes.

If the first step hasn't put you off and you manage to gather five consecutive wins, you'll have a special contract called Champion's Quest show up somewhere on the map. Once this has been initiated, you'll need to collect three nuke components, Tritium, Beryllium, and Plutonium, marked in random locations on the map.

warzone 2 nuke quest - &quot;Champion's Quest initiated&quot; — (Image credit: Wagnificent on Twitch)

These steps might seem relatively simple until you realise that other players can take these elements from you. In this instance, they're even more likely to hunt you down as you'll be marked on the map for every other player to see with a big golden crown, as long as you have any of the nuke components in your possession.

Once you have all three items, wait for the bomb site to show up on the map, then make your way over to it once it appears and assemble the nuke by placing all three elements. Now you need to arm to nuke to start the two-minute timer.

You're not out of the woods quite yet though—now you need to defend the bomb against other players until it detonates. Once it does, your screen will flash white and the match will end, declaring you and your squad the victors. Good job—I mean, if you can call it a good job when your atoms have just been freshly sprinkled across the impact zone. A win is a win though, right?

Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she's quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.