IRON NEST Ammunition Guide: Which Shell to Load and When
A practical guide to IRON NEST's shells — armor-piercing, high-explosive, smoke, chemical and incendiary rounds — and how to pick the right ammunition for every target and order.
In IRON NEST, picking the wrong shell is its own kind of miss. A perfect firing solution still wastes a turn if the round can’t do the job. The full game is expected to feature around 30 unlockable ammunition types, but they fall into a handful of families you’ll learn quickly. This is the working overview; each round has its own page in the arsenal codex.
Read the target first
Before you reach for a shell, read the intelligence report. The target’s nature — armored, soft, dug-in, or simply something you need to obscure — decides everything. Match the round to the threat, not the other way around.
The core families
Armor-piercing
Dense, hard-hitting rounds built to punch through vehicles, bunkers and hardened emplacements. They rely on velocity and mass, so your charge and solution matter. See armor-piercing shell.
High-explosive
The bread-and-butter round for soft and grouped targets, trading penetration for blast and fragmentation. Forgiving and broadly useful. See high-explosive shell.
Smoke
Not a damage round at all — smoke shields movement and blinds the enemy, letting you control what can be seen on the battlefield. A tool, not a weapon. See smoke shell.
Chemical
Area-denial rounds such as gas. Grim, deliberate, and situational — they’re for orders that specifically call for them. See chemical shell.
Incendiary
Fire-starting rounds that excel against flammable targets and for flushing entrenched positions. See incendiary shell.
Unlocking and loadout
You won’t begin with the full table. Ammunition unlocks as you progress, and pairing new rounds with your growing list of abilities is a big part of how the game deepens. Early on, get fluent with high-explosive and armor-piercing; bring specialist rounds online as orders demand them.
Quick reference
| Target | First choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tanks, bunkers | Armor-piercing | Penetration over blast |
| Infantry, soft groups | High-explosive | Blast and fragments |
| Need to hide movement | Smoke | Controls line of sight |
| Entrenched/flammable | Incendiary | Flushes cover |
| Order calls for it | Chemical | Area denial |
For the full breakdown of every round, ranges and unlock notes, head to the arsenal.
Frequently asked questions
How many ammo types are in IRON NEST?
The Steam listing points to around 30 unlockable ammunition types in the full game. You won't have them all at the start; you unlock more as you progress, which gradually widens your tactical options.
What's the best shell in IRON NEST?
There's no single best shell — the point is matching the round to the target. Armor-piercing for hardened targets, high-explosive for soft and grouped targets, smoke to control sightlines, and specialist rounds for specific orders.