Getting a nuke in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Ground War mode takes 30 gun kills without dying. A nuke is the ultimate scorestreak reward in Call of Duty games and ends the match with a devastating explosion that kills all enemy players.
What is a nuke in Call of Duty?
A nuke, also known as a tactical nuke, is an extremely powerful killstreak reward in Call of Duty multiplayer modes. When a player earns a nuke by getting enough consecutive kills without dying, they can activate it to immediately end the match and get credited with a win.
Upon activation, an emergency message is broadcast to all players alerting them that a nuke is about to be detonated. After 10 seconds, the nuke explodes and kills all enemy players, showing a cinematic of a nuclear blast. This immediately ends the match regardless of the current score.
How do you get a nuke in Modern Warfare Ground War?
To get a nuke in Ground War, you need to get 30 gun kills (kills with weapons) without dying. Killstreak kills from cruise missiles, chopper gunners, etc. do not count towards the nuke, only kills from your equipped weapons are counted.
This means you need to stay alive for at least a 30 gun killstreak in order to unlock the nuke. This is no easy task since Ground War matches have up to 64 players on large maps, making it very likely you will die before reaching 30 kills.
Tips for getting a nuke in Ground War:
- Use the Pointman perk – This allows killstreaks earned from killstreaks to count towards the nuke.
- Play stealthily and defensively – Avoid hot zones and hold power positions to stay alive.
- Use cover effectively – Don’t expose yourself needlessly, peak and fire from cover.
- Equip high damage weapons – Weapons that can take out enemies quickly like sniper rifles.
- Pop smoke grenades for concealed movement.
- Consider support killstreaks like UAVs and artillery strikes to help secure kills.
- Stack perks like Ghost and Battle Hardened.
- Play with squadmates who can provide support.
How many nukes have been earned in Call of Duty?
There is no official statistic on the total number of nukes earned across all Call of Duty titles. However, we can estimate based on player reporting:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Around 5,000 nukes per month were reported earned at the height of the game’s popularity.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops – Fewer nukes reported than MW2, approx. 3,000 per month.
- Call of Duty: MW3 – About 2,000 nukes per month were reported during peak periods.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 – Around 1,000 nuke earned per month.
- Call of Duty: Ghosts – Only 500 nuke reports per month.
Based on these rough estimates, there have likely been over 100,000 nuke killstreaks earned throughout the Call of Duty series lifetime. However, the total number could be much higher factoring unreported or accidental nukes earned by players across all titles and platforms.
What is the world record for most nukes in Cod history?
The world record holder for most nukes earned in Call of Duty is unknown, as Activision does not officially track nuke statistics. However, based on community reporting, some top nuke earners throughout the years include:
-
Fear Crads – Call of Duty YouTuber reported to have over 2,500 nukes earned across MW2,
BO1, MW3 during his active years playing. -
Juicetra – Another top Call of Duty player with reported totals of over 2,000 nukes across various
titles. -
Sandy Ravage – Popular MW2 player who reportedly had over 1,000 nukes earned just within
that title.
While the exact record holder is uncertain, based on community reporting there are likely several players throughout the years who have earned over 3,000 or more nukes across multiple Call of Duty titles. Dedicated nuke farmers have estimated totals in the range of 2,000-4,000 nukes earned over their CoD careers spanning many titles and years of gameplay.
How often do nukes occur in Ground War matches?
Nukes are still a rare occurrence in Modern Warfare’s Ground War mode due to the high difficulty of maintaining a 30 gunstreak.
Based on fan reporting, we estimate nukes occur in approximately:
- 1 in every 500 Ground War matches
- 1 in every 2,000 individual player rounds
So while not impossible, only the top fraction of players will ever earn a nuke in Ground War. Some factors that influence nuke frequency include:
- Player skill level – Top tier players can earn nukes more consistently.
- Lobby skill – Weaker opponents make earning nukes easier.
- Boosting – Players have friends help them get nukes.
- Reverse boosting – Deliberately performing bad to get easier lobbies.
- VPNs – Getting weaker regional lobbies.
For the average player, it may take hundreds of hours of playtime before ever earning a nuke in Ground War or multiplayer. But those who actively try for nukes may be able to earn them slightly more consistently.
Do killstreaks help to earn a nuke?
Killstreak rewards can help earn nukes easier by providing additional kills that stack towards the 30 gun kill requirement. However, by default only kills from equipped weapons count. So while killstreaks help you stay alive longer and can get you more gun kills, they won’t directly add to your nuke count.
An exception is with the Pointman perk equipped, which allows kills from any source including killstreaks to count towards a nuke. So for example, a Cruise Missile kill would add 1 to your nuke tally with Pointman.
Here are some of the top killstreaks that can help earn nukes:
- UAV – Keeps you informed of enemy locations.
- Precision Airstrike – Gets you free killstreak kills.
- Wheelson – Armored vehicle can get gun kills.
- Chopper Gunner – Can wipe out groups of enemies.
- Emergency Airdrop – Provides potentially powerful random streaks.
- Juggernaut – Become a tank with heavy armor.
The more kills your streaks can earn, the better chance you’ll have at surviving long enough to reach that brutal 30 gun kill goal for a nuke.
Conclusion
Earning a nuke in Modern Warfare requires an exceptionally skilled play and a bit of luck. A 30 gunstreak is no easy feat in Ground War matches with up to 64 players. But the challenge makes successfully dropping a nuke an immensely satisfying accomplishment.
While nukes may be rare, those dedicated players who master their gameplay and strategy can learn to earn them more consistently over time. Getting a nuke takes patience, skill, and determination. But the payoff of instantly winning the match and unlocking a unique animated calling card makes it all worth the effort.
