Operations
Campaign map
IRON NEST's campaign is a four-operation tutorial spine that teaches the gun one system at a time, with two free modes branching off the end. This is the structure at a glance, with each operation's briefing, battlefield and rewards — for the play-by-play advice, see the operations walkthrough.
Looking for what to actually do in each mission? The operations walkthrough covers play order and what to keep open alongside the game. This page is the structural map — how the operations connect and what each one unlocks.
Tutorial spine — play 1 → 4 in order
First contact with the gun: calibration firing, reading a grid, and putting a round on a fixed target.
“--- TARGET MISSED! ! ! . Review your Iron Nest position: <u>[GRID <turret>]</u> . Review your BEARING and RANGE <u>from</u> your Iron Nest to The Target position: [GRID <Target1>] and fire again. -…”
Unlocks: 7 shell types5 target typesHigh-explosive fire on living targets — fragmentation, blast radius and timing a shot for effect.
“High Command to Iron Nest: Targets destroyed. Phase one complete A second fire mission is now authorised. High Command orders STAR bursts over the Royal Palace ORDNANCE: STAR shell only. This is a…”
Unlocks: 8 shell types9 target typesThe requisition economy and the Scout Plane: spending cards to reveal targets your spotters can't fix.
“High Command to Iron Nest: Forward observers report a probable enemy ammunition cache across the river. Priority target designated PRIORITY: Conduct recon flight over grid [REGION <ammoCache>]. Con…”
Unlocks: 5 punchcards · 1 requisition9 target typesTriangulating multiple batteries against a counter-battery clock — the game's signature difficulty spike.
“Additional Requisition points granted. - - -”
Unlocks: 5 punchcards · 1 requisition7 target types
Free operations — branch off after the tutorials
A relaxed free-fire range with no timer: practise the gunnery loop and experiment with shells at your own pace.
“[POINT <{ID}>] Repositioned to Grid [GRID <{ID}>]”
Unlocks: 1 requisition16 target typesA timed fire-direction-control gauntlet: convergent columns, back-to-back solutions, no room for error.
“High Command to Iron Nest: Three enemy columns are converging on the river crossing. Counter-battery units are operational. Their response is a matter of time Destroy as many hostile elements as po…”
Unlocks: 1 requisition15 target types
How the campaign is structured
The four tutorial operations are a deliberate ramp: each one adds a single system — laying the gun, high-explosive effect, the requisition deck and Scout Plane, then counter-battery fire — so by the end you're running the full fire-direction loop unassisted. The Chill range and the Challenge sit outside that ramp: one to practise freely, one to test you against the clock.
The story is authored and linear — High Command hands you orders in this fixed sequence, and your decisions change how a mission plays, not which one comes next. For the prose behind the orders, the dispatches archive collects the newspaper clippings that frame each operation.
More guides
- First firing solutionTurn a spotter report into bearing, range and powder charge — the core gunnery loop.
- Operations walkthroughEvery operation in order, suggested play sequence, and what each one teaches.
- Counter-batteryOperation 4 made solvable — triangulate, survive the timer, find the hidden guns.
- How-to guidesQuick answers: load and unload shells, restart the engine, measure on the map, aim the Scout Plane.
- ControlsDefault keyboard and mouse bindings, how the mouse-operated valves work, and the settings to change first.
- All guides →
Top tools
- Firing plannerSpotter report in, bearing · range · charge solution out.
- Ballistics calculatorRange ↔ powder charge with live arc and game-extracted speed curves.
- Firing tablePowder-charge range card — scan the bracket, dial the charge.
- Loadout guideWhich of the 9 shells to chamber for each kind of target.
- All tools →