Nuclear Bomb

Tier S ⭐

Bomb × Poison = Nuclear Bomb

Effect

Massive AoE explosion with radiation stacks

Damage Multiplier

3.0x

How to Unlock

Level Bomb ball to Level 3
Level Poison ball to Level 3
Collect a rainbow orb (XP level-up reward)
Select "Evolution" option from the menu
Choose Bomb + Poison combination

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Special Unlock Requirement

Requires Bomb evolution first (Burn + Iron)

Strategy & Tips

Two-step evolution. Achievement-tied. Explosion deals 300-500 damage and applies radiation stacks (up to 5 levels, +10% damage taken per stack). Cooldown: 3 seconds. Verified mechanics from Steam Guide.

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S-Tier Meta Evolution

Nuclear Bomb is considered one of the strongest evolutions in the game. Prioritize this in your builds when possible.

Why Nuclear Bomb is Top-Tier

Nuclear Bomb represents the ultimate fusion of burst damage and damage amplification in Ball x Pit. The 3.0x damage multiplier delivers devastating instant damage (300-500 damage verified) across a massive AoE radius, while the radiation stacks applied to enemies increase all damage they take by +10% per stack (up to 5 stacks, verified from Steam Guide). This damage amplification approach makes Nuclear Bomb uniquely effective across all game scenarios - the explosion instantly deletes clustered enemies, while the radiation stacks make survivors take significantly more damage from all sources (+50% at max stacks). What elevates Nuclear Bomb to S-tier is the multiplicative scaling: the 300-500 explosion damage is just the start, then every subsequent hit on radiated enemies deals bonus damage, effectively making Nuclear Bomb a force multiplier for your entire build. Against dense waves (wave 20+), a single Nuclear Bomb detonation can apply radiation to 15-20 enemies simultaneously, then your other balls benefit from the +50% damage amplification. The 3-second cooldown means consistent explosion availability. The achievement-tied unlock requirement ('Nuclear Option') demonstrates mastery of two-step evolutions. ⚠️ Strategic tips below are general roguelike principles, not Ball x Pit-specific verified tactics.

Detailed Unlock Guide

Phase 1 - Collect Base Balls: You'll need one Burn ball, one Iron ball, and one Poison ball. Burn and Poison are common, but Iron balls may require waiting for specific waves or building the Forge building for guaranteed drops.

Phase 2 - Level Burn and Iron: Level both your Burn ball and Iron ball to Level 3. This is the prerequisite for creating the Bomb evolution, which is Nuclear Bomb's required first step.

Phase 3 - Create Bomb: Fuse your level 3 Burn + level 3 Iron to create Bomb. This is the foundational evolution - Bomb itself is S-tier and provides 2.0x damage with 150-300 AoE burst. Don't rush past Bomb; it's powerful enough to carry you through mid-game.

Phase 4 - Level Bomb to 3: Your newly created Bomb starts at Level 1. Play through waves and level it to Level 3 before proceeding. Many players forget this step and wonder why they can't create Nuclear Bomb.

Phase 5 - Level Poison to 3: While leveling Bomb, also level your Poison ball to Level 3. Timing is key - you want both ready simultaneously to minimize downtime.

Phase 6 - Final Fusion: Once both Bomb and Poison are Level 3, collect a rainbow orb (XP level-up reward), select Evolution, and fuse Bomb + Poison to create Nuclear Bomb. Completing this unlocks the 'Nuclear Option' achievement and permanently adds Nuclear Bomb to your encyclopedia.

Strategic Tips & Synergies

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Nuclear Bomb's explosion has a larger radius than Bomb's - position aggressively to catch maximum enemy clusters, especially in funnel/corridor biomes (general positioning strategy).

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The radiation stacks (verified: up to 5 levels, +10% damage taken per stack) amplify all damage to affected enemies - every subsequent hit from any source deals bonus damage, making Nuclear Bomb a force multiplier for your entire build (verified mechanic: 300-500 explosion damage, radiation stacks).

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Timing is everything: Nuclear Bomb works best when enemies are tightly clustered. Wait for natural clustering (waves 15+) before creating it to maximize explosion efficiency and apply radiation stacks to multiple targets simultaneously (general timing strategy).

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The radiation effect increases damage enemies take, not just poison damage - this means ALL your balls benefit from radiation-marked enemies. Prioritize AoE damage and general damage modifiers to maximize the +50% amplification at max stacks (general scaling principle).

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Nuclear Bomb + Black Hole creates powerful combos - Black Hole pulls enemies into a tight cluster, then Nuclear Bomb deletes them with the explosion and marks survivors with radiation stacks for follow-up damage (general combo strategy).

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Against bosses, Nuclear Bomb's radiation stacks provide consistent damage amplification - the +10% per stack (up to 5 stacks) makes all subsequent hits deal bonus damage even when the boss is mobile (verified mechanic: radiation amplification).

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The 3-second cooldown (verified) means consistent explosion availability - in dense waves, Nuclear Bomb can detonate frequently, applying radiation to waves of enemies and creating damage multiplication opportunities (verified mechanic: 3s cooldown).

Best Character Pairings

These characters create exceptional synergies with Nuclear Bomb:

Lantern Knight (S-Tier Pairing): Lantern Knight's fire-damage bonuses amplify Nuclear Bomb's Burn component (inherited from Bomb's recipe). The synergy boosts the explosion damage (verified: 300-500 base damage), and with fire damage modifiers, can effectively push the 3.0x multiplier higher (⚠️ general synergy logic, specific multiplier calculations not verified).

The Itchy Finger (A-Tier Pairing): The Itchy Finger's high DPS output creates more Nuclear Bomb procs per minute, translating to more frequent explosions and radiation stack applications. With faster cooldown cycling, you can maintain radiation stacks (verified: up to 5 levels, +10% damage per stack) on more enemies simultaneously (⚠️ general synergy logic).

Iron Fool (A-Tier Pairing): Iron Fool's defensive build benefits from Nuclear Bomb's damage amplification - enemies marked with radiation stacks take increased damage from all sources, complementing Iron Fool's tanky playstyle by making enemies easier to eliminate while Iron Fool absorbs damage (⚠️ general synergy logic, character pairing not verified).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

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Not leveling Bomb to Level 3 first: The most common mistake - players create Bomb from Burn + Iron but forget it starts at Level 1. You MUST level Bomb to 3 before fusing with Poison (verified requirement).

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Creating Nuclear Bomb too early: While powerful, Nuclear Bomb's true value comes from enemy density. Creating it before wave 12-15 means you won't have enough clustered enemies to apply radiation stacks to, reducing the force multiplier effect (general timing advice).

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Ignoring the radiation stacks: Many players focus only on the explosion damage (verified: 300-500) and ignore the radiation stacks that make enemies take +10% damage per stack. The damage amplification from max stacks (+50%) can significantly boost your entire build's output when multiple balls hit radiated enemies (verified mechanic: up to 5 stacks, +10% per stack).

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Wasting Bomb prematurely: Bomb is an S-tier evolution on its own (2.0x damage). Don't sacrifice it for Nuclear Bomb unless you're confident you have the Poison ball ready and leveled, and that you're at a stage where the damage amplification will provide more value than Bomb's standalone burst (general planning advice).

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Not leveraging damage amplification: Nuclear Bomb's radiation stacks increase ALL damage enemies take, not just poison damage. Build around maximizing damage output from all sources to take full advantage of the +50% amplification at max stacks - this means prioritizing general damage and AoE modifiers, not just poison-specific passives (general optimization strategy based on verified radiation mechanic).

Advanced Strategy

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Expert-Level Optimization

⚠️ Advanced strategy based on verified mechanics and general principles: Nuclear Bomb's radiation stacks (verified: up to 5 levels, +10% damage taken per stack) create a damage amplification framework for your entire build. The 300-500 explosion damage (verified) is just the initial hit - the real power comes from the +50% damage amplification when enemies reach max radiation stacks. The optimal Nuclear Bomb timing is wave 14-16 (general timing advice), early enough to benefit from the power spike for late-game, late enough that enemy density justifies applying radiation to multiple targets. The Nuclear Bomb + Black Hole combo is powerful in theory (general combo logic) - Black Hole pulls enemies to center, Nuclear Bomb applies explosion damage and radiation stacks, then other balls benefit from the damage amplification on grouped enemies. With the 3-second cooldown (verified), Nuclear Bomb can detonate frequently in dense waves, maintaining radiation stacks on waves of enemies. Multiple Nuclear Bombs (2-3 instances) increase explosion frequency and radiation application coverage, though exact DPS calculations are not verified. Position Nuclear Bomb balls strategically to maximize explosion coverage across enemy approach paths - the 300-500 damage (verified) combined with radiation amplification makes Nuclear Bomb most effective when explosions hit enemy clusters rather than isolated targets. Note: Specific DPS values, Frozen Flame interaction percentages, and optimization techniques are general roguelike strategies, not verified Ball x Pit mechanics.