The Ballistic Formula
All shells obey one formula: elevation = range (km) × 12 ÷ number of powder charges. Each charge gives up to 5 km of range, and the maximum elevation is 60°. Charges cost 4 credits each and — importantly — cannot be unloaded once loaded.
All 20 Ammo Types
| Abbr. | Type | Damage | Blast Radius | Cost | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE | High Explosive | 1 | 0.25 | 10 | General area damage |
| AP | Armor Piercing | 2 | 0.15 | 10 | Bunkers, armor, underground |
| APHE | Armor-Piercing High Explosive | 2 | 0.25 | 15 | Pierce then explode |
| ATMC | Atomic (one-use) | 2 | 3.0 | 666 | Chain-reaction blast |
| CLMN | Cluster (splits into 6) | 1 | 0.5 | 17 | Vehicles / infantry |
| CYAN | Cyanide | 1 | 0.75 | 28 | Open-field troops (most expensive conventional) |
| DRIL | Concrete Drill (practice) | 1 | 0.07 | 3 | Cheapest, smallest radius |
| EQKE | Earthquake (subterranean) | 2 | 0.55 | 26 | Underground / fortified works |
| FLCH | Flechette (shotgun) | 1 | 0.62 | 20 | Exposed infantry |
| HCHE | High-Capacity HE | 1 | 0.55 | 18 | Large area — watch friendly fire |
| INCN | Incendiary | 1 | 0.25 | 12 | Spreads fire |
| LE | Low Explosive | 1 | 0.15 | 10 | Cheap small blast |
| PCLM | Parachute Cluster (6 shells, 10s apart) | 1 | 0.15 | 15 | Staggered coverage |
| PHGN | Phosgene | 1 | 0.62 | 10 | Kills troops, spares structures |
| PRPG | Propaganda | 1 | 0.5 | 7 | Causes desertion |
| SMK | Smoke | 1 | 1.0 | 2 | Smoke screen |
| STAR | Star (illumination) | 1 | 0.5 | 2 | Recon illumination |
| TEAR | Tear Gas | 0 | 0.75 | 8 | Non-lethal suppression |
| THRM | Thermite (wider burn) | 1 | 0.35 | 8* | Larger burn radius |
| WP | White Phosphorus | 0 | 0.75 | 10 | Cloud / area denial |
* THRM cost: most sources list 8; one source lists 22. Treat 8 as the current value.
Max charges: HE accepts up to 7 charges; every other shell caps at 6.
Shell Categories
- Conventional — HE, AP, APHE, HCHE, LE, CLMN, PCLM, FLCH, DRIL, EQKE
- Incendiary — INCN, THRM
- Chemical — CYAN, PHGN, WP, TEAR
- Non-lethal utility — TEAR, WP, STAR, SMK, PRPG
- Atomic — ATMC
Which Shell to Pick
- General targets → HE. The default area-damage choice.
- Bunkers / armor / underground → AP, APHE, or EQKE.
- Infantry in the open → FLCH or CYAN.
- Budget / practice → DRIL or LE.
- Non-lethal endings → STAR, SMK, or PRPG (see the All Endings guide).
- Everything at once → ATMC (but it costs 666 and is one-use).
Note: early-access-era guides list only ~7 shells with different stats — ignore those; the table above reflects the current game.