IRON NEST Firing Checklist

The 20-second version

Stop before the firing control and verify five layers: target, map line, firing card, physical load, gun setting. If one layer belongs to a different target or gun, do not fire.

Full pre-fire audit

Area	Confirm	Stop if…
Mission	The order still requires this target	A new order changed priority or the target identity is uncertain
Intelligence	Every bearing/range is attached to the correct observer or reference point	You copied a value without its origin
Target position	The plotted point comes from confirmed coordinates or intersecting observations	It is only a visual guess on the map
Firing line	Measurement starts at the marker’s bottom reference spike	The line starts at the centre or edge of the large model
Firing card	The card was generated after the final target position was chosen	It is an older card or its target is ambiguous
Ammunition	Shell effect matches the intended target and friendly situation	You selected a shell only because it was already near the loader
Charges	The loaded count matches the plan used for the elevation calculation	The physical load changed after calculation
Traverse	Coarse motion is finished and the final bearing is dialled precisely	The turret is still settling or showing the wrong value
Elevation	Correct gun is set to the calculated elevation	Left and right gun settings have been mixed up
Firing state	Breech/loading cycle is complete and the intended gun is armed	A lock, bridge, charge or arming step is unfinished

Why the order matters

The checklist follows the dependency chain. A perfect elevation cannot repair a wrong target position. A correct card cannot repair a different number of powder charges in the gun. The final controls should therefore be checked last, after their inputs are stable.

The no-unload rule makes the shell and charge decision a hard boundary. If you are not yet certain, pause before the load enters the gun. If a mistake is already committed, recalculate around the load, use the other gun, or select another suitable target as described in the developer-supported recovery guidance.

Two-gun discipline

When both guns carry different solutions, give each side its own card and physical place on the clipboard. Before arming, say the chain to yourself in one line:

Left/right gun → target → shell → charges → bearing → elevation.

If any part of that sentence comes from the other gun, stop and separate the cards again. Preparing two shots is only faster when the solutions remain unambiguous.

Under counter-battery pressure

Do not shorten the checklist by skipping map or loading checks. Save time earlier:

• Plot likely targets before the first shot.
• Generate and organise firing cards while there is no active pressure.
• Group targets with similar bearings when the mission allows it.
• Requisition ammunition and charges before the firing cycle begins.
• Keep reconnaissance and movement options available for uncertainty or survival.

The counter-battery page explains when those preparation choices matter. It deliberately avoids publishing an invented universal timer because mission and mode behaviour can differ.

After firing

Record what the game actually confirms. If the shot misses, return to the chain in this order: origin point → target plot → range/bearing → shell/charges → elevation → gun selection. Change one suspect input at a time. Changing several values at once destroys the evidence that would tell you what went wrong.