Nuke a City Dropper Comparison
What each dropper actually does, what it costs, and which one deserves your next upgrade point.
Every machine in Nuke a City is a variation on the same job: get an explosive to 100 EXP so you can load the rocket and fire. The differences between dropper types are speed, cost, unlock method, and how they fit into the upgrade order. This page is the side-by-side reference. For the full spend ranking, see the machines tier list. For unlock timing, see getting started and plot expand.
Dropper types at a glance
| Dropper | Cost | Unlock | Speed | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Free | Spawn | 1x (click) | Tutorial pad, works offline |
| Fountain | Cash | Shop | 2–3x manual | Early fill support |
| Fuse | Cash | Shop | Multiplier | Doubles one explosive after wait |
| Poison | Cash after expand | Plot expand | 4–5x manual | Strong A-tier second pad |
| Nuclear | Cash after expand | Plot expand | 6–10x manual | S-tier late-game producer |
| OP Dropper | 679 Robux | Gamepass | High | Paid skip, still secondary to nuclear |
Manual dropper
The starting pad. Free, available immediately, fills explosives on click or tap. It works offline, which means it is the only machine that actually earns EXP while the client is closed. Every other dropper type requires a live session.
Speed is 1x by definition. Upgrade levels on the manual pad can climb toward 1000 in player reports, which means each individual click produces more EXP as the pad is upgraded. Early-game strategy: upgrade this pad hard until the first auto solution appears.
Weakness: it requires active input. You cannot fill explosives while you are at work or asleep unless you use a script, which violates Roblox ToS.
Fountain dropper
The first cash purchase in the shop. Community reports place its speed at roughly 2–3x the manual pad. It is an auto fill machine: once placed and activated, it produces explosives without clicking.
Correct role: early-game bridge between the manual pad and the nuclear dropper. It keeps explosives queuing while the manual pad is being upgraded. It is not a long-term solution because nuclear beats it once expand is on the table.
Placement: a second pad that feeds the same rocket queue. Do not retire the manual pad until fountain is consistently filling without starving.
Fuse chain
Fuse is not a dropper. It is a multiplier pad: insert one explosive, wait for a timer, claim an explosive with doubled EXP. Community reports put the chain cap around the low-20s. Each upgrade to fuse reduces the wait time.
Correct role: side producer that feeds high-EXP explosives into the queue without stealing from the main dropper. A player with a funded nuclear dropper and a climbing fuse chain can alternate between normal and doubled explosives in the rocket queue.
Not a replacement for nuclear. The wait mechanic means fuse cannot be the primary fill source. It is support.
Poison dropper
Unlocks on plot expand. Community reports cite roughly 4–5x manual pad speed. It is the correct second dropper once nuclear is funded, and it is a strong A-tier machine in its own right.
Price after expand: players report tags in the tens of thousands early, moving as the run inflates. The exact price varies by server economy and individual run length.
Correct role: funded second producer after nuclear is placed and upgraded. Players who buy poison before nuclear delay the S-tier machine for an A-tier pad they could have afforded later.
Nuclear dropper
Unlocks on plot expand. Community reports cite roughly 6–10x manual pad speed, making it the fastest cash-shop producer in the game. It is the reason expand exists.
Price: approximately 85,000 cash in early runs per player reports, though tags move as the run inflates. This is the purchase that defines a Nuke a City run. Everything before it is tutorial; everything after it is the actual game.
Correct role: the only machine worth maxing before considering additional pads. Upgrade nuclear hard. Do not split upgrades across multiple pads while nuclear is still hungry.
OP Dropper gamepass
The 679 Robux paid producer. It exists in the gamepass shop and produces at a high rate, but it is not a replacement for nuclear. Community consensus: fund nuclear with cash first, then consider OP Dropper as a late flex.
It is also a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Once bought, it appears on the plot permanently. The 679 Robux price point puts it above Auto Launch and Double Cash in cost.
Do not buy OP Dropper before plot expand. The pad will exist on your plot but the cash needed for expand and nuclear will be spent on a machine you could have afforded later.
Dropper comparison in practice
Early game (first session): manual pad is the whole list. Click to 100 EXP. Fire. Upgrade the pad.
First expand window: nuclear first. Poison only after nuclear is placed and upgraded. Fountain as a support bridge.
Post-rebirth: rebuild nuclear before anything else. Poison as the funded second. Fuse as a side multiplier.
Late game: multiple nuclear droppers on multiple expanded plots. Fuse chains climbing. Fountain as idle support.
The machines tier list has the full S–D ranking. This page is the side-by-side reference. Use both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
Which dropper should I buy first?
The manual pad is free and upgrades are the first cash purchase. Fountain is the next buy if you have cash burning a hole. Nuclear dropper is the first major purchase after plot expand.
Is the OP Dropper worth 679 Robux?
Only as a late-game flex after nuclear is funded. It does not replace nuclear and should not be purchased before plot expand. It is a permanent one-time purchase.
Can I use fuse as my main producer?
No. Fuse is a multiplier that consumes an explosive and returns a doubled-EXP version after a wait. It is support for a main dropper, not a replacement producer.
How many droppers can I run at once?
Multiple pads can feed the same rocket queue. Late-game players run several nuclear droppers on expanded plots. The bottleneck is the rocket reload cycle, not the number of pads.
Which dropper works offline?
Only the manual dropper fills explosives while the client is closed. All auto machines (fountain, poison, nuclear) require a live session to produce.