Anomaly Lockdown Alpha Warhead timing
Level 5 Surface terminal, 90-second siren, and why you should already be upstairs.
The Alpha Warhead is Anomaly Lockdown’s stalemate breaker. It deletes everything below the Surface. If you are still in Light Containment, Heavy Containment, or Entrance Zone when the 90-second countdown ends, you die. This page is the clock, the terminal, and the elevator problem. Pair it with Map Zones for Gate A / B / C and with How to Escape if you still need the pad.
The clip in the middle is Entrance Zone chaos in the current build. Treat it as a reminder that EZ is not Surface. One embed only.
When the nuke can arm
A round is twenty minutes unless one faction is wiped. The warhead can be armed after 7:00 from the Surface Alpha Warhead Terminal. It auto-arms after 4:00. One minute before it can be armed, global chat prints red: leave the facility. After arm, the intercom runs a long countdown, lights go red, every door and gate is forced permanently open, and elevators run faster. Ninety seconds later the underground is gone.
The terminal sits on the road below Gate A’s outside bridge. It is Level 5. Explosives do not destroy that door. SCP-636 (the black elevator) is nearby. Do not confuse 636 with a Gate elevator. 636 is a room SCP, not a ride to safety.
You need a Level 5 or Omni card from loot or SCP-914. Level 4 opens Gates A/B/C. Level 5 is the nuke. If you only have Level 4, you can still stand on Surface and wait for auto-arm at 4:00, but you cannot start the 90-second clock yourself at 7:00.
Who should press it
Foundation presses when SCPs still own HCZ and escorts already extracted. Chaos and GRU-P press when they have the Surface and Foundation is still farming 914. SCPs almost never want it: they live downstairs. Serpent’s Hand Wanderers can portal to Surface spawns; a nuke can still strand the rest of the SCP team. MC&D want items out, not a crater.
Pressing the terminal is a round decision, not a fidget. After 4:00 the decision is made for you. Plan around 7:00, 5:00 (EZ gates force open), 4:00 (auto-arm plus last wave, Surface only), and 3:00 (wall outlines, kills add 15 seconds).
How to not be downstairs
Before 7:00. Finish LCZ. One Fine cycle is enough. Be in EZ or Surface. If you are still hunting O5 storage at 8:00, you are gambling the last wave and the nuke.
Elevators. Cyan button means the car is on your floor. Green means it is elsewhere. Hold E. Do not ride with a 173. After arm, cars are faster, but a packed Gate B elevator is still a 096 trap. Stairs and Gate rooms on map zones are the backup.
At 5:00. EZ gates force open and stay open. That is the gift for a runner who never found Level 4. Sprint. Do not turn around for a dropped medkit.
During the 90 seconds. Lights red, doors open, intercom talking. Get to Surface. The Escape Zone is Gate B side, not “any Surface spawn.” The prompt is one second. Escape roles walk on. Others need cuffs first. SCPs that are not escape-capable should hunt the pad, not camp 914.
After detonation. Underground is inaccessible. Pocket Dimension from 106 after the nuke no longer instakills; it can dump you back to Surface (13 July 2026). Warhead music plays (undocumented 14 August). Play the Surface: Gate A hangar, Gate C kits, Twin Towers Elite Kits, 636, and the pad.
Late-clock rules that interact with the nuke
The last reinforcement wave at 4:00 dumps mixed teams on Surface only, because the basement is about to vanish. Truces still last four minutes. Outlines at 3:00 make camping a Gate elevator stupid. Kills after 3:00 add 15 seconds, so a farm fest can stall the auto-nuke you were counting on. If you need the round to end, stop feeding the clock.
Mobile players: aim assist is official. Sprint stamina is not infinite. A stamina script during the siren is still a 24 August ban. Read controls and the scripts hub if someone in voice offers a “just this once” injector.
There are no codes that skip the terminal. VIP does not move the 7:00 lock. Pity does not spawn you on Surface. The only legal skip is already being upstairs. Keep this page with 05 Rescue if the lobby voted extra SCPs: eight anomalies plus a nuke is how O5 nights end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
When can I arm the Alpha Warhead?
After 7:00 from the Surface Level 5 terminal. After 4:00 it arms itself. The countdown is 90 seconds.
Does the warhead kill Surface players?
No. It wipes everything below Surface. Be upstairs before the siren ends.
What keycard opens the warhead room?
Level 5 or Omni. Level 4 only opens Gates A, B, and C. Upgrade cards in SCP-914.
Where is the terminal?
On the road below Gate A's outside bridge, near SCP-636. See Map Zones.
Can I survive 106's pocket after the nuke?
After 13 July 2026, pocket after detonation can send you back to Surface instead of instakilling.
Do later kills delay the nuke?
Kills after 3:00 add 15 seconds to the round timer. They can stall a round you wanted the auto-arm to finish.