UNOFFICIAL GUIDE · Facts reviewed August 24, 2026 · Game-build data extracted August 17, 2026 (build 24750322) · Example values are per-run and marked as examples
CAMPAIGN MISSION DOSSIER · UNOFFICIAL
IRON NEST The Gorge Walkthrough: No Ballistic Calculator
IRON NEST Mission 7, The Gorge, is a manual-fire mission.
Quick Answer
IRON NEST Mission 7, The Gorge, is a manual-fire mission. The ballistic computer stays offline: restart the engine, mark Iron Nest at the briefing grid, send one reconnaissance flight east, and clear the forward element with observed-fire corrections. Stand down when command reports Pass is clear; enemy elements behind the convoy are optional.
restart the engine, mark Iron Nest at the briefing grid
send one reconnaissance flight east
clear the forward element with observed-fire corrections
Evidence: IN-GAME TEXT mechanics · OBSERVED footage · REPORTED guide steps — see how the labels work.
How to read the evidence labels
Every claim on this page carries a label that says how it was verified:
How to read the evidence labels
Label
What it proves
OFFICIAL
Confirmed by the developer, an official platform, or an official announcement.
IN-GAME TEXT
Read directly from build 24750322 text, or transcribed from in-mission communications where the build was not shown.
OBSERVED
Visible in public footage of the mission.
REPORTED
Described by a guide or community source; the full chain was not visible on screen.
Labels are not interchangeable: a transcription can match the extracted text word for word, but it stays a transcription and does not become an official source.
Mission facts card
Mission facts card
Field
Value
Mission name
The Gorge (Campaign mission 7)
Affected system
Ballistic computer offline; complete the mission without it
Opening task
Restart the engine manually
Enemy
Forward element holding the gorge east of Iron Nest
Ammunition
Soft targets only; HE / HCHE work, HCHE has the larger blast radius
Completion
Forward element neutralised → Pass is clear → stand down
Medal
Four commendations on offer; conditions on the medals page
Iron Nest and its logistics convoy move through a mountain pass in Andalusia, bound for the Strait.
The Gorge walkthrough, step by step
The Gorge is not a normal firing-solution mission: the opening ambush damages Iron Nest, the engines need a manual restart, and the ballistic computer is offline for the whole operation. The route is restart, mark, recon, correct, clear — five stages with a hard success signal before the next one begins.
Stage 1 — restart the engine and read the damage report
Read the damage report. Iron Nest was hit on the aft port underside; the armour held, pressure lines ruptured, and the engines require a manual restart.
Restart the engine at the damaged engine station. The escort handles the initial ambush while you do this.
Do not try to repair the ballistic computer. The briefing says you are not expected to restore it and the mission is completed without it. The targeting station can stay offline.
Confirm the manual-fire systems still work: the tactical map, reconnaissance requisition, turret rotation, both loaders, powder-charge loading, manual gun elevation, and firing controls.
Stage 2 — mark Iron Nest from the briefing
Read the full briefing. The column was struck near a region named in the report, and the escort neutralised the initial attackers. A forward enemy element holds the gorge, and the column will not proceed through the pass until it is cleared.
Mark Iron Nest at the grid printed in your briefing. The grid is a per-run value — the reviewed runs placed the Nest around the K3–K4 sector, but your own briefing is the only reliable reference.
Do not use the blue convoy as the firing origin. The convoy is the protected column; Iron Nest remains the firing point.
Stage 3 — send one reconnaissance flight east
Reconnaissance is at your discretion. The briefing says so directly; one narrow flight east is usually enough to cover the gorge corridor.
Aim the flight east from Iron Nest. Every reviewed run found the forward element east of the Nest, close to 90°.
Mark the blue convoy first, then each distinct hostile group. Choose an isolated opening target away from the convoy for the first ranging shot — the first manual shot is the least predictable one of the mission.
Stage 4 — correct fire without the calculator
Fire one gun for the first ranging shot. Two simultaneous guesses give you two craters and no way to tell which elevation produced which.
Keep the bearing and powder-charge count fixed; change only the elevation. Once the shell lands on the correct line, every later adjustment is a single variable.
Use the crater as the reference the missing calculator would have given you. Mark the impact centre, compare it with the intended target marker, and correct from there.
If the crater lands left or right of the corridor, correct the bearing before changing the range. Otherwise adjust one control at a time and fire again.
A drill round can act as a ranging shell. The build lists it as a minimal-radius round, and one reviewed run used inert practice shells to find the line before switching to HE-type rounds.
HCHE covers clustered groups. Among the damage-1 soft-target shells, HCHE carries the largest blast radius, which makes it the common choice when several enemy units sit close together.
Work through the forward element from known impacts. Fire, observe, adjust one control, fire again; keep the previous crater as the local reference for the next group.
Stage 5 — clear the forward element and stand down
The primary objective completes when command reports Pass is clear and Column is moving. You may stand down.
Secondary elements behind the convoy are optional. The completion message says they are not a required target and continued fire is authorised at operator discretion — usually medal cleanup.
If you keep firing, keep the column clear. Reconfirm the convoy's position before every shot and do not pull the impact back toward the moving column.
Manual fire without the ballistic calculator
Manual fire without the ballistic calculator
Topic
Value
Ballistic computer
Offline for the whole mission; the briefing says it is not expected to be restored
Charge table
Each shell type lists a range band per powder charge: charge 1 → 0–5, 2 → 0–10, 3 → 0–15, 4 → 0–20, 5 → 0–25, 6 → 0–30 (build-measured)
Elevation formula
Not published — the community formula is unverified; use observed fire instead
No target in this mission has armour; Enemy Armor is a type name, not an armoured rating
Ranging method
One shot, one observation, one variable change; drill rounds optional
The charge table is a build-measured field, not an elevation formula. It tells you which powder-charge band covers the range you need; the angle still comes from your observed first shot. The community formula floating around Discord is not published here because the build data does not verify it.
No target in The Gorge has armour, so AP is unnecessary. HE and HCHE both deal damage to soft targets; HCHE's larger blast radius handles clustered groups, while drill rounds give you an inert ranging shot with minimal effect area. For the full ammunition reference, see all shell types.
Stuck points and troubleshooting
The mission will not progress after I cleared the targets
This is a reported issue, not a rule: one player reported the mission stalling after clearing the visible targets (August 7, 2026), and this page does not claim the issue is confirmed or fixed in the current build. The completion is event-driven, so check whether every part of the forward element is actually destroyed — the rear elements that appear later are optional and do not block the pass-clear. If the objective still will not advance on the current build, report it with your build number rather than treating a workaround as a fix.
Should I keep firing after Pass is clear?
No requirement to. The completion message says the secondary elements at the rear of the column are not a required target and continued fire is authorised at operator discretion. Firing on after the pass-clear is a medal-cleanup choice: it can help No Quarter Cross or Unrelenting Volley runs, and it can cost requisition or allied safety if you pull the impact back toward the column. "Kill everything to the east" is a speedrun shorthand, not the objective.
My manual shots are landing nowhere near the target
The common mistakes, from guides and footage reviewed for this page:
Trying to repair the ballistic computer instead of completing the mission without it.
Drawing firing lines from the convoy instead of the Iron Nest grid in the briefing.
Firing east without reconnaissance and guessing at a safe impact point.
Starting with the group closest to the convoy — the first shot is the least predictable.
Firing both guns before seeing the first impact.
Changing bearing, charge and elevation at the same time.
Removing the crater marker too early.
Copying another run's elevation values — every run's numbers are per-run examples.
If you are stuck on another mission instead, the missions hub covers the full mission list and general help.
Medal conditions at a glance
Measured Fire Star — keep allied casualties at or below the tier threshold (AllyKills ≤ 2 / 1 / 0).
Unrelenting Volley Medal — sustain a long consecutive-kill streak (LongestKillStreak ≥ 4 / 7 / 10).
No Quarter Cross — eliminate enough enemy units in the sector (EnemyKills ≥ 10 / 20 / 30).
Ordnance Efficiency Cross — keep a high kills-per-shot ratio over at least 10 kills (≥ 0.8 / 1.5 / 2).
The thresholds are measured from build 24750322; which medal variant belongs to this mission comes from third-party guides, since the build data does not attach medals to missions. Whether one shot that kills several units counts as one or several streak steps is a community question, not a published rule here. See the medals page by-mission section for the full table.
Version and patch notes
This guide is anchored to build 24750322, which maps to Version 1.0 (1622), Patch #5. The Gorge is a 1.0-era mission: the demo build does not contain it, so demo comparisons are not used here. The mission-not-progressing report dates from August 7, 2026, and this page does not claim a fix. Example grids, bearings, ranges, charges and elevations from any run are per-run values, not universal answers.
FAQ
How do I complete The Gorge without the ballistic calculator?
Restart the engine, mark Iron Nest at the grid from your briefing, send one reconnaissance flight east, then clear the forward element with observed-fire corrections: fire one gun, read the crater, and change one control at a time. The mission completes when command reports Pass is clear and the column is moving.
Do I need to fix the ballistic computer in The Gorge?
No. The briefing says you are not expected to restore it and the mission is completed without it. The ballistic computer stays offline for the whole operation; manual elevation, powder charges and observed fire replace it.
Where is the enemy in The Gorge?
East of Iron Nest. Every run reviewed for this page found the forward element east of the Nest near 90°, and the briefing prints the direction and Iron Nest's grid as per-run values. Send the first reconnaissance flight east along the gorge to confirm the exact groups.
What shells should I use in The Gorge?
HE or HCHE — no target in the mission has armour, so AP is unnecessary. HCHE has the larger blast radius for clustered groups, and drill rounds are inert practice shells you can use for ranging. For the full shell reference, see all shell types.
The mission won't progress after I cleared the targets — what should I do?
This is a reported issue from August 7, 2026, not a confirmed current-build rule. Confirm every part of the forward element is destroyed — the rear elements that spawn later are optional and do not block the pass-clear. If the objective still stalls on the current build, report it with your build number.
Do I need to destroy every enemy in The Gorge?
No. The objective is the forward element holding the gorge. Once command reports Pass is clear, secondary elements behind the convoy are optional, and continued fire is your choice — usually medal cleanup.
What medals does The Gorge offer?
Four commendations: Measured Fire Star, Unrelenting Volley Medal, No Quarter Cross, and Ordnance Efficiency Cross. Full thresholds live on the medals page; this page gives the mission-level summary only.
Sources and version notes
Reviewed August 24, 2026. Evidence types and dates are stated beside each claim above.
Official: none in this review — the official Discord archive checked for this page contained no developer statement about The Gorge.
In-game text: briefing and mission communications, entity registry, shell values and medal definitions extracted from the 1.0 game build (build 24750322) via the shared game-data extraction (August 2026); matching mission communications transcribed by a third-party mission database and a fan walkthrough (retrieved August 23, 2026; build not stated).
Observed footage: two release-era player runs (August 10 and 14, 2026), used as transcription and cross-check; no build number displayed.
Reported: dated community questions in the official Discord (August 2026), including the manual-fire formula question and the mission-not-progressing report.