AZ3 Nuclear Power Plant in Delta Force: Radiation, Reactor, H1000
What AZ3 is and why you need to prepare for it
AZ3 Nuclear Power Plant is an Operations map that arrived with Season 10 Meltdown. The season launched on June 30, 2026 on PC and mobile and ended on September 7. Season 11 Reorientation has been live since September 8 (through November 9), and AZ3 remains in the Operations pool. Data is current as of 10/17/2026.
What sets the plant apart from a typical loot map is the threat from the map itself. There are contaminated zones, a reactor that periodically overheats, and a new boss, Neural Device Agent-H1000, who holds the core facilities. Other squads are a danger too, but most decisions here come down to the reactor's state and how many anti-radiation supplies you carry, not to your aim.
Players describe the map as multi-layered: surface buildings, underground rooms and an exit toward the water. If you have only run Zero Dam, Space City, Brakkesh or Layali Grove, your usual routes will barely carry over, so spend the first runs learning the layout.
Access and difficulty
AZ3 has two difficulty tiers. Easy unlocks at Operations Lv.9 and Normal at Lv.14, and Normal requires an access value of 112,500 in Tekniq Alloy. Easy is the place to learn the corridors and get used to masks and injectors. Normal gives better loot.
If you are still short of the required Operations Level, Operations Level leveling speeds that part up. For general account progress, leveling covers the rest, but AZ3 cares specifically about your Operations progress.
You can run the map solo, but a squad is safer: someone covers your back while another player heals or deals with a keycard. Solo players are better off sticking to the side zones and leaving early.
Radiation and decontamination
Radiation in AZ3 comes from contaminated zones and radiation containers. The dose builds up while you stand in a dangerous spot, so avoid lingering in open areas without protection. According to player reports, the plant is split into several radiation zones whose intensity changes during a raid.
The basic kit is simple: a gas mask and anti-radiation meds (injectors). According to player reports, ordinary painkillers do not cure radiation, they only buy time, so do not count on them in a contaminated corridor.
Outside raids there is the Black Site Decontamination Chamber, which improves with your Operations level. According to the developers, it gives these bonuses:
Chamber level | Operations level needed | What changes |
|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Tolerance rises from Weak to Normal, and decay starts at 10 seconds instead of 15 |
2 | 14 | Tolerance rises from Normal to Stronger, and decay is 20% faster |
3 | 27 | Tolerance rises from Strong to Very Strong, decay starts at 5 seconds and runs 50% faster |
Inside the map, players also report mobile and stationary decontamination chambers. Learn where they sit along your route before you need one.
Reactor shutdown
The reactor periodically overheats and triggers an emergency shutdown event. Squads choose for themselves: help stabilize it, ignore it and keep looting, or use the chaos to hit neighbors.
According to player guides, completing the Emergency Shutdown mission before the boss fight weakens H1000's armor and makes the fight easier. If nobody contains the reactor, the plant goes critical and the raid turns into a race to the exit. A third option is to leave the map before the disaster.
In practice, check the reactor on every rotation. If you hear the alarm and see other squads converging on the core, that is where the main event is, and you decide whether to join it.
For a first visit the rule is simple: do not try to do everything in one raid. Spend one run on routes and radiation, the next on the reactor, and take on the boss once you know where rival squads come from and where you can heal fast.
H1000, the boss of the core
Neural Device Agent-H1000 is a new Warlord in the core facilities of AZ3. The developers call it fast, lethal and unpredictable. Combined with radiation and other squads nearby, a fight at the core is one of the riskiest situations on the map.
Players report that it drops high-tier gear and a red AZ3 key for valuable locked doors. Do not count on it, but it is a fair reason to come back with plenty of ammo and meds.
What usually works against an aggressive boss:
Fight after the reactor shutdown, when its armor is weaker.
Keep your distance and avoid narrow doorways.
Do not loot in place: other squads follow the sound of combat.
Watch your radiation and never fight with an empty med supply.
Keycards and loot
Loot on the plant depends heavily on access. Locked rooms, safes and Geiger-counter containers need keycards or at least plenty of meds, because you will be taking radiation.
The most practical approach is to start with the side zones: small buildings and warehouses give loot at lower risk, and you may find a card for a locked room on the way. The core and the underground are high risk, so go there with a full protection kit.
If you want to see how the map plays at your level, run Easy first and learn where the locks are. Move to Normal and its Tekniq Alloy access value when the routes are already in your head.
A working order for a raid:
Clear the nearest safe building.
Look for a card or access to a locked room.
Check the reactor status.
Decide whether to keep farming the sides or push the core.
Leave early, before the situation on the map gets worse.
This rhythm matters most in squads of three or four: while two players loot, the third watches the dose and the sounds, and nobody runs out of meds at the worst moment.
Extraction: Speedboat Dock and Highway
Players name two exits: Speedboat Dock by the water and Highway by land. The names are unofficial, but they help a squad agree on a plan. Late in a raid both exits are often covered, because squads pick the same routes.
Speedboat Dock suits a quick exit with few contacts after the reactor is dealt with. Scout the shore and high ground before approaching, bring smoke grenades and do not bunch up. Other squads that are leaving head for the Highway exit too, so late firefights are common. With heavy loot from H1000, players more often choose the road.
If the fight at the core is behind you and your bag is full, skip extra containers. Every spare minute raises the chance of being spotted at the exit.
Loadout and tips for every raid
The plant punishes slow play, so have a plan before the first alarm. The basic rules:
Bring a gas mask on every run.
Carry more meds than seems necessary.
A close-range weapon and smoke grenades help in tight rooms and at the exit.
Learn one safe side route before heading to the core.
Leave if both exits start filling up.
The map teaches you to plan a raid rather than just shoot, and it is good practice before the other Operations maps.