WARDOGS patch notes and updates
The October 2 balance hotfix changes Infrared Range Finder vendor availability and corrects CIWS damage against the Havoc. Season 2 is announced for October 15; its full patch notes are not yet published.
October 2: Infrared Range Finder and CIWS balance hotfix
Why is the Infrared Range Finder missing from the vendor?
BULKHEAD announced that Infrared Range Finders are being withdrawn from vendors until Season 2, when they will require batteries. The notice was published at 15:39 UTC on October 2 and gives a 12-hour rollout window as regional servers restart, so availability can differ during that window. It does not announce a price or unlock-fee change.
The loadout builder and unlock planner now flag this withdrawal. Their stored weight, price and unlock fee remain reference values. The announcement does not name the ordinary Range Finder or state that equipment already owned stops working.
CIWS against the Havoc
The developer says the CIWS now destroys a Havoc in roughly 6 seconds rather than 12, correcting the previous patch. This is the developer's reported comparison, not a guaranteed TTK under every firing condition. No new client download or server downtime is required for this balance hotfix.
September 30: Update 0.1.2
BULKHEAD says this update fixes the WD-L020 crash caused by Windows 11 update KB5124010. If the game still fails to start, install the latest WARDOGS update before following the startup troubleshooting guide. The older September 23 support investigation predates this fix.
Cash, XP and server changes
- Revive action validity is now checked by the server. Rewards from a vehicle fly-through exploit are capped; rewards for destroying buildables scale with their build progress; depositing pallets at a FOB outside the zone pays less.
- The new Deploy flow offers Official, Community, Infantry Mode and Low-Level server choices. Advanced Filters returned to the Official list, and Join now shows connection and queue position.
- Server security and stability changed, and community administrators gained scheduled restarts and RCON restrictions.
- Throwables no longer work from enclosed vehicle seats. The adaptive crosshair hides while aiming down sights, buildable critical spots favour reachable positions, and the Havoc no longer takes increased 20mm and 30mm cannon damage.
The notes do not publish new numeric payout rates. The cash and XP calculator still models its labeled retail-game snapshot, so verify changed rewards in a live match.
September 22: Season 2 date announced
BULKHEAD announced that WARDOGS Season 2 is coming on October 15, 2026. The teaser gives the date but no patch details.
September 23: WD-L020 startup investigation
Team17 investigated a possible compatibility issue between WD-L020 and Windows 11 preview update KB5124010. This notice is historical: BULKHEAD says Update 0.1.2 fixes the crash caused by that update. Install the game patch first if WD-L020 appears now.
September 14: Patch 0.11
Maintenance has completed. Patch 0.11 separates Official and Community server browsers, adds community-server text search, preserves server IDs across map changes and restarts, and adds filters for empty and full servers.
The announcement also covered cash-exploit fixes, GPU crash fixes and a temporary 5% end-of-match cash bonus on community servers. That bonus was announced for one week; it is not included in the wiki's default rewards.
September 10: launch stability hotfix
The client hotfix targeted failed server joins, unexpected kicks and long login queues. Players were asked to restart and update the client; entry then resumed in controlled batches.
September 10: Season 1
The launch update changed progression, unlocks and prices. The linked unlock ladders, item pages and loadout costs now show the retail values.
See the complete role XP table for every level.
Changed unlocks and purchase costs
| Item | Track | Level | Unlock cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport Parachute | Career | 35 | $25,000 |
| Ruck Backpack | Career | 55 | $100,000 |
| Deagle | Career | 85 | $75,000 |
| SPH-2 | Career | 90 | $500,000 |
| PP-19 50 RND Vityaz Drum Magazine | Medic | 29 | $50,000 |
| Large Hammer | Support | 8 | $75,000 |
| URAL | Driver | 3 | $35,000 |
| Kodiak [M249] | Driver | 6 | $50,000 |
| Dune Buggy | Driver | 8 | $25,000 |
| Kodiak [Pickup] | Driver | 10 | $35,000 |
| Large Crate | Driver | 16 | $20,000 |
| Ural Defender | Driver | 18 | $75,000 |
| Ural Defender [M249] | Driver | 25 | $125,000 |
| Humvee [Minigun] | Driver | 30 | $150,000 |
| L2A6 | Driver | 35 | $500,000 |
| 6-10x Scope MRAD | Recon | 18 | $40,000 |
| 6-10x Scope MOA | Recon | 26 | $45,000 |
| Medium Hammer | Support | 3 | $25,000 |
| Small Armored Crate | Pilot | 2 | $10,000 |
| AH-6M [Miniguns] | Pilot | 4 | $50,000 |
| Z20 Lakota | Pilot | 10 | $35,000 |
Vendor prices
| Item | Price per purchase |
|---|---|
| Forward Operating Base | $7,500 |
| Large Hammer | $2,400 |
Other gameplay changes
- The Z20 Lakota received handling and balance changes. Helicopter input damping now applies to every input device, and vehicle turrets have a maximum turn speed.
- The 122mm, 155mm and flare deployables take more loadout space. Current dimensions are listed in the deployables catalogue.
- Kills from air vehicles now award 250 XP. Selling supply-crate items worth less than $75 now awards 1 XP.
Wiki data corrections, September 20
- Updated weapon stats, attachment effects, inventory sizes, shop prices and construction values against the retail game files.
- Rebuilt all seven unlock ladders, including individual armor fees, zero-fee magazine unlocks and music tapes.
- Added every role XP level through 100, weapon recoil charts and curved damage falloff.
- Added 28 cosmetics and emotes and projectile modifiers.
- Corrected the AH-6M and AH-6R: each carries one pilot and one passenger, with no supply-crate space. The MH-6 carries one pilot and five passengers and supports supply crates.
- Corrected vehicle crew roles, the armed Ural's five seats, and Little Bird bullet protection. Added missing vehicle part health.
- Moved stationary defenses and the loudspeaker from Vehicles to Buildables, combining their crew, health and construction details in one entry each.
- Corrected backpack compartments and slot totals, supply-crate storage and health, and missing weight-class effects. Removed an incorrect eight-pellet claim from rifled slugs.
Prices are installed defaults and may change on live servers. Existing map, compatibility and supplemental reference data remain where the retail files did not establish a replacement.