Wardogs Beginner Guide | Master Combat, Loadouts, Vehicles and Battlefield Logistics

Wardogs opened its early access test on Steam on September 10 and has attracted more than 200,000 players thanks to its highly distinctive gameplay.

Wardogs is neither a battle royale nor an extraction shooter. It is much closer to Battlefield series, but it is more chaotic and places a greater emphasis on tactics. If you are new to the game, understanding its basic mechanics can help prevent confusion on the battlefield.

Gameplay

Wardogs feels like a combination of Battlefield and Arma, with base building and destruction systems added on top. The developers did not create an entirely new gameplay formula.

Instead, they combined several classic mechanics into one experience. In fact, Wardogs draws inspiration from King of the Hill mod for Arma 3.

Each Wardogs match features 100 players, with three factions fighting against one another across a large combined-arms map. Team tactics, coordination, and the value of each individual player's life all play a more important role throughout every match.

The game relies on vehicles, player-constructed fortifications, environmental destruction, and a player-driven logistics system. Players can drop in and out of the match at any time, ensuring that no single faction maintains a permanent advantage.

Control Zone

The core objective in each Wardogs match revolves around a large central Control Zone. Players need to capture and hold its key points for their team.

The system awards points dynamically every 30 seconds based on player presence inside Control Zone. Players inside the area receive around 160 cash every few seconds. Whenever the timer ticks, the faction with the largest number of players inside the main Control Zone also receives one point.

However, what truly keeps the battle constantly changing is Hot Zone. This is a smaller, moving sub-area that continuously shifts around within the larger Control Zone.

Any player inside Hot Zone counts as two players when contributing to their team's area presence, while the cash earned is also doubled.

As a result, fighting for Hot Zone can provide both a scoring advantage and an economic advantage. Since Hot Zone can move toward player-built bases or positions that were previously defended, almost no two firefights play out in exactly the same way.

Things become even more complex because the main Control Zone contains between two and five towers. Capturing a tower's control console gives the team one digit of master code.

Once all the digits have been collected, the team can enter the complete code at a tower, forcing Hot Zone to move near that tower for a limited period of time.

Every match requires players to balance risk and reward, and your goal is to maximize gains before inevitably dying and respawning.

Economy

In Wardogs, cash is everything, and it persists across all matches. Almost every action can either consume cash or generate it.

Eliminating enemies, healing allies, constructing buildings, and transporting supplies for the team all generate Wardogs cash and experience, directly contributing to progression while maintaining the war effort across matches.

Players can stockpile cash and convert it into Gold Bars, a currency used to directly obtain cosmetic skins both in and outside the game.

Loadout

Loadouts must be manually obtained before deployment from the main base, which is located far away from the main Control Zone.

Players can use cash to obtain weapons, Magazines, Loose Ammo, armor, helmets, vests, backpacks, medical items, utility items, and even vehicles.

Everything you take onto the battlefield can potentially be picked up by other players if you die and are not revived by a teammate. Therefore, every life must be treated carefully. Otherwise, you will have to return to the base and obtain your equipment again after respawning.

This may sound cumbersome, but the game offers some useful quality-of-life features. For example, players below account level 9 receive a 50% New Recruit Discount, which applies to all equipment, loadouts, and vehicles.

Equipment

Every piece of equipment in Wardogs has weight, and weight affects character attributes. Higher-tier equipment provides greater resistance against specific ammunition types.

However, high-tier gear and a fully loaded backpack reduce movement speed, sprint speed, stamina recovery, jump height, and even aiming speed.

You also need to find the right balance between Loose Ammo and carried Magazines. Magazines occupy inventory space based on their size, while players can also carry stacks of Loose Ammo that are not loaded into a weapon. Loose Ammo can be stacked in quantities far greater than the number of rounds contained in a magazine.

Therefore, you must decide based on your weapon how many Magazines to carry for fast reloads and how much Loose Ammo to bring for resupply.

If you are unsure whether your loadout is flexible enough, you can use every weapon, attachment, and vehicle in the shooting range for free. Familiarizing yourself with their handling beforehand can reduce mistakes on the battlefield.

Account Progression

Overall account experience is earned through matches and can unlock armor, backpacks, and even certain vehicles.

Wardogs allows players to create completely customized loadout without class restrictions. For example, you can carry a sniper rifle and a Defibrillator to play a more aggressive frontline sniper role.

However, you must first reach a specific account level or class level to gain access to certain items. Once you reach the required level, you also need to pay a large onetime cash fee to permanently unlock the equipment or vehicle. After that, you can obtain it in each match for much lower cash.

Resource Logistics

All Wardogs players spawn at their faction's main base, which is located far away from the main Control Zone. Running to Control Zone on foot is not practical because it takes too long. Therefore, players need to use vehicles.

Players who specialize in driving and flying can obtain trucks or helicopters with open seats, allowing other players to ride toward Control Zone. If the passengers survive and successfully deploy, the pilot or driver earns money and experience.

Players who favor support roles can carry a Forward Operating Base (FOB). This is an item that can be deployed from the main supplier and occupies a 2x3 rectangular space in the inventory.

They can also carry logistics resources and a Building Hammer, allowing them to establish an FOB at key control points or tactically advantageous positions within the area. An FOB creates a square buildable zone where players can use their hammers to begin constructing a base.

In Wardogs, tactics play a much greater role than raw gun skill. Although some players have complained that its mechanics are overly complicated, that complexity is also part of what makes the game appealing. The developers are continuing to collect player feedback, so its gameplay may continue to evolve during Early Access.