WARDOGS Season 2 cuts the XP for class level 20 by more than half, takes up to a quarter off the base damage of .308 and 7.62 rounds, and moves tier 3 armour from WARDOG level 60 to 70. It also adds four guns and four vehicles, and goes live on 15 October 2026 at about 09:30 UTC.
Most attachments and many guns have moved level too, so a Season 1 plan for your next class may not hold. Here's what changed, who wins and who loses, from BULKHEAD's Season 02 patch notes posted on 14 October.
Winners and losers
Winners versus Losers
How much XP do class levels need in Season 2?
Each class (Assault, Medic, Recon, Support, Driver, Pilot) levels separately, and your WARDOG level is all your class levels added together. Season 2 cuts the XP for every class level, most of all between 10 and 20, where BULKHEAD says many players stalled.
| Class level | Season 1 XP | Season 2 XP |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 35,000 | 25,000 (29% less) |
| 20 | 250,000 | 111,500 (55% less) |
| 30 | 500,000 | 318,200 (36% less) |
| 50 | 1,500,000 | 1,150,000 (23% less) |
Level 20 matters most: it's where the TCX-SPR and M249 now unlock, and the T-72B3 on Driver. Higher up the cut shrinks, so late attachments are still a long climb. For what Season 1 changed, see the WARDOGS Season 1 changelog explained.
Where do the new weapons and vehicles unlock?
Each new gun unlocks at a set class level for a one-off fee, then costs in-game cash at the vendor each time you buy it. For handling and screenshots of each one, see every new weapon and vehicle in WARDOGS Season 2.
TCX-SPR
A 7.62x39mm assault rifle that takes the M4's old slot. Unlock $100k, then $3,200 a buy.
M14
A .308 marksman rifle, with its own attachments from Recon 27 to 42. Unlock $100k, then $7,400 a buy.
PP-19 Bizon
A 9x19mm SMG with a 53-round magazine, unlocked from the start of Medic. $1,000 a buy.
Evo-3 Ultra
A .308 LMG with a 50-round box. Unlock $200k, then $7,250 a buy. Bipod at Support 33.
The new M14, Evo-3 Ultra and TCX-SPR fire the nerfed rounds, so they launch with the reduced damage. The vehicles all sit on Driver, which now has more armed options before the L2A6 main battle tank:
- Wolf-110: Driver 8 ($50k unlock), $2,200 a buy. A fast light transport.
- Wolf-110 (M2 Browning): Driver 16 ($125k), $7,800 a buy, with a ring-mounted machine gun.
- T-72B3: Driver 20 ($250k), $16,000 a buy. Slower than the L2A6 ($22,000), but cheaper and slightly more fuel-efficient.
- Flakpanzer Gepard: Driver 25 ($300k), $14,000 a buy. The new anti-air vehicle.
- Molotov: Assault 13 ($25k), $340 a buy. It burns foliage and anyone in the flames, and rain weakens the fire.
Which unlocks moved in Season 2?
Bookmark this before you pick your next class. Levels and one-off unlock fees from the patch notes (where no fee is shown, the notes don't list one):
| Item | Season 1 | Season 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Bag | Medic 24, $75k | Medic 14, $50k |
| MP5 | Medic 15, $75k | Medic 4, $25k |
| Defibrillator | Medic 11, $50k | Medic 22, $110k |
| AMP-9 | Medic, by default | Medic 20, $75k |
| C4 + detonator | Support 2 | Assault 4 |
| AK74 | Assault 3, $10k | Assault, by default |
| M4 | Assault 20, $100k | Assault 28, $150k |
| BMR-308 | Recon 30 | Recon 20 |
| PKM | Support 30, $150k | Support 15, $100k |
| M249 | Support 15, $100k | Support 20, $150k |
| Little Bird (miniguns) | Pilot 4, $50k | Pilot 8, $125k |
| SPH-2 | WARDOG 90, $500k | Driver 31, $350k |
| Tier 3 helmet and armour | WARDOG 60 | WARDOG 70 |
| Supply pallets | By default | WARDOG 5, 9 and 16 ($10k, $25k, $50k) |
Assault is now the class for attacking enemy bases, so C4 and the Molotov sit there. The Mosin gets a new 3.5x scope at Recon 10 but loses every other optic, and the Gold Market is now a WARDOG 35 unlock ($150k).
Which guns got nerfed in Season 2?
Rounds built for sniper rifles were doing near-sniper damage from fast-firing rifles and LMGs. Every weapon that fires these rounds loses base damage, vehicle guns included:
| Calibre | Base damage |
|---|---|
| .308 Winchester | -25% |
| 7.62x54mmR | -20% |
| 7.62x39mm | -19% |
| .50 Cal | -16% |
The FAL keeps the highest damage per shot of any assault rifle, but now sits closer to the TCX-SPR and M4. LMG body damage now matches assault rifles, so LMGs win on sustained fire, not per shot.
- Armour and helmets: tier 3 now blocks 50% of damage (was 55%), tier 4 blocks 60% (was 65%).
- Tier 4 helmet: muffles your hearing and proximity chat, narrows your view and fogs up while you sprint.
- Snipers: hit-location damage went up to offset the base cut. A Scout Rifle headshot now kills with no helmet, and a tier 1 helmet takes two.
- Suppression (the blur and shake when bullets fly past): much stronger from near misses by small and medium calibres. Tier 3 and 4 helmets cut it by 68% and 80%.
- Parachutes: slower to open, and they won't open below about 10 metres.
Rain, building and vehicles
- Rain: affects spotting range, and thunder is loud enough to cover footsteps. Every player hears the same strike at the same moment.
- Building costs: a mortar now takes 600 build supplies (was 150), a door 80 (was 22) and a gate 200 (was 85).
- Breaching: hammers can no longer breach doors and gates. The Halligan bar, a breaching tool, now breaches both.
- Drill rigs: need 2,000 fuel to start and run for at most 300 seconds, down from 375.
- New buildables: MG Nest (large hammer), Large Shelter (medium hammer and up) and Wooden Step (small hammer and up).
How did vendor prices change in Season 2?
Every purchase in a match costs in-game cash, and Season 2 reprices a lot of it. Armed vehicles, armour and spotting gear all go up, while a few guns and backpacks get cheaper.
| Item | Season 1 | Season 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc | $18,000 | $28,000 |
| L2A6 | $14,000 | $22,000 |
| Little Bird (miniguns) | $7,000 | $12,000 |
| Z20 Lakota (miniguns) | $8,000 | $15,000 |
| Humvee (minigun) | $4,500 | $10,000 |
| AMR 50 | $8,800 | $14,800 |
| Super-45 | $2,600 | $5,600 |
| Tier 4 armour | $4,000 | $5,000 |
| Tier 4 helmet | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| Infrared Range Finder | $1,200 | $3,200 |
| Basic Parachute | $100 | $500 |
| FAL | $6,500 | $6,000 |
| AK74 | $1,600 | $800 |
| Ruck Backpack | $2,400 | $1,600 |
Cash and XP rewards
- XP routing: destroying buildables, C4 and IEDs now level Assault instead of Support. Artillery levels Driver, and repairs level Driver or Pilot depending on the vehicle.
- Spotting: pays about 30% less, and now scales with the value of what you spot.
- Logistics: base pay is lower (deploying a supply pallet drops from $2,500 to $1,250), but each pallet in a row adds $250 and 100 XP, up to 10, and each crate in a row adds $100 and 50 XP. BULKHEAD said on 15 October it was pushing Driver progression fixes after a pallet-run exploit, so the streak values may now be lower than the launch notes say; we'll update this once the write-up lands.
- Drill towers: capturing an enemy tower pays $1,500 and 300 XP, up from $750 and 250 XP.
- Assault rifle kills: kills with an assault-type weapon pay $2,000, up from $1,500.
- Destroying a FOB (an enemy forward base): up to $7,500 and 250 XP extra, based on the supplies inside.
- Vehicle kills: armed variants pay far more, unarmed ones less (a default Humvee drops from $1,500 to $600).
- Losing team: 20% off at the vendor when 40 or more points behind second place.
- Lonestar: the blue faction got cash and XP bonuses at launch, an experiment to see whether it changed the team's win rate and reputation. BULKHEAD removed the cash and XP bonus on 15 October, a day after launch, saying it "got a few things wrong".
Fairer matches
- Team switching: once a team leads by more than 10 points, you can't switch again for 15 minutes. Switchers and mid-match joiners see an obscured map and can't use the spawn vehicle until they reach the zone.
- Team kills: the victim votes to forgive or punish, and repeat offenders get kicked, then banned.
- Ping limits: official servers kick players who stay over their region's limit.
- Filling empty servers: joining an empty server to help fill it earns rewards and a vendor discount.
- Bakurani: all three team spawns were moved and rebuilt.
Easy to miss
Coming later in Season 2
- Wager Vendor: bet your own cash on your own performance, with a tracker above the minimap. It's closed at launch, opens later in the season and will come and go.
- Steam Trading Cards: coming during the season, pending Valve's approval.
Short on time for the grind? Our Class XP Boost levels the class you need for you. The FAQ on our WARDOGS page covers how it works.
FAQ
Do WARDOGS levels reset in Season 2?
The Season 2 patch notes don't mention a reset. They change the XP needed for each level and move many unlocks, but say nothing about wiping levels or cash.
How much XP is class level 20 in WARDOGS Season 2?
111,500 XP in total, down from 250,000 in Season 1. That's 55% less, the biggest cut on the curve.
What got nerfed in WARDOGS Season 2?
High-calibre rounds: .308 base damage is down 25%, 7.62x54mmR 20%, 7.62x39mm 19% and .50 Cal 16%. Tier 3 and 4 armour also block 5 points less, and tier 3 armour now unlocks at WARDOG 70.
Is the Wager Vendor in WARDOGS Season 2 yet?
Not at launch. BULKHEAD says it opens later in Season 2 and will come and go during the season.