WARDOGS Season 2: New Weapons, Vehicles & Patch Notes

WARDOGS Season 2 officially launches October 15, and developer BULKHEAD is bringing a substantial amount of new content to the Early Access multiplayer shooter. Four weapons, four vehicles, three buildables, a Molotov, rainy weather conditions and a new gambling system are among the additions arriving with Update 0.2 alongside much-needed balancing and progression changes. I had the opportunity to meet with BULKHEAD's leadership earlier this week, including CEO and WARDOGS executive producer Joe Brammer, creative director Tim Nightingale and UX director Howard Philpott, to learn more about the update. The team also provided ScreenRant with an early preview and walkthrough of the extensive Season 2 patch notes. Alongside the new content, BULKHEAD is making significant changes to weapon damage, armor, construction, vehicles and progression. Several of these adjustments target strategies that have become particularly powerful or potentially misused during the game's first month in Early Access according to data and player feedback. Here's what's changing when Season 2 begins next week: WARDOGS Season 2 Adds Four New Weapons & Major Combat Balance Changes Each of the four infantry combat roles is receiving a new weapon in Season 2: Role New Weapon Assault TCX-SPR Assault Rifle Medic PP-19 Bizon SMG Recon M14 DMR Support Evo-3 Ultra LMG The weapons are also getting new attachments, including optics, suppressors, magazines, bipods and other customization options. Assault players are also getting Molotov cocktails, which spread fire on impact, but I'm told these are not effective against vehicles. Higher-caliber weapons are getting nerfed, with base damage reductions of 25% for .308 Winchester, 20% for 7.62x54mmR, 19% for 7.62x39mm, and 16% for .50 caliber ammunition. This mainly affects assault rifles, DMRs, and LMGs like the FAL, BMR, and PKM. Sniper rifles will receive increased hit-location damage to offset the reductions, while DMR headshots and upper-body hits will be slightly weaker. Assault rifles and LMGs are also getting more consistent body damage. The MMGL grenade launcher is getting a much-needed nerf, especially for players firing it from Little Bird helicopters. Its muzzle velocity is dropping by 25%, explosive damage will fall off more sharply, and firing from helicopter benches will introduce significantly more sway and inaccuracy. Level 4 armor and helmets will provide 60% damage reduction instead of 65%. Suppression is also being reworked to make nearby gunfire more effective, while Heavy and Super Heavy helmets will offer 30% and 60% suppression resistance, respectively. The devs revealed that they even considered muffling the mic sound from players wearing these juggernaut-esque helmets, but they decided against adding comms issues in-game. Four new vehicles are joining the game in update 0.2 as well: Wolf-110: A fast, lightweight wheeled transport. Wolf-110 Assault: An armed variant with a mounted M2 Browning machine gun. T-72B3: A main battle tank that's slower than the Leopard but cheaper and more fuel-efficient. Flakpanzer Gepard: A dedicated anti-air vehicle. Existing vehicles are getting changes, too. The Humvee's handling has been reworked to make it better at navigating uneven terrain, while tracked vehicles should feel less floaty and bouncy. No more jumping tanks. Players who purchase vehicles will also have more control over their vehicle inventories. By default, only the driver and their squad will be able to access purchased vehicle inventories, with an option to open access to everyone once the vehicle is fully unlocked. Free vehicles that spawn for each team will remain accessible to all players. Vehicle prices are being adjusted across the board, with several armed vehicles becoming considerably more expensive, addressing a common complaint about imbalances where players compared vehicle costs to kit costs.. The Leopard tank, for example, increases from $14,000 to $22,000, while the Havoc helicopter jumps from $18,000 to $28,000. How Rain Affects Combat and Gameplay in WARDOGS Season 2 introduces rainy weather conditions, as teased earlier from the devs, complete with wet surfaces, vehicles and characters, as well as new environmental audio. The rain sounds different depending on whether players are outside, indoors, beneath cover or inside vehicles. Destroying a building's roof will even allow rain to enter through the opening. Every player on a server will hear the same thunder strike at the same time and from the same direction. According to BULKHEAD, thunder can be loud enough to mask footsteps and gunfire, giving players an opportunity to move or attack without being heard. In our chat with the developers they also discussed how weather affects combat visibility, particularly for snipers who rely on long sightlines, so expect rain servers to have a different player mix of player archetypes. The Super Heavy Helmet is getting additional drawbacks in this weather condition sa well, including restricted vision, muffled audio and a visor that fogs up while sprinting. This is just the first of other map conditions coming in the future, including a night mode in season 3, and snow in the future. Construction Is Getting More Expensive In WARDOGS Season 2 Three new buildables are coming in Season 2: MG Nest: A manned M2 Browning machine gun emplacement. Large Shelter: A metal structure for covering equipment, vehicles or players. Wooden Step: A simple step for construction projects. BULKHEAD is also increasing construction costs and slowing down building speeds, with changes targeting mortars, Talons, and drill rigs. Mortar and radio tower emplacements will cost 800 building supplies instead of 150, and mortars will require twice as many munitions to restock. They're also getting a new firing animation will slow their rate of fire. The Talon's reload time increases from two seconds to five, while its restock cost jumps from 50 to 200 munitions. Drill rigs will require more fuel to activate and will have a shorter maximum operating time, dropping from 375 seconds to 300 seconds. The changes are intended to make running multiple drill rigs a bit more demanding without removing the strategy. For the basebuilders, it doesn't end there: doors and gates will also cost more resources, and hammers will contribute less construction progress per swing. Maybe this will encourage a few more players to get out and target the hot zone. BULKHEAD Is Straight Up Buffing The Blue Team Lonestar, the infamous Blue Team, of WARDOGS, is more a subject of memes than it a viable way to play if you're looking to win. When we met with BULKHEAD's leadership earlier this week to preview season 2, it was revealed that Blue Team has been winning just 10% of matches, compared to 40% for Red and 50% for Green. We covered what's being done about this for season 2 extensively in a separate article. Many changes are being made to address this, including the introduction of bonus cash and XP rewards for Lonestar players throughout Season 2, and changes to the faction's uniforms to make them less conspicuous compared to the Red and Green team outfits. All three factions though, are receiving redesigned spawn locations on Bakurani, with new routes toward the control zone. Any team trailing second place by at least 40 points will also receive a 20% vendor discount to incentivize continued investement to keep trying. BULKHEAD describes the Blue Team incentives as a "social experiment" to see whether additional rewards can change player behavior and improve Lonestar's performance. WARDOGS Season 2 Adds Wagers, Team Switching Restrictions & More A new Wager Vendor being added in season 2 allows players to bet their in-game cash on their own performance during a match. Players can build wagers around actions they intend to complete, adding conditions that increase their potential payout but cause the wager to fail if broken. A tracker above the minimap will show the stake and progress. Season 2 also includes new restrictions for team-switching exploits since currently, you can switch at any time during a match, and an unlimited amount of times, as long as there's space. Going forward, once a team is more than 10 points ahead, players will be unable to switch teams again for 15 minutes after joining one. Players switching factions or entering matches already in progress will also have their maps obscured and won't be able to use spawn vehicles until they reach the control zone. There have been lots of examples of players switching teams back and forth to gather intel, or to sabotage teams, so this will address that. Several progression tracks are being reorganized and rebalanced, with weapons and equipment moving to different unlock levels. The new PP-19 Bizon SMG will become the new default Medic weapon, the MP5 moves to an earlier unlock level, and the new vehicles will be added to the Driver track. Players will also earn additional cash and XP for certain teamplay actions, including logistics deliveries, FOB objectives and combat achievements. Squad leaders can now set an intent visible to their squad members, making it easier for players to find groups focused on particular activities. Players who help populate empty servers will receive rewards and vendor discounts once matches begin, encouragin use of those consistently empty official servers. While waiting for players to join, there will finaly be stuff to do! Players will be able to use weapons and targets, kick around a football and listen to a radio at the spawn area. Other changes include bug fixes, performance improvements and adjustments to vehicle handling and equipment prices. WARDOGS Season 2 launches October 15. BULKHEAD told ScreenRant that the season is currently planned to last approximately six weeks, although the studio wants to remain flexible with future season lengths as it works toward the game's full 1.0 release.