WARDOGS Loadouts by Role & Budget (Season 2)

Price any build and check the break-even with the cash calculator, or put two weapons side by side in the Loadout Builder.

What makes a good loadout

The trap is spending on a flashy gun. Armour is applied before ammo type in the damage math, so a protective vest is the highest-leverage buy on a small budget. Put the cheapest adequate weapon in your hands, then load the rest into armour, ammunition and utility. Keep the whole kit cheap enough that dying does not wipe your bank, since a death you cannot afford is what keeps new players broke. The money guide covers how to earn it back.

Fastest weapon in each class

Kill speed wins most head-to-head fights, so it helps to know which weapon in each class kills quickest before you commit to a role. These are Season 2 times to kill with FMJ to the chest, on an unarmoured enemy and through the level 2 vest most players wear.

Every gun and body part is in the TTK calculator, and the tier list ranks them with price and recoil.

Armour and ammo change your time to kill

The no-vest column is the best case. Armour is checked before ammo type and it stretches every time to kill hard: a free starter rifle kills an unarmoured chest in 254 ms but needs 762 ms through a level 4 vest, the jump from four body shots to ten. That gap is why the vest comes before the rifle.

Ammo is the other half of it. FMJ is the safe default because it stays even against flesh and armour. Armour-piercing is what you switch to when enemies start wearing Level 3 or 4. Hollow point is the trap: it shreds an unarmoured target, but against Level 4 the AK-74 needs about 40 chest hits with it, so only run it when you are sure nobody has armour.

The budget starter build (about $1,800)

The three free assault rifles, the A-91, Bushmaster M17S and KH-2002, kill at the same speed, so any of them is fine to start. In Season 2 the AK-74 is unlocked by default too, and at $800 a life it is the better rifle once you can afford to lose it. The budget loadout page prices a kit for every role.

Best assault build: the Galil, then the TCX-SPR

The Galil (Assault 10, $2,000) is the mid-game assault pick, controllable where the early rifles are not. Run a vertical foregrip, because most of the recoil in this game is vertical, and a muzzle with strong horizontal recoil reduction. The muzzle only unlocks on the class you are leveling. The next step is the TCX-SPR at Assault 20 for $3,200: its 7.62x39 round saves a chest hit through every vest, so it kills a level 2 vest in 380 ms to the Galil's 542 ms. The M4 at Assault 28 is the close-range partner. The FAL is no longer the ceiling: after the 25% .308 cut it needs four chest hits on a bare chest like the 5.56 rifles, at $6,000 a life. Before either, the free AK-74 at $800 plus good armour beats a pricey rifle with none, and the AK-74 build shows how to kit it.

Best medic build: the PP-19 Bizon, then the Vityaz

In Season 2 every medic starts with the new PP-19 Bizon, unlocked by default with a 53-round mag for $1,000 a life. The PP-19 Vityaz ($1,200) moved to Medic level 15 and is the step up, with low recoil and reliable hits out to around 200 m. The medic kit earns through revives and heals. Pair the SMG with healing items, then a defibrillator ($1,600) once it unlocks at Medic 22, follow the Hot Zone, and keep your team alive. If you want raw speed instead, the Super-45 kills faster on paper (about 96 ms against the PP-19's 206 ms), but the PP-19's low recoil lands more of its shots, which usually matters more than the number. See the money guide for how revives and heals pay.

Best recon build: the Mosin-Nagant

The Mosin-Nagant (Recon 10, $4,500) one-shots a head through a level 2 helmet and an unarmoured chest, and it is the cheapest gun that does both. The SKS ($2,400) is the cheaper starter, but Season 2's marksman cut means it now needs three chest hits even on an unarmoured target. Armour flips sniper maths fast: a level 3 helmet takes two Mosin headshots and a level 4 vest three chest hits, so the helmet and the enemy's armour decide every sniper duel. That is why the highest-tier answers are the SV98 and the AMR-50 later on. Season 2 cut 7.62x54mmR and 7.62x39mm base damage but raised sniper hit-location damage so snipers keep their kills, and the AMR-50 now costs $14,800 a life. The Mosin now takes only its new 3.5x PU scope. Start with the Mosin, add a ghillie at Recon 26, and take the new M14 (Recon 25, $7,400) if you want a marksman rifle: it is full-auto and kills through a level 2 vest in 252 ms.

Attachments for these builds

Kit every one of these for recoil first. A vertical foregrip tames the vertical kick that holds the early rifles back, and a bipod makes the recon rifles near-recoilless when you are prone. The full breakdown, including the muzzle class-lock and the recoil-versus-sway trap, is in the attachments guide.