WARDOGS Factions: Best One & Is Lonestar Bad?
WARDOGS has three factions: Lonestar (blue), Valkyra (red) and Manticore (green). They buy from the same armory with the same weapons, prices and unlocks. Gear and pay are identical: Lonestar launched Season 2 with a cash and XP bonus, but it was cancelled on 16 October. The only economy rule left is 20% off at the vendor for a team far behind, on any side. Choose the side your squad is on.
A WARDOGS match drops 100 players onto one map and splits them into three armies fighting over a roaming Control Zone, first to 100 points. You pick a faction when you drop in. Gear is the same on every side, so most "best faction" searches come down to one question: does the side change what you earn? It does not. Lonestar had a bonus for one day at the start of Season 2, then Bulkhead cancelled it.
What are the three WARDOGS factions?
| Faction | Colour | Who they are |
|---|---|---|
| Lonestar | Blue | A private military contractor with a Texan streak that answers to whoever pays, not a flag. |
| Valkyra | Red | A state-backed force out to restore Soviet-era power and reclaim lost ground. |
| Manticore | Green | A covert strike army tied to a fictional Persia, built to leave no trace. |
Do factions change how you play?
Not in gear. All three shop from the same armory, so every weapon, armour tier, price and unlock level is identical no matter which side you join. There are no faction-only guns. The faction-tied extras are cosmetic (the Supporter Edition sells faction-themed weapon skins) plus one Lonestar-only music tape, unlocked at Wardog level 29 for $25,000. Season 2 briefly paid Lonestar more, covered below.
What happened to the Lonestar bonus?
One team had a notoriously lower win rate than the other two in Season 1, and the developers called Season 2 an experiment to see whether money fixes the perception. Lonestar launched on 15 October with a win bonus of +5% cash and +2.5% XP. Bulkhead cancelled it on 16 October, after one day, and said it had got the call wrong. Picking blue earns nothing extra now.
| Rule | Season 2 |
|---|---|
| Lonestar bonus | +5% cash and +2.5% XP on a win from 15 October, cancelled on 16 October |
| Losing-team discount | 20% off at the vendor for a team at least 40 points behind second place, on any faction |
| Bakurani spawns | All three team spawns moved and rebuilt, each with routes built for the zone |
| Team switching | Once a team is more than 10 points ahead, you cannot switch again for 15 minutes after joining a team, your map stays hidden until you first reach the zone, and you cannot use the spawn vehicle until then |
Is Lonestar bad in WARDOGS?
Lonestar has the same guns, gear, vehicles and unlocks as the other two, so nothing about the blue team is built to lose. Its Season 1 reputation was real, though. Blue is the first icon on the team screen, so new players picked it first, and experienced players learned to avoid it after a week. Lonestar filled with newcomers, lost more as a result, and pushed the next round of experienced players away. Season 2 tried to break that loop with money, then dropped the bonus after a day, so the fix now rests on the rebuilt Bakurani spawns.
A squad that communicates and holds a tower wins on Lonestar as well as on the other two. If you keep losing, the answer is coordination and a stacked squad, not a different flag.
Which faction should you pick?
Pick on two things. First, play the side your friends are on, because a coordinated squad is the single biggest edge in a three-way fight and it does not exist across factions. Second, if you are playing solo, it makes no difference to your income, so pick on lore and colour.
Once a team is more than 10 points ahead, a late switch locks you out of switching again for 15 minutes and hides your map until you reach the zone. Decide your side before the match tips, and use the 20% vendor discount if your team falls behind.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three factions in WARDOGS?
WARDOGS has three factions: Lonestar (blue), Valkyra (red) and Manticore (green). Every player picks one of the three when they drop into a match.
Do factions change how you play in WARDOGS?
Not in gear. All three factions shop from the same armory with the same weapons, armour, prices and unlocks. The one Season 2 rule that touches the economy is a 20% vendor discount for a team far behind, on any faction. A Lonestar cash and XP bonus was added at launch and cancelled a day later, on 16 October.
Is Lonestar bad in WARDOGS?
Lonestar has the same gear as the other factions and had the lowest win rate in Season 1, because experienced players avoided it and newcomers filled it. Season 2 launched with a Lonestar cash and XP bonus to offset that, but Bulkhead cancelled it on 16 October, one day in.
Which faction should you pick in WARDOGS?
Pick the side your friends are on, since a coordinated squad is the biggest edge. No faction earns more than another now that the Lonestar bonus has been cancelled.
Written by Kaze, who plays WARDOGS and checks the numbers in game before they go on the page. Facts change with each patch. This page was last updated 22 Oct 2026 (Early Access).