WARDOGS Scope Magnification & Zoom Fix
To change scope zoom in WARDOGS, aim down sights (hold right mouse) and scroll the mousewheel up or down to step the magnification. If scrolling switches your weapon instead of zooming, you have hit the known mousewheel bug, and resetting keybinds in-game will not clear it. The fix is to delete your GameUserSettings.ini so the game rebuilds it clean.
How to change scope magnification
Variable scopes step through their zoom levels on the mousewheel. Hold right mouse to aim, then scroll up to zoom in and down to zoom out. It only works while you are aiming, so scrolling from the hip does nothing to the optic. Your field of view is a separate setting and does not touch scope zoom, which is why you can run a high FOV and still get full magnification when you scope in. You can remap the bind under Settings, then Controls, where the game splits binds into infantry, vehicle, helicopter, building and communication.
How to switch sights in WARDOGS
Press Z to change sight. Use it to cycle between the sights mounted on your weapon, for example from a magnified optic to a close-range sight when a fight comes to you. It is a separate bind from scope zoom, so the mousewheel never switches sights: outside of aiming, the wheel steps through your quick slots, which is why a broken zoom bind looks like weapon swapping. Range adjustment sits on Page Up and Page Down, and hold breath for a steadier shot is Left Shift while aiming.
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Aim down sights | Right mouse |
| Change scope zoom | Mousewheel while aiming |
| Switch / cycle sights | Z |
| Adjust range (elevation) | Page Up / Page Down |
| Hold breath | Left Shift while aiming |
| Lean left / right | Q / E |
| Fire mode | B |
If Z does nothing, open Settings, then Controls and check what the change-sight action is bound to. On an AZERTY keyboard the letter keys sit in different places, so the defaults often need remapping before they work where you expect. The full keybind list covers every other default.
Which WARDOGS scopes can zoom?
Only four optics in WARDOGS have variable zoom, and all of them are Recon unlocks. Every other sight, from red dots to the 4x and 6x prisms, is fixed power, so scrolling while aiming does nothing on them. If zoom "stops working" right after you swap optics, check this list before you touch any settings.
| Scope | Zoom range | Cost | Unlock | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3x-6x LPVO Short Dot | 3x to 6x | $860 | Recon 11 | The only variable scope suited to mid range |
| 6-10x Scope MRAD | 6x to 10x | $1,200 | Recon 18 | Front focal plane: the reticle scales with zoom, so holdovers stay accurate at every power |
| 6-10x Scope MOA | 6x to 10x | $1,050 | Recon 26 | Rear focal plane: the reticle stays the same size, so holdover marks only match at one power |
| Frontier 2.5x-10x Precision Scope | 2.5x to 10x | $1,800 | Recon 43 | Widest range, front focal plane MRAD reticle |
From Season 2 the Mosin only takes its own 3.5x PU scope, so the 6x Mosin setups are gone. The developers want the one-shot bolt action fought at medium range.
All four carry a strong aim-down-sights penalty, which is the price of the zoom. For a rifle you fight with up close, a fixed 1.5x to 3x optic is faster. The attachments guide covers the fixed options.
Scope zoom not working? Fix the mousewheel bug
There is a confirmed bug where scope zoom stops responding and the mousewheel swaps your weapon instead. It triggers once you rebind any mousewheel action, the minimap zoom being the common culprit, and the in-game keybind reset does not repair it. The only reliable fix is to delete the settings file and let the game regenerate it.
| Step | Do this |
|---|---|
| 1 | Close WARDOGS completely. |
| 2 | Open %LOCALAPPDATA%\Wardogs\Saved\Config\WindowsClient (paste that into the File Explorer address bar). |
| 3 | Back up GameUserSettings.ini if you want your other settings, then delete it. |
| 4 | Launch the game. It rebuilds the file with working defaults, and scroll-to-zoom returns. |
Deleting the file resets all your settings, so screenshot your graphics and sensitivity first. After the reset, avoid binding mousewheel to minimap zoom, since that is what breaks scope zoom in the first place.
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 12 Oct 2026 (Early Access).