WARDOGS Weapons Guide: Buy Menu, Bullet Drop and Range

WARDOGS does not hand you a class with a gun attached. Before each life you buy a kit, and that purchase is your role until you die. The game is now live; this page keeps verified system guidance separate from community-measured weapon statistics that still need a reproducible launch-build dataset.

There are no classes

The most important thing to understand about WARDOGS weapons is structural, not statistical: there is no fixed class system. Before each life you buy weapons, equipment and vehicles from your cash balance, and what you bought is your role for that life. Die, and you buy again — with no obligation to make the same choice.

That has practical consequences:

• Your team’s composition is fluid. If nobody has anti-armour and a tank shows up, the fix is one death away.
• Loadouts are a spending decision, not a progression reward. No grind gates a weapon. Your balance does. See the cash economy guide.
• Committing to one playstyle is a choice you re-make constantly. Sniper this life, driver the next, engineer after that.

Does WARDOGS have bullet drop?

Yes. Every bullet in WARDOGS has travel time and drops under gravity, so long shots need you to aim above the target or set your zero. Inside about 100 metres the drop is small enough to ignore; past about 300 metres it decides whether you hit.

• Zeroing: community guides report that weapons start zeroed at 100 metres and that Page Up / Page Down raise and lower the zero. Check the Keybinds menu if those keys do nothing on your setup.
• Set the zero to the fight, not the maximum: zero to the distance you expect to engage, then hold over for anything further.
• Fast rounds drop less: data-mined muzzle velocities put assault rifles around 880–975 m/s and SMGs around 375–400 m/s, so an SMG needs far more hold-over at the same range. These figures come from a third-party guide, not BULKHEAD.
• Moving targets need lead as well as hold-over, because the round takes time to arrive.

Real ballistics change everything

WARDOGS is built on real-world ballistics with genuine bullet drop and travel time. A gun that shreds at 50 metres can feel useless at 200.

This is why range bracket, not damage number, is the first thing to decide:

Range bracket	What matters	What fails
Close (under 50m)	Handling, rate of fire, time to first shot	Heavy optics, slow-handling rifles
Mid (50-150m)	Recoil control, sustained accuracy	Pure close-quarters weapons
Long (150m+)	Muzzle velocity, optics, leading a moving target	Anything with low velocity and heavy drop

Two habits that pay immediately:

1. Lead moving targets. Travel time is modelled. At long range you are shooting where they will be.
2. Hold for the shot you can make. With drop and travel time, a hopeful long-range burst mostly announces your position.

What is confirmed about the arsenal

• The Closed Alpha build was reported to contain 33 weapons, and the roster is expected to be larger at Early Access. Exact counts have been reported inconsistently — treat any specific number as unconfirmed until launch.
• Weapons are bought per life from the cash economy, not unlocked by progression.
• Camouflage cannot be purchased with real money. BULKHEAD has stated camos, cash and gold bars are earned only.
• Faction-locked weapons have not been confirmed. Nobody has announced exclusive weapons, vehicles or abilities per faction, and nothing rules it out either. See the factions page.

Choosing a kit as a new player

• First few lives: cheap and mid-range. A general-purpose rifle you can control is worth more than a specialist tool you cannot afford to lose.
• Match the optic to the bracket. Over-scoping is the most common new-player mistake in a game with real drop; a magnified optic you cannot use up close costs you every surprise encounter.
• Buy one team-facing item. Something that helps four people — a smoke, a launcher, a repair tool — outperforms a marginal weapon upgrade.
• Keep a reserve. Your balance carries between matches, and being able to afford the right kit next life is worth more than the best kit this life.

Related

• Full weapons list and observed prices
• Progression and unlocks
• How to make money fast

Sources

• WARDOGS on Steam — official feature description and FAQ
• Team17 — WARDOGS reveal
• BULKHEAD — WARDOGS
• Gaming ProMax: shooter mechanics — default 100 m zero and Page Up / Page Down (community-reported)
• XGamingServer ballistics guide — data-mined muzzle velocities; drop negligible inside 100 m, decisive past 300 m