WARDOGS Season 3 Patch Notes (Update 0.3.0): Every Unlock, Price and XP Change

WARDOGS Season 3 is live. BULKHEAD shipped Update 0.3.0 on Thursday 12 November 2026 after a maintenance window that ran from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC. The full notes went up the day before as "Season 03 Patch Notes" on Steam, and there is a lot in them. You get a new city map, Limited Mode servers and a slower XP curve. Tanks move to WARDOG level 200, the Infrared Range Finder is gone, and parachutes, vehicles and Cash rewards are all repriced. This page sorts all of it by what it does to your progress and your Cash. We checked everything against the Steam post on 13 November 2026.

Quick answer: The WARDOGS Season 3 patch notes (Update 0.3.0, live 12 Nov 2026) add Sabatulo, the first city map, and Limited Mode (no HP or AP ammo, no Level 3 or 4 armor, no attack vehicles). They also add multi-track unlocks, so armor, backpacks, tac vests and parachutes now unlock on every role track. The XP needed per level goes up. Tanks move from WARDOG 145 to WARDOG 200, and from Driver 20-35 to Driver 35-50. The Infrared Range Finder is removed, DMRs now two-shot an unarmored player, and Cash for destroying enemy emplacements doubles. The Havoc drops to $26,000 and the Wager Vendor is gone. Season 3 runs about three months, to 28 January 2027.

This page covers Season 3, Update 0.3.0. Our sources are BULKHEAD's own Steam patch notes and its Season 03 launch post. When BULKHEAD ships a hotfix, we update this page in place.

What is in the WARDOGS Season 3 patch notes?

Here are the headline changes from Update 0.3.0, in the order most players will notice them:

Change	Season 2	Season 3 (Update 0.3.0)
New map	Bakurani, Zestafona, Ozeti	Sabatulo added (first city map)
New mode	None	Limited Mode servers
Tank unlock (WARDOG track)	Level 145	Level 200
Tank unlock (Driver track)	Level 20-35	Level 35-50
XP per level	Season 2 curve	Increased, closer to Season 1
Season length	About 4 weeks	About 3 months
Infrared Range Finder	In the vendor	Removed
Havoc price	$28,000	$26,000
Wager Vendor	In the game	Removed
Max ping, official servers	Lower, set per region	250 in every region

BULKHEAD's own summary in the Season 03 launch post is four lines long: "New Map: Sabatulo · New Mode: Limited Mode · New Multi-Track Unlocks · New Catch-Up Mechanic." The rest of the notes are balance, economy and bug fixes, and we cover those below.

What does the new Sabatulo map add?

Sabatulo is the first urban map in WARDOGS. In the notes' words, it is "packed with tight streets, towering high-rises and plenty of destruction, alongside key locations such as a central hospital, swimming pool, power station and the river embankment." BULKHEAD says it is built for "a mix of urban firefights, close-quarters combat and verticality."

That matters for loadouts. Long sightlines get shorter, rooftops count for more and room-to-room fights favour close-range weapons and the buffed assault rifles. Helicopter passengers now see their height above the ground above the minimap. On a map with high-rises, check that number before you jump.

How does Limited Mode work in WARDOGS Season 3?

Limited Mode servers cap the vendor at what is "typically available early to mid season." The notes list what you can't buy there:

• No Hollow Point (HP) or Armor Piercing (AP) ammo
• No Level 3 or Level 4 armor
• No attack vehicles
• No CIWS, Stingray, MG Nest or Drill Rig
• No anti-tank mines

The key line for anyone worried about wasting time: "All progression and cash earned also carry over to other modes." Limited Mode is not a side mode with its own economy. XP and Cash you earn there count everywhere. The server browser now shows Limited servers and lets you filter for them. If you join late in the season, or just don't want to face Level 4 armor and minigun helicopters in your first week, start here.

Which unlock levels changed in Season 3?

This is the biggest progression change in the patch. Under multi-track unlocks, "armor, backpacks, tactical vests and parachutes can now be unlocked from every role track." Ammo types move later on the WARDOG track and are spread across the role tracks, "according to where the weapons that use them unlock."

BULKHEAD also says outright that one old trick is dead: "dipping into several roles to speedrun WARDOG levels is no longer the fastest way to unlock shared items." The fix is described as "a temporary solution until we introduce the intel-based progression system next year."

Each role still gets its signature item a little earlier than the others:

• Assault gets armor before any other role
• Medic gets the tac vest first
• Support gets backpacks first
• Recon gets AP ammo first

The specific level moves in Update 0.3.0:

Item	Track	Season 2	Season 3
Tanks	Driver	Level 20-35	Level 35-50
Tanks	WARDOG	Level 145	Level 200
C4	Assault	Level 4	Level 5
Molotov	Assault	Level 13	Level 8
Large Hammer	Support	Level 8	Level 14
Verba	Support	Level 14	Level 8
AMR 50	Recon	Level 35	Level 41

The tank change is the big one. BULKHEAD says tanks have been "moved later and re-added to the WARDOG track." In Season 2 a Driver could reach a tank at level 20-35. Now it is level 35-50, on a curve that also needs more XP per level. If you planned your season around a tank, the timeline is much longer now. Our Season 2 Driver unlocks guide shows how far the gate has moved.

The Large Hammer move is aimed at builders. BULKHEAD calls it "a notable power spike for builders" that "came too early," and wants "to make mega-bases slightly harder to setup very early in the season." The Verba moves earlier to make up for it, so Support still has an anti-air option when the AH-6M Littlebird arrives.

On r/WarDogs, the first threads after launch match the table. Posts about AP ammo being "made WAY more difficult to unlock" for some guns, and a driver main's complaint that the requirement isn't "Play your way", both trace back to these moves.

Is WARDOGS progression slower in Season 3?

Yes, on purpose. The notes say "The XP required for each level has been increased," and that overall speed is now "more aligned with Season 1 speeds." BULKHEAD ties it to the longer season, which now runs "roughly 3 months," and says the slower pace restores "the journey many players previously enjoyed." Season 2 lasted four weeks. The price-increase section dates the end of Season 3 to "28th January", which, for a season that started in November 2026, means 28 January 2027.

There is a safety net for players with less time, the catch-up mechanic: "As the season goes on, an XP catch-up bonus and an extended vendor discount will kick in week by week for low-level players, increasing throughout the season, per role." BULKHEAD has not published the percentages, so we won't guess them. What we know is that the bonus is per role and grows week by week, so the later in the season you start a role, the bigger the help should be.

BULKHEAD also warns players up front: "We anticipate that a very small percentage of players who min/max progression will unlock better items and vehicles within the first weekend of Season 3's launch." Its advice is to use early-game counters and teamwork, "or stick to new player and Limited servers to avoid them." That matches the first day on r/WarDogs, where the top-voted new thread was about a streamer's 151-kill match in a minigun Littlebird, and another thread reported 271 kills.

What changed in the WARDOGS Season 3 economy?

Season 3 starts from zero after the wipe, and the patch reprices a lot of what you buy and what you earn. For how the wipe treated your Cash and Gold Bars, see our gold price tracker.

Vehicle price cuts:

Vehicle	Season 2	Season 3
Wolf-110	$7,800	$6,800
Kodiak	$6,750	$6,250
AH-6M Littlebird	$12,000	$10,480
Havoc	$28,000	$26,000

Price increases and cuts on equipment:

• Basic Parachute: $500 → $1,250. It is now an emergency chute for bailing out of helicopters. It opens slower, can't be pulled within about 20m of the ground, and is effective above about 100m.
• Sport Parachute: $700 → $2,250. It is built for BASE jumps and is effective above about 60m.
• Molotov unlock: $25k → $12.5k.

More Cash for:

• Destroying enemy L81 Mortars, Talon 9K-SAMs, MG Nests and Stingrays: $650 → $1,300
• Destroying an enemy Vanguard CIWS: $1,200 → $2,400
• Destroying a vehicle with your own vehicle within 1,000m of a control zone (now pays the full control zone reward)
• Air vehicle kill streaks on enemy players (re-added)
• Parachuting into an enemy FOB (a new reward that offsets the parachute price rise)
• Depositing fuel into a FOB that activates a drill (new kickback). Our drill guide covers how drills work.
• A small bonus for playing on community servers

Less Cash and XP for spotted high-value kills:

Spotted target killed	Season 2	Season 3
AH-6M / AH-6R Littlebird	$1,000	$850
Z20 Lakota	$1,400	$1,200
L2A6	$3,300	$3,000
T-72B3	$2,400	$2,000
Hot Zone Magnet	$1,650 / 225 XP	$1,500 / 200 XP
Player	150 XP	125 XP
FOB	250 XP	200 XP
Spawn vehicles	500 XP	400 XP

Pallets deployed outside a friendly FOB now give reduced rewards. Low-value crate drops pay less, "to discourage crate drop spam for profit." The losing-faction vendor discount is now based on how far that faction trails first place, not the faction one place above it. And the Wager Vendor has been removed and gone back into development.

The pattern is clear. Crate spam and spotted high-value kills earn less, and killing emplacements and good vehicle play earn more. If you farmed Cash by spamming crates from a helicopter in Season 2, plan for a smaller income. Our breakdown of why helicopters and tanks lose money explains the break-even maths these new prices plug into.

Which weapons were buffed or nerfed in Season 3?

• Infrared Range Finder: removed. BULKHEAD says it is "not happy with how often it's used in almost every match," and that the Season 2 battery nerf "didn't curb how powerful it is." It stays out until it is redesigned.
• Assault rifles and LMGs: assault rifle torso damage goes back to Season 1 values, and LMG torso damage now matches assault rifles. Against Season 2, that is +13% to the upper torso and +3% to the middle and lower torso. Armor reduces damage by the same percentage as before.
• DMRs: every DMR now kills an unarmored player in 2 body shots (was 3) and a player without a helmet in 1 headshot (was 2). The SVD, BMR-308 and M14 need 1 to 2 fewer body shots at every armor level, and kill through a Level 3 helmet in 2 headshots (was 3).
• TCX-SPR: less recoil climb and less side-to-side drift in full auto.
• Compound Bow: arrow speed +50%.
• Molotov: fire now sets you ablaze and makes you drop your held item. It is cheaper to unlock and does less damage to armored vehicles.
• Halligan Bar: it can now force open enemy supply crates, which drops a random item.

What changed for vehicles and helicopters?

• Vehicle-mounted miniguns do more damage to infantry. Head damage is +50%, upper torso +64%, and every other zone gets +50% or more. BULKHEAD says Season 2 "nerfed them more than we intended." Both the 151- and 271-kill pilot threads on day one were about the minigun Littlebird.
• Littlebird cockpits are tougher. Pilot and co-pilot protection now sits "between Season 1 and Season 2 levels."
• The AH-6R Littlebird rocket pods now fire their own 70mm rockets, which wobble in flight. That makes them slightly worse against infantry, with no change against vehicles and FOBs.
• The Vanguard CIWS now hits each vehicle section once per round. Its maximum aim angle drops from 65° to 60°, which widens the overhead blind spot.
• Tanks resist grenades better. The grenade launcher now needs 3 hits to destroy tracks and 5–6 to disable the engine.
• Reverse speeds go up across wheeled vehicles: Kodiak and Humvee to about 57 km/h, Ural 15 → 27 km/h, Wolf-110 27 → about 40 km/h.
• Stone walls can now be destroyed by tanks and artillery, and box hedges can be flattened by vehicles (except the Bobcat).
• Supply crates and pallets break from lower drops (Supply Crates about 60m → 35m, Supply Pallets about 90m → 40m), and supply crates can no longer be deployed in safe zones, matching pallets.
• Window cleaning: the first-person smear on vehicle windows from the Season 2 rain update is fixed. BULKHEAD's line: "all vehicles have had their windows thoroughly cleaned for Season 3."

What else is in Update 0.3.0?

• Graphics bans. Using NVIDIA Inspector or other third-party software to remove smoke or grass, change geometry, alter LOD bias or change textures "is now considered bannable." A launch popup now blocks play until those settings are removed. The "potato" shadow setting is force-reset on boot if it was edited outside the game's settings menu.
• Ping limit on official servers goes up to 250 in every region, after what BULKHEAD calls "our ban wave of 185,000+ players."
• Price increase: WARDOGS goes up by $5 at the end of Season 3 on 28 January. "If you already own WARDOGS you will NOT have to pay anything extra."
• Movember Tactical 'Stache DLC. It grows a mustache as you play in November. BULKHEAD says 100% of profits go to Movember.
• Gold Market camos: Defibrillator Black & Gold (limited time), MAAWS Two-Tone Desert, Compound Bow Digital Wood, M1911 Chocolate Chip and FAL Chocolate Chip.
• New achievements: He's Behind You, Car Jacker and Slot Machine.
• Twitch Drops are on for Season 3, from 15 minutes of watch time (2 Bandages) up to 15 hours (Medium Backpack, L2 Helmet, L2 Armor).
• Controller: you can hold A to move straight to the driver's seat, and Handbrake moves to B.

What should you do first in Season 3?

• Pick one role and stay with it. With multi-track unlocks, the armor, vest, backpack and parachute you need come on the role you actually play. Spreading XP across several roles is no longer the fastest way to shared gear.
• Start on Limited servers if you are new or late. Your Cash and XP carry over, and you won't meet Level 4 armor or attack vehicles there.
• Hunt emplacements for Cash. At $1,300 per mortar or SAM and $2,400 per CIWS, a raid on an enemy FOB's emplacements pays double what it did last season.
• Buy the right parachute. In BULKHEAD's own words: "A Basic Parachute off a tower is an expensive way to die."
• Carry anti-air on Support early. The Verba is now at Support 8, and BULKHEAD moved it there to give Support an anti-air option against the AH-6M minigun Littlebird.

For more habits that save Cash, see our WARDOGS tips and tricks. For the timeline and the reasons behind the reset, see the Season 3 hub.

Planning your Season 3 climb?

Season 3 slowed every level and moved tanks to WARDOG 200? It is a three-month season, so the gate you want is a long way off. Read the account note under the list before you buy anything.

• WARDOGS Cash: hand-farmed Cash for the loadouts you re-buy every deployment, now that parachutes cost up to $2,250. Fast turnaround.
• WARDOGS Career Leveling: progress on the WARDOG track toward the gate you want on the slower Season 3 curve, played by hand.
• WARDOGS Class Leveling: one role track levelled to a specific gate. With multi-track unlocks, armor, backpacks, vests and parachutes now come on every role.
• WARDOGS Rent a Pro: learn Sabatulo in a squad with an experienced player, on your own account, playing it yourself.

All WARDOGS services are on the WARDOGS hub.

A note on accounts: the everplay group EULA for WARDOGS (updated 10 September 2026) lists "boosting, account sharing, or multi-accounting" and "the purchase, sale, or exchange of in-game advantages, accounts, ranks, or progression for real-world value" as cheating (§14.1). We make no claim about what BULKHEAD permits and offer no protection from its enforcement. We can only speak for our own process, our guarantee and our refund policy. Rent a Pro is the option where you play on your own account yourself.

FAQ

When did the WARDOGS Season 3 patch go live? Update 0.3.0 went live on Thursday 12 November 2026, after a maintenance window from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC. BULKHEAD posted the full Season 03 patch notes on Steam on 11 November and announced "SEASON 03 IS NOW LIVE" on 12 November.

What is the WARDOGS Season 3 update number? Update 0.3.0. BULKHEAD's launch post says: "We have now released Update 0.3.0. Servers are back online."

When do you get a tank in WARDOGS Season 3? Tanks moved later in Season 3. They now unlock at Driver level 35-50 (was 20-35) or WARDOG level 200 (was 145), and the XP needed per level has also gone up.

Does Limited Mode progress count in WARDOGS? Yes. The Season 3 patch notes say "All progression and cash earned also carry over to other modes." Limited Mode only restricts the vendor: no HP or AP ammo, no Level 3 or 4 armor, no attack vehicles, no CIWS, Stingray, MG Nest or Drill Rig, and no anti-tank mines.

Why was the Infrared Range Finder removed from WARDOGS? BULKHEAD said it was used in almost every match, and that the Season 2 battery nerf didn't make it less powerful. It has been removed from the vendor until it is redesigned.

How long is WARDOGS Season 3? About three months. The patch notes put the end of Season 3, and the first $5 price increase for new buyers, on 28 January 2027. Existing owners pay nothing extra.

Is the Wager Vendor in WARDOGS Season 3? No. BULKHEAD removed the Wager Vendor in Update 0.3.0. It is back in development until the systems it needs are built.