If you dropped into WARDOGS expecting to roll a tank in your first few hours, Season 1 has bad news: the two tanks sit near the top of their progression tracks, and getting one is a deliberate long-grind. There are exactly two in the game — the Heavy Tank and the Artillery Tank — and they unlock on different tracks at very different depths. This guide lays out precisely when you get each one, the two-gate system that decides it, and why BULKHEAD's own words are "players will not see a tank for weeks." Every number here is checked against BULKHEAD's official Season 1 changelog and the current Patch 0.11.
Quick answer: WARDOGS has two tanks in Season 1. The Heavy Tank unlocks on the Driver track at level 35. The Artillery Tank unlocks on the Career track at level 90 and then costs $500,000 Cash to actually deploy. Reaching a tank is a two-gate process: the level unlocks the right to buy it, and you still have to pay Cash for it every time you take one out. BULKHEAD deliberately flattened the curve past level 35 so that only "the top 5%" of players reach the big-ticket vehicles — expect the grind to a tank to take weeks, not hours.
WARDOGS - Career Leveling
Get your WARDOG career pushed to 150
Key takeaways
- Two tanks, two tracks. The Heavy Tank is a Driver level 35 unlock; the Artillery Tank is a Career level 90 unlock. They are not on the same track and you do not get both from one grind.
- The Artillery Tank costs $500,000 Cash on top of the level requirement — the single most expensive vehicle in the game, up from $400,000 before Season 1.
- Unlocking is a two-gate system. Hitting the level only unlocks the option to buy the vehicle; you pay its Cash price out of your persistent balance each time you deploy it.
- BULKHEAD slowed this on purpose. In Season 1 the Artillery Tank moved up from Career 55 to Career 90, and the studio flattened the curve from level 35 onward so only "the top 5%… will need to grind" for the big-ticket items.
- You will not see a tank for weeks. With median players around level 20 at 20–25 hours played, a level-35 Heavy Tank is a multi-day goal and a level-90 Artillery Tank is a season-long one.
When do you get a tank in WARDOGS?
WARDOGS has two tanks, and the honest answer to "when do you get one" depends entirely on which one you mean and which track you level.
- Heavy Tank — Driver track, level 35. This is the earlier and more attainable of the two. It sits on the Driver progression track, which is the vehicle/logistics track, and in Season 1 it unlocks at Driver level 35.
- Artillery Tank — Career track, level 90. This is the trophy. It sits on the Career track (the general track that also holds infantry unlocks like the parachute, large backpack and armour-piercing ammo), and it unlocks at Career level 90.
BULKHEAD confirmed both placements in plain language in the Season 1 changelog, in the same sentence where the studio explained the launch rebalance:
"Looking at the data we have decided to slow levels down around 10 to 20, and flatten the curve from 35 onward… those wanting the big-ticket items, the top 5%, will need to grind. Artillery moves to Career 90 and Heavy Tank to Driver 35."
Read that carefully, because it is the whole story. Both tanks were made harder to reach at launch, not easier. The Artillery Tank was previously a Career 55 unlock and got pushed all the way to Career 90. The Heavy Tank moved off the Career track entirely and onto Driver 35. If a wiki or an AI-written page tells you a tank unlocks in the 20s or on an "Assault" class, it is running on pre-launch data or invented tables — there is no Assault track in WARDOGS, and the general/infantry unlocks all sit on Career.
Why a level is only half the requirement: the two-gate system
The single most common mistake in WARDOGS guides is treating an unlock level as the finish line. It is not. WARDOGS runs a two-gate system for vehicles and expensive gear, and writers who flatten it into one number get the whole economy wrong.
Here is how the two gates work:
- Gate one — the level. Reaching Driver 35 or Career 90 unlocks the right to buy the Heavy Tank or Artillery Tank respectively. Before that level, the vehicle is not purchasable at all, at any price.
- Gate two — the Cash. Once unlocked, the vehicle still costs Cash to deploy, and you pay that price out of your persistent Cash balance every time you take one out. The Artillery Tank costs $500,000 Cash per deployment in Season 1 — the most expensive item in the game, raised from $400,000 in the launch rebalance.
So "getting a tank" really means: grind the track to the unlock level, and have hundreds of thousands of Cash banked to actually drive it. Cash in WARDOGS is spendable currency (shown with the `$` symbol in-game) and it persists between matches, so the Artillery Tank is realistically something you save toward across many rounds rather than something you buy on a whim. It is worth stressing what Cash is not: BULKHEAD's pledge is that "we will NEVER monetize in-game cash or gold bars, they must be earned through play." There is no way to buy that $500,000 with real money from the store — it is a play-earned wall by design.
How long does it actually take to grind to a tank?
BULKHEAD gave us enough numbers to size this honestly. The studio's stated design target is that median players sit around level 20 after 20–25 hours of play, and the curve was deliberately flattened from level 35 onward so that progression to the top items slows to a crawl.
That framing tells you what to expect:
- Heavy Tank (Driver 35). This is a realistic multi-day goal for a dedicated player who mains the Driver track. Level 35 is right where the curve flattens, so the last stretch to it is slower than the levels below — but it is the tank most players will actually reach in Season 1.
- Artillery Tank (Career 90). This is a season-long chase reserved, in BULKHEAD's own words, for roughly the top 5% of players. Career 90 sits far past the point where the curve flattens, and it is stacked on top of the $500,000 Cash requirement. Do not expect to be driving one in your first week.
The recurring framing from BULKHEAD and launch coverage was blunt: during actual launch, players will not see a tank for weeks. That is the intended pace, not a bug. WARDOGS wants big-ticket armour to feel earned, which is exactly why the studio pushed both tanks deeper into their tracks at launch rather than pulling them forward.
One practical consequence: the fastest route to a tank is to commit to a single track rather than spreading XP. The Heavy Tank rewards a dedicated Driver; the Artillery Tank rewards a dedicated Career-track grinder. Splitting your time across tracks means you reach neither tank's gate any time soon.
What about the other vehicles? Where tanks sit in the ladder
Tanks are the deep end of a long vehicle ladder, and seeing the whole ladder makes the wait make sense. On the Driver track alone, the confirmed Season 1 order runs from cheap, early unlocks up to the Heavy Tank at the top:
- URAL — Driver level 3 (your first vehicle, an early transport)
- Kodiak Assault — Driver level 6
- Dune Buggy — Driver level 8
- Kodiak Flatbed — Driver level 10
- URAL Attack — Driver level 25
- Humvee with minigun — Driver level 30
- Heavy Tank — Driver level 35
The Artillery Tank is not on that list because it lives on the Career track at level 90, alongside the game's other end-game unlocks (the Desert Eagle at Career 85, armour-piercing ammo in the 80s). If you want an aircraft instead, the Little Bird and Z20 Lakota are the confirmed rotary options — but those are the only vehicle names BULKHEAD has actually published. Any page listing an "L2A6," a "Flakpanzer Gepard" or a "UH-1Y" is inventing model names the developer has never used.
WARDOGS - Class Leveling
Get any class taken to level 100
Where WARDOGS stands right now
The tank grind matters because the game around it is very much alive. WARDOGS launched into Steam Early Access on 10 September 2026, and as of 17 September 2026:
- 2 million copies sold, per BULKHEAD's official Steam announcement (15 September 2026), up from 1.25 million on launch day.
- A live concurrent read of about 160,000 players at the time of writing during an off-peak window — re-check the live Steam figure for the current moment, as it moves through the day.
- A Steam review score of "Very Positive," with 51,910 of 64,443 total reviews positive (≈81%), read live on 17 September 2026.
In other words, the lobbies you are grinding those Driver and Career levels in are full and contested. That is part of why the tanks are gated so deep: in a 100-player, three-team fight, a tank is a genuine round-swinging asset, and BULKHEAD wants it to cost real time and real Cash to field.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do you get a tank in WARDOGS? There are two tanks. The Heavy Tank unlocks on the Driver track at level 35, and the Artillery Tank unlocks on the Career track at level 90. BULKHEAD confirmed both placements in the Season 1 changelog: "Artillery moves to Career 90 and Heavy Tank to Driver 35." Reaching either is a multi-day-to-season-long grind, not a first-session unlock.
How much does the Artillery Tank cost in WARDOGS? The Artillery Tank costs $500,000 Cash to deploy in Season 1, up from $400,000 before the launch rebalance. That is on top of the Career level 90 requirement — the level unlocks the option to buy it, and you pay the $500,000 out of your persistent Cash balance each time you take one out.
What is the difference between the Heavy Tank and the Artillery Tank? They unlock on different tracks at different depths. The Heavy Tank is the earlier, more attainable tank at Driver level 35. The Artillery Tank is the deep end-game unlock at Career level 90 and carries the game's highest Cash price at $500,000. Most Season 1 players who reach any tank will reach the Heavy Tank first.
Why does it take so long to get a tank in WARDOGS? BULKHEAD deliberately slowed progression at launch, flattening the XP curve from level 35 onward so that "the top 5%… will need to grind" for big-ticket items. Both tanks were pushed deeper into their tracks in Season 1 — the Artillery Tank moved from Career 55 to Career 90. The stated design target is that median players are only around level 20 after 20–25 hours, so a tank is intended to take weeks.
Can you buy Cash for a tank with real money in WARDOGS? No. BULKHEAD's pledge is: "We will NEVER monetize in-game cash or gold bars, they must be earned through play." Cash is earned in matches and persists between them; there is no store option to buy the $500,000 an Artillery Tank needs. The only way to afford a tank is to farm Cash through play.
Which track should I level to get a tank fastest? Commit to one track. For the Heavy Tank, main the Driver track and push to level 35. For the Artillery Tank, grind the Career track to level 90. Splitting XP across tracks means you reach neither tank's gate quickly, so pick the tank you want and focus that track.
Skip the grind to your first tank
The honest math on a tank is weeks of focused grinding on a single track plus, for the Artillery Tank, half a million Cash banked on top. If you would rather spend your launch-window time actually driving armour than climbing to it, that is exactly what our WARDOGS services are built for — and everything below is hand-done by real players on your own account.
Want to reach the tank gate without the weeks-long grind? These are the fastest legitimate routes to the Driver 35 and Career 90 unlocks and the Cash a tank actually costs.
- WARDOGS Career Leveling — hand-leveling on the Career track toward the deep unlocks like the Artillery Tank at level 90.
- WARDOGS Class Leveling — targeted leveling on a specific track, including the Driver track that gates the Heavy Tank at level 35.
- WARDOGS Cash — hand-farmed Cash so you can actually afford the $500,000 Artillery Tank once it unlocks. Fast turnaround.
- WARDOGS Rent a Pro — squad up with an experienced player and grind the track with you; you keep the controller.
- All WARDOGS services — the full timesaver.gg WARDOGS catalog.
A note on fair play: BULKHEAD watches the WARDOGS economy closely, and its EULA (updated 10 September 2026) treats exploiting the economy and paying for a competitive advantage as bannable conduct. Everything we offer is hand-done by real players on your own account — we do not sell WARDOGS accounts and never will, and we describe only our own turnaround and handling.
Related WARDOGS guides
- WARDOGS Season 1 XP Curve: Why Leveling Is So Much Slower at Launch
- WARDOGS Unlock Levels: Every Confirmed Season 1 Gate
- How to Make Money Fast in WARDOGS: Cash Farming Guide
- WARDOGS Control Zone Explained: How Scoring, Teams and Winning Actually Work
_Written 17 September 2026. Applies to WARDOGS Early Access, Season 1, Patch 0.11. Unlock levels, tank prices and the two-gate system verified against BULKHEAD's official Season 1 changelog and store page; sales, player-count and review figures re-read live from the Steam API on 17 September 2026 and will keep moving._
