What persists between matches
WARDOGS begins each account with $10,000 and carries the cash balance between matches. Weapons, magazines, protection, tools and vehicles are bought for deployments, so every purchase affects what the player can do after the current life. Progression access and the wallet are connected, but they are not the same system.
How to earn cash
The official overview names reviving teammates, transporting friendlies and controlling the objective as rewarded actions, and describes extra cash inside the Hot Zone. Current play also exposes income through combat, assists, spotting, logistics and construction. The best route is one the team needs and the player can repeat safely.
| Route | What completes the job | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Objective play | Stay alive and contribute inside the active area | Repeatedly contesting without support |
| Medic support | Reach a downed player and complete the revive | Exposing two players to the same threat |
| Transport | Deliver passengers or useful cargo to the agreed destination | Empty trips and crashes |
| Recon support | Mark threats that teammates can act on | Watching instead of moving with the zone |
| Building/logistics | Deliver, unload and use the required supplies | Building where the team cannot sustain it |
No route has a guaranteed cash-per-hour figure. Server conditions, patch balance, team demand and survival change the result.
A September 9 PC Gamer field guide independently observed five repeatable jobs: binocular spotting, FOB construction, medical support, moving the team spawn APC and passenger transport. Its payout examples came from Beta and are not published here as current rates, but the action loop remains useful: complete a team-recognized event, confirm the reward on screen and repeat it only while the team still needs the service.
Separate three spending decisions
Read a vendor entry in this order:
- Level gate: the progression requirement.
- Permanent access payment: the one-time unlock when present.
- Deployment price: the amount paid for the item placed in the current kit.
A player can reach the level but still lack the unlock payment, or unlock an item and still be unable to afford the complete deployment. The progression page explains the gates; the weapons and vehicles directories show why a recorded deployment price is only part of the decision.
Budget for the whole task
Use three budget bands rather than one shopping list:
- Recovery kit: accessible primary, ready ammunition, basic medical items and enough protection to complete a low-risk team action.
- Working kit: equipment for a familiar role, with a reserve for another deployment.
- Specialist purchase: vehicle, construction package or late weapon bought only after crew, destination and support are arranged.
For infantry, include magazines, loose ammunition and storage. For building, include the FOB, hammer, supplies and delivery. For a vehicle, include the people and infrastructure needed to operate it. The loadout guide provides repeatable checks without pretending one kit is optimal for every patch.
The team spawn APC is a special case. Current community field reports describe it as a mobile team spawn that can continue rewarding the driver when teammates deploy from it. Because the asset is limited and strategically important, move it only after reading the active zone and leave it protected near a useful route rather than treating it as a disposable taxi.
Prices change with the build
The official Season 1 changelog raised the FOB vendor price to $7,500 and the Large Hammer price to $2,400. It also changed several vehicle unlock payments and reshaped the XP curve after weekend testing. These are examples of why an old guide can remain mechanically recognizable while its budget is wrong.
| Scope | Item or category | Payment type | Before | Season 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Forward Operating Base | Deployment price | $2,500 | $7,500 |
| Vendor | Large Hammer | Deployment price | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Career | Artillery Tank | Permanent access | $400,000 | $500,000 |
| Recon | 6–10× MRAD scope | Permanent access | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| Recon | 6–10× MOA scope | Permanent access | $30,000 | $45,000 |
| Support | Medium Hammer | Permanent access | $10,000 | $25,000 |
| Support | Large Hammer | Permanent access | $25,000 | $75,000 |
| Pilot | Small armoured supply crate | Permanent access | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Pilot | Little Bird with miniguns | Permanent access | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Pilot | Z20 Lakota | Permanent access | $50,000 | $35,000 |
| Driver | URAL | Permanent access | $50,000 | $35,000 |
| Driver | Dune Buggy | Permanent access | $35,000 | $25,000 |
| Driver | Kodiak Flatbed | Permanent access | $15,000 | $35,000 |
| Driver | Music Tape H | Permanent access | $5,000 | $2,500 |
The announcement also reduced two XP events that could distort progression: an air-vehicle player kill moved from 300 to 250 XP, and selling a supply-crate item worth under $75 moved from 25 to 1 XP. These are XP adjustments, not cash payout rates.
| Rewarded event | Before | Season 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Player kill using an air vehicle | 300 XP | 250 XP |
| Supply-crate item sold under $75 | 25 XP | 1 XP |
Check the current vendor before a large permanent payment. Record the build and date when using a price table, and read the FOB entry before planning a construction budget.
Avoid unsupported formulas
Do not build a strategy around a universal death refund, recruit discount, seasonal conversion or income rate unless the current client or an official announcement shows its scope. A value observed during Beta may not apply to Early Access, every server type or every item category.
Use normal play rather than bugs or transaction exploits. Official balance and enforcement notices belong to the Steam announcement archive; a current in-game transaction remains the final check before spending.
Read every value with its version.
Official changes use first-party announcements. Item fields without a current official table remain labeled as dated gameplay records until they can be checked in the public client.