Best Loadouts

0:17 The best loadouts in Wardogs, as Game Rant, Dexerto, KeenGamer and PC Gamer recommend them, start cheap with the AK74 or T-21 and a light kit, move to the M4 at mid level and finish on the FAL, with Medic builds around the AMP-9 or Super-45 and a defibrillator, and Support builds around the M249 SAW or PKM with a hammer. In Wardogs a loadout is not a saved class: you buy every item at the vendor each life with your own cash, and lose it when you die unless a teammate revives you, per the Steam store page. Saved custom loadouts are planned but not in the game as of Oct 26, 2026. Every build below was published in September 2026, during Season 1, so each table also gives the Season 2 price (Update 0.2.0, Oct 15, 2026) and notes where Season 2 moved an unlock. Why these guns lead is on Best Weapons; every attachment is on Attachments.

Quick facts

Sources: Steam store page, GamesRadar+, Oct 14, 2026, Bulkhead's Season 2 notes.

How loadouts work

13:12 You build a loadout at the vendor every time you spawn, from weapons, attachments, armor, a backpack, tools, consumables and even vehicles (Economy and Cash). There are no presets: the "Rebuy Last Loadout" button fills the vendor with your previous kit so you can add or remove items before paying, per Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, and Dexerto confirms you cannot save one. Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer has confirmed that custom saved loadouts are coming, unlocked "with in game cash through the meta game": "Buy as many as you like, or none at all," GamesRadar+ reported on Oct 14, 2026, with no date. Bulkhead had moved rebuy to a less prominent button because testers who used it quit sooner; it wants players to keep trying new gear. Each item must first be unlocked on a role track with a one-time cash payment (Progression and Unlocks), so some builds below need levels a new player does not have. In the clip, from Season 1, Fallout Plays points out the Rebuy Last Loadout button at the vendor.

The minimum kit

5:22 Whatever you play, PC Gamer's beginner tips (Morgan Park, Sep 10, 2026) say never to leave spawn without two extra magazines, 3 to 5 bandages, a dot sight and a class gadget such as binoculars, a hammer or an RPG. Loose ammo in stacks of 100 takes two inventory slots, and pressing C in the inventory refills empty magazines from it, which PC Gamer says is cheaper than buying five magazines. When nothing else is unlocked, its pick is binoculars, since spotting pays XP, cash and assist cash.

Budget loadouts

Game Rant's budget guide (Marc Santos, Sep 15, 2026) starts every build from a $3,050 base kit. At Season 2 prices the same kit costs $3,450, because the Basic Parachute rose from $100 to $500.

Sources: Game Rant, Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, Dexerto's pages for the Level 1 Helmet, Level 2 Armor, Small Tac Vest, Field Backpack and Emergency Resuscitator.

Game Rant prefers the Level 1 Helmet over Level 2 because in Season 1 bolt-action snipers could still one-shot a Level 2 helmet. On top of the kit it suggests:

• Budget Assault: a T-21 with the RK6 Tactical Foregrip, Hexagon Brake and 30-round magazine ($1,430 in Season 1), two IEDs ($600) and two white smoke grenades ($200), $5,600 in all. The T-21 itself now costs $1,200 instead of $600 and unlocks at Assault 3 for $10,000, while the AK74 is free to unlock and costs $800, per Bulkhead.
• Budget Medic: an AMP-9 with the RK6, Ballista Brake and 20-round magazine ($1,750) plus a Defibrillator with a battery ($1,750); SMG kills and assists earn Medic XP. Season 2 moved the AMP-9 to Medic 20 ($75,000) and the Defibrillator to Medic 22 ($110,000); the PP-19 Bizon ($1,000) is now the Medic track's default SMG.
• Budget Marksman: a Mosin Nagant with a 6x scope and a Scout Backpack (since Season 2 the Mosin takes only its PU 91/30 scope). (Game Rant prints $8,897 for this build, but its own items add up to $6,291.)
• Budget Support: a hammer build for cash, or a Kodiak stocked with RPGs and anti-air missiles to hunt enemy logistics.

The cheapest guns of all are the free faction starter rifle and the $400 MP43 shotgun, which Game Rant calls the best budget weapon in the first week of a season. More ways to stretch cash are on Money Making Guide.

Assault loadouts

Game Rant's Assault guide (Mehrdad Khayyat, Sep 17, 2026) gives three tiers. The rifle cost is the Season 2 price of the gun and the attachments listed, worked out from Bulkhead's notes and Dexerto's attachment pages (TopComp Brake, CQB 74 Brake, Shift Foregrip, CQ-2x, Orpheus Max Brake).

Game Rant prefers the 2x scope to the 2.5x at mid range. Season 2 pushed several of these parts up the tracks: the CQB 74 Brake now unlocks at Assault 16 and the 2.5x Combat Optic at Assault 17, so the "low" build is no longer a level 1 kit; the M4 moved to Assault 28 for $150,000; and the high build's Three Port Brake sits at Recon 49 and the FAL 30-round magazine at Assault 50 in Dexerto's Season 2 data. More on Assault and Assault Rifles.

Medic loadouts

Game Rant's Medic guide (Sep 28, 2026) builds two tiers and skips the Medical Bag as slow and bulky:

Sources: Game Rant, Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, Dexerto: SG Multi-Caliber Suppressor (SMG muzzle prices).

51:53 It calls the Super-45 the SMG with the lowest recoil and highest damage, but Season 2 more than doubled its price to $5,600 and made it weaker past 50 m. Season 2 also made the MP5 (Dexerto's S-tier SMG) an early Medic unlock at level 4 for $25,000 and pushed the AMP-9 to Medic 20, so a Season 2 Medic meets the MP5 first. Defibrillator, bag and revive details are on Medic and Healing and Revives.

Support loadouts

Game Rant's Support guide (Sep 30, 2026) starts with an AK74 with the Ballista Brake, RK6 and 2.5x Combat Optic, a Small or Medium Hammer and supply-request smoke. Its mid and high tiers use the M249 SAW, which it prefers for smoother recoil, or the PKM, each with the Orpheus Max Brake and a bipod, plus a Large Hammer or a 9K333 Verba anti-air launcher, an FOB and AT mines, and it assumes at least $30,000 in the bank. Season 2 prices: M249 SAW $3,200 (Support 20, $150,000), PKM $4,100 (Support 15, $100,000), Large Hammer $2,400 (Support 8), FOB $7,500, AT Mine $650 (Support 25), per Bulkhead's notes and Dexerto. The FOB is the expensive part: Bulkhead tripled it from $2,500 to $7,500 for launch "to make them more of a choice." See Support and Building and Fortifications.

Recon loadouts

Game Rant's Recon guide (Sep 12, 2026) uses an SKS with the DTK-1 Brake, SKS Bipod and 6x Precision Rifle Scope at low level ($4,700 for the rifle at Season 2 prices), with a GGX 17 and a Small Hammer, and an SV98 with the SRVV Brake, SV98 Bipod and 6-10x Scope MRAD at mid level ($8,980). The ghillie suit adds $5,500 a life from Recon 26. The full breakdown is on Sniper Guide and Recon.

Dexerto's weapon builds

Dexerto's tier list (Sep 16, 2026) suggests four-attachment builds for its top guns:

Sources: Dexerto's tier list (builds), Bulkhead's Season 2 notes and Dexerto's item pages (prices: FAL 30 RND Magazine, Hybrid Grip Pod, Compact P-1 Red Dot).

KeenGamer's picks by role

KeenGamer (Ali Amir, Sep 12, 2026) picks one gun per job. Its prices were Season 1's; the last column is Season 2's, per Bulkhead.

What Season 2 changed for loadouts

13:12 Season 2 cut base damage for .308 Winchester by 25%, 7.62x54mmR by 20%, 7.62x39mm by 19% and .50 caliber by 16%, per Bulkhead, which weakens the FAL, PKM and SKS builds above and leaves the 5.56 guns (M4, T-21, M249 SAW) untouched. Level 3 and Level 4 armor and helmets now cut less damage (50% and 60%) and cost more, and the Level 4 Helmet muffles sound and narrows your view, so heavy armor is a worse buy than in September (Armor and Gear). Many attachments got cheaper, by up to a third, and moved to earlier levels. A team at least 40 points behind second place gets 20% off at the vendor. No reputable outlet had published a Season 2 loadout guide using the new TCX-SPR, PP-19 Bizon, Evo-3 Ultra or M14 as of Oct 26, 2026; see Season 2. The clip is TheTacticalBrit's preview from before the patch notes, which he warns could still change.

The meta: spend what you can afford to lose

13:36 Because a death costs the whole kit, the strongest loadout is often the one you can afford to lose. PC Gamer's Morgan Park wrote on Sep 29, 2026 of "buying level two armor and cheaper guns because I don't want to risk a $20k loadout", and PCGamesN warns: "A couple of deaths with a full loadout and you'll basically be on nothing." Loot bodies for better gear, and wait for a revive rather than giving up, since a revive keeps your gear, per GameSpot. Bulkhead plans limited servers without power weapons, Level 4 armor or vehicles such as tanks, as PCGamesN reported, which would change which builds matter there; they are planned, not live. The first steps are on Beginner's Guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best loadout in Wardogs? Guides build the strongest Wardogs loadouts on the FAL or M4 for Assault, the Super-45 or AMP-9 with a defibrillator for Medic, and the M249 SAW or PKM with a hammer for Support. All published builds date from Season 1, before Season 2's caliber cuts.

What is the best budget loadout in Wardogs? Game Rant's budget base kit (Level 1 helmet, Level 2 armor, vest, Field Backpack, parachute, 5 bandages) costs $3,450 at Season 2 prices, plus a cheap rifle such as the $800 AK74. If you are broke, Wardogs' free faction starter rifle costs nothing.

Can you save loadouts in Wardogs? No, Wardogs has no saved loadouts as of Oct 26, 2026; the Rebuy Last Loadout button refills your previous kit. Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer has confirmed custom loadouts are coming, bought with in-game cash, with no date.

What is the Wardogs meta in Season 2? Season 2 cut damage for .308, 7.62 and .50 rounds in Wardogs, so 5.56 guns such as the M4 lost nothing while the FAL and PKM got weaker. No reputable outlet had published a Season 2 meta loadout as of Oct 26, 2026.

How much does a loadout cost in Wardogs? A basic Wardogs loadout costs a few thousand dollars: Game Rant's budget Assault kit was $5,600 in Season 1, and Eurogamer says any half-decent loadout costs at least $4,000 to $5,000. PC Gamer's Morgan Park writes of not wanting to risk a $20k loadout.

What should a beginner buy in Wardogs? PC Gamer says never leave spawn without two extra magazines, 3 to 5 bandages, a dot sight and a gadget such as binoculars in Wardogs. Binoculars are the cheapest way to earn from the first minute.

Sources

• WARDOGS | Season 02 Patch Notes, Bulkhead (Steam news), Oct 14, 2026
• WARDOGS store page, Steam, read Oct 26, 2026
• Wardogs is getting loadouts, CEO confirms, GamesRadar+, Oct 14, 2026
• How to save your loadout in Wardogs, Dexerto, read Oct 26, 2026
• Wardogs weapon tier list: Best guns (meta), Dexerto, Sep 16, 2026
• Dexerto item pages: Level 1 Helmet, Level 2 Armor, Small Tac Vest, Field Backpack, Emergency Resuscitator, AT Mine, TopComp Brake, CQB 74 Brake, Orpheus Max Brake, Shift Foregrip, CQ-2x Prism Combat Scope, FAL 30 RND Magazine, Hybrid Grip Pod, SG Multi-Caliber Suppressor, Sep 4, 2026; Compact P-1 Red Dot, Oct 15, 2026
• WARDOGS: Best Recon Sniper Loadout, Game Rant, Sep 12, 2026
• The Best WARDOGS Loadouts For When You're Completely Broke, Game Rant, Sep 15, 2026
• Best Assault Class Loadout in WARDOGS, Game Rant, Sep 17, 2026
• Best Medic Loadout in WARDOGS, Game Rant, Sep 28, 2026
• Best Support Loadout in WARDOGS, Game Rant, Sep 30, 2026
• WARDOGS - Best Weapons and Loadouts, KeenGamer, Sep 12, 2026
• 10 beginner tips to not suck at Wardogs, PC Gamer, Sep 10, 2026
• Wardogs boss talks balance, XP, and why 'the endgame is sh*t' right now, PC Gamer, Sep 29, 2026
• How to make Wardogs money fast, PCGamesN, Sep 11, 2026
• "We f***ed up:" Bulkhead admits Wardogs Season 2 "got a few things wrong", PCGamesN, Oct 16, 2026
• How To Win Matches In Wardogs, GameSpot, Sep 14, 2026
• Wardogs early access review - a shooter for the gig economy, Eurogamer, Sep 29, 2026
• WARDOGS | Pre-Alpha Announcement, Bulkhead, Jun 7, 2026 (video)
• THE HOTZONE | Ep 1 | "The Wipe", Bulkhead, Oct 24, 2026 (video)
• Wardogs Season 2 Just Changed EVERYTHING (Huge Update!), TheTacticalBrit, Oct 9, 2026 (video)
• The Only WARDOGS Guide You Actually Need, Fallout Plays, Sep 15, 2026 (video)
• The Ultimate Beginners Guide To WARDOGS, LevelCapGaming, Sep 29, 2026 (video)