Hot Zone and Towers

1:24 The Hot Zone is the yellow circle inside Wardogs' Control Zone where every player counts double: it is "a shifting sub-zone within the larger Control Zone", and players in it count twice toward their team's player count and earn double cash, per Bulkhead's FAQ. Whoever stands in it scores faster and gets paid more, so the fight in a match is really over where the Hot Zone is. Teams move it to ground they hold in two ways: by capturing towers and entering their code, or by fueling a Drill Rig at a FOB. Scoring itself is on Control Zone and Scoring.

Quick facts

Sources: Bulkhead's FAQ, Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, GameSpot, PC Gamer, PCGamesN.

What the Hot Zone does

5:57 The Hot Zone doubles two things at once. For the score, each player inside counts as two, so a team holding it can outnumber a bigger team spread across the rest of the Control Zone (GameSpot). For money, the official site tells players to "chase the 'Hot Zone' to earn double the cash"; PC Gamer measured that as "hundreds of dollars by the minute" in the beta, plus extra for kills and assists there. Other rewards scale with it too: Shacknews notes that using an Adrenaline Pen on teammates pays more in the zone and more again in the Hot Zone, and Dexerto lists the enemy spawn vehicle's destroy reward as +150% in the Hot Zone.

1:00 On the map the Hot Zone is the yellow circle (PC Gamer), "the far smaller, roaming circle" inside the big green Control Zone in Eurogamer's review. It moves on its own unless a team pulls it. The clip is Bulkhead's pre-alpha footage of a squad in a helicopter heading for the Hot Zone, the yellow circle on its map.

Towers and how to capture one

Each match has several tower locations, marked on the map with a square icon that is white while unclaimed and turns a team's color once captured, per GameSpot. Towers are big structures that work as a focal point for FOBs and a sniper vantage point, and every match starts with "several unclaimed towers" in the zone, per PCGamesN. They are among the few structures that cannot be destroyed (GameSpot), and Bulkhead's Season 2 notes call them "drill towers".

23:47 To capture one, climb to the control room on the tower's mid-level and use the PC terminal, which PCGamesN places to the left of a keypad; GameSpot describes the same hack from the upper floor. Every tower has a cooldown at the start of the match and again each time it changes hands, so a captured tower cannot be flipped straight back. Since Season 2 (Oct 15, 2026), capturing a hostile drill tower pays $1,500 and 300 XP, up from $750 and 250 XP. The clip is Bulkhead's pre-alpha footage of a player hacking Tower 02's terminal and starting on the code.

Pulling the Hot Zone with the tower code

6:17 Each captured tower gives your team one digit of a four-digit code that is randomized every match (GameSpot). Entering the whole code at a tower your team controls pulls the Hot Zone to that tower. PCGamesN says the code goes into the keypad to the right of the main terminal, which switches on the tower's Hot Zone magnet, and points out that with three of the four digits you can guess the last one. Bulkhead's Season 2 notes put a capturable tower's pull at up to 300 seconds, the figure the Drill Rig was cut to match.

The Drill Rig and the Hot Zone Magnet

6:43 A team without the towers can build its own pull. The Drill Rig, once active, "pulls the Hotzone to its location, matching the behavior of an active drill tower," and needs Fuel supplies in a FOB to run, per Dexerto's entry. GameSpot explains the payoff: with the Hot Zone on your FOB, everyone nearby earns more XP and cash. Shacknews notes anyone can do it with a drill. Building and fueling FOBs is on Building and Fortifications. In the clip a player in Bulkhead's video describes the fight once the Hot Zone is called to a base: breaching, tanks and infantry in and around it.

8:37 Season 2 (Oct 15, 2026) cut the Drill Rig back because "multi drill rig builds" had become a dominant strategy. Bulkhead's Season 2 notes made these changes:

Source: Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, Oct 14, 2026.

1:09:02 The longer cooldown means a destroyed rig cannot simply be replaced at once. The same notes list a buildable called the Hot Zone Magnet, whose build cost rose from 2,250 to 2,750 supplies and whose destroy reward fell from $4,500 to $2,750 in Season 2. Bulkhead's notes do not say whether the Hot Zone Magnet is the structure that holds a Drill Rig, so this page treats them as two listed items. In the clip Bulkhead's developers say they chose to price Hot Zone Magnets up and make them need more fuel rather than limit them to one per FOB.

Tactics guides recommend

• Take the near tower first. PC Gamer says the default first FOB spot is the tower nearest your spawn, and PCGamesN names building a base there as a way to earn early (PCGamesN).
• Hold two towers close together. PCGamesN found Manticore's two-tower defensive setup often won on Bakurani in Season 1, and Game Rant found Lonestar opens closest to towers 1 and 5, two towers near each other, on the same map.
• Pull the Hot Zone to a fortified spot. Tower control plus the code brings the Hot Zone to ground your team has built up (PCGamesN).
• Do not camp the tower. PC Gamer's beta report warns against sitting in towers with scoped rifles instead of pushing the objective, and Eurogamer saw teams crowd their FOBs while "the Hot Zone wanders around almost completely uncontested".
• Break the enemy's pull. A destroyed Hot Zone Magnet pays $2,750 in Season 2; see Destruction and Launchers and Explosives.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Hot Zone in Wardogs? The Hot Zone is a small, moving circle inside the Wardogs Control Zone, yellow on the map. Players in it count double toward their team's score and earn double cash, per Bulkhead.

How do you capture a tower in Wardogs? Climb to the tower's control room and hack the PC terminal next to the keypad. Each tower has a cooldown at match start and after it changes hands, and in Season 2 a capture pays $1,500 and 300 XP.

How does the tower code work in Wardogs? Each tower your team captures gives one digit of a four-digit code that changes every match. Entering the full code on a tower's keypad pulls the Hot Zone to that tower; with three digits you can guess the fourth, PCGamesN notes.

What does the Drill Rig do in Wardogs? A fueled Drill Rig pulls the Wardogs Hot Zone to its location, the same as an active drill tower. Season 2 cut its maximum uptime from 375 to 300 seconds and raised its minimum fuel from 1,500 to 2,000.

Can towers be destroyed in Wardogs? No. GameSpot lists towers among the few indestructible structures in Wardogs, along with churches.

Do towers give points in Wardogs? Not directly. Only players in the Control Zone score in Wardogs; towers matter because they pull the Hot Zone, where each player counts double.

Sources

• WARDOGS - TOP QUESTIONS, Bulkhead on Steam, Feb 18, 2026
• Wardogs official site, Bulkhead, read Oct 26, 2026
• WARDOGS | Season 02 Patch Notes, Bulkhead on Steam, Oct 14, 2026
• How To Win Matches In Wardogs, GameSpot, Sep 14, 2026
• What Is A FOB In Wardogs And Why Do You Need One?, GameSpot, Sep 12, 2026
• How to capture Wardogs towers, PCGamesN, Sep 11, 2026
• How to make Wardogs money fast, PCGamesN, Sep 11, 2026
• Wardogs' blue team is a laughing stock, and it turns out there are some valid reasons for it, PCGamesN, Oct 10, 2026
• 10 beginner tips to not suck at Wardogs, PC Gamer, Sep 10, 2026
• How to make money fast in Wardogs, PC Gamer, Sep 9, 2026
• Believe the hype for Wardogs, possibly the next great multiplayer FPS, PC Gamer, Aug 11, 2026
• Wardogs early access review - a shooter for the gig economy, Eurogamer, Sep 29, 2026
• Best and fastest ways to make money - Wardogs, Shacknews, Sep 28, 2026
• Drill Rig, Dexerto, Sep 4, 2026
• M113 APC SV, Dexerto, Sep 5, 2026
• WARDOGS Has a Multiplayer Problem No Balance Patch May Be Able to Fix, Game Rant, Sep 18, 2026
• WARDOGS | Game Mode Explained, Bulkhead, Feb 12, 2026 (video)
• WARDOGS | Tactical Depth & Teamplay, Bulkhead, May 21, 2026 (video)
• WARDOGS | Pre-Alpha Gameplay, Bulkhead, Jun 6, 2026 (video)
• WARDOGS | Road to Season 02, Bulkhead, Oct 9, 2026 (video)
• THE HOTZONE | Ep 1 | "The Wipe", Bulkhead, Oct 24, 2026 (video)