Recon

Recon is the Wardogs progression track for spotting and long-range shooting. In Season 2 it unlocks the Monocular at level 2, the SKS at 5, the Range Finder at 8, the SVD at 12, the BMR-308 at 20, the ghillie suit at 26, the MK22 at 30 and the AMR 50 at 35.

27:52 Recon is the Wardogs progression track for scouts and snipers: you earn its XP by spotting enemies with binoculars and by shooting with marksman and sniper rifles, and its levels open better spotting optics, the ghillie suit and every scoped rifle above the starter Scout Rifle, each unlocked once with cash. Spotting is where it starts, because a cheap pair of binoculars pays from the first minute, though Season 2 (update 0.2.0, Oct 15, 2026) cut spotting pay by about 30%. Everything below is Season 2, read on Oct 26, 2026. How to play the long game is on Sniper Guide.

A figure in a dense green ghillie suit holds a rifle in a sunny meadow; another lies hidden in the grass at left and a small helicopter flies across a blue sky. — A sniper covered head to foot in a leafy ghillie suit stands in tall grass as a helicopter passes in an official Steam store screenshot of Wardogs Bulkhead and Team17

Quick facts

Track	Recon
Starting spotting tool	Binoculars, $180 a life in Season 2
First rifle unlock	SKS at level 5, $25,000
Ghillie suit	Level 26, $80,000 suit and $60,000 headwear
Top rifle	AMR 50 at level 35, $200,000
Unlocks	56 (Dexerto's count)
Share of launch-weekend XP	18.66%
Values as of	Season 2, Oct 15, 2026

Sources: Dexerto's Recon page, Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, Bulkhead and Team17's Sep 16 press release.

Spotting: how Recon earns

12:21 Spot an enemy through binoculars or another spotting optic and you are paid a small amount at once, then an assist worth "hundreds" when a teammate kills the target, PC Gamer found in Season 1. Shacknews adds that a spotted enemy killed by an ally or by another enemy team still pays you. Bulkhead called Season 1 spotting "the lowest-risk, highest-paying way to earn", so Season 2 cut it by about 30%, made it scale with the value of the target (a vehicle variant, a buildable or a crate), and cut the share for a target an enemy faction destroys from 50% to 25%.

2:18 Dexerto's leveling advice is to spot with binoculars, avoid the Scout Rifle and switch to the SKS at level 5. Shooting with the track's own rifles levels it too, because XP goes to the track that matches the item you use, as Eurogamer explains. Season 2's curve puts level 10 at 25,000 total XP, level 20 at 111,500 and level 35 at 525,000, per Bulkhead's notes (Progression and Unlocks).

Recon unlocks in Season 2

Reaching a level makes an item available; you pay its unlock cost once, then its vendor price each life (Economy and Cash).

Level	Unlock	Unlock cost
2	Monocular	$7,500
3	STRELIX Suppressor (Scout Rifle TD)	$5,000
5	SKS	$25,000
6	Deadeye Flash Hider	$12,500
7	SKS Bipod	$10,000
8	Range Finder	$25,000
9	DTK-1 Brake (SKS)	$7,500
10	Mosin Nagant	$50,000
10	PU 91/30 Scope 3.5x (Mosin only)	$12,500
11	3x-6x LPVO Short Dot	$15,000
12	SVD	$50,000
13	SVD 7.62x54R Brake	$10,000
14	SVD Bipod	$10,000
15	Hexagon 762 Suppressor	$15,000
16	Compound Bow	$150,000
17	SVD 10 RND Magazine	$25,000
18	SV98	$100,000
19	6-10x Scope MOA	$45,000
20	BMR-308	$125,000
21	SV98 Bipod	$17,500
22	SRVV Brake	$17,500
23	Claymore	$90,000
24	BMR-308 Flash Hider	$50,000
25	M14 and 10 RND Magazine	$100,000
26	Ghillie Body Suit	$80,000
26	Ghillie Headwear	$60,000
27	Leatherwood ART II (M14 only)	$35,000
28	6-10x Scope MRAD	$40,000
29	M14 Bipod	$25,000
30	MK22	$150,000
31	M14 20 RND Magazine	$27,500
32	Infrared Range Finder	$50,000
33	BMR-308 Suppressor	$25,000
34	Constrictor Brake	$20,000
35	AMR 50	$200,000
36	M14 30 RND Magazine	$50,000
37	.30 Cal SS Phosphate Muzzle Brake (M14)	$22,500
38	AMR 50 Cal Muzzle Brake	$35,000
39	MK22 10 RND Magazine	$35,000
40	Flow-Through .308 Suppressor (MK22)	$30,000
41	Ghillie suit "(Dead)" variant	Not published
42	.30 Cal Steel Black Flash Hider (M14)	$27,500
43	6x Marksman Scope + Reflex	$75,000
44	Slicktap Brake (SKS)	$22,500
45	GOL Multi-Caliber Suppressor	$32,500
46	Pro Tilt Bipod (AMR 50, MK22)	$50,000
47	Frontier 2.5x-10x Precision Scope	$95,000
48	.50 Cal Heavy Suppressor	$27,500
49	Three Port Brake	$25,000
50	AMR 50 10 RND Magazine	$50,000

Sources: Bulkhead's Season 2 notes (Oct 14, 2026), Dexerto's Recon page and its item pages for the Frontier scope (for the scopes), GOL Multi-Caliber Suppressor (for the muzzles), AMR 50 10 RND Magazine (for the magazines), Hybrid Grip Pod (for the bipods), Claymore, Ghillie Body Suit and Ghillie Headwear. Dexerto's values match Season 2 wherever Bulkhead's notes give a figure.

Season 2 added the M14 at level 25, moved the BMR-308 from level 30 down to 20, the SV98 from 19 to 18 and the MK22 from 25 up to 30, doubled the Compound Bow's unlock from $75,000 to $150,000 and raised the Claymore's from $50,000 to $90,000, per Bulkhead's notes. The ghillie suit moved from level 24 to 26, and its "(Dead)" variant from 27 to 41.

Snipers and marksman rifles

13:12 Season 2 vendor prices per life, from Dexerto and Bulkhead's notes: the Scout Rifle TD $1,200, SKS $2,400, Mosin Nagant $4,500, SVD $4,800, SV98 $5,200, BMR-308 $6,250, MK22 $6,400, M14 $7,400, Compound Bow $1,350 and AMR 50 $14,800 (it was $8,800). Season 2 cut .308 Winchester base damage by 25%, 7.62x54mmR by 20% and .50 Cal by 16%, then raised sniper rifles' hit-location damage "to keep that sniper fantasy," and since Season 2 a Scout Rifle headshot kills a target with no helmet. The Mosin now takes only its own PU 91/30 scope. Each rifle's stats are on Sniper and Marksman Rifles, and the Steam achievement Long Shot asks for a kill from over 950 m (Achievements).

Ghillie suit and recon gear

3:45 The ghillie suit is two items worn together: the Ghillie Body Suit ($3,000) and the Ghillie Headwear ($2,500). Dexerto says the suit removes the death cam after you kill an enemy and hides you from Infrared Range Finders. More on Ghillie Suit. The clip is Bulkhead's June explanation of the kill cam, from before Early Access.

The spotting optics climb in price and power, with Season 2 prices per Bulkhead's notes:

Item	Unlock	Price per life
Binoculars	Start	$180 (was $75)
Monocular	Recon 2, $7,500	$350 (was $150)
Range Finder	Recon 8, $25,000	$1,450 (was $400)
Infrared Range Finder	Recon 32, $50,000	$3,200 (was $1,200)

Sources: Bulkhead's Season 2 notes, Dexerto's Recon page.

28:15 The Infrared Range Finder was so strong that Bulkhead pulled it from the vendor on Oct 2, 2026, saying it crossed "the line into being too overpowered"; it returned in Season 2 running on batteries, about 80 seconds of active use each. The Range Finder adds a distance readout. All of them are on Medical and Recon Equipment.

A Recon Tent is the role's hide: Dexerto lists it at 7 build supplies and 300 health, it hides whoever is inside, and it needs no FOB. A Recon Tower (200 supplies, 5,000 health) gives two stories of height with a ladder (Building and Fortifications).

Recon loadouts and tips

Game Rant's Recon loadouts (Sep 12, 2026, Season 1) start with an SKS with the DTK-1 Brake, SKS Bipod and 6x Precision Rifle Scope at Recon 7, plus a Small Hammer to fortify the nest, then move to an SV98 with the SRVV Brake, SV98 Bipod and 6-10x Scope MRAD at Recon 21. PC Gamer's warning is that camping towers with scoped rifles instead of pushing the objective loses matches, and its advice for anyone unsure what to buy is "when in doubt, bring binoculars". Season 2's rain also reduces spotting range, per Bulkhead.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Recon track unlock in Wardogs? In Season 2 the Wardogs Recon track unlocks the Monocular (level 2), SKS (5), Range Finder (8), Mosin Nagant (10), SVD (12), Compound Bow (16), SV98 (18), BMR-308 (20), Claymore (23), M14 (25), ghillie suit (26), MK22 (30), Infrared Range Finder (32) and AMR 50 (35), plus scopes, muzzles and magazines.

How does spotting work in Wardogs? Spot an enemy through binoculars or another spotting optic: Wardogs pays a small amount at once and an assist when the target is killed. Season 2 cut spotting pay by about 30% and made it scale with the target's value.

What level is the ghillie suit in Wardogs? The Wardogs ghillie suit unlocks at Recon level 26 in Season 2: $80,000 for the body suit and $60,000 for the headwear, which must be worn together.

What is the best sniper in Wardogs? Dexerto's Wardogs tier list puts the SVD and BMR-308 in S tier and the SV98 and AMR 50 in A; those rankings predate Season 2's caliber damage cuts.

How do you level Recon fast in Wardogs? Spot constantly with binoculars, which pays Recon XP and cash, and move from the Scout Rifle to the SKS at Wardogs Recon level 5, as Dexerto advises.