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What's changing in WARDOGS Season 3?

By George In The Meta · 12 Nov 2026

Short answer: WARDOGS Season 3 starts on 12 November 2026 with Sabatulo, the game's first city map, a new Limited Mode without the endgame power items, and a slower grind across a season of roughly three months. Tanks move much later in the Driver track, the infrared range finder and the Wager Vendor are both removed, and molotovs get cheaper and earlier. It went live on time at 15:00 UTC on 12 November, after two hours of maintenance, as Update 0.3.0. It wiped cash, levels and XP, and you start again on $10,000.

When does WARDOGS Season 3 start?

WARDOGS Season 3 starts on Thursday 12 November 2026. BULKHEAD's patch notes put the maintenance window at 13:00 to 15:00 UTC, which is 1pm to 3pm in the UK and 8am to 10am US Eastern, with about two hours of downtime before the new season goes live. There's a Steam update with it. BULKHEAD confirmed Season 3 was live at 15:00 UTC, on time, with Update 0.3.0 and the servers back online.

Season 3 runs for roughly three months. The patch notes say WARDOGS goes up in price "at the end of Season 3 on 28th January", so that's when it ends. If you already own the game, you don't pay anything extra. Season 3 came earlier than first planned, because BULKHEAD brought it forward instead of resetting Season 02 (will WARDOGS reset Season 02?).

Does WARDOGS Season 3 wipe your progress?

Yes, WARDOGS Season 3 wiped everything: cash, levels and XP. We have actually been wiped, so we're fully wiped. When I logged in, the Season 2 conclusion screen showed my $25,160 and level 33 with "These are now reset", and I started Season 3 on $10,000 at WARDOG level 0, with every role at 0.

BULKHEAD's welcome message on login says seasonal XP and cash have been reset, any cash left at the end of last season is automatically converted into gold bars for permanent cosmetics in the gold market, and all XP and tracked stats are banked for future game systems. My $25,160 got me 0 gold bars. On 30 October one gold bar cost $251,032 (when WARDOGS Season 2 ends), so I was nowhere near one. The 3 gold bars I already had are still there.

Before launch I said: they wiped for Season 2, it makes sense that they wiped for Season 3, and I'll be surprised if I'm proved wrong. Season 3 did wipe. Last season's wipe is covered in what the Season 02 wipe reset.

How long is WARDOGS Season 3, and is the grind slower?

WARDOGS Season 3 is about three months long, and BULKHEAD has slowed progression down to match. The XP needed for each level goes up, closer to Season 1 speeds, "restoring the journey many players previously enjoyed".

That's what I asked for. I'd prefer longer seasons, where progression matters. I'd rather they went back to the grind. That's what made me put the hours in.

For anyone who falls behind, there's a new catch-up mechanic: an XP bonus and a vendor discount for low-level players that grow week by week through the season, per role. How the gold conversion works is in when WARDOGS Season 2 ends.

What is Sabatulo in WARDOGS?

Sabatulo is the new Season 3 map and WARDOGS' first city map: tight streets, high-rises and a lot of destruction, built around a central hospital, a swimming pool, a power station and the river embankment. BULKHEAD says it's about close-quarters fights, room to room and street to street, plus taking the high points to see over the city.

What is Limited Mode in WARDOGS Season 3?

Limited Mode is a new Season 3 game mode where the vendor only sells what you'd normally have early to mid season. There's no hollow point or armour-piercing ammo, no Level 3 or Level 4 armour, no attack vehicles, no CIWS, Stingray, MG Nest or Drill Rig, and no anti-tank mines. Cash and progression you earn there carry over to the other modes, and the server browser can now filter for Limited servers.

In the game, Limited Mode is its own official option on the Deploy screen, "Limited weapons, gear & vehicles", and those servers carry a Limited Gear tag in the server browser. When I logged in, the Limited Gear servers I could see had 0 to 2 players while most normal servers were full. Community servers pay a 5% cash bonus and come as Default, Hardcore (no killcam), Low Level (level capped, marked Recommended), Limited Mode and Infantry Mode (non-combat vehicles only).

When BULKHEAD first floated Limited Mode servers, I said removing the tanks and the Havocs is just making a different game mode, not fixing the underlying issue (will Limited Mode servers fix the tank problem?). Season 3 does both: the mode is there, and tanks also move later in the main game.

When do you unlock tanks in WARDOGS Season 3?

Tanks in WARDOGS Season 3 unlock at Driver levels 35 to 50, up from 20 to 35, and at WARDOG level 200 instead of 145. They're also tougher against grenades, because one grenade could take out a tank's engine, and the grenade launcher now needs three hits to break tracks instead of one.

For Season 3, I'd move the tank higher up the tree and make it take longer to get one. That's what this does. Why I thought tanks were the problem is in are tanks overpowered in WARDOGS Season 02?

Are thermals in WARDOGS Season 3?

No, the infrared range finder, the thermals, is out of the vendor for Season 3. BULKHEAD says the Season 2 battery nerf didn't stop it being used in almost every match, and it's gone until there's a redesign. I'd just keep them out. The full history is in why thermals were removed from WARDOGS.

What happened to the Wager Vendor?

The Wager Vendor is removed in Season 3. BULKHEAD says testing found too many possible exploits in the original design, and the nerfed redesign took away the high-stakes payout he was meant for, so he's going back into development.

Before Season 02 I said: I'll totally use it. But I think it's going to be frightfully exploitable, depending on what you can bet on. I think the Wager Vendor is going to be extremely exploitable, and it'll need a lot of situational, dynamic maths behind it to make sense (what changed in Season 02).

What weapon changes are in WARDOGS Season 3?

The biggest weapon changes in WARDOGS Season 3:

• Assault rifles and LMGs hit harder in the torso: assault rifles go back to Season 1 values, and LMGs now match them.
• DMRs kill faster: every DMR now kills an unarmoured player in two body shots and a player with no helmet in one headshot.
• The Molotov is cheaper and earlier: $12,500 instead of $25,000, at Assault level 8 instead of 13, and standing in its fire now sets you alight and makes you drop what you're holding.
• The TCX-SPR kicks less in full auto, and compound bow arrows fly 50% faster.
• Unlock moves: C4 goes from Assault 4 to 5, the Large Hammer from Support 8 to 14, the Verba from Support 14 to 8, and the AMR 50 from Recon 35 to 41.
• Shared items from any role: armour, backpacks, tactical vests and parachutes now unlock from every role track, so you no longer have to level other classes to get them.

What changes for drivers and logistics?

Drivers get faster reverse on every wheeled vehicle, the Ural from 15 to 27 km/h, and the Ural and Humvee slip less. The Ural also can't roll backwards downhill any faster than it drives forwards. On 31 October I finally did it myself, 154 km/h backwards in a loaded Ural, so that's gone (is rolling downhill an exploit?).

Supply crates and pallets now break from much lower drops, pallets from about 40 metres instead of 90, and pallets deployed outside a friendly FOB pay less. How the supply side works is in WARDOGS logistics from a level 10 driver. BULKHEAD has also cleaned the smeared first-person vehicle windows that came in with the rain.

Can you get banned for potato shadows in WARDOGS?

Yes, from Season 3 you can get banned in WARDOGS for forcing potato shadows or using NVIDIA Inspector to remove smoke or grass or change textures. If the game detects those settings, it blocks you with a warning on launch, and working around that warning is bannable. The potato shadow setting is only meant for PCs that barely meet minimum spec. Other things that get you banned are in what gets you banned in WARDOGS.

Is the WARDOGS ping limit changing?

Yes, the official WARDOGS ping limit goes up to 250 in every region for Season 3, so you can play with friends abroad. BULKHEAD also says it has found how the DDoS attacks on Asian servers worked and is aiming to block them for Season 3. Which servers to pick is in the best WARDOGS servers for Southeast Asia.

What else is new in Season 3?

Also new in WARDOGS Season 3: Twitch drops from 15 minutes to 15 hours of watch time, with a Littlebird and a Wolf-110 among the rewards, a Movember mustache DLC with all profits going to the charity, five gold market camos, a small cash bonus for playing on community servers, and squad invites that queue up to five instead of replacing each other.

When will I play Season 3?

I'm playing it on stream the morning of 13 November, my first go at Season 3. I'll add how Sabatulo, the slower grind and Limited Mode actually play after that.

Related

• Is WARDOGS worth it?
• When does WARDOGS Season 2 end?
• Will WARDOGS Season 3 change the claymore?
• What changed in WARDOGS Season 02?