How money actually works in Wardogs — the 50% New Recruit Discount that expires at level 9, why your gun has no ammo, and a planner that works out what each life costs you and how many you can fund.
Wardogs Money Guide: What Your Loadout Really Costs
Wardogs Money Guide: What Your Loadout Really Costs
Wardogs charges you for your kit every single life, and your wallet carries across matches and sessions. Get the early spending wrong and you spend hours poor.
The single biggest thing new players miss: every vendor item is 50% off until Wardog level 9, and that discount never comes back. Below is a planner that shows what a loadout costs you now, what it will cost later, and how many lives your balance actually covers.
Wardogs Loadout Budget Planner
In Wardogs you pay for your kit every single life, and your wallet carries over. Put in your balance and your Wardog level and this works out what that loadout costs you, how much the below-level-9 discount is saving you, and how many lives your balance covers. Everything runs in your browser.
Every figure here is in-game dollars — the cash you earn and spend inside Wardogs. Nothing on this page is a real-money price.
Your wallet and rank
Current balance (in-game $)
Everyone starts with $10,000. That is a one-time account seed, not a per-life allowance.
Wardog level
The New Recruit Discount takes 50% off all vendor gear below level 9, then expires permanently.
Your loadout
Primary weapon
Magazines to buy
Your weapon comes with one magazine; extras and ammo are bought separately. Player-reported
Parachute
Deployables
Vendor weapons — full price vs below level 9
Equipment and deployables — Season 1 patch prices (9 September 2026)
Scroll the tables sideways on a phone. All prices are in-game dollars.
Unofficial fan tool by Recharge.com — not affiliated with or endorsed by BULKHEAD. Wardogs is in Early Access and vendor prices already changed once in the Season 1 patch, so they may change again — confirm the current price at the vendor in game. Weapon prices here were recorded firsthand in game; equipment prices are from the official Season 1 patch notes. Magazine and ammo prices have not been published and are not included in any total.
The 50% discount that expires at level 9
The New Recruit Discount takes 50% off everything at the vendor while you are below Wardog level 9. Once you cross level 9 it is gone permanently.
This matters because of how buying works: items are purchased twice. The first purchase is a permanent account unlock with a large one-off fee, and after that you pay again for the actual copy you take into each life. Buying your expensive permanent unlocks while the discount is live costs half what it will later. (The two-stage purchase model is player-reported, observed in game rather than documented by BULKHEAD.)
Why your gun has no ammo
A weapon, its magazines and its ammunition are three separate purchases, and a weapon ships with only one magazine. This is the most common new-player shock in Wardogs — you buy a rifle, deploy, and find you have a single mag.
BULKHEAD has not published magazine or ammunition prices, so the planner above deliberately does not cost them. Budget extra beyond whatever it tells you. (Player-reported.)
Wardogs vendor prices
Weapon prices below were recorded firsthand at the vendor. Equipment prices come from the official Season 1 patch notes of 9 September 2026 — several changed at that patch, so older guides are already wrong.
| Weapon | Full price | Below level 9 |
|---|---|---|
| M17S (starter sidearm) | $0 | $0 |
| GGX17 | $200 | $100 |
| T-21 | $600 | $300 |
| AK74 | $1,600 | $800 |
| Galil | $2,200 | $1,100 |
| M4 | $2,800 | $1,400 |
| PKM | $4,500 | $2,250 |
| FAL | $6,500 | $3,250 |
| AMR 50 | $8,800 | $4,400 |
All figures are in-game dollars, not real money. Recorded at the vendor; Early Access prices change.
| Equipment | Full price | Below level 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Parachute | $100 | $50 |
| Large Hammer | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Supply crate | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| FOB | $7,500 | $3,750 |
| Medium Hammer | $25,000 | $12,500 |
| Dune Buggy | $25,000 | $12,500 |
| Lakota | $35,000 | $17,500 |
| Artillery | $500,000 | $250,000 |
Equipment prices from the official Season 1 patch notes (9 September 2026). The FOB rose from $2,500 to $7,500 and the Lakota fell from $50,000 to $35,000 in that patch.
What happens to your money when you die
You start with $10,000 as a one-time account seed — it is not a per-life allowance and it does not refill. Your balance persists across lives, matches and sessions.
When you die you lose the gear you bought for that life. Your account balance is otherwise untouched. Whether any proportion of that gear value comes back, BULKHEAD has not published.
You will find guides confidently stating a “90% refund”. That figure has no source, and the sites publishing it contradict each other on when it supposedly applies. We are not repeating it. Plan as though a loadout is fully spent — that is the safe assumption, and it is what the planner above uses.
Gold bars and wipes
Gold bars are the endgame currency, and they are bought with in-game cash only — BULKHEAD has confirmed gold is never sold for real money. Gold buys cosmetics at the Black Market, and nothing else.
The reason gold matters is wipes. The in-game Gold Exchange states it plainly: “at the end of a major update cycle your level progression and cash will be reset… any remaining cash at the end of a cycle will be automatically exchanged for gold bars.”
So cash and levels are wiped; gold bars and the cosmetics you bought with them are kept. No wipe schedule has been announced — it is tied to update cycles rather than a calendar, with notice given in advance. The exchange rate fluctuates daily based on player trading, so there is no fixed rate to quote.
How players actually make money
Kills are not the efficient route. The confirmed earning activities are holding the control zone, reviving teammates, transporting them, spotting and marking enemies, running supply logistics and building. The Hot Zone doubles cash and counts players double for zone control.
Players consistently report logistics and supply runs as the most lucrative option — one popular Steam thread argues running supplies is too lucrative. We are not publishing per-action payout figures, because BULKHEAD has not published any and the numbers circulating online contradict each other.
One cost worth knowing: crashing a vehicle with squadmates aboard is reported to cost $1,500 per passenger killed. (Player-reported.)
Buying Wardogs
Wardogs is sold on Steam in Early Access. Top up your Steam wallet with a gift card and the code arrives by email in minutes — no bank card required.
Get a Steam gift cardWardogs FAQ
How much money do you start with in Wardogs?
$10,000 in in-game currency. It is a one-time account seed, not a per-life allowance, and it does not refill when you die.
Do you lose your money when you die in Wardogs?
You lose the gear you bought for that life. Your account balance is otherwise untouched. BULKHEAD has not published whether any proportion of the gear value is returned, so the safe assumption is that a loadout is fully spent.
What is the New Recruit Discount in Wardogs?
A 50% discount on all vendor gear while you are below Wardog level 9. It expires permanently once you pass level 9, which makes it the best time to buy expensive permanent unlocks.
Why does my gun have no ammo in Wardogs?
Weapons, magazines and ammunition are three separate purchases, and a weapon comes with only one magazine. You have to buy extra magazines and ammo yourself.
What are gold bars used for in Wardogs?
Gold bars are the endgame currency and buy cosmetics at the Black Market. They are purchased with in-game cash only — BULKHEAD has confirmed gold is never sold for real money — and they survive wipes when cash and levels do not.
When does Wardogs wipe?
No schedule has been announced. Wipes are tied to the end of major update cycles rather than a calendar, with notice given in advance. Cash and level progression reset; gold bars and cosmetics are kept, and leftover cash converts to gold automatically.
More Wardogs guides
- Wardogs system requirements: can your PC run it?
- Wardogs best settings: aim, FOV and FPS
- Wardogs crossplay and consoles: what is confirmed
- Wardogs Steam player count and population
Unofficial fan content by Recharge.com — not affiliated with or endorsed by BULKHEAD, Team17 or Valve. Confirmed details come from the game’s Steam store page, BULKHEAD developer posts and the official Season 1 patch notes (9 September 2026). Wardogs is in Early Access, so prices, requirements and mechanics change — check in game before acting on anything here. Where BULKHEAD has not published a figure, this page says so rather than guessing.
Written by
Conor Byrne
