All prices and values are from Season 1 (Early Access). Season 2 arrives October 15, 2026 and may change them.
The free baseline
Before spending anything, know what $0 buys. Each faction issues a free rifle, and all three share the same listed stats:
| Rifle | Price | Damage | Fire rate | Fire modes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-91 | $0 | 28 | 700 RPM | Semi / burst |
| Bushmaster M17S | $0 | 28 | 700 RPM | Semi / burst |
| KH-2002 | $0 | 28 | 700 RPM | Semi / burst |
28 damage per shot at 700 RPM is the floor every paid weapon has to beat. Keep this table in mind. Most weapons under $1,600 are small steps above it, not leaps.
Every weapon under $1,600
Prices and stats below are vendor-listed Season 1 values. Where Bulkhead has not published a stat, the cell says so.
| Weapon | Price | Verified stats | To open | Verdict vs the free rifles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-21 | $600 | 28 dmg, 750 RPM, full auto, 5.56 | No requirement | The default upgrade. Full breakdown below. |
| MP43 | $400 | Not published | No requirement | Cheapest gun in the game. Close-range pick. |
| AMP-9 | $900 | 900 RPM, 9x19mm | No requirement | Cheap SMG. Fire rate verified, damage not published. |
| GGX17 | $200 | Not published | Career 1 + $5,000 | Backup pistol. Buy it last. |
| Scout Rifle TD | $1,100 | Not published | No requirement | Budget marksman option for Recon players. |
| M500 | $1,200 | Not published | Support 10 + $50,000 | Shotgun step-up with a real opening cost. |
| PP-19 Vityaz | $1,200 | 800 RPM, 9x19mm | Medic 4 + $25,000 | SMG alternative to the AMP-9 for Medic players. |
| MP5 | $1,500 | 800 RPM, 9x19mm | Medic 15 + $75,000 | Pricier SMG. Needs a leveled Medic track. |
| AK74 | $1,600 | 650 RPM, 5.45x39mm | Assault 3 + $10,000 | First full-auto rifle. Opening cost equals the whole seed. |
A pattern worth noticing: several of these list a fire rate but no damage. Bulkhead publishes damage for some weapons and not others. This guide does not fill the gaps. Rankings for those weapons rest on price, fire mode, and role.
T-21: the full breakdown
The T-21 is the most important budget weapon in WARDOGS, so it gets the full treatment.
The numbers. $600 per life, $300 below level 9 when the vendor halves prices. 28 damage per shot at 750 RPM, 5.56x45mm, semi and full auto. No level requirement.
Against the free rifles. Same 28 damage per shot. 50 more RPM. Full auto instead of burst. That is the entire difference, and it is enough: full auto is more forgiving in close fights, where burst rifles punish every mistimed trigger pull. The T-21 is what the free rifles want to be when they grow up.
Against the M4. The M4 lists 28 damage at 800 RPM for $2,800 per life, plus $100,000 to open at Assault 20. The T-21's listed output is about 94% of the M4's at 21% of the per-life price, with no opening cost. The M4 is the better rifle. The gap is small and the price gap is not.
The seed math. A $10,000 seed account buys sixteen T-21 lives at full price, or thirty-three below level 9. That is the margin that lets a new player learn the game without going broke. No other full-auto rifle offers anything close.
When to move past it. When your per-match income covers $2,800+ per life without thought, start looking at the M4. When your Medic track hits the higher levels, look at the SMG line. Until then, the T-21 is not holding you back. Your positioning is.
The rest of the budget shelf
MP43 ($400). The cheapest gun in the game and the only budget answer for dedicated close-range work. No level requirement. Stats are unpublished, so treat it as a specialist: buildings, trenches, and compounds. It is not a rifle replacement.
AMP-9 ($900). The cheapest SMG, available immediately, with a verified 900 RPM in 9x19mm. Damage is unpublished. For Medic players who want full auto on day one without spending much, this is the entry point. The PP-19 Vityaz ($1,200, 800 RPM) is the alternative once you reach Medic 4, but the $25,000 opening cost makes it a later purchase.
GGX17 ($200). A pistol. It costs Career level 1 and $5,000 to open, then $200 per life. Pistols are backup weapons for when the primary is dry. Buy one when you have cash to spare, not before.
Scout Rifle TD ($1,100). The budget marksman option with no level requirement. Stats are unpublished. For Recon players who want to start learning long sightlines cheaply, it is the only sub-$1,600 choice.
M500 ($1,200) and MP5 ($1,500). Both cost more than their budget siblings and both need leveled role tracks plus real opening costs ($50,000 and $75,000). They are fine weapons. They are not budget weapons in practice, because the opening costs put them out of early reach.
AK74 ($1,600). The classic trap purchase. $1,600 per life looks affordable next to the M4's $2,800. The opening cost is Assault level 3 plus $10,000, which is the entire seed account. Paying your whole starting balance to open a sidegrade is bad economics. Open it later, when $10,000 is a rounding error.
What the free rifles still do better
Nothing in raw stats. They cost $0, and that is the actual advantage: zero risk on every deployment. A player learning the map on a free rifle can die twenty times and lose nothing. The same player on a $1,600 AK74 with a fresh $10,000 opening fee is one bad streak from broke.
The honest framing: everything under $1,600 is a small, cheap improvement over free. Buy the T-21 early. Buy the rest when a specific role or playstyle calls for it.
Opening costs are one-time but real. The AK74's $10,000 opening fee, the PP-19's $25,000, and the MP5's $75,000 all come out of the same account as your per-life purchases. Budget for both.