All prices and values are from Season 1 (Early Access). Season 2 arrives October 15, 2026 and may change them.
Two costs, three tracks
Every vehicle in WARDOGS has two costs. The unlock fee is a one-time payment tied to a role level. The per-life spawn price is charged every time you take the vehicle out. Losing a vehicle means paying the spawn price again, unless you reach a repair station first.
Three separate tracks gate the roster. Driver covers land transport and armor. Pilot covers aircraft. Wardog is your overall career level, the sum of all six role tracks, and it gates the heaviest hardware. Hours behind a wheel will never unlock a helicopter, and vice versa. Grinding cash for a $500,000 unlock you cannot legally purchase yet because you are not leveled is the most common vehicle mistake in the game. Check the level requirement before you check your bank balance.
The Driver ladder: ground transport
The transport ladder runs from pay-and-go trucks to armed vehicles. Pay-and-go means no level gate and no unlock fee: if you have the cash, you can buy it immediately. Everything else needs its Driver level plus the one-time fee.
| Vehicle | Per-life price | Driver gate | Unlock fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobcat | $500 | Pay-and-go | $0 |
| Kodiak | $2,500 | Pay-and-go | $0 |
| Ural | $5,000 | Driver 3 | $35,000 |
| Kodiak [M249] | $3,750 | Driver 6 | $50,000 |
| Dune Buggy | $1,500 | Driver 8 | $25,000 |
| Kodiak [Pickup] | $3,000 | Driver 10 | $35,000 |
| Humvee | $3,000 | Driver 15 | $25,000 |
| Ural Defender | $6,000 | Driver 18 | $75,000 |
| Humvee [M249] | $3,750 | Driver 25 | $125,000 |
| Ural Defender [M249] | $6,750 | Driver 25 | $125,000 |
| Humvee [Minigun] | $4,500 | Driver 30 | $150,000 |
For new players, the $500 Bobcat or a pay-and-go Kodiak is often the highest-value purchase on the field. A match is decided by who has bodies inside the control zone, and trucks are how bodies arrive. The armed variants higher up the ladder let a driver escort troops and fight back while transporting, rather than relying purely on speed.
Note that season patches move these gates. Season 1 pulled the Humvee Minigun down from Driver 35 to Driver 30, for example. The vendor tile in front of you is always the authority.
Armor: the L2A6 and the SPH-2
Armor sits apart from the transport ladder. These are the vehicles entire matches pivot around, and their unlock fees are the largest single purchases in the game.
| Vehicle | Per-life price | Gate | Unlock fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| L2A6 main battle tank | $14,000 | Driver 35 | $500,000 |
| SPH-2 artillery | $8,000 | Wardog 90 | $500,000 |
| Flakpanzer Gepard (anti-air) | $8,000 | Wardog 45 | Not shown on the tile |
The L2A6 is the strongest ground vehicle in WARDOGS: 800 HP, a 120mm main gun, machine guns, three crew seats and a smoke launcher. It is also an economic commitment. A single deployment costs $14,000, more than the $10,000 every account starts with, and the $500,000 unlock fee is fifty times the starting grant. At 65 km/h it ties for the slowest top speed in the game, and AT mines and explosive drones hit it hardest, so bring infantry to screen it.
The SPH-2 is indirect fire: park at range and drop shells on control zones from a distance. Its gate is Wardog level 90, the overall career track, which rewards long-term progression across the whole role system rather than Driver rank alone.
One history note worth knowing: tanks and artillery sat on the Wardog track during the beta, which is why older guides quote Wardog 35 or 45 for them. Bulkhead has said that placement was a side effect of compressed beta progression, and armor moved onto the Driver role for Early Access. Treat any tank unlock figure from the beta period as out of date until you see it on the tile yourself.
Do not save for armor before you are leveled. The L2A6 unlock needs Driver 35. The SPH-2 needs Wardog 90. Cash saved for a vehicle you cannot purchase is cash that is not earning you anything in matches. Level first, then save. The helicopter guide has the same warning for the Pilot track.
Keeping vehicles alive
A vehicle that survives the match is a vehicle you do not rebuy. A vehicle that survives the match is a vehicle you do not rebuy. Repairing at a station is always cheaper than spawning a fresh one, so learn the station locations on each map the way you learn sightlines.
Tactically, armor without infantry support is a donation. AT mines, explosive drones and rockets all punish lone vehicles, and dug-in defenders with FOB building systems have answers for everything. Screen your tank, repair between pushes, and pull back to a station instead of dying in place. A repair bill is always cheaper than a rebuy.