All prices and values are from Season 1 (Early Access). Season 2 arrives October 15, 2026 and may change them.
How this tier list works
Most tier lists rank raw power. That ranking is useless in WARDOGS, because power has a price tag and you pay it every life. This list ranks value per dollar: what each weapon gives you for what it costs to field, including the one-time cost to make it purchasable.
The inputs:
- Price: the per-life vendor price, verified at the vendor and in the Season 1 patch notes.
- Damage and fire rate: listed vendor values. Where Bulkhead has not published a value, the cell says so, and the ranking leans on price and fire mode instead.
- Opening cost: the one-time payment plus level requirement that makes a weapon purchasable. A $2,800 rifle that costs $100,000 to open is not a $2,800 rifle for a new player.
- Listed DPS: damage multiplied by fire rate, a rough proxy for close-range output. It ignores armor and range falloff, for which Bulkhead has not published formulas. Treat it as directional.
Free rifles sit outside the tiers. The A-91, Bushmaster M17S, and KH-2002 cost $0, deal 28 damage at 700 RPM, and are always viable. Every paid weapon is measured against that baseline.
The tiers
| Tier | Weapon | Price | Damage | Fire rate | Listed DPS | To open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | T-21 | $600 | 28 | 750 RPM | 21,000 | No requirement |
| A | M4 | $2,800 | 28 | 800 RPM | 22,400 | Assault 20 + $100,000 |
| A | Super-45 | $2,600 | 30 | 1,200 RPM | 36,000 | Medic 35 + $150,000 |
| A | MP43 | $400 | Not published | Not published | Not published | No requirement |
| B | AK74 | $1,600 | Not published | 650 RPM | Not published | Assault 3 + $10,000 |
| B | M500 | $1,200 | Not published | Not published | Not published | Support 10 + $50,000 |
| B | SKS | $2,400 | Not published | Not published | Not published | Recon 5 + $25,000 |
| B | SVD | $4,800 | 55 | 480 RPM | 26,400 | Recon 12 + $50,000 |
| B | M249 SAW | $3,200 | Not published | Not published | Not published | Support 15 + $100,000 |
| B | FAL | $6,500 | 60 | 650 RPM | 39,000 | Assault 35 + $200,000 |
| C | PKM | $4,500 | 55 | 600 RPM | 33,000 | Support 30 + $150,000 |
| C | Scout Rifle TD | $1,100 | Not published | Not published | Not published | No requirement |
| C | RPG-7 | $2,000 | Not published | Single shot | Not published | Support 5 + $30,000 |
| C | GGX17 | $200 | Not published | Semi-auto | Not published | Career 1 + $5,000 |
| C | AMR 50 | $8,800 | 107 | 42 RPM | 4,494 | Recon 35 + $200,000 |
S tier: the default answer
The T-21 stands alone. At $600 it is the cheapest full-auto rifle in the game, it needs no level requirement, and its listed DPS of 21,000 sits within 6% of the M4's 22,400. The M4 costs nearly five times as much per life and $100,000 to open.
Put it in seed-money terms. Your $10,000 starting account buys sixteen T-21 lives. It buys one and a half FAL lives. The T-21 is not the best rifle in WARDOGS. It is the best rifle per dollar by a margin nothing else touches, which is why it anchors every budget loadout on this site.
Below level 9 the vendor halves all prices, so new players field the T-21 for $300. There is no cheaper way to learn the game with a full-auto rifle.
A tier: pay more for a reason
M4. The best 5.56mm rifle on paper: 28 damage at 800 RPM, the highest listed DPS in its caliber. The catch is the total cost. Opening it takes Assault level 20 and $100,000, and every life costs $2,800. Buy it when your income covers it without thought. Before that, the T-21 does 94% of the job.
Super-45. The highest listed fire rate in the game at 1,200 RPM with 30 damage per shot, which computes to the highest listed DPS of any infantry weapon here at 36,000. It is a close-range specialist, and the Medic 35 plus $150,000 opening cost keeps it out of reach early. A premium pick for players who live in buildings and trenches.
MP43. The cheapest gun in the game at $400, with no level requirement. Bulkhead has not published its damage or fire rate, so this ranking rests on price and role alone: it is the budget close-range answer for players who cannot yet afford the Super-45. Do not expect it to fight at rifle ranges.
B tier: situational or overpriced
FAL. The strongest rifle per shot: 60 damage at 650 RPM for a listed DPS of 39,000, the highest among rifles. It is also $6,500 per life with a $200,000 opening cost. Two bad lives cost more than a full seed account. The FAL is a fine weapon. It is a dangerous financial habit.
AK74. The first full-auto step up from the free rifles at $1,600 per life. The problem is the opening cost: Assault level 3 plus $10,000, which equals the entire seed account. Pay it later, when $10,000 is a rounding error.
SVD. A solid marksman rifle at 55 damage and 480 RPM. The $4,800 price and Recon 12 plus $50,000 opening cost put it firmly in mid-game territory.
SKS, M500, M249 SAW. Role weapons with reasonable per-life prices ($1,200 to $3,200) and real opening costs ($25,000 to $100,000). None of them leads on value, and none of them is a trap. Buy them when your role demands them.
C tier: specialists and traps
AMR 50. The highest per-shot damage in the game at 107, paired with the lowest fire rate at 42 RPM. The listed DPS math collapses to 4,494. At $8,800 per life with a $200,000 opening cost, it is the worst value on this list. It has a job at extreme range. That job is narrow.
PKM. Strong on paper at 55 damage and 600 RPM. At $4,500 per life with a $150,000 opening cost, it is out-valued by cheaper support options in almost every scenario a new or mid-level player will face.
RPG-7. Essential against vehicles, dead weight in infantry fights. Carry one when enemy armor is on the field. Do not make it your primary.
Scout Rifle TD and GGX17. Backup weapons. The Scout Rifle is a $1,100 stopgap for Recon players with nothing better. The GGX17 is a $200 pistol. Pistols are for when everything else has gone wrong.
The number that actually matters
Compare total cost of ownership for ten lives, opening cost included:
| Weapon | Opening cost | 10 lives | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-21 | $0 | $6,000 | $6,000 |
| M4 | $100,000 | $28,000 | $128,000 |
| FAL | $200,000 | $65,000 | $265,000 |
That table is the whole argument. The M4 is a better rifle than the T-21. It is not twenty-one times better.
Season 2 (October 15, 2026) wipes cash and XP and can change prices. No tier on this page is permanent.