WARDOGS | Road to Season 03

Summary

The developers explain how feedback from Season 2 shaped their plans for WARDOGS Season 3, which is due November 12. They say they reacted too quickly to criticism in Season 2, making progression feel less rewarding and weakening the sense of a fresh seasonal journey. Going forward, they aim to prioritize stability and consistency rather than chasing the loudest community reactions.

Season 3 and gameplay changes

• A new urban map will introduce close-quarters combat and give everyone a new environment to learn together.
• Seasons will last about three months, giving players more time to reach their goals and developers more time to prepare future content.
• Multi-track unlocks will let players earn some items through more than one role’s progression track. For example, a pilot may be able to unlock certain ammunition by playing as a pilot instead of grinding another role.
• Limited mode will offer a more even-handed version of large-scale combat, with restrictions such as FMJ ammunition, tier 2 armor as the maximum, and a reduced vehicle selection. Cash and XP earned in this mode will also be usable in the standard mode. The developers say the mode’s future will depend on player feedback.
• The current progression system has shortcomings, and a more substantial overhaul is planned for 2027.

Cheating and fair play

The developers describe actions against real-money trading and boosting operations, including disrupting a server, removing its cash and XP, and banning its participants. They say they can now monitor connected accounts and related networks more closely.

They also announce an anti-cheat ban wave affecting 185,000 accounts, based on analysis of 187 million hours of gameplay with assistance from machine learning and AI. Prohibited behavior includes using external software to manipulate aiming, recoil, or fire rate. The developers caution that bans will not eliminate cheating entirely and say a player trust score is planned for next year.

Finally, they ask players to leave honest reviews, whether positive or negative, so legitimate feedback is not drowned out by reviews from banned accounts. They emphasize that they are not asking everyone to leave positive reviews.

Featured gamers and sources

• The server-disruption clip features unnamed developers or staff members, including one addressed as Stephanie.
• The developers cite anti-cheat analysis assisted by machine learning and AI, as well as information from unnamed industry colleagues.
• BULKHEAD is the development team presenting the update.