A loadout has two bills
The vendor price is what you pay each time you spawn with the item. The unlock is a one-time payment on a progression track, and until it is paid the vendor will not sell you the thing at any price. Guides that list only the first number are quoting half the cost — the same mistake they make with vehicles.
The Defibrillator is the clean example. It is $1,600 at the vendor, which reads like a cheap way to earn from revives. Behind it sit Medic 11 and $50,000.
Three kits, priced in full
The first hour
Nothing in it is gated, so it works on a fresh account.
| Item, and its gate | Vendor price | One-time unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Bushmaster M17SOpen from the start | Free | — |
| GGX 17Career 1 | $200 | — |
| Light ArmourOpen from the start | $400 | — |
| Light HelmetOpen from the start | $200 | — |
| BandageOpen from the start | $200 | — |
| Small Tac VestOpen from the start | $100 | — |
| Total | $1,100$550 below Wardog 9 | — |
The zone worker
What the zone actually pays for: staying alive in it and picking people up.
| Item, and its gate | Vendor price | One-time unlock |
|---|---|---|
| T-21Open from the start | $600 | — |
| GGX 17Career 1 | $200 | — |
| Light ArmourOpen from the start | $400 | — |
| Light HelmetOpen from the start | $200 | — |
| BandageOpen from the start | $200 | — |
| Adrenaline PenOpen from the start | $250 | — |
| Field BackpackWardog 12 | $650 | $20,000 |
| Total | $2,500$1,250 below Wardog 9 | $20,000 |
The earner
Revives out-earn kills on every published payout model. This is the kit that does them.
| Item, and its gate | Vendor price | One-time unlock |
|---|---|---|
| T-21Open from the start | $600 | — |
| GGX 17Career 1 | $200 | — |
| Light ArmourOpen from the start | $400 | — |
| Light HelmetOpen from the start | $200 | — |
| DefibrillatorMedic 11 | $1,600 | $50,000 |
| Individual First Aid KitMedic 9 | $800 | $25,000 |
| BandageOpen from the start | $200 | — |
| Total | $4,000$2,000 below Wardog 9 | $75,000 |
What is missing from every kit, ours included
Ammunition. No two sources agree on what magazines cost, so we do not price them, and neither does anyone else — but you buy them every spawn, and the one site that publishes exclusions says they are not refunded. Treat the totals above as a floor.
Why older budget guides are wrong now
Season 1 raised vendor prices on 9 September, and the guides written in August still quote the old ones. From BULKHEAD's own changelog: the Forward Operating Base went from $2,500 to $7,500, the Large Hammer from $1,600 to $2,400, and the Support unlock behind that hammer from $25,000 to $75,000. A support kit costed in August is out by tens of thousands.
Spend the recruit discount on gear, not rifles
Below Wardog 9 everything at the vendor is half price, which takes the first kit to $550. The rifles you can hold that early are free or $600 anyway, so the discount is worth most on armour, backpacks and consumables — the things you re-buy every spawn.