The curve, as published
This is not a community estimate. BULKHEAD printed the XP band for every fifth level, old value and new, in the Season 1 changelog of 9 September 2026. We have put our own unlock list beside it so you can see what each wall is standing in front of.
| Level, and what opens by it | Was | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 6AH-6M Miniguns, AK74, C4 Charge, Field Resuscitator… | 8,750 | 9,250 | 5.7% slower |
| Level 10Dune Buggy, Galil, Individual First Aid Kit, Kodiak Pickup… | 25,000 | 35,000 | 40.0% slower |
| Level 15Defibrillator, Field Backpack, Humvee, M249 SAW… | 54,750 | 110,000 | 100.9% slower |
| Level 209K333 Verba, AH-6R Rockets, Compound Bow, Judge… | 111,500 | 250,000 | 124.2% slower |
| Level 25AT Mine, Claymore, Ghillie Armour, Ghillie Helmet… | 192,000 | 325,000 | 69.3% slower |
| Level 30BMR-308, Heavy Drill, Humvee Minigun, Medium Armour… | 293,750 | 400,000 | 36.2% slower |
| Level 35AMR 50, Assault Backpack, FAL, Havoc… | 416,500 | 500,000 | 20.0% slower |
| Level 40M1911 | 551,250 | 650,000 | 17.9% slower |
| Level 45Flakpanzer Gepard | 689,500 | 800,000 | 16.0% slower |
| Level 50Large Tac Vest | 838,000 | 1,000,000 | 19.3% slower |
The wall is levels 10 to 20
Read the change column. Below level 6 nothing moved. Then level 15 became 100.9% slower and level 20 124.2% slower — the two steepest increases in the table — before the curve flattens out again. From level 25 onward the increases are a third of that, and by level 50 it is back to 19.3%.
BULKHEAD says why in the same post: “Looking at the data we have decided to slow levels down around 10 to 20, and flatten the curve from 35 onward. This means our median players, at 20 to 25 hours, will be around level 20, and those wanting the big ticket items, the top 5%, will need to grind.”
That sentence is the most useful thing published about WARDOGS progression, and it is worth reading as a promise rather than a boast: twenty to twenty-five hours to level 20. The M4 sits at Assault 20. That is the distance to a mid-priced rifle.
Six tracks, and the items moved between them
Progression is not one number. Each role — Assault, Medic, Support, Recon, Driver, Pilot — carries its own track, and the account carries an overall Wardog level on top. An unlock names its track: a Driver level does nothing for a Medic item.
Season 1 also moved items between tracks and levels, which is the part that makes older guides wrong rather than merely stale:
| Item | Was | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Artillery Tank | Career level 55 | Career level 90 |
| Heavy Tank | Career level 35 | Driver level 35 |
| Deagle | level 90 | level 85 |
| URAL Covered | level 30 | level 18 |
| URAL Attack | level 40 | level 25 |
| Humvee with minigun | level 35 | level 30 |
| Kodiak Flatbed | level 2 | level 10 |
| Large Supply Crate | level 20 | level 16 |
Two XP routes were cut
- “Player kill using an air vehicle: 300 XP to 250 XP.”
- “Supply crate item sold under $75: 25 XP to 1 XP.”
The second one ends a documented loop: selling cheap supply-crate items for XP. If a guide still recommends it, it was written before Season 1. What happens to people who push it anyway is set out in the money guide — in BULKHEAD's words, permanent bans.
It resets, and it changes shape
One line in the changelog governs everything above: “Each season we will have a different XP curve with different item orders.” So the numbers on this page are Season 1's, not the game's. When Season 2 lands, the curve and the order of unlocks both move, and this page will need re-reading against the new post rather than patching.