WARDOGS Balance Debate: Infantry, Mortars and Sniper Towers
Infantry feels high-risk and low-reward, the mortar shell camera feels too strong, and sniper towers are brutal. Both sides of the argument, and what changed.
The short version: the argument is not really about which gun is strongest. It is about risk and reward not lining up. A post with 1,755 upvotes sums up frontline infantry as high risk and low reward: a medic loadout costs about $10k, which means three or four kills just to break even, while mortars, building and supply runs generate piles of XP and cash from relative safety.
The other side is just as loud. A post with 1,075 upvotes warns: do not let a vocal forum minority redesign the game.
Only two things are actually confirmed: the developer says it weighs Discord discussion and backend data together, and it says it will not abandon its design vision over feedback. As of today the changes it has actually shipped target level curves, building prices and reward curves — nothing has touched mortars, and nothing has paid infantry more.
What the two camps are actually saying
| Topic | “Infantry is too weak” | “Stop changing things” |
|---|---|---|
| Core claim | Frontline takes the most exposure but earns less than safe roles | Most complaints come from players who have not adapted, and appeasing them will wreck the game |
| Supporting evidence | A $10k medic loadout needs three or four kills to break even; support roles can farm in safety | Names three demands: buff infantry, delete mortars, buff the attack helicopter |
| Read on the game | Turning into FOB-versus-FOB mortar duels instead of infantry pushes | The systems are fine; players just are not using them properly |
| Community support | 1,755 upvotes / 585 comments | 1,075 upvotes / 397 comments |
Both sides have real support, which tells you something: this is not one unreasonable group shouting. The reward structure genuinely makes part of the player base feel their effort is wasted.
The three loudest flashpoints
One: the mortar shell camera. Community feedback (252 upvotes, 133 comments) argues mortars are already the meta — almost every FOB is stuffed with them. The complaint is not damage but the shell camera handing out a full top-down view: you can see exactly where your shell lands, read the enemy base, and after your own mortar pit is destroyed you can pinpoint where to rebuild. The poster’s expectation: “mortars should reward good coordination and positioning, but the current shell camera makes them feel like an artillery system.” The community’s suggested fixes are also reasonable — raise the camera so it loses detail, or switch to something like Arma’s artillery computer that gives you a trajectory line instead of a drone view.
Two: sniper towers are miserable to assault. WARDOGS Recon runs realistic ballistics — drop, velocity, zeroing and ricochets all matter — and there is no traditional scope glint. In open terrain that feels excellent. When six Recon players occupy a tower overlooking the Control Zone, the attacking side is left with one option: get shot.
Three: everyone ignores the Hot Zone. Another recurring complaint is that the Hot Zone’s passive income and capture incentives are too low, so teams simply pretend it does not exist. That throws away one of the few pressure points that could pull a one-sided match back towards the middle.
How the developer handles feedback
The studio made a dedicated video on its feedback process. It condenses into four lines:
- Bugs get logged and fixed, audio gets adjusted, UX issues get discussed internally and redesigned when warranted.
- Gameplay frustration and balance are evaluated against Discord discussion and backend data, and the team plays the game itself.
- Changes only happen when the team judges them justified.
- Feedback — including feedback from well-known streamers — will not make the studio abandon its vision.
It also used one example to explain the philosophy: kill cam looks arcade-leaning, but it is tied to the death economy. Players can negate it entirely with a ghillie suit, at the cost of occupying the armour slot and running unarmoured. That is “we keep the design, you get a choice”.
What the developer has actually changed
| Change | Direction |
|---|---|
| Level 10-20 XP raised (level 10 +40%, level 15 +100.9%, level 20 +124.2%) | Slower overall progression |
| FOB vendor $2,500 to $7,500; large hammer $1,600 to $2,400 | Building costs up |
| Medium hammer Support unlock $10,000 to $25,000; large hammer $25,000 to $75,000 | Building costs up |
| URAL unlock $50,000 to $35,000 | Some driver vehicles cheaper |
| Low-value supply item sale payout 25 XP to 1 XP | Removes an XP farming route |
See the pattern? Every hand the developer has played has been on progression and building prices. It has not touched infantry income and it has not touched mortar strength. If you were hoping a balance patch would improve the frontline experience, the current signal is clear. Do not wait for it.
Four things that work in the current build
- Follow the Hot Zone instead of wandering. The Control Zone scores by headcount, so simply standing in it is a contribution.
- Make the cash-rewarded actions routine. Reviving teammates, transporting friendlies and controlling the objective all pay, and cash persists.
- Price your loadout so you can afford to die. If you keep getting stuck in a “died, cannot rebuild” loop, the problem is loadout cost, not the gun.
- Use buildings and terrain to change the engagement distance. Do not reinforce a position that is being walked onto by shells, and move rebuild spots that the shell camera can see.
Our take: the thing the developer should pay most attention to here is not “should infantry earn more” but the Hot Zone’s weak incentives. It manages to annoy both the players who want to fight and the teams who want to win, and it is far easier to fix than weapon balance.
Sources and boundaries
Headcount scoring inside the Control Zone, first to 100 points, and cash rewards for reviving, transporting and controlling the objective come from the Steam store page. The studio’s feedback principles come from the official video WARDOGS | Addressing Feedback. XP and price changes come from the Season 1 changelog (2026-09-09) in the Steam announcement feed. The community arguments come from r/WarDogs threads on infantry earnings, mortar feedback and pushing back on the vocal minority. Meta structure and Hot Zone analysis come from media at PixelNitro and allthings.how.
“Infantry is high risk, low reward” is currently community arithmetic and consensus — the developer publishes no per-activity earnings table — so it is labelled as community opinion. The developer has not said whether mortars will change, and this page does not predict a nerf. Weapon numbers live on weapon testing and the weapon tier list; capture rules live in the Control Zone guide. The embedded video is the official feedback explainer (1n9lDfr-ihw).
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