Wardogs Season 3 Bins the IR Rangefinder and Lands Around 4am Friday NZ Time. Full Patch Notes

Bulkhead has dropped the full Wardogs Season 3 patch notes, and the headline isn’t the new map. The Infrared Range Finder, the gadget that seemed to be in every single match last season, is gone from the vendor until the studio redesigns it.

We finally have a start time too. After last week’s Road to Season 3 devlog, the servers go down for maintenance from 2am to 4am NZDT on Friday 13 November (midnight to 2am AEDT), and Season 3 goes live after that.

When Season 3 goes live

• Maintenance: 13:00 to 15:00 UTC on Thursday 12 November, which is 2am to 4am NZDT on Friday 13 November, or midnight to 2am AEDT.
• Downtime: Bulkhead estimates roughly two hours before the new season goes live.
• Season length: roughly three months, up from the old monthly-ish cadence.
• The price: Wardogs is still in early access, at 62.99 New Zealand dollars on Steam.

The big changes

• Infrared Range Finder: removed from the vendor. Bulkhead says the Season 2 battery nerf didn’t curb how powerful it was, and it’s “not happy with how often it’s used in almost every match”.
• Sabatulo: the first city map, with tight streets, high-rises, a central hospital, a swimming pool, a power station and a river embankment.
• Limited Mode: no Hollow Point or AP ammo, no Level 3 or 4 armour, no attack vehicles, no CIWS, Stingray, MG Nest or Drill Rig, and no anti-tank mines. Cash and progression carry over to the normal mode.
• Multi-track unlocks: armour, backpacks, tactical vests and parachutes now unlock on every role track, so you don’t have to grind roles you hate.
• Slower progression: the XP needed per level goes up, back closer to Season 1 speeds.
• Catch-up for GTA 6 players: an XP catch-up bonus and bigger vendor discounts kick in week by week for low-level players. Bulkhead name-checks GTA VI directly.

Guns, gear and vehicles

• Assault rifles and LMGs: torso damage is back to Season 1 values, with upper torso up 13% on Season 2.
• DMRs: every DMR now kills an unarmoured player in two body shots (was three), and one headshot kills a player with no helmet.
• Compound bow: arrows are 50% faster.
• Molotov: now sets you on fire and makes you drop your held item, and it’s half the price to unlock at $12.5k in-game cash.
• Parachutes: the Basic Parachute is now an emergency chute that can’t open within about 20 metres of the ground. The Sport Parachute is the BASE-jumping one, and both cost more.
• Tanks: tougher against grenades, and moved later in progression to WARDOG level 200 (was 145).
• Miniguns and Littlebirds: minigun damage against infantry goes up, and Littlebird pilots get more cockpit protection.
• Cheaper vehicles: the Wolf-110, Kodiak, AH-6M Littlebird and Havoc all drop in price.
• Window cleaning: Bulkhead admits the Season 2 rain update left first-person vehicle windows smeary. It says its “window cleaning team” has fixed it.

Movember moustaches

There’s also a Tactical ‘Stache DLC for Movember. The moustache grows the more you play in November, and Bulkhead says 100% of profits go to the men’s health charity.

Bulkhead also warns that a small number of min-maxers will probably unlock the good gear within the first weekend. Its advice is to use early-game counters and teamwork, or hide on new-player and Limited servers.

Our take

Binning the IR rangefinder is the best call Bulkhead has made in weeks. Being spotted through a hedge by some bloke with a magic thermal stick every single match got old fast, and the studio admitting its own nerf didn’t work is refreshingly honest.

Limited Mode and slower levelling are basically Bulkhead conceding that Season 2 was cooked. Whether it sticks depends on whether the sweats actually leave the newbies alone, and the patch notes already admit they won’t.

Keep an eye on how the Blue Team handles it on our Wardogs Blue Team Watch, read up on Bulkhead’s boss and his crunch comments, and find everything else on our Wardogs page. Then come rip into the patch notes in the GetRekt Discord.

Sources

• Steam (BULKHEAD): WARDOGS Season 03 Patch Notes
• GamingBolt: WARDOGS Season 3 highlights Limited Mode and new map, Infrared Range Finder removed
• Patchbot: WARDOGS Season 03 Patch Notes
• Steam: WARDOGS store page
• BULKHEAD (YouTube): WARDOGS Season 03 Trailer
• BULKHEAD (YouTube): WARDOGS Road to Season 03