Body armour: four levels
Price is per life; unlock is the WARDOG (career) level and one-time payment the files record.
Level 4 Armor in the database →
| Armour | Protection | Durability | Weight | Covers | Price | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 30% | 200 | 3.0 kg | Torso | $400 | WARDOG 3 · $10,000 |
| Level 2 | 40% | 220 | 4.5 kg | Torso | $1,000 | WARDOG 30 · $50,000 |
| Level 3 | 55% | 250 | 10.5 kg | Torso | $2,000 | WARDOG 60 · $100,000 |
| Level 4 | 65% | 300 | 18.0 kg | Torso, pelvis, upper arms | $4,000 | WARDOG 100 · $200,000 |
Helmets: four levels
Levels 1 and 2 cover the head only; Levels 3 and 4 add the neck.
Level 4 Helmet in the database →
| Helmet | Protection | Durability | Weight | Covers | Price | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 30% | 80 | — | Head | $200 | WARDOG 3 · $7,500 |
| Level 2 | 40% | 100 | 1.6 kg | Head | $500 | WARDOG 30 · $37,500 |
| Level 3 | 55% | 180 | 3.0 kg | Head, neck | $1,500 | WARDOG 60 · $75,000 |
| Level 4 | 65% | 200 | 4.5 kg | Head, neck | $3,000 | WARDOG 100 · $150,000 |
How armour actually works
From the wardogs.zone Field Manual, written from the game files and dated 19 August, before launch. Armour takes its percentage off each hit on the zones it covers, and every hit also drains its durability; once that pool is empty, the wearer takes full damage again. Two consequences follow. Limbs are always unprotected — only Level 4 armour reaches the pelvis and upper arms. And sustained fire beats armour twice: through the reduction, then by emptying the pool for the next burst.
AP or HP: the ammunition decides how much armour matters
The ammunition database carries each round type’s two multipliers: one on damage to unarmoured body parts, one on how much armour protects against it (below ×1, armour stops less).
Every round and its multipliers →
- Hollow point (HP): ×2.0 against flesh, but armour protects ×1.5 as well — in all ten calibres that carry it. Devastating on limbs and unarmoured players, poor into plates.
- Armour piercing (AP): ×0.8 against flesh, and armour protects only ×0.3 to ×0.7 as well, depending on calibre.
- Standard (FMJ): no multiplier either way — the safe pick against a mixed lobby.
Season 02 makes the heaviest helmet cost more than money
BULKHEAD’s Season 02 preview of 9 October: “The Super Heavy Helmet now comes with muffled audio, a restricted field of view, and will fog over when you’re sprinting. Heavy and Super Heavy helmets also get increased suppression resistance in line with the new suppression changes.” The game files name the four helmets light, medium, heavy and super heavy internally, which makes the Super Heavy Helmet the Level 4 and the Heavy the Level 3. Season 02 releases on 15 October; the full patch notes are due before then.
What players actually wear
Weight is the reason Level 4 armour is rarer than its numbers suggest. A player on the Steam board on 10 October put it this way: “almost no one in my games wears level 4 armor due to how much it slows you down, if someone wants to be a heavy they go t4 helmet, t3 armor.” At 18 kg against 10.5 kg for Level 3, that trade is the plate’s whole story; the helmet costs only 1.5 kg more to go from Level 3 to 4.
Common questions
What are the armor levels in WARDOGS?
Four for body armour and four for helmets. The game files give 30%, 40%, 55% and 65% damage reduction on the covered zones, with durability that drains as you are hit.
When do you unlock Level 4 armor in WARDOGS?
At WARDOG (career) level 100, with a one-time payment of $200,000 for the armour and $150,000 for the helmet, according to the game files. Each then costs $4,000 and $3,000 per life.
Does armor protect your legs in WARDOGS?
No. Levels 1 to 3 cover the torso only; Level 4 adds the pelvis and upper arms. Legs and forearms are never covered.
Should I use AP or HP ammo in WARDOGS?
AP against armoured players — armour stops much less of it. HP doubles damage against unprotected body parts but armour stops more of it.
What changes to helmets in Season 02?
BULKHEAD says the Super Heavy Helmet gets muffled audio, a restricted field of view and fogging while sprinting, and Heavy and Super Heavy helmets get more suppression resistance.
Sources & verification
Protection, durability, coverage, weight, price and unlock are wardogs.zone’s extraction of the game files, as carried in this site’s equipment database (read 6 October 2026; coverage re-read 10 October). How armour drains is its Field Manual, dated 19 August. Ammunition multipliers are the database’s. The helmet changes are BULKHEAD’s Season 02 preview of 9 October. BULKHEAD has published no armour values of its own.
| Source | Type | Read |
|---|---|---|
| wardogs.zone · item database (armour and helmets), read 6 and 10 October 2026Protection, durability, covered zones, weight, price and unlock for lightarmor/mediumarmor/heavyarmor/superheavyarmor and the four helmets, shown as Level 1–4. The internal ids are the basis for matching BULKHEAD’s “Super Heavy Helmet” to Level 4. | Unverified | 2026-10-10 |
| wardogs.zone · Field Manual, “Armor, Ammo & Time to Kill”, updated 19 August 2026Fan site written from the game files, not BULKHEAD. How the reduction and durability pool work and what armour leaves uncovered. Dated before launch. | Unverified | 2026-10-10 |
| BULKHEAD · WARDOGS Season 02 Preview, 9 October 2026Published through Steam at 16:00:14 UTC (Steam News API gid 1846018067933823). The complete announcement names four weapons, a Molotov, four vehicles, three buildables, rain behaviour, an experimental Wager Vendor, headline balance work and Season 02-only Lonestar bonuses. It repeats the 15 October release date, says full balance notes and a maintenance window will follow early the next week, and gives no start time, patch number, item prices, unlocks or numeric combat values beyond a 20% losing-team vendor discount that activates at least 40 points behind second place. | Publisher stated | 2026-10-09 |
| Steam · “Season 2 - my take on changes”, 10 October 2026Player reply: few wear Level 4 armour because of how much it slows you; heavies run a Level 4 helmet with Level 3 armour. | Unverified | 2026-10-10 |
