There is no class to choose
BULKHEAD’s wording is direct: “Roles are totally player-defined.” You are not picking Medic at a menu and inheriting a kit. You buy specialist items with your cash, and the loadout you assemble is what makes you a medic or a pilot that life. The studio frames it as building a loadout that suits your playstyle — “either for fun or to min/max your return on investment every life.”
Six progression tracks
XP is earned across six tracks, and BULKHEAD names two of the six as examples: Medic and Pilot. The other four have not been published, so anyone listing all six by name is filling in blanks. What the structure tells you is that progression follows what you actually do rather than a class you declared — buy medical gear and revive people, and the medic track is what moves.
Cash and gold bars are different things
This is the part most coverage misses. Cash is the match currency: earned through teamplay, spent on weapons, gear, utilities and vehicles. But BULKHEAD also says you can “exchange your cash profits for GOLD BARS — the endgame currency used to obtain cosmetic unlocks in the GOLD MARKET.” So there are two currencies and a conversion between them, and the second one exists purely for cosmetics.
| Currency | How you get it | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Teamplay in the zone — revives, transport, kills, spotting and more | Weapons, gear, utilities, vehicles |
| Gold bars | Exchanged from cash | Cosmetic unlocks in the Gold Market |
Cosmetics are earned, and BULKHEAD has committed to that
The Supporter Pack listing carries the commitment in writing: “We will NEVER monetize in-game cash or gold bars, they must be earned through play” and “We will NEVER allow you to directly purchase camos.” The studio gives its reason too — camos should show that a player has worked hard to unlock an item, not how much money they have. That makes the Gold Market a progression sink rather than a shop.
What earns cash, in the developer’s own list
Revives, transport, kills, spotting, “and MORE”. Note that kills are on that list — they pay, they just are not what scores points. The scoreboard counts bodies in the zone; your wallet counts what you did.
What is not published
The four unnamed tracks. Every XP rate. Every unlock cost, in cash or in gold bars. The exchange rate between cash and gold bars. What a Gold Market actually looks like. Whether progression or currency wipes between Early Access and 1.0 — BULKHEAD has said nothing either way, and a community question is not an answer. These become documentable against a live build, not before.
Common questions
Are there classes in WARDOGS?
No. BULKHEAD says roles are totally player-defined — you build a role by buying specialist items rather than selecting a class.
How many progression tracks are there?
Six. BULKHEAD names Medic and Pilot as examples; the other four have not been published.
What are gold bars for?
Cosmetic unlocks in the Gold Market. They are exchanged from cash, and BULKHEAD has committed to never selling them.
Will progress wipe at 1.0?
No official statement exists either way. We are not going to guess.
Sources & verification
The structure is BULKHEAD’s own, from its February 2026 Top Questions announcement and the Supporter Pack listing. Nothing here is measured; unlock costs and XP rates are not published.
| Source | Type | Read |
|---|---|---|
| BULKHEAD · “WARDOGS — Top Questions”, 18 February 2026The announcement that states the 2×2 km Control Zone sits inside a 256 km² map, and that the first team to 100 points wins. | Publisher stated | 2026-09-08 |
| Steam · WARDOGS – Supporter Pack store listingBULKHEAD’s own listing for the paid edition. It is also where the three faction names, three weapon names and the Littlebird helicopter are published in official text. | Publisher stated | 2026-09-08 |
| Steam · WARDOGS official store listing | Publisher stated | 2026-09-08 |
