WARDOGS Season 3 starts on November 12 after maintenance from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC, so expect it live around 15:00 UTC, which is 10am ET and 7am PT. It brings Sabatulo, the game’s first city map, plus Limited Mode, multi-track unlocks, slower progression and a season that runs until January 28.
Key takeaways
- Maintenance runs from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC on November 12, and BULKHEAD estimates about two hours of downtime before Season 3 goes live.
- Sabatulo is the first city map, with high-rises, a central hospital, a swimming pool, a power station and a river embankment.
- Armor, backpacks, tactical vests and parachutes now unlock from every role track, and the infrared range finder is gone from the vendor.
- Progression is slower, the season lasts about three months, and the game’s price goes up by $5 when Season 3 ends on January 28.
What time does WARDOGS Season 3 start?
Season 3 goes live after the November 12 maintenance, which BULKHEAD scheduled from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC. It estimated roughly two hours of downtime, so the servers should come back with Season 3 at about 15:00 UTC. Here’s what that is in other time zones:
| Time zone | Maintenance starts | Season 3 live (about) |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | 13:00 | 15:00 |
| US Pacific (PT) | 5am | 7am |
| US Eastern (ET) | 8am | 10am |
| UK (GMT) | 1pm | 3pm |
| Central Europe (CET) | 2pm | 4pm |
| Japan (JST) | 10pm | Midnight |
Maintenance windows can run over, so if the servers aren’t back at 15:00 UTC, give it a little longer before assuming something’s wrong.
What is Sabatulo in WARDOGS Season 3?
Sabatulo is WARDOGS’ first city map. BULKHEAD describes it as tight streets, towering high-rises and plenty of destruction, built around close-quarters combat and verticality. You can fight room to room or take the high points to watch over the city. Key locations include a central hospital, a swimming pool, a power station and the river embankment.
Where am I going first on Sabatulo? Wherever the FOB lands, bro. I’m a driver and a fobbit. I don’t pick where things go in.
What is Limited Mode in WARDOGS?
Limited Mode is a separate mode that limits the vendor to what’s usually available early to mid season. In Limited Mode there’s:
- No hollow point or armor-piercing ammo
- No Level 3 or Level 4 armor
- No attack vehicles
- No CIWS, Stingray, MG Nest or Drill Rig
- No anti-tank mines
All the cash and progression you earn in Limited Mode carries over to the other modes, and the server browser now lets you filter for Limited servers. BULKHEAD pitches it at players who want fairer fights and players joining later in the season.
Would I play it? Probably not, if I’m honest. I would prefer the game to be balanced than to just take parts out.
How do multi-track unlocks work in WARDOGS Season 3?
Some shared items can now be unlocked from more than one role track, so you can earn them by playing the role you like. Armor, backpacks, tactical vests and parachutes unlock from every role track. Ammo types have been spread across the role tracks to match where the weapons that use them unlock.
Each role still gets one of those items before the others, to keep its identity:
- Assault gets armor first
- Medic gets the tactical vest first
- Support gets backpacks first
- Recon gets AP ammo first
The multi-track unlocks look really cool. I was always climbing as driver and support anyway. So if these let me keep the mix and match style I was already playing, I’ll probably take a pistol instead of the shotgun, so I’m doing assault, driver and builder all in one. But we’ll have to see what the actual trees play out like.
Some items also moved. C4 goes from Assault level 4 to level 5, the Molotov comes down from level 13 to level 8, the Large Hammer moves from Support level 8 to 14 and the Verba from 14 to 8. Tanks move later too, to Driver levels 35 to 50.
I’m not bothered about the C4. I didn’t really like it, it was real slow. What I wanted was the vehicle mines and the claymores, to try claymoring bridges and anti-tank mining them as well. So if they see the mine and get out before they hit it, there’s a claymore waiting where they’re likely to stop the vehicle. I wanted to try some proper guerrilla warfare.
Is WARDOGS Season 3 progression slower?
Yes. The XP needed for each level has gone up, and BULKHEAD says progression is now closer to Season 1 speeds. It still expects a very small number of players to unlock top-tier items and vehicles within the first weekend, and suggests early counters, teamwork, or new player and Limited servers if you’d rather avoid them.
I think slower progression is good. Otherwise the resets don’t make sense. If you can get straight to the top and have everything unlocked within days, you might as well not bother resetting it.
There’s also a catch-up mechanic. As the season goes on, low-level players get an XP bonus and a bigger vendor discount, increasing week by week for each role. That’s meant to let players with less time reach mid-game items and the counters to endgame gear before the season ends.
How long is WARDOGS Season 3?
About three months. Season 3 ends on January 28, and BULKHEAD says the longer seasons give players more time to use what they unlock. That’s also when the first Early Access price increase lands: WARDOGS goes up by $5 at the end of Season 3.
What else changes in the Season 3 patch notes?
A lot, but these are the ones most players will notice:
- Infrared range finder removed from the vendor again, until BULKHEAD is happy with a redesign. The Season 2 battery nerf didn’t stop it being used in almost every match.
- Ping limit raised to 250 on official servers in every region, after the ban wave of over 185,000 players. Community servers still set their own. That’s a big change from the region limits I wrote about in WARDOGS ping limits, and it follows the ban wave.
- Assault rifles and DMRs hit harder. Assault rifle torso damage is back to Season 1 values, and every DMR now kills an unarmored player in two body shots.
- Parachutes split into two. The Basic Parachute is now an emergency chute for bailing out of helicopters, and the Sport Parachute is for jumps.
- Vehicles reverse faster, and the Ural can no longer roll backwards faster than it drives forwards, which kills the Ural backwards trick.
The patch also adds a Movember mustache DLC, with 100% of profits going to the charity.
FAQ
What time does WARDOGS Season 3 come out? After maintenance from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC on November 12, so about 15:00 UTC (10am ET, 7am PT).
Does WARDOGS Season 3 have a new map? Yes, Sabatulo, the game’s first city map.
When does WARDOGS Season 3 end? January 28, when the Early Access price also goes up by $5.
If you like WARDOGS, GTFO is in the same vein.
