Bulkhead Interactive has walked back part of WARDOGS Season 2’s progression tuning one day after the update went live. An October 16 backend update removed the Lonestar Cash and XP bonus and patched a Driver progression exploit that had let players reach tanks far earlier than the studio intended.
Season 2 arrived on October 15 as Update 0.2.0 with a redesigned progression track aimed at a problem Bulkhead described in its own patch notes: levels 10 to 20 had been “a slow grind,” and many players stalled before unlocking the gear that defines each role. The studio cut the climb sharply, reducing the XP required at every major checkpoint and moving most attachments to earlier levels. Reaching level 20 now takes less than half the playtime it did in Season 1, and the level 25 requirement dropped from 365,000 XP to 206,600.
The faster curve overshot. Bulkhead addressed the result in a pinned Steam discussion titled “Backend Update Season 02 | We got a few things wrong,” writing: “We’re holding our hands up; we got a few things wrong.” The post lists four changes: removing the Lonestar Cash and XP bonus, driver progression fixes, a fix for a Driver exploit that let many players access tanks too early, and Limited Mode Servers with no power weapons or vehicles coming soon.
The studio confirmed the Lonestar buff and the driver progression exploit are now removed, and said it is watching the season closely while it gathers further feedback. The Limited Mode Servers are not live yet; they are listed as a separate part of the response rather than an immediate change.
WARDOGS is a 100-player tactical FPS developed by Bulkhead and published by Team17, currently in Early Access on Steam. The backend changes landed on the live build without a client update, and Bulkhead closed its statement by thanking players for sharing feedback.
Sources
- Reporting source: GamerHeadlines
- Season 2 launch announcement: Steam
- Backend update statement: Steam
