WARDOGS goes down for maintenance today at 8:00 UTC, with an estimated downtime of one hour. Services stay offline while the team deploys update 0.1.2. It is a smaller patch, but it goes after things that hurt the most right now: the cash and XP exploits that showed up after the early access launch, several security holes, and the WD-L020 crash error on Windows. If you are still only reading about the game from the sidelines, you will find it on its Steam store page.
On top of that, the update brings minor UI changes meant to push more traffic toward Infantry Mode and Low Level servers, plus a handful of quality of life tweaks.
The three headline changes in 0.1.2
- A fix for the WD-L020 crash error on Windows 11.
- Bug and exploit fixes – the worst cash and XP exploits are gone, along with various gameplay bugs that were damaging fair play.
- Server Browser – a new ‘Deploy’ UX flow that better highlights the existence of ‘Infantry Mode’ and ‘Low Level’ community servers.
WD-L020 crash error fix
- Fixed the issue caused by the latest Windows 11 update, KB5124010, which was behind the recent WD-L020 crashes.
If you have been fighting other stability or performance problems as well, we have a separate article on WARDOGS settings.
Cash and XP exploits fixed
- Revive action validity checks are now fully server authoritative, which cuts down on the chance of abusing them across the map.
- Fixed the vehicle fly through exploit – rewards are now capped.
- Rewards for destroying buildables now scale with their build progress, so blowing up a freshly placed schematic no longer pays out the full reward.
- Depositing pallets into a FOB outside the zone now awards reduced rewards.
Two of those changes touch roles you play every day: the revive checks hit the Medic, while the buildable and pallet rules land squarely on building and the FOB. The vehicle fix matters if you spend your matches behind the wheel – we cover the machines themselves in our overview of WARDOGS vehicles.
The developers are done being lenient
The studio is blunt about it: anyone caught abusing cash and XP exploits, or worse, Real Money Trading, has had their cash and progression reset and risks a permanent ban. Season 01 was expected to ship with several undiscovered exploits, so up to now first time offenders were treated more leniently. That leniency is over.
There is zero tolerance for economy abuse, and players now risk being permanently banned without warning if they are caught abusing repeatable unintended exploits.
Server Browser and minor UI improvements
- A new ‘DEPLOY’ UX flow. Hit deploy and choose Official, Community, Infantry Mode or Low-Level servers. It is the first step toward signposting players to servers running those modifiers.
- Advanced Filters are back in the Official servers list.
- Long server names are no longer truncated – hover over an entry to see the full name.
- After you click Join you will see that you are connecting, then your place in the queue if there is one.
- Anonymous mode now hides the server name on the loading screen, just like Streamer mode. The name in the pause menu also stays hidden unless you choose to show it.
- Region select now shows how many regions you have selected.
- Gamepad is now supported on the DEPLOY selection screen.
Queues are nothing new for this game – we wrote about an earlier hotfix and the login queue separately.
Community Servers (for server admins)
- Scheduled restarts: you can now set a daily restart time in UTC.
- RCON AllowedHosts: you can now restrict who is able to access RCON.
- RCON message and broadcast lengths are now capped.
- RCON defaults to Standard response detail instead of Full, and config responses no longer expose server internals.
- ServerImageURL is now checked when the config loads.
Server stability
- Various server stability hotfixes.
- Increased server security to prevent exploitation.
Bug fixes
- Throwables (grenades, smoke and C4) can no longer be used from enclosed vehicle seats.
- The adaptive crosshair now correctly hides while aiming down sights.
- Fixed buildable crit spots reappearing in the same place you just hit, getting pushed into corners or jumping to the far side of a structure. They now favour a spot you can reach from where you are standing.
- Fixed a Havoc bug that caused increased damage taken from 20mm and 30mm cannon fire.
- Improved localisation translations.
What comes next: Season 02
If you are waiting for something bigger, Season 02 is planned as a larger content update with new map conditions, equipment, balance reworks and additional features. More information is due next week.
Where to go next
For more on the game we have a guide to playing with friends, and you will find everything else in our WARDOGS news section.
FAQ
Maintenance starts at 8:00 UTC and is estimated to last one hour. Services are offline for the whole window while update 0.1.2 is deployed.
The crash was caused by the latest Windows 11 update, KB5124010. Update 0.1.2 contains a fix for it.
Players caught abusing cash and XP exploits, or Real Money Trading, have had their cash and progression reset and risk a permanent ban. The earlier leniency toward first time offenders is over and repeat abuse of unintended exploits can now mean a permanent ban without warning.
Hit DEPLOY and pick from Official, Community, Infantry Mode or Low-Level servers in the new selection flow. Advanced Filters are also back for the Official server list.
More information on Season 02 is due next week. It is planned as a larger content update with new map conditions, equipment, balance reworks and extra features.