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GuideWARDOGSBuilding and FOBsNew

WARDOGS: FOB and building guide

Updated: 9 min read

What a FOB does and what it doesn't

A FOB (Forward Operating Base) is a base built by players: a terminal with a set of crates. It marks the area where you are allowed to build and stores four kinds of supplies: Building, Fuel, Ammo and Mechanical. In Season 1 its storage also held a Medium Hammer, so you didn't have to buy one.

A FOB is not a respawn point. That job belongs to the Spawn Vehicle (M113 APC), which appears at the bases once any team reaches 20 points, and someone has to drive it to the zone (as of Season 1).

According to the game-file data collected by wardo.gs, a FOB has 15,000 HP. An enemy who reaches the terminal can hack it, which is why you wall in the FOB itself first.

How to build a FOB step by step

  1. Buy the Forward Operating Base from the Equipment Vendor under Items > Building (no unlock needed). The last official price is $7,500, set at the start of Season 1; the Season 2 patch notes don't list a new one.
  2. Get a bigger backpack. The FOB takes 2×3 slots (6.5 kg) and doesn't fit in the free one.
  3. Buy supplies: Build Supplies (also under Items > Building) or a pallet from the Logistics tab, and load your transport.
  4. Drive to a spot outside HQ. Select the FOB from your Quick Slot, aim at the ground and hold the left mouse button. A square in your team's color appears on the minimap.
  5. Unload the pallet inside the square or carry the contents of a crate to the FOB by hand. Check that the supplies actually reached the storage.
  6. Take a hammer and hold the right mouse button: the build wheel opens and shows the cost of each structure. Place a blueprint and hit the yellow X markers until they stop appearing.

You need the right hammer tier to start a blueprint, but any hammer can finish it. In the beta the B key toggled snapping between structures.

Where you can place a FOB

  • Not inside a building, not in HQ and not within the radius of another FOB. The N4 Lab planner applies the game's rule: at least 120 m from another FOB.
  • The FOB doesn't have to be in the Control Zone, but players in a base outside the zone don't count toward your team's presence.
  • There is no official build radius. The FOBDOGS planner estimates it at 30 m.
  • Avoid open ground at the edge of the zone, where mortars will reach you.

Hammers

HammerWhat it buildsSeason 1 data
Small HammerSandbag Wall, Barbed Wire, Hedgehog, Recon Tent, small Hesco, Wood Base$100, no unlock
Medium Hammerlarge Hesco, Hesco Wall, Door, Gate, Large ShelterSupport 3, unlock $25,000, then $800 each
Large Hammereverything, including Bremer Wall, bunkers, Recon Tower, L81 Mortar, Talon, stations, Drill Rig, MG NestSupport 8, unlock $75,000, then $2,400 each

The Season 2 patch notes don't list new hammer levels or prices. The Medium Hammer now gives less progress per hit, and the Large Hammer is unchanged.

Building costs in Season 2

You pay in Build Supplies from the FOB's storage, not in dollars. "Before" is the cost before October 15, 2026 from the official patch notes. HP comes from the game-file data collected by wardo.gs (October 16, 2026).

StructureHammerS2 costBeforeHP
Barbed WireSmall7–250
Recon TentSmall7–300
Hesco Block (Small)Small15–1,600
Sandbag WallSmall15–735
Wood BaseSmall15 (new)–735
Builder's RadioSmall20–1,000
HedgehogSmall22–4,500
Hesco Block (Large)Medium22–2,250
Hesco WallMedium75–4,600
DoorMedium80222,200
GateMedium200855,320
Large ShelterMedium250 (new)–2,250
Bremer WallLarge32156,500
Bunker, Indirect Fire Shelter, Recon TowerLarge2001005,000
Refuel Station, Repair StationLarge200–1,600
Drill Rig ("Hot Zone Magnet")Large2,7502,2502,500
L81 MortarLarge / purchase6001503,000
Stingray (FPV drones)Large / purchase6501503,000
Talon 9K-SAMLarge / purchase6501,0003,000
MG Nest (M2 Browning)Large650 (new)–3,000
Vanguard CIWSLarge / purchase1,2001,5005,000
Loudspeakerpurchase200–1,000

Without a FOB you can only place Barbed Wire, Recon Tent, Sandbag Wall and Hedgehog. The Refuel Station works only when the FOB has Fuel, and the Repair Station only when it has Mechanical. Stingray drones cost cash plus Mechanical Supplies, and only one can be active at a time.

The patch notes and the game data use different names: "Hot Zone Magnet" is the Drill Rig in the game data, "Bremmer wall" is the Bremer Wall, "Large Shelter" is the SV Shelter, and "Air raid shelter" is most likely the Indirect Fire Shelter. The costs match, so these are most likely the same structures. Older numbers you may find online (a mortar for 91 or 800) are out of date.

Towers and the Drill Rig: how to pull the Hot Zone

In the Hot Zone, the moving part of the zone, you count double and earn double cash. There are two ways to pull it to you.

Towers. On the map they have a drill-like icon. Go up to the first floor, into the room with the computers, and use the terminal: the hacking bar switches the tower to your team. Each tower shows one digit of a four-digit code. You enter the code on any tower your team holds, and the Hot Zone moves to that tower for a few minutes. In Season 2, capturing an enemy tower (Capture Drill Tower) pays $1,500 and 300 XP.

The Drill Rig is a Large Hammer structure for 2,750 Build Supplies that pulls the Hot Zone to your FOB and burns fuel from its storage. In Season 2:

  • it only starts with 2,000 fuel (was 1,500),
  • it runs for 300 s at most (was 375 s), the same as a captured tower,
  • it holds up to 10,000 fuel (was 7,500),
  • it has a much longer cooldown, so you can't replace a destroyed drill right away. Game data from wardo.gs: 15 s startup, 15 min recharge, 60–300 s run time.

The Fuel Supply Pallet only unlocks at WARDOG LVL 16 for $50,000, and players call a drill without fuel "an expensive decoration". Put it behind cover.

Sources disagree on whether pulling the Hot Zone with a tower also uses FOB fuel, and there is no official answer.

Doors and base security

A Door lets only your team through; a Gate is the vehicle entrance. The most common builder mistake is leaving doors open. The habit from the "FOB Doors 101" guide: Open → Enter/Exit → Turn Around → Close. In Season 2 you get $75 for closing a door on a friendly FOB.

You can no longer break doors or gates with a hammer. The enemy will open them with a Halligan Bar ($885, 7 uses).

  • Build an airlock: two doors on one path. A vehicle airlock needs to be at least 6 blocks long.
  • Build the outer wall from large Hesco or Bremer Wall, not small Hesco (compare the HP in the table).
  • Don't leave single 1×1 blocks next to the wall: they are steps for climbing over.
  • In Season 2 you can place wire and sandbags on a Bremer Wall. Barbed wire no longer pays for kills, and unfinished structures without support collapse.

Supplies and logistics

SupplyUsed for
Buildingbuilding and repairs
FuelRefuel Station, Drill Rig
AmmoL81 Mortar, Vanguard CIWS, Stingray, Talon 9K-SAM
MechanicalRepair Station, Stingray drones
  • Buy pallets at HQ: B menu → Logistics. A Ural carries 2 pallets, and you drop them from a vehicle with G.
  • You can unpack a pallet anywhere within the FOB radius: walk up and hold F. Crates have to be carried to the FOB by hand.
  • Since Season 2 pallets must be unlocked: Mechanical at WARDOG LVL 5 ($10,000), Ammo at LVL 9 ($25,000), Fuel at LVL 16 ($50,000).

Season 2 delivery rewards in the Control Zone: Deploy Supply Pallet $1,250 (was $2,500), small crate $250, large crate $500. Deliveries in a row add a streak bonus: +$250 and +100 XP per pallet, +$100 and +50 XP per crate (up to 10 times each).

Raids: what destroying bases pays

In Season 2 a destroyed structure pays roughly its cost in Build Supplies in dollars, plus about 25% of that amount as XP. Examples from the patch notes: Drill Rig $2,750, CIWS $1,200, L81 Mortar and Stingray $650, Talon $650, Gate $200, Door $100.

  • Hacking a FOB: $2,500 and 250 XP for the hacker, $1,000 and 250 XP for each teammate within the FOB radius. Hacking sets off a siren, so a defender should stay within earshot.
  • Destroying a FOB: a bonus of up to $7,500 and 250 XP, higher the more supplies it holds (maximum at 25,000).
  • A fresh blueprint pays less, because the reward depends on how far the structure was built.
  • XP for destroying structures, IEDs and C4 now goes to the Assault track. C4 and the Remote Detonator are on the Assault track at LVL 4. According to wardo.gs, a FOB takes +5000% damage from IEDs and +1250% from C4.

Building in the Firing Range

You open the Firing Range from the main menu. Building and shooting there are free, including the mortar. Take a bigger backpack, buy a FOB, drive out through the base gate and deploy it. Players use this to test base designs. If building doesn't work, check that your infantry keys don't clash with your flight keys.

Fan-made planners and maps

These tools are unofficial, so sizes and costs may differ from the game:

  • N4 Lab: 3D maps of Bakurani, Ozeti and Zestafona, a BUILD mode with supply costs, and a mortar and SPH-2 calculator (Season 1 data).
  • FOBDOGS: a 3D FOB planner with supply totals and templates.
  • Wardogs Zone, Base Hub: base layouts shared by players.
  • wardo.gs/buildables: costs, HP and damage modifiers from the game files.

Check planner costs against the table above. Mortar aiming has its own guide: mortar and artillery.

XP for building

Everything you place, even a sandbag or a strand of wire, gives Support XP. In Season 2 repairs count toward Driver or Pilot and destruction toward Assault, so you earn Support mainly by building. Level 20 on a track now takes 111,500 XP (previously 250,000). More: classes, unlocks and leveling.

Sources

Last verified: