WARDOGS FOB guide: building, hammer tiers, mortars, drones, hacking and the drill
A FOB is a buildable forward base: spawn point, storage for mortar ammo and drone parts, and the anchor for walls, emplacements and the Hot Zone drill. Teams get two. Your hammer tier decides what you can build; tier 3 opens SAM sites, mortars and kamikaze drones. Enemies can kill one with a single IED ($2,500 to them) or hack it in ~30 seconds and turn the guns round. Camping one usually loses; using one to hold the Hot Zone wins.
What a FOB gives you
- A forward spawn and rally point near the zone, which is the whole respawn-time game.
- Storage: mortars fire the ammo stored in the FOB; drones use mechanical parts stored there. Empty stores, silent guns.
- Buildable defences: walls, cover, gates, and with a high enough hammer tier, SAM sites, mortars and kamikaze drones.
- The drill: slow to build, hungry for fuel, and it pulls the Hot Zone to your FOB. See the Hot Zone page.
Placement
- On the Hot Zone's path, not on the edge of the map. A FOB 800 m out is a taxi rank for the enemy's IED players.
- Towers are natural sites (they also hold Hot Zone code digits), and they're also where everyone expects a FOB. Reinforce or pick the next ridge.
- Doors and gates slow supply vehicles at the entrance. That's exactly where interdiction players plant explosives, so cover the approach.
- Two FOBs max: one near the zone, one as a fallback, not two next to each other.
Building
- The hammer is the build tool. Higher tiers unlock heavier structures and emplacements; tier 3 is the one that matters.
- Build resources arrive by vehicle and helicopter. Supply runs are paid teamplay actions, so ask on voice.
- Walls buy time. Every wall the enemy has to breach is cash and minutes they're not spending in the zone.
Attacking a FOB
- One IED destroys it. $2,500 and 500 engineering XP.
- Hit it from height and range first: RPGs and sniper fire pull the builders out of position and stop the mortars.
- Hacking takes ~30 seconds and everyone hears it. Do it when the defenders are at the zone, then use their own mortars on them.
- Hit the supply vehicles on the way in rather than the walls. The driver eats the vehicle and cargo cost.
- Early in a match, a quad to the tower you know they'll build on catches players with hammers in their hands.
Defending one
- Don't camp it. The playtests were consistent: FOB-campers lose to a squad that follows the Hot Zone with medics.
- Leave a small watch, keep the SAM site fed, and put the bodies in the zone.
- Listen for the hack sound. Thirty seconds is enough to get back if someone's within 200 m.
FOB economy
Destroying FOBs and spawn vehicles is where the big single payouts live ($2,500 and $15,000). If you're the one building, that's the price of losing yours; if you're the one hunting, it's the best money in the game after flying. All payouts.
FAQ
How many FOBs can a team have?
Two at a time in the beta build.
How do you destroy a FOB?
One IED, placed and detonated. Pays $2,500 and 500 engineering XP.
Can you steal an enemy FOB?
Yes. Hacking takes about 30 seconds, makes a loud sound, and then its emplacements are yours.
What does a tier-3 hammer unlock?
SAM sites, mortars, kamikaze drones and the heavier emplacements.
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