WARDOGS login queue, "Access denied", "Limited access mode restricted" and error WD-L014: what's happening
Launch hour, 10 September: there is a login queue. Positions reported in the first 20 minutes ranged from #86 to #300,000 (positions matched Steam's ~257,000 concurrent players by 17:45, so the whole player base was queued), and the queue is jumping people backwards: players at #600–#6,000 got "Access denied", "Limited access mode restricted" or "you don't have permission to play the game right now" and landed at #30,000–#67,000. Some launches fail with error WD-L014. BULKHEAD has pinned "Incorrect bans: some users are reporting incorrect bans, hang tight, resolving as soon as possible." None of this is your PC. Don't reinstall, don't verify, don't rebuy.
What's actually going on
- A queue sits in front of the login service while servers spin up. Players who were in the first beta saw the same thing then.
- The auth service is dropping people under load. When it drops you, the client shows Access denied / Limited access mode restricted / no permission, and your retry rejoins the queue at the current back.
- The queue is moving quickly once it moves: one player who was bounced to #31,000 reported #1,700 within minutes.
- BULKHEAD says they are rate limited by Valve's login service and are working with Valve to raise it. That's why the queue barely moves for stretches then jumps: it's not your connection, and no setting on your end changes it.
- A separate problem, acknowledged by the developer, is incorrect bans during login. If you see a ban message you've done nothing to earn, it's this.
What helps
- Stay in the queue. Closing the game, relaunching, changing video settings that need a restart, or repairing the anti-cheat all put you at the back. One player went from #34 to #34,000 to #192,000 doing exactly that.
- If you're bounced with Access denied, click retry once and accept the new position. Repeated retries don't skip ahead; some players found retrying in a loop made it worse.
- Don't verify files or reinstall. The client is fine; the backend isn't.
- Don't buy the Supporter Pack thinking it's a priority queue. It isn't. Several people in the threads found that out the hard way.
- If you got the incorrect ban message, wait for the fix BULKHEAD promised in the pinned thread. Don't open a support ticket yet; they know.
- Error WD-L014-xxxx: same advice. Wait a few minutes, launch again. If it persists after the queue calms, the code is what support wants.
What doesn't cause it
Secure Boot (players guessed this; it isn't a requirement), your firewall, overlays, the Elytra install. Those cause launcher failures, which look different: no queue number at all.
Timeline
| Time (UK) | What we saw |
|---|---|
| 17:00 | Unlock. Steam decrypts ~45 GB into the game folder. |
| 17:05 | First launches in. Login queue visible. |
| 17:05–17:15 | Queue positions from #86 to #100,000; "Access denied" bouncing people from the front to the back; WD-L014 errors. |
| 17:09 | BULKHEAD pins "Incorrect bans" notice. |
| 17:26 | Fresh launches landing at #77,000. Front of the queue moving at roughly a few thousand a minute once it moves. |
| 17:27 | Reproduced on our own rig: #60,000 → reached the front → "Access denied" → bounced to #120,000 → back down to #76,000 within minutes. The queue is moving at roughly 10,000+ a minute; the front-of-queue bounce is the real problem. |
|---|---|
| 17:28 | BULKHEAD pins "LOGIN QUEUES": "thousands of players in the login queue, slowly filtering into the game and into servers as they scale. However, some players are being put to the back of the queue, sincere apologies for this. The response is much, much larger than the Beta. Please hang tight." Queue positions now reported up to #300,000. Changing video settings (which restarts the client) or repairing the anti-cheat also sends you to the back. |
| 17:43 | Queue positions reported at #217,000–#257,000, matching Steam's concurrent-player count (~257,000): effectively everyone who launched is in the queue. Several players report 40+ minutes waiting. |
The refund-window trap
Steam counts time in the login queue as playtime. Players are reporting their 2-hour refund window used up without seeing a match. If you think you might refund, quit the queue before 1h 45m of playtime and decide later; Steam support does grant refunds past two hours for launch-queue cases when asked, but it's a manual request, not the automatic button. Refund details.
| 18:14 | BULKHEAD update (5pm UTC): "Players are currently slowly filtering into servers as we scale en masse. However, we are still seeing thousands in the login queue. We're currently rate limited and are working with Valve directly to resolve this and bring our rate limit in line with larger titles." Queue positions now reported to #345,000+ (the game passed 286,000 concurrent). Players report being kicked from the queue back to the end again. |
|---|
This page updates through the evening. When the queue clears and the ban fix lands, it'll say so here first. The rest of launch night's problems are on the known issues page.
FAQ
Why is there a queue in WARDOGS?
A login queue in front of the backend. Servers are still spinning up in the first hour after the 16:00 UTC unlock; the same happened at the start of the first beta.
Why did I get kicked from the queue to the back?
"Access denied" / "Limited access mode restricted" / "you don't have permission to play right now" is the auth backend failing under load, not a ban. Retry puts you back in the queue at a new position.
Was I banned?
Probably not. BULKHEAD pinned a notice within minutes of launch saying some users are receiving incorrect bans and it's being resolved. Don't buy a second copy.
What is error WD-L014?
A launcher error code ("Unable to launch WARDOGS. Error code WD-L014-..."). It appeared for many players at the same moment as the queue errors; it's backend, not your PC.
Sick of full servers and queues?
Rent your own WARDOGS server from an approved host and play with your mates on your rules. UK/EU: QONZER (bare metal, no slot fees). Anywhere else: BisectHosting (21 locations). Casual group: xREALM (pay by the hour). Full comparison.