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Best Value Overall
The T-21 at $600. It delivers more damage per dollar than any other rifle in the game, by a factor of three.
Best If You're Broke
The Bushmaster M17s costs $0 and needs no unlock. Losing it on death costs you nothing at all.
Highest Raw Damage
The FAL at 650 DPS — nearly double anything else. It's also the worst value per dollar and the most painful to lose.
What This List Isn't
It's not a meta or skill ranking. It ranks confirmed damage output against confirmed price — see the method below.
The Most Important Section On This Page
Ranked By Damage Per Dollar
Most tier lists rank weapons by opinion. This one ranks them by arithmetic on two confirmed in-game numbers: damage per shot and rate of fire. Multiply those and you get damage per second. Divide that by the weapon's price and you get how much combat output each dollar buys — which is what actually matters in WARDOGS, because you re-buy your kit every time you die.
The Formula
DPS = damage × (RPM ÷ 60). Value = DPS per $1,000 spent. Nothing else feeds the ranking.
What It Ignores
Recoil, accuracy, handling and range aren't in the maths, and neither are unlock costs where those are still unconfirmed. A high-value rifle can still be harder to shoot well.
Why It's Honest
Every input is a confirmed figure. Weapons with unconfirmed prices are listed as unrankable rather than guessed at.
Assault Rifle Value Tiers
Six of the eight assault rifles have both a confirmed price and confirmed damage figures. Full per-weapon stats live on Weapons.
Bushmaster M17s
Free starter · 28 dmg · 700 rpm
The only free weapon in the game. 327 DPS at zero cost means dying with it equipped costs you nothing — the entire value-of-life problem disappears.
$0 · freeT-21
$600 · 28 dmg · 750 rpm
350 DPS for $600. Three times the damage-per-dollar of the next rifle down, and higher raw DPS than the AK74 or GALIL that cost several times more. Its unlock requirement isn't confirmed yet, so budget for one on top of the $600.
583 DPS/$1kAK74
$1,600 · 26 dmg · 650 rpm
282 DPS for $1,600, and the lowest per-shot damage of any assault rifle. It carries an unlock cost on top of that price, but the amount hasn't been confirmed yet.
176 DPS/$1kGALIL
Assault Lvl 10 · 28 dmg · 650 rpm
303 DPS for $2,200 behind a level gate. Slightly more damage than the AK74 for $600 more — a modest upgrade you pay a real premium for.
138 DPS/$1kM4
Assault Lvl 20 · 28 dmg · 800 rpm
373 DPS for $2,800 — the fastest-firing assault rifle in the game and the highest DPS outside the FAL. You pay for the fire rate, not for stopping power.
133 DPS/$1kFAL
Assault Lvl 35 · 60 dmg · 650 rpm
650 DPS for $6,500 — far and away the hardest-hitting rifle, and far and away the worst value. Losing it on death costs more than ten T-21s. Under WARDOG Level 9 it's discounted 50% to $2,750, which is the only time it's efficient.
100 DPS/$1kWhat We Can't Rank Yet
Two assault rifles have confirmed damage figures but no confirmed price, so there's no honest way to place them on a value ranking. They are not omitted, and they are not guessed at.
A-91
28 damage at 700 rpm, so 327 DPS — identical output to the free Bushmaster M17s. Price is unconfirmed, so its value tier is unknown.
Price unconfirmedKH-2002
28 damage at 700 rpm, also 327 DPS. Its in-game flavour text jokes that it's free, but the price has never actually been confirmed, so we don't treat it as $0.
Price unconfirmedWhy this matters — A tier list that ranks everything looks more complete than one that admits gaps. It's also how wrong advice spreads. Every figure on this page is a confirmed in-game value; where one is missing, the weapon sits here instead of being quietly estimated into a tier.
Cheapest Option Per Category
Damage figures aren't confirmed outside the assault rifles yet, so these categories can't get a value tier. What is confirmed everywhere is price — and on a page about not going broke, that's the number that matters most. Full stats on Weapons.
Pistols
GGX 17 at $200 — the cheapest weapon in the game that costs anything at all. Unlock requirement unconfirmed.
Shotguns
MP43 at $400 — the cheapest non-pistol weapon with a confirmed price. Unlock requirement unconfirmed.
SMGs
AMP-9 at $900, unlock requirement unconfirmed. The MP5 costs $1,500 and needs a confirmed Medic Lvl 15.
Marksman Rifles
Scout Rifle TD at $1,100 — less than half the SKS at $2,400. Unlock requirement unconfirmed.
Sniper Rifles
Mosin Nagant at $4,500, unlock requirement unconfirmed. Every other confirmed sniper is pricier, explicitly gated, or both.
LMGs
PKM at $4,500, Support Lvl 30. The M249 SAW's price isn't confirmed yet.
Common Questions
What is the best assault rifle in WARDOGS?
By raw damage output the FAL is the strongest at 650 DPS, nearly double any other assault rifle. By value the T-21 wins easily, delivering 583 DPS per $1,000 spent against the FAL's 100.
What is the best cheap weapon in WARDOGS?
The T-21 at $600. It produces 350 DPS, which is higher raw output than the AK74 or GALIL despite costing a fraction of what they do. Its unlock requirement isn't confirmed yet, so treat $600 as the floor rather than the full cost.
Is the FAL worth it in WARDOGS?
Only if you can afford to lose it. At $6,500 and 650 DPS it hits hardest but returns the least damage per dollar of any assault rifle, and dying with it equipped costs more than ten T-21s.
How is this WARDOGS tier list calculated?
Damage per second is damage per shot multiplied by rate of fire divided by 60. That figure is then divided by the weapon's price to give damage per second per $1,000 spent. Both inputs are confirmed in-game values, and no other factor feeds the ranking.
Why are some WARDOGS weapons missing from the tier list?
Because their price or damage figures aren't confirmed yet. The A-91 and KH-2002 both have confirmed damage but no confirmed price, so they are listed as unrankable rather than being estimated into a tier.