Episode 599: WARDOGS Alpha Review: Battlefield But Dying Actually Matters

Imagine Battlefield, but dying matters. That's the WARDOGS closed alpha in one sentence — and after a weekend in it, we're calling it the most polished alpha we've ever played. WARDOGS is Bulkhead and Team17's 100-player tactical shooter: three factions, one randomized control zone, first side to 100 points wins. You start with $10,000, you buy your loadout from in-game vendors, and when you die you lose the gear AND the money you spent on it. The money carries between matches. You can loot the guy you just killed and walk away with a level 30 kit you couldn't buy for another six hours. In this episode: what the alpha actually plays like, why the economy isn't the gimmick people think it is, how three-way faction warfare changes your strategy, the 256 square kilometre map, destructible towers, the reviving system Battlefield should steal, TTK and gunplay, why an Arma 3 King of the Hill mod is the reason none of this feels half-baked — and the two things that genuinely pissed us off. Plus the final verdict, the scores, and the one thing that could still ruin this game. Raz thinks it's a flawless alpha. Jake wants free look. Neither of us can stop playing it. 0:00 - Intro 1:14 - Patreon, free trials and the hangout 3:58 - What WARDOGS actually is 4:21 - Two things we had wrong before playing 6:07 - Unlock fees and gear progression 7:51 - The NDA that stopped us streaming 8:23 - Control zone, hot zone and how you score 11:01 - You can't group with your friends 12:59 - "It's so fun I don't recommend you play it" 14:33 - Jake's first impressions 18:07 - The best-performing alpha we've ever played 20:20 - How three factions changes your strategy 23:38 - Battlefield, but dying matters 25:43 - Looting kills and juicer kits 30:39 - Does the control zone actually move? 33:44 - Destructible towers and the M1 Abrams 35:59 - FOBs, spawn trucks and sandbags 40:00 - Infantry desperately needs free look 42:57 - The tutorial is actually good 43:58 - Does 100 players feel full? 47:26 - The log truck last stand 50:19 - Snipers and no scope glint 52:12 - Onboarding and the backpack system 55:15 - The loadout presets they need to add 57:06 - The kill cam that shows too much 58:18 - The milsim/arcade sweet spot 1:02:27 - Why it works: 10 years of Arma King of the Hill 1:04:45 - Visibility matters more than audio 1:08:50 - TTK, armor and ammo types 1:11:04 - Weapons: AK vs T21 1:14:15 - Gunfights that are actually gunfights 1:16:44 - Movement and traversal 1:20:56 - Reviving, defibs and why Battlefield gets it wrong 1:25:01 - Spawn trucks and the ride back to the fight 1:26:26 - Vehicles handle weird 1:28:58 - The first Unreal Engine 5 game that actually runs 1:29:32 - The money mechanic explained 1:35:02 - Is there gear fear? 1:37:56 - Why the economy isn't a gimmick 1:42:34 - What a max-level meta kit will cost 1:44:52 - Wipes, seasons and gold bars 1:47:31 - Selling ammo to your own team 1:49:42 - 256 square kilometers 1:56:30 - Time of day and future maps 1:57:59 - Who is this game actually for? 2:02:12 - Why Tarkov is too complicated 2:06:58 - Will we still be playing in six months? 2:10:00 - The one thing that could ruin it: anti-cheat 2:12:11 - Final verdict and scores 2:15:21 - Outro _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out! 🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time): 🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week 🔹The Dropshot: 🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod 🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast 🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/ 🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast 🔹Razinon: 🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv 🔹Jakedown: 🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_ 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown #TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #WARDOGS #Bulkhead #Team17 #TacticalShooter #FPS #PCGaming #Battlefield #EscapeFromTarkov #HellLetLoose #Arma3 #WardogsAlpha #ClosedAlpha #NewFPS #EarlyAccess #GameReview #FirstImpressions #HotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices