Bulkhead, the developer behind Wardogs, is implementing a strategy to boost the player population on the game's Blue team. Starting with Season 2, players will be offered in-game cash and experience point bonuses for choosing to play as the Blue faction. This move comes in response to a persistent trend where players have actively avoided the Blue team since the game's launch.
While all teams were intended to start on equal footing, many Wardogs players have reportedly bypassed Blue, with some idling on the team selection screen for extended periods to wait for an opening on the Green or Red teams. This player behavior has been attributed to several factors, including perceived balancing issues such as less effective camouflage and less favorable spawn points, particularly on the Bakurani map, which Season 2 aims to address.
However, Joe Brammer, CEO of Bulkhead, acknowledged in a developer log that the company is "looking at how we can help the win rate of a certain team." The cash and XP incentives are designed to counter the social and experiential issues that may be contributing to Blue team's unpopularity. As previously noted, a cycle of negative experiences or player perception could create a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading less experienced players to consistently choose Blue, thus hindering their win rate.
The size of these bonuses remains unspecified, but they are expected to significantly influence player choice, potentially making the Blue team the most popular option in Season 2. Despite these challenges, some recent observations suggest a potential shift, with an observed decrease in the Blue team bias and instances of Blue teams scoring points and competing effectively, even achieving victories on NA West servers.
Wardogs Season 2 is also set to introduce other significant updates, including new weaponry, vehicles, and the implementation of rainy weather conditions across all maps. The upcoming October 15 patch will also feature the game's first progression wipe, resetting all players to level 1.