Last updated: 19 October 2026

WARDOGS Ammo Types & Armor FMJ vs HP vs AP, and What Season 2 Changed

WARDOGS gives every gun three ammo choices: Standard, Flesh Damage (HP, a hollow point) and Armor Piercing (AP). The names describe the job — Standard is the safe default, HP is built for unarmored targets, AP is built for armor and vehicles. BULKHEAD hasn't published exact damage multipliers for any of the three, but the Season 2 (Update 0.2.0) patch notes did spell out specific armor price, protection and unlock changes, which is what this guide tracks. WARDOGS is in Early Access, so check the in-game vendor before you spend.

01The Three Ammo Types in One Minute

Every conventional gun can load one of three ammo types for its caliber. BULKHEAD's own patch notes use these names: Standard, Flesh Damage (HP) and Armor Piercing (AP).

• Standard is the baseline FMJ-style round. It's available for every caliber from the start and has no stated downside, which makes it the safe pick when you don't know what you're facing.
• Flesh Damage (HP) is built to do more to an unarmored body and less once the shot has to go through armor.
• Armor Piercing (AP) is the reverse trade: weaker on bare skin, built for armor and light vehicles.

BULKHEAD has not published exact FMJ/HP/AP damage multipliers. Treat any specific number for them that you find elsewhere as unverified unless the developer documents it directly — that's also why we dropped the per-weapon damage figures an earlier draft of this guide carried.

02What Season 2 Changed for Ammo and Armor

BULKHEAD's Season 2 patch notes (Update 0.2.0, live October 15, 2026) are the only source with hard numbers for armor and ammo this guide uses. Confirmed changes:

• Level 3 armor & helmets: damage reduction cut from 55% to 50%.
• Level 4 armor & helmets: damage reduction cut from 65% to 60%.
• Level 3 armor price: $2,000 → $2,500. Level 3 helmet: $1,500 → $2,000.
• Level 4 armor price: $4,000 → $5,000. Level 4 helmet: $3,000 → $4,500.
• Level 3 helmet & armor unlock moved from WARDOG level 60 to level 70.
• Level 4 helmet now muffles audio and proximity chat, narrows your field of view, and fogs over while you sprint — a real downside added in Season 2, not just a stat change.
• Level 3 and Level 4 helmets gained suppression resistance: 68% for Level 3, 80% for Level 4.

The same update cut base damage for high-caliber rounds on every weapon that fires them: .308 Winchester −25%, 7.62x54mmR −20%, 7.62x39mm −19%, .50 Cal −16%. BULKHEAD's stated reason is to stop assault rifles, DMRs and LMGs chambered in those calibers from out-damaging the rest of their category — it hits the FAL (.308) hardest. The patch notes also say Compound Bow and 12-gauge slug damage against armor now scales with armor tier instead of a flat reduction, and that an unhelmeted target dies to one Scout Rifle headshot while a Level 1 helmet takes two.

BULKHEAD has not published Level 1 or Level 2 armor and helmet prices, their unlock levels, or armor coverage by body part (which limbs each tier protects) in any patch note we could find, so this guide doesn't state numbers for those — expect Level 1–2 to stay the cheapest, earliest tiers until the developer says otherwise.

03When Ammo Unlocks

Standard ammo is free from the start. HP and AP unlock per caliber on the WARDOG level track, and Season 2 moved several of them. These are the changes BULKHEAD's patch notes confirm:

• 9x19mm HP: level 6 → level 10.
• 5.56x45mm HP: level 10 → level 13. 5.56x45mm AP: level 83 → level 84.
• 5.45x39mm HP: level 16 → level 6. 5.45x39mm AP: level 93 → level 90.
• 7.62x39mm AP: level 63 → level 60 — this caliber is new to Season 2, chambered in the TCX-SPR.
• .308 Win HP: level 65 → level 63.

BULKHEAD hasn't published unlock levels for every caliber — 7.62x54mmR HP, .45 ACP and .50 AE aren't in any patch note we found, so we don't list numbers for them rather than guess.

04A Simple Plan

1. Start with Standard ammo and whatever armor you can afford. Losing kits while you learn is normal in Early Access.
2. Switch to HP once it unlocks for your caliber, when you're fighting lightly armored players or can land exposed shots.
3. Save for Level 3–4 armor and matching AP once you're regularly meeting plated opponents. Season 2 raised both the price and the unlock level, so budget more cash and more WARDOG levels than you would have before October 15.
4. Re-check the vendor after every major patch. BULKHEAD changed armor prices, unlock levels and damage reduction twice in five weeks (Update 0.1.2, then Season 2) — numbers in any guide, including this one, go stale fast.

For what a life costs and how to earn it back, see the money & cash guide; for gun choice, the best weapons guide.