How To Destroy Tanks and Armour
Answer
Buy anti-armour weapons — they cost a fraction of what a tank costs, and that asymmetry is the point. Confirmed counters to armour in WARDOGS are rocket launchers and explosives bought as infantry equipment, crewed artillery vehicles firing indirectly onto the Control Zone, and other vehicles. Because every vehicle was bought with the owner's cash, destroying one is not just a kill — it deletes that player's savings and sets back how quickly they can field armour again.
Killing a tank is an economic attack
This is the framing that makes anti-armour play in WARDOGS worth taking seriously, and it does not exist in shooters where vehicles spawn on timers.
A tank in WARDOGS is not a shared team asset that respawns in ninety seconds. It is a specific player's purchase, funded out of a balance they built over several productive lives. When you destroy it:
- The vehicle is gone permanently. There is no timer that gives it back.
- That player now has to earn the whole cost again before they can field armour.
- Your launcher cost a small fraction of what you just removed. Even if you die in the process, the trade is heavily in your favour.
Which means an infantry player with a cheap launcher exerts influence far beyond their kit's price. In a match where the enemy team is out-earning yours, aggressive anti-armour is one of the few levers that directly attacks the gap rather than just the symptoms.
Confirmed anti-armour tools
| Tool | How it is acquired | Best against |
|---|---|---|
| Rocket launchers | Bought as infantry equipment at the buy screen | Tanks, APCs and light vehicles at close to medium range. Also demolishes cover and fortifications |
| Explosives | Bought as utilities | Ambushes on predictable routes; vehicles forced to slow down or funnel |
| Artillery vehicles | Bought — crewed heavy weapon | Armour and fortifications inside the Control Zone, engaged from outside it |
| Other tanks | Bought | Direct armour duels. The loser is out a very large sum |
| Anti-air emplacements | Built via the fortification system | Helicopters specifically. See the helicopter guide |
Infantry versus armour: how to actually do it
- Fight armour where it cannot use its range Tanks own open ground. Villages, industrial structures and broken terrain compress engagement distance to where a launcher works and a main gun struggles to track. Zone terrain determines whether anti-armour is a good buy at all — check where the Control Zone landed before committing.
- Use destruction as an approach route Walls are breachable. A route through a building is a route the tank's gunner cannot watch.
- Bring more than one launcher A single rocket announcing your position to a vehicle crew that survives is worse than not firing. Two players engaging together is a fundamentally different proposition.
- Let the third team commit first Armour that is already engaged with another faction is armour that is not watching its flank. This is the most reliable anti-tank tool in the game and it costs nothing.
- Attack the crew's confidence, not just the hull A tank pushed back out of the zone has stopped contributing to the enemy's headcount, which is what actually scores. You do not always need the kill.
- Kill it while it is stationary Vehicles supporting a fortified position or shelling the zone are predictable. That is when the trade is cheapest.
When anti-armour is worth buying
Not on life one. In the opening phase every player has $10,000 and nobody can afford a tank yet. A launcher bought before there is armour on the field is money spent on nothing. Buy it when the match economy has matured to the point that vehicles are actually appearing — usually the middle of a match — or when you can see enemy armour on the zone.
The corollary is that anti-armour is a reactive purchase, and one of the strongest arguments for WARDOGS having no fixed classes: you can be an assault rifleman for four lives and an anti-tank specialist on the fifth, the moment a tank rolls onto the objective. See loadouts.
Defending your own vehicle
If you are the one who bought the tank:
- Do not enter the zone alone. Infantry screening you is the difference between an expensive asset and an expensive mistake.
- Stay out of buildings' shadows. Anywhere a launcher can appear at short range and disappear again is bad ground for armour.
- Keep moving. A stationary vehicle is the cheapest kill on the map.
- Know when to withdraw. A tank that survives to fight the next engagement is worth more than one that trades itself for two infantry kills, because you paid for it and they did not pay much for their kits.
Not published: anti-armour weapon names and prices, vehicle health and armour values, whether armour has directional weak points, penetration mechanics, and how many hits any given vehicle takes. These are precisely the numbers that need the live build — they will be added here after 10 September 2026.
Anti-armour FAQ
How do you destroy a tank in WARDOGS?
Bought anti-armour weapons and explosives, crewed artillery vehicles, or another tank. Infantry launchers cost far less than the armour they kill.
Are tanks overpowered in WARDOGS?
The counterweight is cost. A tank is among the most expensive purchases in the game, and losing one is a serious economic setback, while the launcher that killed it was cheap.
What is the best anti-tank weapon in WARDOGS?
No weapon names or statistics have been published. We will rank them once the Early Access build is live — see our tier list methodology.
Can you destroy buildings with anti-tank weapons?
Yes. BULKHEAD has confirmed rocket launchers can demolish cover, and player-built fortifications are destructible.
Do you get paid for destroying a vehicle?
Kills pay cash, and a vehicle kill is a kill. The larger effect is on the enemy's balance rather than yours.
Sources: the official Steam store page and BULKHEAD's game page (vehicle purchasing, artillery levelling fortifications, rocket launchers demolishing cover). Tactical advice is this wiki's own analysis of the published systems. Back to all vehicles.