WARDOGS Arsenal
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About
Getting in

Controller support

Partial, by the studio’s own word before launch, with a small amount of aim assist promised, in a game built for mouse and keyboard first. The two places you would normally check disagree: the studio promised gamepad support for Early Access, and the store page lists none.

A view from a helicopter cockpit, instruments in the foreground, flying over forested hills in low sunlight.
The view from a helicopter cockpit over forested hills, with the instrument panel in the foreground. Screenshot: BULKHEAD / Team17, via the Steam store page.

The promise

“So, there will be partial gamepad support at early access launch. However, keyboard and mouse will always be the optimal way to experience War Dogs on PC. With controller support comes the topic of aim assist. This will exist, but only to a small degree, as playing without it is honestly just comically bad.”

Said in the 10 Reasons NOT to Buy video, posted with Steam announcement — Pre-Order Now

The promise was for the Early Access launch, and it was deliberately limited: partial support, not full, and aim assist kept small on purpose.

What the store page says

Nothing. Steam shows a Partial or Full Controller Support label on games whose developer declares it, and WARDOGS’s store page carries neither; its feature list is multiplayer, PvP, achievements, camera comfort, volume controls, surround sound and Family Sharing. So the store and the studio tell a controller player two different things, and a controller label appearing on the store page would be the first written confirmation from either side since launch.

Who you play against

There is no matchmaking to sort anyone; players pick a server from a browser. Said in Steam announcement — Answering Your Questions Nothing published describes servers or filters for one input type, so expect pad and mouse players on the same servers. How the browser works is on the servers page.

Does WARDOGS have aim assist?

For controllers, the studio said it would, and only to a small degree: the promise quoted at the top of this page is still the only official description. No strength setting, toggle or change to aim assist has appeared in any patch notes since launch, and nothing published says it applies to mouse and keyboard. Servers are not split by input in anything the studio has published either, so that small amount is what a pad player brings into a match with mouse players.

Flying and driving

The launch changelog touched input on vehicles directly: “Helicopter input damping now applies to every input device.” It does not list the devices. The same changelog fixed a DPI problem with tank aiming, a mouse setting. Both listed in Steam announcement — Pre-Load Live & Season 1 Changelog

Players on the Steam forum report that a pad’s buttons cannot be remapped inside the game. The keyboard defaults, what players found with flight sticks, and the one developer reply about HOTAS are on the keybinds page.

What is still unanswered

  • Which actions work on a pad. Partial support has not been broken down into a list.
  • Steam Deck. A handheld is where a pad matters most, and the Deck has separate problems that come before input: see the Deck page.
  • Consoles. Controller play is a given there, and consoles are planned for 2028. The console page has what is known.

Hardware first, input second: if you are unsure the game will run, the requirements page answers that before any of this matters, the settings page covers the graphics side, and the refund page covers the way back.