On paper, WARDOGS gives you the answer before it gives anyone the question. The MAAWS, the launcher built for armour, unlocks at Support 18. The T-72B3 unlocks at Driver 20. In practice riflemen met tanks on the first day of Season 2, because Driver XP ran 40-50% fast and an exploit let drivers skip ahead. Bulkhead patched both on 15 October. Here is the gap in numbers, and what kills a T-72 before you reach the launcher.
| The tank | T-72B3: Driver 20, $250,000 to unlock, $16,000 a spawn |
| The counter | MAAWS: Support 18, $100,000 to unlock, $2,400 each |
| What went wrong | Driver XP over-tuned plus a Driver exploit, both fixed 15-16 October (Confirmed) |
| Before Support 18 | An IED on the rear, C4 from Assault 4, the RPG-7 on the tracks, the crew (Reported) |
| Last verified | 19 October 2026, Season 2 |
Who unlocks first, the tank or the tank-killer?
The tank-killer, by two levels and $150,000. Every figure below is from Bulkhead's Season 02 patch notes unless it says otherwise.
| Threat | Unlock | Unlock cost | Per spawn | Pays when destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-72B3 | Driver 20 | $250,000 | $16,000 | $8,000 |
| Flakpanzer Gepard | Driver 25 | $300,000 | $14,000 | $7,000 |
| L2A6 | Driver 35* | $500,000* | $22,000 | $11,000 |
| AH-6M Little Bird | Pilot 8 | $125,000 | $12,000 | $6,000 |
| Havoc | Pilot 35* | $650,000 | $28,000 | $14,000 |
| Counter | Unlock | Unlock cost | Price | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C4 Charge + Remote Detonator | Assault 4 | not restated | $250* + $650 | Planted charges |
| RPG-7 | Support 5* | $30,000* | $1,800 | Infantry and light armour |
| 9K333 Verba | Support 14 | not restated | not restated | Anti-air, lock-on |
| MAAWS | Support 18 | $100,000 | $2,400 | Light and armoured vehicles |
| AT Mine | Support 25* | $75,000* | $650* | Triggered by vehicles only |
*Season 1 figure that the Season 2 notes do not change.
Three changes in those notes matter here. The MAAWS came down from Support 20 and $125,000. C4 moved off the Support track to Assault 4, and IEDs and C4 now pay Assault XP. And the L2A6 went from $14,000 a spawn to $22,000, which makes a heavy tank a real loss when it dies.
So the design is clear. The answer to the T-72 sits earlier and cheaper than the T-72. Hold that thought, because Season 2's first day did the opposite.
Why did tanks still come first?
Because the two tracks did not fill at the same speed. A gate on one track only protects you if the other track fills at the same rate, and Driver did not. In a video on 15 October Bulkhead said Driver XP was set wrong: Driver pick rate went from about 10% to about 18%, and logistics, Driver and Pilot levelled 40-50% faster than the other roles (Confirmed).
This next part is our model. Level 20 on any track costs 111,500 XP in Season 2; level 15 costs 54,750. At 45% faster, a Driver banks 111,500 XP in the time an equally good Support player banks about 77,000. That Support player is past level 15 and still short of the MAAWS. The tank wins the race before the exploit even comes into it.
Then came the exploit. Bulkhead's 16 October post lists a fix for a "Driver Exploit Preventing lots of players from accessing tanks too early" alongside the Driver progression fix (Confirmed). On Reddit, a thread titled Barely 1 day into season and some people have a tank passed 1,000 comments, and another reported level 140s flying Havocs a day in (Reported).
Bulkhead's own verdict, on 17 October: "it was the wrong call" (Confirmed). It ruled out a reset that weekend and said it is looking at bringing Season 3 forward. It has not said it will take early tanks back.
The Season 1 version of this complaint was a Humvee arriving before the launcher that kills it, and the weak-spots guide covers that. Season 2 made the same mistake one size up.
Why does nobody bring a launcher?
Because a launcher costs you the rest of your kit. The RPG-7 weighs 6.3 kg before you carry a rocket. u/dayofmone did the sums on Reddit: with two spare rockets an RPG adds about 14 kg to your loadout and a MAAWS about 17.5 kg, so a light rifle, level 2 armour and a few meds put you past 30 kg (Reported). You become slow, you spend real money and you may never see a tank.
So most players do not carry one, and that is the second half of the gap. "1st game I played 2 miniguns helis, 2 tanks and not a teammate with rpgs unlocked," u/FormedOpinion wrote on the first day (Reported). The counter existed. It was sitting in nobody's bag.
What kills a T-72 before Support 18?
More than the Reddit threads suggest, and players have been testing the new tank all week. None of these is an official figure, every one is Reported, and each has a price.
An IED on the rear, with no unlock at all
At $300 with no unlock (a Season 1 figure the new notes leave alone), the IED is the answer for a brand-new account. u/megajumboshrimp reports that one IED planted on the rear kills a T-72, while the side takes two. It is remotely detonated and single use, so it works best where tanks have to go: a bridge, a gap in a wall, the road into an objective.
C4, from Assault 4
C4 and the Remote Detonator moved this season, from Support 2 to Assault 4, and the kill now pays Assault XP. u/RaspingCoin06 says they carry at least six charges, about $7,000 of kit, and have destroyed two T-72s with C4. On day one, u/captnxploder reported killing a tank with three C4 to the turret (Reported). The catch is distance: you have to reach a moving tank, plant, get clear and detonate. Bring a squadmate who keeps the crew looking the other way.
The RPG-7, from Support 5
The RPG-7 costs $1,800 and unlocks at Support 5 for $30,000. That gate is a Season 1 figure the new notes do not mention, and one Reddit post puts it at level 6, so check yours. On Reddit, u/ItsEyeJasper says it "takes all of 10mins to unlock" (Reported). Its card claims infantry and light armour, not tanks, and players agree: u/Stokes52 reports that one RPG to the engine block or the treads disables a T-72 rather than killing it (Reported). A tank that cannot move is a tank your team can finish.
Shoot the crew
On 19 October u/OxyRiggs posted a clip of exactly that. Their explanation: the crew models sit inside the tank model, so any part that clips out can be shot, and a .50 cal with enough penetration can hit the crew through it (Reported). u/Penutbroski posted an M2 Browning killing a T-72 two days earlier. Bulkhead has not said whether any of this is intended, so it may not survive the next patch.
Make the tank someone else's problem
A tank alone is a tank that has stopped being covered. Mark it, keep your distance and let the player with the MAAWS take the shot. If nobody on your team has one, an AT Mine from Support 25 for $75,000 covers the road a tank keeps using.
Where should you hit it?
The rear, every time. Players testing the T-72 this week agree. u/AgitatedSite3956 posted a T-72 kill with two MAAWS shots, u/Stokes52 reports that two MAAWS rockets set one on fire, and u/HQ_HaZe_ says a single rear shot can start the fire and a single track shot immobilises it (all Reported).
Season 1 numbers for the L2A6 point the same way. A guide on mmoexp put a tank at about 3 RPG rockets in the rear against 8-9 in the front, and allthings.how timed a solo MAAWS kill at about 11 seconds from behind against 33 from the front (Reported).
The full breakdown, including the reactive strip on the front and why flanking beats the turret, is in the vehicle weak-spots guide. The short version: stay off the gun's line, get behind it, then fire.
Does killing a tank pay?
It does now. The Season 02 notes list $8,000 for destroying a T-72 (Confirmed). If the two-rocket reports hold, a MAAWS kill costs you $4,800 and leaves $3,200 in your pocket, plus the XP. A single rear IED, at $300, is the best trade in the game.
The tank's side of the sum is uglier. The T-72 costs $16,000 every time it spawns and the L2A6 now costs $22,000. A crew that drives a tank alone into a town is spending that money on your behalf. Early access to tanks was a head start. It was never a guarantee.
What changes next?
Two things are on the way, neither with a date.
- Limited Mode servers. Bulkhead's 16 October post lists them as "coming soon" with "No Power Weapons & Vehicles" (Confirmed). If you would rather skip tanks altogether, these are your servers. Find a server.
- Season 3, sooner. Bulkhead said on 17 October it is looking at bringing Season 3 forward, with more detail in a dev vlog this week (Confirmed). Levels reset every season, so the next race starts from zero.
Until then, the patch notes have already written the rule. Check where you stand on the progression page, get the MAAWS at Support 18, and until you do, get behind the tank.
