BULKHEAD: Season 2's faster progression was "the wrong call" — no reset this weekend, Season 3 may be brought forward
Two days into Season 2, BULKHEAD has admitted that the faster levelling it designed for the season was "the wrong call": some players reached Tier 4 armour and main battle tanks within days, so the fresh start never happened for most. There will be no progression reset this weekend — the studio says that would punish everyone mid-climb — but it is looking at bringing Season 3 and some of its content forward significantly to give everyone a proper restart, with details in a dev vlog next week. Clear imbalances will be fixed; contested ones are being watched first.
- Posted on X at 11:02 UTC on 17 October, about 49 hours after Season 2 went live and two days after the backend update that removed the Lonestar bonus and closed the Driver exploit.
- BULKHEAD says the Season 2 XP and cash curve was sped up on purpose (as set out in the patch notes) and that this was a mistake: the fastest players were in end-game gear such as Tier 4 armour and main battle tanks within days, so the season wipe did not deliver the fresh start it was meant to.
- No knee-jerk reset this weekend: current levels, cash and unlocks stay as they are for now, because the studio says a reset would be unfair on players already enjoying the climb.
- Instead BULKHEAD is looking at bringing Season 3, and some of the content planned for it, forward significantly — no date yet; details are promised in the dev vlog next week (the week of 19 October). Our season calendar keeps Season 2 open-ended until a date is announced.
- Balance: changes that are clearly out of balance will be fixed; changes that have the community split are being left to play out first. No specific buffs, nerfs or hotfix date were named.
- For orders: a level or cash order placed now is delivered on the current, faster Season 2 curve and nothing is paused on our side. If Season 3 arrives early with the proper fresh start BULKHEAD describes, that means another reset — Season 2's rule that cash converts to gold bars at the end of the season would simply trigger sooner.
What BULKHEAD said
On Saturday 17 October at 11:02 UTC the official WARDOGS account posted an announcement that goes well beyond Thursday's backend fixes. Season 2 was meant to be a fresh start, the studio wrote, and for a lot of players it has not felt like one. The faster progression was deliberate — the 14 October patch notes set out the cheaper XP tables and the rebalanced classes — but BULKHEAD now says it was the wrong decision: some players were already sitting in Tier 4 armour and main battle tanks within days of launch, so the season wipe never gave the field the level playing start it was supposed to.
No reset this weekend
The studio has ruled out a knee-jerk reset over the weekend of 17–18 October, on the grounds that it would be unfair on everyone who is enjoying the climb. Levels, cash, unlocks and vehicles earned since Thursday stay where they are for now. On balance, BULKHEAD draws a line between things that are clearly out of balance, which will be fixed, and changes that have the community split, which it wants to see play out first. No individual weapon, vehicle or class was named, and no hotfix date was given.
Season 3 may come early
The fix on the table is a new season rather than a rollback: BULKHEAD is looking at bringing Season 3, and some of the content planned for it, forward significantly so that everyone gets a proper fresh start. Nothing is dated. Season 1 ran from the 10 September Early Access launch to 15 October, so a short Season 2 would not be out of character, but until the studio names a day our calendar keeps Season 2 open-ended and we treat any date doing the rounds as a guess. The details are promised in a dev vlog next week.
How we got here
- 14 October: Season 02 patch notes — faster XP tables (1.15 million XP to level 50 on a class), damage rebalance, new Driver track, Lonestar cash and XP bonus for the season.
- 15 October, 10:01 UTC: Season 02 live after a two-hour maintenance window.
- 15 October, 20:58 UTC: backend update — Lonestar bonus removed, Driver progression slowed, the FOB-shuttle tank exploit closed, 24-hour bans for the worst abusers, limited-mode servers announced for update 0.25.
- 16 October: a written version of the backend update posted in the game's Steam discussions by a Team17 developer account; still nothing on the Steam news hub.
- 17 October, 11:02 UTC: this announcement.
What it means for your orders
- Class levelling and Wardog level orders placed now are delivered on the Season 2 curve that is live today — the faster one — and our delivery estimates already use it. Nothing is paused.
- Cash orders: Season 2's rule is that cash converts to gold bars at the end-of-season value when the season closes. An early Season 3 means that conversion comes sooner, so spend what you want to spend this season.
- A proper fresh start is BULKHEAD's phrase for Season 3, and the Season 2 wipe is the precedent: expect levels to reset again when it arrives. If you want to play with end-game gear this season, the window is the weeks between now and whatever date the dev vlog gives.
- Boosters and customers with a running order lose nothing from an announcement; if a reset date is set while an order is in progress, we will say so in the order chat.
What we are watching
The dev vlog next week (a Season 3 date and whether it comes with a full wipe), hotfix notes for the balance fixes BULKHEAD says are coming, and the mid-season 0.25 update with its limited-mode servers. Steam posts are collected automatically; this item is updated when any of those lands.
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