Large Hesco Blocks are the tall, bullet-stopping walls that turn a Forward Operating Base in WARDOGS from a supply dump into an actual position. Plenty of players never see the blueprint, though, because the hammer they spawned with cannot build it. The tool tier, not your Support level alone, decides what shows up in the build menu.
Quick answer: Equip a Medium Hammer, right-click to open the build wheel, select HESCO BLOCK (LARGE), place the blueprint inside your FOB’s build area, then hit it with the hammer until it finishes. A Small Hammer will only ever offer the small version.
Requirements for building a Large Hesco Block
Three things have to be true at the same time. You need a Medium or Large Hammer in hand, you need to be standing inside the build range of a deployed Forward Operating Base, and that FOB needs Build Supplies stored in it. Miss any one of them and either the blueprint is absent from the wheel or it refuses to turn green.
The good news is that a freshly deployed FOB already solves the tool problem. Its starting inventory includes both a Small Hammer and a Medium Hammer, alongside wrenches, signal grenades, and bandages. You do not have to buy anything extra to place your first tall wall.
Hammer tiers and what each one can build
The item description is blunt about the split. The Small Hammer reads “Used to build Small and basic Buildables Only” at 0.8kg with fast build speed. The Medium Hammer reads “Used to build Large and basic Buildables Only” at 1.2kg with moderate build speed. Both lines end with “Requires supplies to use.”
| Hammer | Can build | Build speed |
|---|---|---|
| Small Hammer | Small and basic buildables only — sandbags, barbed wire, Hesco Block (Small) | Fast |
| Medium Hammer | Basic and large buildables, including Hesco Block (Large) | Moderate |
| Large Hammer | Every structure tier, including the Drill Rig | Fastest |
In the current build, the Medium Hammer is tied to Support Level 3 and sells for around $800 at a vendor, while the Large Hammer sits behind Support Level 7 at roughly $1,600. Buying one matters mostly if you want a spare in your own kit rather than sharing the FOB’s.
Take a Medium Hammer out of the FOB inventory
Place and stack the Large Hesco Block
Hesco Block (Large) stats
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Durability | 2,250 HP |
| Footprint | 1.5 × 1.5 × 3 m |
| Stacking | Up to 3 high |
| C4 to destroy | 4 |
| FOB required | Yes |
For comparison, the small block carries 1,600 HP and goes down to 2 C4. If you want the same tall profile for less outlay, the Hesco Wall bundles four large blocks into a single buildable and costs less than placing them one at a time.
Why the blueprint will not place
The preview tells you exactly what is wrong, and each message has one fix.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| FOUNDATIONS OBSTRUCTED | Something is in the block’s base area. Shift the piece clear of rocks, debris, or an existing structure. |
| CAN’T PLACE ON SURFACE | The terrain or object underneath is invalid. Move to flatter, solid ground. |
| OBSTRUCTED | The full volume of the block is clipping into geometry. Rotate it or back it off before confirming. |
If the large option is missing from the wheel entirely, the problem is the tool, not the terrain. Check your SPECIAL slot — the Small Hammer looks similar in hand and is easy to re-equip by accident after a death or a loadout swap.
Note: a FOB does not refill itself. Once the Build Supplies counter runs dry, the blueprint stops accepting placements until a logistics run tops the base back up.
You know the block is done when the yellow X markers disappear and the frame swaps to the finished Hesco texture, with the supply cost deducted from the FOB’s stock. From there it behaves like any other structure — it can be damaged, repaired with the same hammer, and blown apart by a squad that brings enough C4.
