Optics in WARDOGS are not a cosmetic choice. Every sight costs cash you have to earn back, carries a one-time unlock fee on a specific progression track, adds weight to your loadout, and either speeds up or slows down how fast you get on target. There are 21 of them, and the spread runs from a $200 reflex to an $1,800 precision scope with a zeroing range out to a kilometer.
Quick answer: The Compact T-2 Red Dot is the cheapest way into a usable sight at $340 behind a Wardog 4 unlock, and the Frontier 2.5x-10x Precision Scope is the top of the range at $1,800 behind Recon 43.
All 21 WARDOGS optics: magnification, zeroing, price, and unlock
Sorted by purchase price, highest first. The unlock column lists the track and level, then the one-time fee you pay once to make the sight buyable at all.
| Optic | Zoom and zeroing | Price / weight | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
 Frontier 2.5x-10x Precision Scope | 2.5-10x, 100m-1000m | $1,800 / 0.66kg | Recon 43, $95,000 |
 6x Marksman Scope + Reflex | 6x | $1,650 / 0.73kg | Recon 34, $35,000 |
 6-10x Scope MRAD | 6-10x | $1,200 / 0.98kg | Recon 18, $40,000 |
| 6-10x Scope MOA | 6-10x | $1,050 / 0.98kg | Recon 26, $45,000 |
 4x Combat Prism Scope with Reflex | 4x, 100m-400m | $880 / 0.42kg | Assault 43, $35,000 |
 3x-6x LPVO Short Dot | 3-6x | $860 / 0.63kg | Recon 11, $15,000 |
 PGO-7 | — | $850 / 0.62kg | Support 12, $10,000 |
 OKP 7 Reflex | 1.2x, fixed | $840 / 0.48kg | Assault 33, $30,000 |
 Vektor Frenix-X Micro Reflex Sight | 1.2x, fixed | $820 / 0.03kg | Medic 28, $15,000 |
| Spectr 4x | 4x, 100m-400m | $800 / 0.66kg | Support 21, $15,000 |
| Spitfire 3X | 3x, 100m-300m | $790 / 0.26kg | Assault 26, $25,000 |
 3x Tactical Prism Scope | 3x, 100m-300m | $740 / 0.43kg | Wardog 31, $15,000 |
| 2.5x Combat Optic | 2.5x, 100m-300m | $690 / 0.4kg | Wardog 26, $10,000 |
 6x Precision Rifle Scope | 6x | $680 / 0.7kg | — |
 Tricon 1.5x Compact Prism Scope | 1.5x, 100m-200m | $650 / 0.2kg | Assault 12, $10,000 |
 CQ-2x Prism Combat Scope | 2x, 100m-300m | $640 / 0.31kg | Assault 17, $15,000 |
| Holographic Sight | 1.2x, fixed | $620 / 0.25kg | Assault 22, $20,000 |
 Four Reticle Reflex | 1.2x, fixed | $580 / 0.12kg | Medic 6, $10,000 |
 Kobra Reflex | 1.2x, fixed | $520 / 0.41kg | Wardog 21, $7,500 |
| Compact T-2 Red Dot | 1.2x, fixed | $340 / 0.13kg | Wardog 4, $5,000 |
 Mini Reflex Sight | — | $200 | — |
Two things jump out of that table if you are used to other shooters. Price does not track magnification, and neither does weight. A 1.2x reflex can cost more and weigh more than a 4x prism scope, and the two heaviest sights in the game are the 6-10x pair at 0.98kg each.
How optics are bought, unlocked, and zeroed
There is no standalone attachments tab at the vendor. Each of the three weapon slots — PRIMARY, SIDEARM, SPECIALIST — has its own AMMO and ATTC. pair, and ATTC. opens four attachment slots above a filtered grid of parts. That means a sight is bought against one gun rather than against the loadout as a whole, so a scope only ever competes with the other scopes for that weapon.
- The unlock fee is paid once on the progression screen; the purchase price is paid again every time you kit out.
- The loadout WEIGHT readout updates as you hover a sight, so you can see the cost in kilograms before you commit.
- The optic grid filters on ALL, SHORT and MEDIUM, and every sight carries one of those two markers.
- You can still run a sight you have not unlocked if you loot it off a body or buy it from a supply crate.
Magnified glass only pays off if you use the zeroing. As the game puts it, “Zeroing makes the reticle accurate at a chosen range. While aiming down sight, adjust the zero up or down to match your target distance.” The adjustment is bound to Page Up and Page Down, and a fixed-zero reflex has nothing to adjust.
Aim-down-sights speed is the only performance figure any optic card states. Each one carries either a pros line or a cons line about ADS speed, at Minor, Moderate or Strong. There are no milliseconds, no handling numbers, and no accuracy stats to compare.
Close-range optics: every 1.2x sight with a fixed zero
Six sights share one profile: 1.2x magnification, a fixed zero, and a pros line that claims faster aiming. Price and weight are what actually separate them, and the weight gap between the lightest and heaviest is bigger than the gap between most magnified scopes.
| Optic | ADS trade |
|---|---|
| Vektor Frenix-X Micro Reflex Sight | Moderate ADS speed improvements |
| Four Reticle Reflex | Moderate ADS speed improvements |
| Kobra Reflex | Moderate ADS speed improvements |
| OKP 7 Reflex | Moderate ADS speed improvements |
| Compact T-2 Red Dot | Minor ADS speed improvements |
| Holographic Sight | Minor ADS speed improvements |
The lightest close-range sights
Nothing else in the game is as light as the Vektor Frenix-X Micro Reflex Sight. At 0.03kg it is effectively free weight, it claims moderate ADS speed improvements, and it sits behind Medic 28 with a $15,000 fee. If you are running a heavy primary and counting kilograms, this is the one that costs you nothing to bolt on.
The Compact T-2 Red Dot is the cheapest sight worth planning around at $340, and it unlocks at Wardog 4 for $5,000 — the earliest and least demanding gate of any optic. It only claims minor ADS speed improvements rather than moderate, but at 0.13kg and that price it is the default first purchase for almost every build.
The Four Reticle Reflex is the other early pick, at $580 and 0.12kg behind Medic 6. Its card is worth reading carefully: the pros block lists moderate ADS speed improvements, while the description underneath says it is “slightly slower to aim.” Treat it as a sidegrade to the T-2 rather than a clear upgrade.
Heavier 1.2x options
The Kobra Reflex costs $520 and has the cheapest unlock fee after the T-2 at $7,500, on Wardog 21. The catch is 0.41kg for a 1.2x sight, which is more than the Tricon prism, the CQ-2x and the Spitfire 3X all carry while giving you actual magnification.
OKP 7 Reflex is the extreme case: 0.48kg, $840, and an Assault 33 gate with a $30,000 fee, all for a fixed-zero 1.2x sight. It is heavier than every magnified scope here except the 6x and 6-10x glass. Buy it because you want that specific sight picture, not because you expect it to outperform the cheaper reflexes.
The Holographic Sight lands in the middle at $620 and 0.25kg, with minor ADS speed improvements, unlocking on Assault 22 for $20,000. It is a sensible close-quarters sight, but it is not a stepping stone to magnification — swapping it for a 2.5x means paying an ADS penalty instead of banking an improvement.
PGO-7 and Mini Reflex Sight
The PGO-7 is marked as a short-range optic but behaves nothing like the reflexes on price or mass. It costs $850 and weighs 0.62kg, and it unlocks on the Support track at level 12 for a $10,000 fee — the only short-marked sight on that track.
The Mini Reflex Sight is the cheapest optic in the game at $200 and another short-range marker. If you are rebuilding a loadout from an empty wallet after a bad round, this is the least painful way to put a dot on a rifle.
Mid-range optics: 1.5x to 4x with adjustable zeroing
Seven sights run from 1.5x to 4x, and every one of them prints a numeric zeroing range instead of a fixed zero. This is the band where the ADS trade starts costing you something, with one exception.
| Optic | ADS trade |
|---|---|
| CQ-2x Prism Combat Scope | Minor ADS speed improvements |
| Tricon 1.5x Compact Prism Scope | Minor ADS speed penalty |
| 3x Tactical Prism Scope | Minor ADS speed penalty |
| 2.5x Combat Optic | Moderate ADS speed penalty |
| Spitfire 3X | Moderate ADS speed penalty |
| 4x Combat Prism Scope with Reflex | Moderate ADS speed penalty |
| Spectr 4x | Moderate ADS speed penalty |
Tricon 1.5x and CQ-2x Prism: magnification without the handling bill
The CQ-2x Prism Combat Scope is the standout of the whole list, because it is the only magnified sight that still claims an ADS speed improvement instead of a penalty. It gives 2x, a 100m-300m zeroing range, 0.31kg and a $640 price behind Assault 17 and a $15,000 fee. If you want zoom and quick aiming on one rifle, this is the sight that does not make you choose.
The Tricon 1.5x Compact Prism Scope is the cheap, light entry into the band at $650 and 0.2kg, unlocking on Assault 12 for $10,000. Its card sells it as “close/mid range combat” with a zeroing range of 100m to 200m and only a minor ADS speed penalty, which makes it the sensible pick when most of your fighting happens inside a compound but you still want to see a helmet across the yard.
2.5x Combat Optic, Spitfire 3X and 3x Tactical Prism Scope
The 2.5x Combat Optic is the cheapest unlock in this group — Wardog 26 and $10,000 — and costs $690 a life at 0.4kg. Its zeroing stops at 300 meters, so it is a village-street and yard-fight optic, and the moderate ADS penalty is real enough that you will notice it in a stairwell.
Spitfire 3X is the odd one here: 3x magnification and the same 100m-300m zeroing as the 2.5x, but at 0.26kg it is the lightest magnified scope above 2x. It costs $790 and needs Assault 26 plus a $25,000 fee, and it pays the same moderate ADS penalty as the 2.5x for more zoom.
The 3x Tactical Prism Scope is the better handling option at the same magnification, because it only takes a minor ADS speed penalty. It costs $740, weighs 0.43kg, and unlocks on the Wardog track at level 31 for $15,000 — no class track required.
4x Combat Prism Scope with Reflex and Spectr 4x
The 4x Combat Prism Scope with Reflex is the most flexible sight in the mid band, because its spec lists a “1.2x top reflex toggle” on top of 4x magnification, alongside “mid/long range combat” and a 100m-400m zeroing range. At 0.42kg it is lighter than several 1.2x reflexes, but it is gated hard: Assault 43 and a $35,000 fee before you can buy it for $880.
Spectr 4x reaches the same 4x and the same 100m-400m zeroing for $800, but at 0.66kg it is the heaviest sight in the band by a wide margin. Its advantage is access: Support 21 and a $15,000 fee is a far cheaper route to 4x than Assault 43.
Long-range scopes: 3x-6x up to 6-10x
Six sights sit above the mid band, and five of the six unlock on Recon — the same track that hands you the SVD, the sniper rifles and the spotting tools. They are also the heaviest and most expensive glass in the game, and the 6-10x pair at 0.98kg each will move your loadout weight readout more than any other attachment choice.
Frontier 2.5x-10x Precision Scope
The Frontier 2.5x-10x Precision Scope is the ceiling: 2.5-10x variable magnification, “long range combat,” and a zeroing range of 100m to 1000m — four times the reach of anything in the mid band. It is the only optic that admits a “strong ADS speed penalty” rather than a minor or moderate one, so it belongs on a rifle you shoot from a prone overwatch position, not one you carry into a building. It costs $1,800 and demands Recon 43 plus a $95,000 unlock, the single most expensive gate on any sight.
6-10x Scope MRAD and 6-10x Scope MOA
The 6-10x Scope MRAD is the cheaper and earlier of the two reticle variants to unlock, at Recon 18 with a $40,000 fee, though it costs more per life at $1,200. Both weigh 0.98kg, the heaviest optics in the game.
The 6-10x Scope MOA flips the arithmetic. It is $1,050 to buy, $150 cheaper every time you deploy, but it needs Recon 26 and a $45,000 fee. Pick between them on which reticle units you prefer to hold with, then let the cash difference decide if you genuinely do not care.
6x Marksman Scope + Reflex and 6x Precision Rifle Scope
The 6x Marksman Scope + Reflex is the second-most expensive sight at $1,650, weighs 0.73kg, and unlocks at Recon 34 for $35,000. The reflex on top is the reason to pay for it over a fixed 6x: it is the only high-magnification scope that also gives you a close-range answer without swapping weapons.
The 6x Precision Rifle Scope is the budget route to that magnification at $680 and 0.7kg, which makes it cheaper per life than several mid-band prisms. No progression gate is listed against it, so if it shows up as buyable on your rifle it is the most cost-effective long-range glass on the board.
3x-6x LPVO Short Dot
The 3x-6x LPVO Short Dot is the earliest long-range unlock in the game, at Recon 11 for a $15,000 fee, and it costs $860 at 0.63kg. Its variable low end makes it the most forgiving of the long-range options if you are not committed to a pure overwatch role, and it is the one to buy first while you are still levelling Recon by spotting.
If you only ever unlock three sights, the sequence that covers the most ground for the least cash is the Compact T-2 Red Dot early, the CQ-2x Prism Combat Scope once you hit Assault 17, and the 3x-6x LPVO Short Dot as soon as Recon 11 lands. That gives you a fast fixed-zero dot, a magnified optic that does not slow your aim, and a scope with real reach, for a combined unlock bill well under what the Frontier alone asks.
