# How WARDOGS community servers work > What a WARDOGS community server is, who can host one, what admins control, and what to expect when Wilderack opens WARDOGS servers. By the Wilderack Crew. Last reviewed 2026-11-13. Topic: Getting started. _Wilderack is not affiliated with BULKHEAD or Team17. WARDOGS community servers come only from BULKHEAD's approved hosting partners, so WARDOGS servers open on Wilderack only once BULKHEAD approves us._ _WARDOGS is a trademark of Team17 Digital Ltd. Wilderack is not affiliated with or endorsed by Team17 Digital Ltd._ A WARDOGS community server is a server a community runs for itself: its own name, rules and admins, with the same 100-player, three-team matches as official servers. Players find it under **Community** in the server browser. Admins can ban cheaters on the spot, which is a big part of why players seek community servers out. > [!NOTE] > WARDOGS servers can't be ordered on Wilderack yet. There is no public WARDOGS server download: BULKHEAD gives the server build only to its approved hosting partners, and the game's terms ban private servers run any other way. We open WARDOGS once BULKHEAD and Team17 approve Wilderack as a hosting partner. This guide covers what's true of every WARDOGS community server today, and what we'll confirm once we have the build. ## Who can host a WARDOGS server Only BULKHEAD's approved hosting partners. BULKHEAD announced three of them before Early Access began on September 10, 2026. The WARDOGS terms allow community servers only when they're run with tools Team17 or BULKHEAD made or approved, and they ban unauthorised private servers. That's why we're waiting rather than finding another way. ## What a community server gives you From BULKHEAD's patch notes, community server admins can: - **Ban and unban players**, and keep reserved slots for their members - **Show a Server Rules popup** to everyone who joins - **Set their own ping limit**, stricter or looser than official servers - **Set a daily restart time**, in UTC - **Show an image** in the server browser - **Control RCON**, including which addresses may use it Players can favorite community servers from the browser or the pause menu, and community servers pay a small cash bonus. Communities also run **Infantry Mode** and **Low Level** servers, which the game's Deploy screen points players toward. ## What stays the same everywhere Cash, levels and unlocks live on BULKHEAD's own servers. They carry over between official and community servers, so players don't lose anything by playing on yours. ## How it will work on Wilderack When WARDOGS opens: 1. Choose **WARDOGS** in the game list. 2. Pick a plan: 8 GB for matches up to about 50 players, 12 GB for full 100-player matches. 3. Choose the region closest to your players. US East and Europe are open now. 4. Pick a name and pay. The server installs the build BULKHEAD gives us and starts. We'll confirm the RAM, the settings and every file the server uses on our own machines before we open, and update this guide. ## Play fair with the rules BULKHEAD has said community hosts seen exploiting the faction bonus will be punished. Leave team balance and rewards alone, and use admin powers to run the server, not to win on it. ## Why WARDOGS servers stay on Players find community servers in the server browser, and a server that sleeps drops out of it. WARDOGS servers will stay on all the time, on always-on plans, with the daily restart you choose. ## What to read next - [How to join a community server](https://wilderack.com/wiki/wardogs/how-to-connect/) - [Server settings](https://wilderack.com/wiki/wardogs/config-reference/) - [Requirements and performance](https://wilderack.com/wiki/wardogs/performance/) ## Questions and answers ### Can I host a WARDOGS server myself? Not today. There's no public server download. Community servers run only through BULKHEAD's approved hosting partners, who get the server build, and the game's terms ban private servers run any other way. ### Can I rent a WARDOGS server on Wilderack? Not yet. We open WARDOGS servers once BULKHEAD and Team17 approve Wilderack as a hosting partner. Join the waitlist on the WARDOGS page to hear the day it opens. ### Do players keep their cash and levels on community servers? Yes. Cash, levels and unlocks live on BULKHEAD's own servers, not on the community server, so they carry over between official and community servers. Community servers even pay a small cash bonus. ### How many players does a WARDOGS server hold? Up to 100, split across three teams fighting over a control zone. ## Sources - [The 11th Reason NOT To Buy WARDOGS](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1867240/view/1842846814456311), BULKHEAD - [Scheduled Maintenance and Patch 0.11](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1867240/view/1843481262698449), BULKHEAD - [Season 03 Patch Notes](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1867240/view/1849192144179736), BULKHEAD - [WARDOGS EULA and Addendum](https://www.wardogs.com/eula), Team17 and BULKHEAD --- Canonical page: https://wilderack.com/wiki/wardogs/getting-started/ How we write and check our guides: https://wilderack.com/company/editorial-policy/ Corrections: support@wilderack.com