Match breakdown: Recon on spotting duty
We checked how much spotting pays if you hardly shoot: the whole match our Recon sat on the edge of the Control Zone with a rangefinder, marking enemies for the team. Here’s how it went.
The match
Section titled “The match”- 5–6 October 2026, Season 1.
- Over an hour and a half: the first screenshot was taken at 3 : 10 : 4, the results came 1 hour 36 minutes later. The match was even until the green team broke away at the end and won 100 : 74 : 73. Our team came 3rd.
- The main job was spotting. There was a rifle, but the whole match brought 4 kills and 51 assists. 9 deaths, no revives.
- Position: the edge of the Control Zone, overlooking the approaches, so presence ticks came in all match.
Economy summary
Section titled “Economy summary”| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| 3rd place + contribution | +$16,200 |
| Money spent | −$12,671 |
| Money earned | +$119,547 |
| Cash refunded | +$359 |
| Total profit | +$123,130 |
The balance went from $90,475 to $213,605 — exactly the total profit. The summary lines add up to $123,435; once again the game doesn’t explain the $305 difference (in the Ural match it was $2,517).
By money earned that’s 25th of 90 players. Most of the players above had 12–20 kills, and they didn’t earn much more: $120,000–145,000.
What spotting pays
Section titled “What spotting pays”Every payout is from our screenshots of this match.
| Event | Payout | XP |
|---|---|---|
| Spotting a target (infantry) | +$100 | 25 |
| Spotting the enemy spawn APC | +$1,000 | — |
| Refreshing a mark (infantry) | +$25, +$50 | 6–13 |
| Refreshing a mark on an MH-6 helicopter | +$125 | — |
| Refreshing a mark on a Ural truck | +$250 | — |
| Assist on a spotted kill | +$400, +$800, +$1,600 | 75–150 |
| Kill assist + spotting assist on one line | +$2,008, +$3,419 | 200 per assist |
| Spotted vehicle destroyed | a separate line; we didn’t catch the amount | — |
- Every amount matched the reward tables extracted from the game files (published by wardogs.zone). The full table is in the Recon guide.
- The $1,000 was the enemy spawn APC: only the SPH-2 artillery pays more per mark. A Ural is $500, an MH-6 helicopter $250, a soldier $100.
- A mark refresh pays half a spot, and each further repeat on the same target halves again: hence $50 and $25 for infantry.
- Spotting assists pay $400, $800 or $1,600 depending on where the target was: outside the zone, in the Control Zone or in the Hot Zone. If the third faction finished the target rather than our team, it’s half.
- Spotting works at range and through foliage. The targets in our screenshots were 90–660 metres away, many behind trees. While the target is in your sights, the game shows “Tracking target”.
Where the money came from
Section titled “Where the money came from”This data isn’t enough for an exact breakdown — we don’t know how many spots and refreshes there were. But the big parts are clear:
- Presence ticks: the Recon stood in the Control Zone all match, $160 every ~22 seconds. Over an hour and a half that’s about $40,000 — a third of the earnings.
- Spotting assists: 51 assists, most of them on spotted targets at $400–1,600 each. This is the biggest income line.
- Spots and mark refreshes: $25–1,000 each, and with a rangefinder they come almost non-stop.
- Own kills: just 4, about $6,000.
Per hour
Section titled “Per hour”Up to ≈ $77,000 profit an hour ($123,130 in 1 hour 36 minutes or more — the match started before the first screenshot). That’s level with Ural logistics (≈ $67,000 an hour), and the Recon barely fired a shot.
Spending was $12,671 for the whole match, 9 deaths included. Recon gear is cheap, so each death costs little.
What we learned
Section titled “What we learned”- Spotting is real income, not a side gig to shooting. A Recon with 4 kills earned as much as players with 15–20.
- Look for vehicles. Spotting a truck pays 5× more than a soldier, and the spawn APC 10×.
- Spot around the Hot Zone. The mark pays the same everywhere, but a kill on a spotted target in the Hot Zone pays double the Control Zone rate.
- Stay in the zone. Ticks made about a third of the income. A Recon on a hill outside the zone gets none of them and scores nothing for the team.
- Refunds cover gear. $359 is almost exactly 90% of the rangefinder’s price ($400): it looks like whatever survived the match came back.
How to repeat it
Section titled “How to repeat it”- Take a rangefinder ($400, Recon level 8) — it shows the range and tracks the target. Binoculars for $75 will do too, just without the range.
- Set up on the edge of the Control Zone overlooking the approaches: high ground, a rooftop, a tower.
- Spot everything, but vehicles and helicopters first — they pay many times more. See the spawn APC? That’s $1,000 for one mark.
- Refresh marks on targets that are still alive, and call out enemy positions to your team.
- Bring a rifle or pistol for self-defence and move when they start finding you.
More on the class in the Recon guide, more on payouts in Income by action.