How the visibility calculator works
Every point on a WARDOGS map can see a certain amount of the ground around it and no more — the rest is hidden behind ridgelines, dips, walls and buildings. Surveyors call that visible area a viewshed. This calculator computes it from the game's own elevation data, extracted from the level files: it casts sight lines from an eye at your chosen height out to the range you set, and paints the ground it reaches green and the ground it cannot reach dark. The maths is the same the map's mortar and rangefinder tools use, so the picture matches the game rather than the map artwork.
- Pick Bakurani, Ozeti or Zestafona in the calculator above.
- Tap or click the map where you would stand. On a desktop the view already follows your mouse before you click, so you can sweep along a ridge and watch what opens up. Drag the marker afterwards to move it — the picture updates as you drag.
- Set your eye: prone, crouching, standing, or a roof / tower height. Set the target: the ground itself (a prone enemy) or a standing player.
- Optionally tap a target. The sight line turns green when it is clear and red from the point where it is blocked, and the panel gives VISIBLE or BLOCKED, the distance, the bearing and the height difference.
- Switch to 3D to see the relief the sight lines are hitting. It is the same heightmap extruded — nothing to download — and the visibility drapes onto it.
Need markers, drawings, the mortar calculator or a shared squad session on the same map? The same tool lives in the full interactive maps: Bakurani, Ozeti or Zestafona.
Terrain and buildings
| Map | Elevation source | Buildings | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakurani | Game landscape heightmap, calibrated to real metres | Included — every structure in the level | 8 m, 2 m near the observer |
| Ozeti | Game landscape heightmap, calibrated to real metres | Included — every structure in the level | 8 m, 2 m near the observer |
| Zestafona | Game landscape heightmap, calibrated to real metres | Included — every structure in the level | 8 m, 2 m near the observer |
On every map the heightmap is a composite: the landscape plus the roof height of every building, wall and tower, so a compound blocks sight exactly the way it does in the game. Trees and vegetation are not in the elevation data — a forest can still hide a player the calculator says is visible. Treat the green area as "there is a clear line to the ground there", and the dark area as "no line of sight, whatever you do".
Height beats distance
Try the tower preset on any hill: a few metres of extra eye height opens up dips and reverse slopes that no amount of sideways movement reaches. Then set the target to standing — a player on their feet shows over low cover that hides the ground itself, which is why a prone sniper in a shallow dip is invisible to the same spot that sees you walking in.
How snipers and recon use it
- Pick an overwatch spot before you walk there. Sweep the ridges around an objective with the mouse and pin the point that paints the approach roads green. Confirm the tower or building you plan to use with the roof preset.
- Check the enemy's view of you. Put the observer on a known enemy position (a tower, a compound roof) and see which ground it covers — the dark patches are your route in.
- Range your targets. Tap the spot you expect players at: the distance feeds straight into the bullet-drop section for bullet drop and holdover, and the bearing helps you call it to the squad.
- Spotting for artillery. A spotter needs a line of sight to the impact area. Verify it here, then hand the target to the mortar calculator.
- Learn the map's blind ground. Wide dark areas below a hill are dead ground — the places to cross when the enemy holds that hill. The recon & sniper guide covers how spotting, scopes and the SVD fit into all of this.
Bullet drop and holdover
Once the map has ranged a target, the bullet-drop section turns that distance into a firing solution. All eight precision rifles share the same physics — what separates them is muzzle velocity, calibre drag and damage retention. Full stats on each rifle's database page:
| Rifle | Class | Calibre | Muzzle velocity | Damage | Effective range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMR 50 | Sniper | .50 Cal | 900 m/s | 107 | 2,000 m |
| MK22 | Sniper | .308 Win | 894 m/s | 60 | 1,000 m |
| SV98 | Sniper | 7.62x54mm | 830 m/s | 55 | 1,000 m |
| Mosin Nagant | Sniper | 7.62x54mm | 865 m/s | 55 | 500 m |
| Scout Rifle TD | Sniper | 5.56mm | 975 m/s | 28 | 300 m |
| SVD | Marksman | 7.62x54mm | 800 m/s | 55 | 800 m |
| BMR-308 | Marksman | .308 Win | 880 m/s | 60 | 500 m |
| SKS | Marksman | 7.62mm | 735 m/s | 42 | 400 m |
The picker isn't limited to precision rifles — every ballistics-modelled weapon in the game is in it, so you can check how far your assault rifle or LMG really reaches before drop and damage falloff make it a noisemaker.
- Drop — how far below your point of aim the round lands at the target distance, given your zero.
- Holdover — the same correction in mils: aim this many mil-dots above the target. In a match you will usually zero with Page Up / Page Down (100 m steps) and only hold the leftover.
- Time of flight — lead running targets by speed × TOF; a sprinting soldier covers ~6 m per second.
- Velocity & damage — what's left of the round when it arrives; damage includes distance falloff and your ammo choice against unarmoured targets.
FAQ
What does the visibility calculator show?
Everything a player standing at the point you pick can see. Green ground is in view from that spot; dark ground is hidden behind hills, ridges or buildings — computed from the game's own terrain heightmap.
Does it include buildings?
Yes, on all three maps: the heightmap is a composite of the landscape and every structure in the level. Trees are not modelled.
How do I check if I can see a specific target?
Place the observer, then tap the target. The sight line is drawn green when clear and red from where it is blocked, with the distance, bearing and height difference in the panel.
What eye height should I use?
Standing for a normal position, prone when you lie in a ghillie, and a roof or tower preset when you climb. The target height decides whether you need to see the ground (a prone enemy) or a standing player.
What is a viewshed?
The area visible from one point — the surveyor's word for it. This calculator is a viewshed tool for the WARDOGS maps; we call it visibility because that is what it answers: can I see it, and can it see me.
How much does a bullet drop in WARDOGS?
A MK22 drops about 0.45 m at 300 m from a 100 m zero and several metres by 1,000 m. Every rifle differs — the bullet-drop section integrates each calibre's real drag curve from the beta data.
What does zeroing do?
It angles your scope so the trajectory crosses your point of aim at the zero distance — dead-on at that range, slightly high closer, increasingly low beyond it. In game: while scoped, Page Up / Page Down walk it in 100 m steps and show the current zero on the glass.
What is holdover in mils?
The number of mil-dots to aim above the target to cancel out drop. 1.5 mils at 500 m means holding 1.5 dots high.
Which rifle shoots flattest?
The Scout Rifle TD is flattest inside 400 m thanks to its 975 m/s muzzle velocity; the AMR 50's .50 cal round holds its speed best at long range.
Does ammo type change drop?
No — rounds of a calibre share one trajectory in the beta data. HP and AP change damage and penetration, not your holdover.
Is it free and does it work on a phone?
Yes. It runs in the browser with no account or download, and on a phone you tap to place, pinch to zoom and keep the numbers on the map.
Found your spot? Jump back to the calculator, open the full map on Bakurani, Ozeti or Zestafona, or take the range down to the bullet-drop section for your holdover.