WARDOGS Mortar Guide — Ranges, Angles & Calculators

Mortars are WARDOGS’ indirect fire tool: an upgraded support class places them at a FOB, supplies must be hauled from HQ, and a good crew can delete a position from across the map. This guide covers the mechanics and how mortar calculators fit in.

By Rowan Vale · Last updated Sep 23, 2026 · About & how we verify

How Mortars Work

• Placement: mortars are built at a FOB by the upgraded support class (see the classes page).
• Supplies: every fire mission consumes supplies — logistics trucks and helicopters must keep the FOB fed.
• Indirect fire: rounds arc over cover and hit targets you cannot see directly.
• Teamwork: a spotter with binoculars marks targets, the mortar crew converts the mark into a fire mission.

Mortar Calculators

Mortar fire missions are solved with azimuth, range, elevation and flight time — exactly what community mortar calculators compute. Input your grid and the target grid, and the tool returns the firing solution. Several community tools appeared during beta; we link the ones the community verifies after launch.

What the Calculator Computes

Running a Fire Mission

1. Get a target: a spotter tag or a map ping with grid coordinates.
2. Read your own grid from the map — the calculator needs both ends, and it changes if the tube moves.
3. Compute the solution: input both grids and read the azimuth, range, elevation and flight time.
4. Lay the tube: set azimuth first, then elevation — rotating the tube after setting elevation throws the solution off.
5. Fire one round and call "splash" — the spotter watches at the computed flight time.
6. Correct from the spotter’s calls, then fire for effect once the first round lands on target.
7. Watch supply levels: every shot costs logistics.

Spotter Calls & Corrections

Common Mortar Mistakes

• Forgetting to re-read your own grid after moving the tube — every solution is relative to the tube’s position.
• Firing blind: rounds without a spotter burn supplies and reveal your FOB position for nothing.
• Correcting too early: a round is still in the air at flight time — wait for splash before adjusting.
• Letting the FOB run dry mid-mission — a mortar with no supplies is just a target (see gameplay).

Counter-Mortar Tactics

A mortar crew that is left alone will delete your FOB. The good news: mortar positions are static — the tube sits at a FOB, the FOB cannot move, and destruction is permanent. A well-placed explosive levels the FOB and the tubes with it. Here is how experienced squads hunt mortars.

Finding the Enemy Mortar

• Watch the arcs: mortar rounds fly a high, slow trajectory — on clear maps you can trace the arc back to the general direction of the tube.
• Listen: each launch is loud and distinctive; headphones give you a bearing within a few degrees.
• Use your own calculator in reverse: if you know where the rounds are landing (your FOB), the range table tells you the rough distance ring the tube must be on. Combine bearing and distance and you have a search area.
• Spotter reconnaissance: a recon player on high ground with binoculars can find the FOB quickly — mortar crews rarely relocate, so one tag usually ends the threat.

Killing the Tube

• Counter-battery with your own mortar: compute a solution on the enemy tube and fire for effect — the first crew to hit wins the duel.
• Artillery: the SPH-2 platform (see the vehicles guide) out-ranges mortars and does not need line of sight.
• Air strikes: combat helicopters with rockets clear fortified FOB positions fast, but expect AA — Talon 9K-SAM emplacements are common at mortar FOBs.
• Infantry flank: a small squad approaching from cover can destroy the tubes with explosives; everything at a FOB is destructible.

Defending Against Counter-Mortar

• Relocate the tube after a few fire missions — the only real defense is not being where the counter-battery solution says you are.
• Build AA first: a mortar FOB without anti-air is a free rocket target.
• Keep a spotter watching your own back — the same recon that finds enemy tubes protects yours.

Mortar Positions on the Map

Good mortar positions are a map-reading problem. The community interactive maps — MetaForge (tower positions and Control Zone overlays) and Clutchbase (live squad drawing plus a mortar calculator for the L81 and SPH-2) — let you plot tube and target grids before you ever build, and both are linked on the maps guide. What to look for when you pick a spot:

• Near supply routes: every fire mission consumes supplies, and a tube that cannot be fed is dead weight — position close to the roads your trucks already run.
• Cover from air: tree lines, cliffs and buildings break helicopter rocket runs; open fields do not.
• Inside friendly territory but in range: mortar range is generous, so depth buys you time when the enemy comes hunting.
• Not on the obvious hill: the first place counter-battery crews check is the high ground everyone uses. A defilade position behind a ridge works just as well.

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