Playing WARDOGS with friends: no party button, same squad anyway

The most reported "bug" around playing together is not one: WARDOGS has no party system. There is no group button in the main menu, no lobby to invite people into, and no shared queue that puts you on the same server as a four-stack. Anyone expecting that is looking for a feature this version does not have, and takes the missing button for a bug. It still works, just in a different order. Status: 22 September 2026.

Why there is no party button

The game is built around servers, not matchmaking. You pick a server, join it, choose your faction there and only form a squad once the match is running. In the forum a real group feature is one of the most requested points, with the counter-argument that several groups arriving at once would tip the teams. There is no official commitment to it so far. So do not plan around a lobby, plan around a server.

Route 1: join through Steam

The fastest way, and the one with the fewest failure points:

• One person joins a server first and waits in the match.
• Everyone else opens the Steam friends list, right-clicks the name and picks "Join Game".
• The other way round, anyone already in a match can right-click and send "Invite To Game".

That puts you on the same server. Whether you are also on the same side is decided in the next section.

Route 2: agree on a server ID first

If the Steam route is blocked, for example because the server is full right now, use the server browser:

• One person picks a server and passes the six-digit ID to the group.
• Everyone else uses "Join by ID" in the server browser and enters the same number.
• A practical community tip from the thread: take a lightly populated server, join together and wait the few minutes until it fills. That is more reliable than five people throwing themselves at the queue of a full server.

The real stumbling block: the faction

This is where most attempts fail, and every time it looks like a fault. The same server does not mean the same side: there are three factions, Lonestar, Valkyra and Manticore, and you cannot invite anyone directly into your faction. Everyone picks for themselves.

• Agree on the faction beforehand, not on the selection screen.
• If the side you want is full, the only option is to wait for a slot to open and confirm the choice again.
• Pick a different faction in a hurry and you will spend the round shooting at your own people. That is not a bug, it is the consequence of the choice.

Create the squad and leave it open

Once you are on the same side comes the part many players never find, because it is not in the main menu:

• Press Esc and choose "Create Squad" at the top right. The squad is named automatically from the NATO alphabet.
• The others open the same screen and join the squad under that name.
• The squad can be locked or left open to random players. Only lock it once everyone is in, otherwise you get in your own way.

It is worth doing even as a pair: squad comms reach across the whole map, while proximity comms are bound by distance and audible to enemies.

If joining still fails

Before reporting it as a fault, work through these points:

• Server full: the Steam join then aborts without much of an explanation. Wait for a slot or move to an emptier server together.
• Squad full: you will not get into the squad even though you are on the right side. Open a second squad and operate side by side.
• Different entries: before joining, make sure everyone means the same server entry, not just the same name.
• "Access denied", a queue or a kick while joining is a different topic; we cover the login and server browser steps in their own article.

Our order in short

• Do not look for a lobby, there is none.
• One person joins first, the rest follow with "Join Game" in Steam.
• Alternatively share the server ID and use "Join by ID" together on a lightly populated server.
• Agree the faction beforehand: Lonestar, Valkyra or Manticore, everyone picks for themselves.
• In the match press Esc, "Create Squad", let everyone join, lock it only afterwards.
• With a full server or a full squad, move around it instead of restarting.