A Forward Operating Base (FOB) is the most useful thing a small squad can bring to a fight, and the easiest to waste. Most failed FOBs are not killed by the enemy. They sit empty because nobody knew what they needed.
This guide covers what a FOB does, how to place one, how to read its stock, and how to keep the right supplies flowing.
What a FOB does
A FOB is the central hub for construction and resource storage in the field. It creates an area where your team can build, and it holds a shared stockpile that nearby players can draw from. It is not a respawn point. Respawning works through your HQ and forward spawn vehicles, not the FOB itself.
You can build a few things without one. Sandbags, barbed wire, hedgehogs and Recon Tents can be placed anywhere without a FOB. Walls, doors, gates, bunkers, emplacements, stations and the Drill Rig all need a FOB's build radius.
Placing your FOB
In the shop, the Forward Operating Base costs $7,500, weighs 6.5 kg and needs no unlock. It goes in a quick slot. You cannot place one in your headquarters, but everywhere else is allowed. Equip it and hold the primary action button until it deploys. A perimeter then appears on your map, and that is where you can build.
Before you commit $7,500, ask three questions:
- Can supplies reach it twice? Test the return trip, not just the first delivery, and keep a road, landing approach or hand-carry route open after the walls go up.
- Is it hidden? A FOB in plain view of the Control Zone gets found and shelled. Terrain behind your team's approach is safer. See safe zones, control zones and no man's land for how the zones work.
- Does your squad agree? Placing it where nobody is fighting is the most expensive mistake.
The four supply types
FOBs run on four supply types, and keeping the right ones stocked matters more than dumping whatever you have.
| Supply | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Build Supplies | Constructing and repairing structures. Always the first delivery. |
| Ammo Supplies | Feeds the mortar, CIWS and Talon 9K-SAM. It is not small arms ammunition. |
| Fuel Supplies | Refuels vehicles at a Refuel Station and keeps the Drill Rig running. |
| Mechanical Supplies | Vehicle repairs. |
Refuel and Repair Stations need the Large Hammer. A Refuel Station draws on the FOB's Fuel Supplies and a Repair Station on its Mechanical Supplies. Without the station, the stock does nothing for vehicles.
How to know what your FOB needs
This is the question that trips up most new builders. You have four ways to find out.
1. Read the console
Interact with the FOB's console to open its inventory, which shows the stock of resources and items. Look at the four counters before every build and every delivery. A structure that stops firing or refuelling is a supply problem before it is a defence problem.
2. Check the map
FOBs, crates and pallets appear on the map once used. You can highlight a FOB or crate to see what is inside. This helps if you are hauling supplies and need to know which base is short before you drive out.
3. Price your plan
When you right-click and highlight an item to build, the Supply cost appears next to the hammer icon. Add up what you intend to build, then compare it with the Build Supplies counter. A few Season 2 costs to plan around:
- Door: 80. Gate: 200. The Bremmer wall is 32.
- Bunker: 200.
- L81 Mortar: 600. Talon 9K-SAM: 650. Vanguard CIWS: 1,200.
- Hot Zone Magnet (the Drill Rig): 2,750.
The full list is in our Season 2 building and logistics guide.
4. Ask for the right thing
A new FOB comes with two Signal Grenades, which mark your location on the map to request supplies. The M18 Signal Grenade: Supply Request gives green smoke and a Supply Request marker. The M18 Signal Grenade: Landing Zone gives purple smoke for helicopters.
Smoke only says "come here". Use team chat to relay the exact supplies you need. "Fuel" and "Build" are very different loads, and a truck of the wrong one wastes everyone's time.
Quick diagnosis
| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Piece will not place or finish | Not enough Build Supplies, or the wrong hammer | Check the counter and the hammer tier |
| Mortar, Talon or CIWS is dry | Ammo Supplies low | Deliver Ammo Supplies, not rifle ammo |
| Vehicles are not refuelled | No Refuel Station, or Fuel Supplies low | Build the station, then restock fuel |
| Vehicles are not repaired | No Repair Station, or Mechanical Supplies low | Build the station, then restock |
| Drill Rig will not run | Fuel below the activation minimum | See the Drill Rig section below |
Hammer tiers
Check the hammer before ordering another supply run. If an advanced structure is missing even though the FOB has resources, the hammer is the likely reason.
- Small Hammer: $100, no unlock. Small buildables only, at slow speed.
- Medium Hammer: unlocks at Support role level 3 for $25,000. Large and basic buildables.
- Large Hammer: unlocks at Support role level 8 for $75,000. Everything, at fast speed.
Some community guides report a new FOB arrives with a small and a medium hammer inside. If you are on your first base, open it before spending on a hammer you may already have.
Delivering supplies properly
The most common logistics mistake is leaving cargo beside the base. A pallet left on the ground does nothing. Supplies must be unloaded and transferred into the FOB's stockpile before they count.
Two checks, in order:
- Did the pallet land inside the FOB radius?
- Were the resources transferred into the FOB?
To deposit supplies, ammo or other FOB material from your own backpack, right-click it in your inventory while the console is open. After every delivery, watch the counter go up. If it did not, the delivery did not count.
Community data for Season 2 suggests a new FOB starts with 1,250 Build Supplies and 100 each of Ammo, Fuel and Mechanical Supplies. That is only enough for a few walls, so plan a delivery before you start building. Season 2 also added delivery streaks. Consecutive deliveries earn increasing rewards.
Drill Rigs need a fuel plan
The Drill Rig is the Hot Zone Magnet in the patch notes. Season 2 changed it considerably. Minimum fuel to activate rose from 1,500 to 2,000. Maximum uptime fell from 375 seconds to 300. Maximum fuel rose from 7,500 to 10,000. The cooldown after a rig spawns is also much longer, so a destroyed rig cannot be replaced straight away.
Do not build one until someone has agreed to run the fuel. Mortars and Talons also cost more to run. A Talon restock went from 50 to 200 supplies and a mortar restock from 75 to 150.
Defending your FOB
Enemy teams can hack and steal a FOB by standing at the console and following the prompt. Protect the console first, then the outer wall. Common failures include gates left open and four walls with nothing inside.
- Close every door and gate when you leave. Closing a friendly FOB door pays $75.
- Add an inner door or compartment so one breach does not expose the console.
- Remember that hammers can no longer breach doors or gates in Season 2, but the Halligan Bar can. Expect raiders to carry one.
The reward for raiding is real, which is why a well-stocked FOB attracts attention. Teammates near a hacked FOB now receive $1,000 and 250 XP, and the hacker still receives $2,500 and 250 XP. Destroying a FOB can pay up to $7,500 and 250 XP, depending on the supplies it holds. A heavily stocked base is both your best asset and the enemy's best target.
A simple first-FOB routine
- Agree the site with your squad.
- Place the FOB and check the radius on your map.
- Open the console and read the four counters.
- Build walls and a lockable entrance around the console before anything else.
- Add one specialist structure at a time, and only when its supply type has a delivery route.
- Throw a Supply Request signal and say in chat exactly what you need.
FOB building works best on squad nights, when one player drives the truck and another swings the hammer.