Bodycam Beginner Guide: First Matches After v0.8

Bodycam is still a PC-only Early Access shooter on Steam, and the v0.8 “Locked and Loaded” update from 2 September 2026 changed enough about how a first session works that old advice about menus, modes and unlocks no longer applies. This guide walks through what a new or returning player actually sees on day one: the tablet UI, the base weapon and Reissad Points loop, which modes are live right now, and the specific mistakes the patch notes let us name.

Bodycam is developed by Reissad Studio and remains an Early Access, PC-only multiplayer FPS on Steam under App ID 2406770; it originally entered Early Access on 7 June 2024, and v0.8 is the biggest update since then. The multiplayer runs peer-to-peer, meaning match quality depends directly on the connection between the players in your lobby, and matches are host-authoritative rather than running on dedicated servers. To soften the old failure mode where a host leaving mid-match could disconnect everyone, v0.8 added a Host Migration system: when the host disconnects, another player becomes the new host based on ping, and the game tries to restart from the latest known state. Host Migration doesn’t cover every case, though — it isn’t available once a match has already ended, so if the host leaves after the final kill, everyone gets dropped back to the Lobby instead.

The real-money shop for Operator Skins is currently switched off. Anything bought before v0.8 stays owned and was restored on first connect after the update, and the shop is planned to return later. Practically, that means nothing in your first session is behind a purchase — every weapon and attachment slot you see is unlocked with in-game currency, not a card payment.

Progression in v0.8 works around a single new currency. Players start with a base weapon and unlock additional weapons and attachments using Reissad Points (RP), earned by playing matches. Ranks and ELO, separately, are only gained by playing the competitive mode Wingman 2v2 — other modes don’t feed the rank ladder. Around 400 attachments exist across all weapons and categories, with eight named effects (ADS Speed, Switch Speed, Reload Speed, Horizontal Recoil, Vertical Recoil, Spread, Kick, Ammo Capacity); the full breakdown of compatibility and categories lives in the site’s Bodycam attachments guide, which is worth reading before you spend your first RP.

The entire UI was rebuilt around a new in-game tablet, which now holds the loadout screen, the settings screen, a social tab, the server browser and the scoreboard. If menu navigation feels awkward on a controller or you’d rather it not feel embedded in the game world, the tablet has a dual mode: you can switch the UI to full-screen mode in the settings at any time. Language support is disabled for now, so menus are English-only regardless of your system settings.

Bodybomb has been retired and replaced by Wingman 2v2, which is now the default competitive mode. The live mode list as of this update is Wingman 2v2, Versus, Hardpoint, Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch and Gun Game. Zombie Mode is temporarily disabled rather than removed — the studio plans to bring it back stronger for a future event with Halloween coming up. Oil Rig and Tumblewood aren’t part of v0.8 either; the studio says it has plans for both maps later.

For a first evening, Team Deathmatch or Deathmatch are the least likely to confuse you — the rules are the most familiar, and you’ll see the raised score limits from Patch #1 in effect straight away. Wingman is worth trying once you understand the caveats below, since it’s the only mode currently tied to ranks.

A full Party System is in development, but it wasn’t included in v0.8 because it isn’t stable enough yet — Patch #1 restated this the day after launch. Until it ships, the workaround the studio describes is the five steps below. One thing to know before you build a whole evening around it: since Patch #3 (8 September 2026) private lobbies earn 50 % of the standard RP rate — fine for a social session, slow as your main grind.

Patch #1 and Patch #4 reworked several settings and control systems, and a few are worth opening the tablet’s settings screen to look at before you queue, rather than assuming defaults: the full-screen UI toggle for the tablet (an accessibility option you can switch on any time), an individual player mute button for VOIP, a DLSS Multi Frame Generation setting, and a Film Grain setting all exist as of Patch #1. None of these come with a recommended value published by the studio — they’re options to check, not settings to copy from someone else.

Queuing Wingman expecting a duo or a fair matchup

Wingman is for now only available for solo queues, due to technical reasons — duo-queue isn’t enabled yet — and matchmaking is not skill-based yet, with rewards currently fixed rather than scaled to opponent skill. Don’t queue it assuming you’ll play alongside a friend, and don’t expect a “fair” match on skill alone yet.

Trying to join a match already in progress

Matches cannot be joined once they are in progress — in any mode, not just Wingman. Joining ongoing matches from the Server Browser is on the planned Party System list from Patch #1, not live.

Spending Reissad Points before checking the attachments guide

Attachments were added in the hundreds, with pricing and rarity introduced alongside them in v0.8, but exact RP costs per item aren’t printed in any patch note — they’re shown on the in-game tablet only, and Patch #3 only confirms a relative 25–30% price cut, not absolute numbers. Spending blind on the first few unlocks is easy to regret: the attachments guide linked above covers what the eight attachment effects actually do, and the Reissad Points guide covers where the currency comes from and what the unlock tiers cost.

Expecting Zombies, Bodybomb, or shop-bought power

Bodybomb no longer exists as a mode — Wingman replaced it. Zombie Mode is disabled, not gone, with a return planned around Halloween. And the shop being switched off means nothing purchasable currently affects gameplay; every weapon and attachment in your loadout comes from RP, not a card transaction.

There’s no shortcut mechanic to name here — RP comes from finishing matches, and Patch #2 (4 September 2026) set per-mode multipliers on top of the base rate: Gun Game +25%, Team Deathmatch +50%, Deathmatch +50%, Hardpoint +75%, Wingman +100%, Versus +100%. Private lobbies with friends pay 50% of the standard rate on top of whichever mode multiplier applies, so a private Wingman match still nets less RP than a public one at the same length.

What isn’t known is the base RP amount per match or per kill, so there is no verified per-hour figure for unlocking a full loadout — only the relative multipliers above. For a first evening, stay in Team Deathmatch or Deathmatch as recommended earlier; once the basics are comfortable, Wingman and Versus carry the highest published multiplier (+100%), and a private lobby with friends is the slower, social option rather than your main income. Patch #3’s earnings change and what it means for regular private-lobby players is covered in the site’s Patch #3 earnings breakdown.

A few things new players often go looking for simply aren’t in the official notes through Patch #4: exact RP earned per match or per mode, per-item attachment unlock prices, the Wingman rank ladder and its ELO thresholds, and round timers for any mode. The studio has said it’s still gathering feedback on progression speed and fixing inconsistencies in how points are awarded, which suggests these numbers are still moving.

Sources and Confidence

Each claim below is tied to the post and the game version it describes (v0.8, patches #1–#4).