The game is set in the midst of a civil war between the government of Derbaran and the rebel organization National Independence Union. Players select between the two teams and engage in battles using 20th and 21st century military equipment, including a large assortment of infantry weapons and vehicles.
Upon entering a game, players choose from five character classes, consisting of heavy trooper, assault, medic, engineer and sniper,although they can switch classes at any point in the game. Players can also lease weapons from the armory using in-game currency.
War Rock games are divided into three modes of play: Close Quarters Combat, Urban Ops and Battle Group.These differ in the size of the map, the number of respawns permitted and the availability of vehicles, with CQC being focused on small-scale infantry missions and BG involving huge battlefields with large numbers of tanks, transports, helicopters and jet aircraft. Objectives in the different game modes include capturing and defending key positions on the map, planting explosives on enemy targets or accumulating point in a deathmatch-style game.