Armor

Tarkov Armor System

You can find and equip lots of different armor pieces in Escape from Tarkov. They come in three varieties: helmets, armored vests, and tactical rigs. They all serve different functions, and it’s usually a good idea to wear the right one for the job. Just like everything in the game, the armor system is highly detailed and requires some in-depth knowledge to make good decisions. Let us explain.

The most important stat is the armor class. Armor class ranges from 1 to 6, and it’s a simple indication of how well the armor protects you. Just like in real life, the job of the armor is to stop the bullet. The higher the armor class, the more different calibers and types of ammunition it will resist. A class 2 vest will get completely dumpstered by most rifle cartridges, especially the armor-piercing varieties. It will only help you against pistol rounds, buckshot, or hollow points. A class 6 vest, in turn, will stop most rounds, except the largest, most expensive ones. If you expect to run into PMCs with advanced gear, you’d better dress to impress.

All characters in EFT have distinct body parts: two arms, two legs, one head, one chest, and one stomach. Your head is divided into its own regions: top, nape, ears, eyes, and jaws. Put simply, you can wear the strongest helmet, but if someone shoots you in the face, say goodbye to your stuff. Same goes for your armored vest: some cover your arms, and some won’t even cover your stomach. You have to pay attention to what armor zones are listed in the item’s description. Your legs will always be unprotected, and people will exploit that. You can cover most of your armor zones for maximum safety, but the gear that does that usually comes with other drawbacks.

In addition to the armor zones, you should pay attention to the materials from which your gear is made. Every material has its own hidden destructibility stat. The higher the destructibility, the quicker the armor will break, leaving you unprotected. If you want to survive for longer, look for armor made from aramid, polyethylene, or combined materials. These materials also repair better, so your armor won’t lose max condition as much. Glass, ceramic, and steel will shatter a lot quicker, leaving you vulnerable in subsequent encounters. Titanium and aluminum are middle of the road materials. Considering how a lot of people use full-auto weapons, you’re bound to catch more than one bullet even from just one enemy. Take the destructibility of your armor into account when going on a raid, and you’ll increase your odds of survival.

There are still more things to consider. Usually, the better the armor, the heavier and bulkier it is. You won’t carry a lot of loot if you have to lug around 25 kilograms of protection. It will make you run and turn slower, your stamina will deplete faster, and you will make a lot more noise. Sometimes you need to get in and out quickly and quietly, and that’s when light armor is your friend. Some helmets will also muffle sounds from the outside and won’t allow you to equip a headset, so you won’t hear enemies coming. Selecting your armor is an involved task that requires preparation and knowledge, but it will pay off. You’ll still probably die a lot. This is Tarkov, after all.

EFT Tactical Rigs

Helmets and armored vests are pretty self-explanatory as armor goes, but tactical rigs are a bit different. Most of them are used for storage and quick access to mags and items. In fact, if you ever want to tap your reload key and have it function as expected, you must have a tactical rig with spare mags in it. You can assign items to hotkeys if you have them in your tactical rig slots, so you don’t have to open your inventory and navigate it to use them. You can also just carry stuff in them when you run out of room in your backpack. Some tactical rigs have large enough slots to fit an entire helmet or a gun.

Some tactical rigs serve a dual role. They will prevent you from equipping an armored vest, but they protect the same zones as a vest would. Those rigs follow the same rules as armor when it comes to material, class, and stat penalties. Therefore, the same caveats apply. Some armored tactical rigs offer great protection and have great capacity, while others sacrifice one or the other. As usual, it’s an exercise in measuring costs and benefits.

Best Armor in Tarkov

Which armor piece is the best in the game? Which indeed. Depending on your style and objective, many different factors will influence your choice. However, there are clearly armor sets with the best stats that we think will serve you very well.

• Crye Precision AVS MBAV (Tagilla Edition) is the best armored rig. It doesn’t have as many slots as its peers, but it offers your chest exceptional protection without impairing your movement too much. The biggest downside is that you will have to kill Tagilla for it, and that hammer-wielding maniac will not go quietly.
• LBT-6094A Slick Plate Carrier is the best plate carrier. It shares a lot with the Tagilla armored rig. It’s lightweight, has the highest armor class, but only protects your thorax. The upshot is that you can equip a tactical rig with as many slots as you need to carry a surgical kit for your stomach.
• 6B43 6A “Zabralo-Sh” is the best heavy armored vest. It protects your entire torso and your arms. The catch is that it weighs 20 kilograms and makes you move 35% slower. You won’t outrun a bullet, but not many bullets will be able to kill you.

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Tarkov Armor Comparison

If you would like to see other options and compare them yourself, feel free to browse the wiki. You will be able to consider all of the factors we discussed earlier and see which ones you like for yourself. There are also community resources that will compare and contrast these factors for you, such as this Tarkov Armor Effectiveness table. It’s a very useful resource that we use when we play.

Tarkov Flashlight on Helmet

Some helmets have slots for night-vision goggles and flashlights. The NVGs work as intended, but flashlights sometimes give people problems. There isn’t a key binding to do it, but here is a roundabout way how to turn on helmet flashlight. You can turn on the flashlight that is attached to your gun, and then drag the flashlight from your gun to your helmet. Similarly, you’ll have to put it back on the gun to turn it off. It’s unwieldy, but Tarkov is still in beta and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future. Just stick the flashlight to your gun.