Welcome, future PMC, to the brutal world of Escape from Tarkov. This isn't your average shooter. It's a high-stakes, hardcore survival game where every decision—from the gear you bring to the footsteps you make—can mean the difference between a triumphant extraction and a heartbreaking, permanent death. The learning curve is a vertical wall, but with the right knowledge and a healthy dose of patience, you can navigate the treacherous streets of Tarkov and build a formidable stash. This guide will walk you through the essential "how-to" steps, from your very first raid to advanced tactics that will make you a force to be reckoned with.

How to Understand the Core Mechanics

Escape from Tarkov is built on a foundation of realism, and understanding these core mechanics is your first step to survival. Unlike other games, a single, well-placed shot can end your raid instantly, and your health isn't a simple bar that regenerates.

• Health and Damage: Your body is divided into several zones: Head, Thorax, Stomach, and two Arms and Legs. Damage to a limb can cause status effects like bleeding, fractures, or a "blacked out" state where the limb has zero health. A blacked-out leg will severely slow you down, while a blacked-out arm will ruin your aim. A single bullet to a blacked-out limb will transfer damage to your other health zones, and a head or thorax hit with enough damage will kill you instantly.
• Ammunition and Armor: This is perhaps the most critical mechanic to master. A weapon is only as good as the ammo it fires. Armor is divided into six classes, and each bullet has a penetration value. A high-penetration round will slice through high-tier armor, while a low-penetration round will be stopped easily but can do massive "flesh" damage to unarmored targets. Always check ammo charts and prioritize using the best rounds your traders can provide. It's often better to have a cheap weapon with good ammo than a top-tier gun with bad ammo.
• The Economy and the Flea Market: Everything in Tarkov has a value. You gain money (roubles, dollars, euros) by selling loot to traders or on the player-driven Flea Market. The Flea Market unlocks at a certain level and is your primary tool for buying and selling gear, and it's essential for both making money and acquiring the items you need to progress. The market fluctuates, so learning what items are valuable at different times in a wipe is key to making a profit.

How to Gear Up for Your First Raid

Before you even step foot into a raid, you need to prepare. What you bring with you is your lifeline. A well-prepared player is much more likely to survive.

• The Basics: Always, always, always bring a rig and a backpack. You need them to carry loot. A simple rig like the Scav Vest and a small backpack will do for your first few runs.
• Weapons and Ammo: For your first raid, don't risk your best gear. Use a basic weapon like a Vepr-136 or an SKS with some reliable ammo like 7.62x39 PS. You can also use a weapon you got from a successful Scav run. Make sure your magazines are full and you have a few extra in your rig.
• Medical Supplies: This is non-negotiable. At a minimum, bring a small medical kit like a Salewa or IFAK, a bandage for bleeds, and a painkiller. Painkillers are a lifesaver, as they temporarily remove the negative effects of a blacked-out limb, allowing you to run to safety. Don't forget to put these items on your quick-use bar for easy access.

How to Master Your First Scav Run

The Scavenger (Scav) is your best friend in Tarkov's early game. Playing as a Scav allows you to enter a raid with a random set of gear, without risking your own PMC's inventory.

• Scav Run Strategy: Your goal on a Scav run is simple: find loot and extract. You spawn with a random weapon, rig, and other gear, and other AI Scavs will not attack you unless you shoot them first. This means you can often move freely through areas that would be deadly as a PMC.
• Patience is Key: Don't rush. Your Scav run is for learning, not for glory. Listen for gunshots and look for dead PMCs. Often, you can find a fully kitted player's body that a more experienced player couldn't loot, giving you a massive score with no risk.
• The Cool-down: A Scav run has a cooldown timer. Use it to your advantage. Between PMC raids, you can do a quick Scav run to top up your gear and money without any financial risk.

How to Learn the Maps and Loot Spawns

You can't survive if you don't know where you are or where you're going. Tarkov's maps are complex and unforgiving, with no in-game mini-map.

• Use Third-Party Maps: This is the most crucial tip for any new player. Use an online map resource like Map Genie to study the layouts, extraction points, and high-value loot spawns. You should always have a map open on a second monitor or your phone before you load into a raid.
• Learn a Specific Route: Instead of wandering aimlessly, pick a map and a specific loot run. For example, on Customs, you can run from one end of the map to the other, hitting a few key loot spots like Dorms or the Gas Station. This gives you a clear objective and a path to follow.
• Know Your Extractions: Not all extraction points are open every raid. Your available extracts are shown at the top right of your screen, and some may have specific requirements like a key, a certain item, or a monetary cost. Always double-check your extracts before you get too deep into the raid.

How to Master Sound and Movement

Sound is everything in Tarkov. It's how you locate enemies and how they locate you. Mastering your own sound signature and listening for others is a skill that will save your life.

• Listen Closely: Get a good pair of headphones. The game's sound design is excellent, and you can pinpoint the location of other players by listening to their footsteps, weapon sounds, and the crunch of glass under their feet.
• The Movement Speed Scroll Wheel: Use your mouse wheel to adjust your movement speed. This is a game-changer. Slow walking is almost silent and is essential for moving through tight areas or approaching a potential ambush.
• Sprinting is for Survival: Sprinting makes a lot of noise. You should only do it when you are in a safe, open area or when you're making a tactical retreat from a losing fight. Never sprint around corners or down hallways in a building.

How to Win a Gunfight

Tarkov's combat is fast, lethal, and unforgiving. Unlike other shooters, you can't just run and gun and expect to win.

• Ammo is King: As mentioned, your ammunition is more important than your gun. If you are going into a PvP-heavy area, bring high-penetration rounds.
• Master the Leg Meta: If you're using low-penetration ammo or fighting a high-tier opponent, aim for their legs. The legs have no armor and can't be blacked out, but they will still take damage. Shooting a player in the legs will also cause a fracture, making them an easy target.
• Learn to Push and Retreat: Knowing when to engage and when to back off is crucial. If you hear a player healing, it's often a good time to push them. If you take a lot of damage and don't think you can win, retreat, heal up, and reposition. Surviving and bringing back loot is always better than getting a kill and dying in the process.

How to Use the Hideout for Profit

Your Hideout is a personal base that you can upgrade over time to get passive bonuses and craft valuable items. It's a key part of the mid-to-late game economy.

• The Generator: Your first priority should be to get your Generator running. This powers most of the other stations and is essential for crafting.
• Crafting for Quests: The Hideout is invaluable for crafting items you need for quests. Many quest items are rare and difficult to find in-raid, but you can craft them in your Hideout with readily available materials.
• Making Money with Crafting: As you level up your Hideout, you'll unlock more profitable crafting recipes. A great early-game money-maker is crafting simple medical items and selling them on the Flea Market. In the late game, crafting items like Moonshine or Bitcoin can provide a steady passive income.

How to Effectively Manage Your Inventory

Your stash is your home base, and it will fill up quickly. Managing it effectively is key to ensuring you always have room for loot.

• Containers are Your Best Friend: Invest in item cases, ammo cases, and other specialized containers. These allow you to store a large number of items in a small space, making your stash much more organized and efficient.
• Sell What You Don't Use: Be ruthless. If you haven't used a piece of gear in a while or a weapon is too damaged to sell on the Flea Market, sell it to a trader. Don't hoard low-value items.
• Insure Your Gear: Insurance is a system that allows you to get your gear back if you die in a raid, provided no other player loots it. It's a safety net that can save you a lot of money and is worth the price on valuable items.

How to Complete Quests and Level Up

Quests are the primary way to level up your character and traders. They provide massive XP, money, and unlock new items for purchase.

• Prioritize Quests: Don't just focus on looting. After a few successful Scav runs, start focusing on the quests from the traders. These will guide you through the maps and give you a sense of purpose.
• Trader Loyalty: Completing quests and selling items to a specific trader will increase your loyalty with them. As your loyalty level increases, they will offer better gear, better prices, and more advanced quests.
• Quest-Specific Knowledge: Some quests require you to find and extract with a specific item or kill a certain number of players in a specific location. Use the online maps and community guides to get the knowledge you need to complete these tasks efficiently.

How to Master PvP and Advanced Tactics

Once you've got the basics down, it's time to start thinking about fighting other players. This is where Tarkov truly shines.

• Know When to Engage: Not every fight is worth taking. If you're a new player and you hear a heavily armored player approaching, sometimes the best course of action is to hide and let them pass.
• Pre-firing and Angles: Use your knowledge of the map and common player routes to your advantage. Pre-fire a corner if you suspect an enemy is there. Use "right-hand peeks" to expose less of your body to the enemy.
• Practice, Practice, Practice: The best way to get better at PvP is to do it. Don't be afraid to take a cheap kit into a high-traffic area like Factory and just fight. You'll die a lot, but you'll learn a lot more from these failures than from successful loot runs.

Escape from Tarkov is a demanding game, but it's also one of the most rewarding. By understanding the core mechanics, learning the maps, and being smart about your gear and tactics, you can overcome the brutal learning curve. Be patient, learn from your mistakes, and you'll find yourself not just surviving, but dominating.