Escape From Tarkov is known far and wide as being one of the most hardcore PvPvE experiences in PC gaming. It's an attractive, punishing, and complex first-person survival shooter set in the war-torn, fictional region of Norvinsk, home to the city of Tarkov. At the heart of Escape From Tarkov is an intense, sometimes complicated weapons platform, fusing expansive builds with remarkably realistic ballistics and physics.

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Once every six months or so, Escape From Tarkov will 'wipe', which essentially means that the developer, Battlestate Games, resets everybody's progress. Every player flies back down to level one, and they're left scrabbling in the dust, making use of whatever they can find, steal, or after a few 'raids', buy. However, there are a few key weapons that players can use at the start of every wipe that tends to remain an eternal constant.

10 OP-SKS

OP-SKS in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Unlocking Jaeger (33k rubles) or finding it in-game

There are few weapons more powerful than the OP-SKS early-wipe in Tarkov. It's a super stable, remarkably reliable (and vintage) weapon that fires a 7.62x39mm cartridge, a fantastic round for taking down other players very early on. There's another version, the SKS, which can be bought from the trader known as Prapor, but the only real difference is that the SKS boasts a longer sighting range.

By contrast, the OP-SKS feels nicer for close-range combat, and it can be equipped with a wider range of optics earlier on. There's also a trade-off in the fact that the OP-SKS is around 13k rubles more expensive than the standard SKS. If you want maximum gains early on, pair the weapon with PS ammunition.

9 M4A1

M4A1 in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Edge of Darkness (USEC), Peacekeeper (barter), or finding it in-game

If you're an Edge of Darkness player, and you pick USEC as your faction, you'll be given the M4A1 and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. While that alone makes it a fantastic starter weapon early-wipe in Tarkov, it's also a brilliant weapon if you manage to pick it up from a defeated enemy in-raid.

By the 'end of the wipe', players will still be using the M4A1, but the builds will be far more advanced. However, as an early-wipe weapon in Tarkov, the M4A1 remains a stable weapons platform at close to mid-range, and if you can secure a nice optic and a suppressor, you can tap away at enemies all day long. At the start of the wipe, a single headshot from this weapon will reliably take down any enemy, and the ammunition is cheap in this gritty, war-torn world.

8 Mosin

Selection of Mosins in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Prapor (barter, 35k rubles) or finding it in-game

If there's a weapon more iconic than the Mosin, we don't know what it is. It's a staple rifle in almost any WWII-themed shooter, and it boasts pride of place on the modern-day battlefields of Escape From Tarkov. It's a classic bolt-action rifle with extreme stopping power, utilizing a PMC-dropping 7.62x54mm round - if you can get LPS rounds, you'll be in business on even the toughest maps.

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In the earlier days of the wipe, you'll be able to one-tap almost any enemy, provided you hit them in the upper body (thorax) or the head. It'll penetrate almost any armor that players will be wearing in the first few days of the wipe, and for several weeks afterwards. It's a budget weapon that has almost no attachment requirements outside an optic and maybe a suppressor, and you'll not be losing much if you die and drop the weapon.

7 UMP 45

UMP in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Peacekeeper (barter) or Mechanic (barter), unlikely to find it in-game

Now we're cooking with fire - the UMP 45 is a formidable weapon all the way through the wipe, and at the start of the wipe, it will simply dominate. It's a legendary weapons platform that fires a chunky .45 cartridge which destroys limbs without any hesitation.

There are two ways to unlock the UMP 45 at the start of the wipe, and both require a little legwork, but they're equally worthwhile. If you're running the UMP 45, you'll be a demon at close range, and you'll be able to charge down many a PMC and scav enemy knowing full well that you'll be outgunning them. Be careful, though - at $2 a round, the .45 Match FMJ round that is available from day one can get a little pricey.

6 VPO-209

VPO-209 in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Unlocking Jaeger (32k rubles), Mechanic (barter), or finding it in-game

If there was an AK-style, semi-auto rifle that could drop enemies with a single shot, would you run it early-wipe in Tarkov? There's no doubt about it, and the VPO-209 platform is exactly that. This is a rifle that might look old and rusty on the surface, but it fires the .366 cartridge, a massively powerful blunt-force round that destroys enemies, provided they're not wearing the best armor.

There are drawbacks to this weapon - it's semi-auto only, and it boasts remarkably high recoil that won't be dampened early-wipe by any attachments. Later on, it's a formidable weapon, but if you're using it in the first few days, you'll need to rely on accurate taps to land your shots on target.

5 MP-153

MP-153 in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Unlocking Jaeger (barter) or finding it in-game

Let's talk close-range weaponry by introducing the MP-153, a semi-auto shotgun that'll send PMCs scattering. This is an affordable weapon that can be found all over the world of Escape From Tarkov, and it fires a wide range of shells. If you're looking for something to run into Factory with, you won't find many weapons more effective than the MP-153.

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Later on, you'll graduate up to the MP-155, along with a range of 'Ultima' attachments, but for now, the MP-153 is a fantastic weapon. If you're looking for a shotgun early-wipe, it's between this and the double-barrelled shotgun, but the MP-155's semi-auto fire pattern edges it in the competition.

4 AKM

AKM in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Prapor (barter) or finding it in-game

Once you've got familiar with the AKM weapons platform, you'll likely use it for the rest of the wipe. It's a versatile platform that can be rebuilt in numerous ways, but at the start of the wipe, it's one of the best full-auto 7.62x39mm rifles you'll find or buy. If you're pairing it with PS, or more ideally, BP, you'll be breaking down even the toughest PMCs with little to no effort and getting out alive.

This rifle has an effective distance of 400 meters, meaning it can take down enemies way across the map when paired with a nice optic. It has a high base recoil, but that can be negated quite rapidly with the assistance of a few attachments. It's not a very common weapon to be found on scav enemies, so you'll need to rely on picking it up from other players or from weapons crates.

3 AKS-74

AKS-74 in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Prapor (24k rubles or barter) or finding it in-game

There are multiple reasons to run the AKS-74 weapons platform early-wipe in Escape From Tarkov. Firstly, it's a cheap, readily available weapon that fires a semi-decent round that is also readily available. Furthermore, there's a pesky task that every player must accomplish early on, and that's to kill scavs using just this weapon - it's a brutal quest.

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As a smaller, faster weapon, the AKS-74 system fires a smaller round, the 5.45x39mm cartridge. However, you'll find these rounds all over the map, and they're commonly collected from the many scav enemies you'll likely kill while in-raid. As PMCs start wearing tougher armor, this weapon becomes less viable, but it's a perfect platform to use early-wipe in Tarkov.

2 VPO-215

VPO-215 in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Unlocking Jaeger (18k rubles) or finding it in-game

Let's say you're a marksman, and you want to use a bolt-action rifle but don't want to spend a lot of money. There are few better options early-wipe than the VPO-215 'Gornostay' rifle, which fires a .366 cartridge, much like the VPO-209. It's easy to see why this weapon is so affordable, but it's a bundle of fun that won't break the bank if you lose it in-raid while searching for high-value loot.

In order to run the VPO-215, you need nothing more than a few thousand rubles - it can accommodate a suppressor and an optic, but that's about it. If you're an accurate shot, you'll need to tap enemies in the upper thorax or the face in order to land a one-hit kill, but even a limb shot can cripple an enemy entirely. If you can't find AP-M ammo, use EKO as a close alternative.

1 PP-91

PP-91 in Tarkov

Obtainable by:

  • Prapor (21k rubles) or finding it in-game

It's something of a joke weapon, but the PP-91 'Kedr' is what's known as 'leg meta', and users of this particular weapon blitz other players in the legs. It's a fine tactic that can produce epic, hilarious results, but outside that tactic, it is more or less useless. It fires a tiny cartridge - 9x18PM, and you'll need to empty an entire clip into a PMC to take them down.

With that being said, if you run this weapon on Factory and aim low, you'll clear the lobby out in a matter of minutes. It's a strange weapon that requires players to get up close and personal, but if you're able to lock down the tactic, you'll find yourself spraying enemies down every time. It also weighs just 1.5kg and can be carried as a cool secondary weapon for any build - practice with it offline first, though.

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