§ 07Weapons & Gear
Armour & Helmets
Armour classes II to VI, who sells what, how hit zones work, and why the helmet is the item that keeps you conscious.
Armour is rated in classes from II (weakest) to VI (strongest), as in Tarkov: a higher class lets less damage through. Shots to Kill writes the classes as 2 to 6. Up to 45 kg you feel no weight at all, so a full loadout of plates, helmet, rig and two guns is wearable; past that, sprinting, jumping and climbing tire you a little faster. Weight.
Buying armour#
Armour is sold at Tarkov's own trader prices, plates included in a vest's price, so the dearer piece is the better one. The trade screen's deal panel shows a piece's armour class, what it stops and its durability before you buy.
- Ragman sells Tarkov's Ragman list: rigs, packs, helmets, headsets and the PACA, Kirasa and 6B23 vests. He sells no clothing. The higher classes sit on the higher loyalty levels. Levels & Loyalty.
- The THOR (class VI) is sold in black at the Lightkeeper. The Gen4 (class V) in black and the JPC in Ranger Green are at Fence. Traders sell the base colour only.
- Prapor, Peacekeeper, Fence, Ref and the Lightkeeper carry armour too, and some of the best pieces come by barter.
Where the hits go#
Hit zones are Tarkov's: the chest is always the best target, and your vest protects your arms and legs as well as your chest. Wearing a plate carrier changes what a limb shot does to you, not just a torso shot.
Bullets versus blackouts#
Two separate things happen when you're hit. Damage is what the class stops. Shock is what knocks you out, and it is handled differently:
- A vest cuts most of the shock of a body hit, so knockouts come mostly from head hits.
- The head takes several times the shock of the body. The helmet is the anti-concussion item.
- Cheap, low-penetration rounds carry the most shock; armour-piercing rounds the least. The round that can't get through your plate is the one most likely to put you down if it finds your head.
- Stims — Propital, Adrenaline, Morphine, Trimadol, Vaseline, L1, Gold Star — make you immune to blacking out while they last.
Medical and getting knocked out has the whole model; Ammunition has the other half of it, and Shots to Kill turns both into a number for every round against every class.
What isn't armour#
Masks, caps and clothing that stop no bullets stop no shock either. If the deal panel shows no armour class, it is clothing.