Escape from Tarkov features a complex system of loadouts, and even a more complex system for health and healing. For beginners, this can be a little confusing! The realistic approach to all types of gameplay makes things a bit more difficult than just carrying a single medkit and shield. In this game, you need to plan ahead. You need to be prepared to deal with all sorts of problems, from blood loss to bone fractures. So which Escape from Tarkov healing items are worth taking?
To match the complexity of the rest of the game, the range of items available is pretty diverse. To add even more on to this, the in-game economy complicates things. Items are worth a different amount; each time you actually use one you have to pay for it. This makes certain items that heal fantastically a bit wasteful. Especially when you could just make do with sticking plasters on the problem. Building a proper loadout needs medical items, but not all of them are actually worth having for the price.
This guide covers the various Escape from Tarkov healing options open to players. This means assessing what it is that they do, but also how effective they are compared with other items when you consider their price.
Escape from Tarkov Healing Items
Each healing item has a different set of stats for it. Some of them have multiple uses or can be used to treat a variety of problems. However, each is different in a slight way, giving you the opportunity to use only a very specific healing item when needed.
Drugs and Painkillers
- Analgin Painkillers – These tablets have 4 uses and take 3 seconds to use each time. They remove pain and activate a painkiller effect for 175 seconds. They also deplete your hydration by 7 points.
- Augmentin Antibiotic Pills – These are a single-use painkiller that takes 5 seconds to use. They remove both pain and toxification and activate a painkiller effect for 205 seconds.
- Morphine Injector – This is the heavy stuff. It has only one use but only takes 2 seconds. It removes pain and confusion. It gives a painkiller effect for 385 seconds, adds 10 energy, but takes away 10 hydration.
- Ibuprofen Painkillers – This removes pain and confusion; it also grants the painkiller effect for 505 seconds but takes away 5 hydration. This has 12 uses! However, it does take 5 seconds to activate.
Painkillers are essential for building a balanced loadout. With a good set of painkillers, you should be able to reach an extraction point and finish off a game no matter what damage you take. This makes them a really important choice for Escape from Tarkov healing items. The Ibuprofen Painkillers definitely offer the best value here since they have a strong effect and contain so many uses. However, it is important to keep them safe since you get so many uses.
Injury Treatments
- Aseptic Bandage – This is single-use and takes two seconds to activate. It turns blood loss into a fresh wound.
- Army Bandage – This works the same as Aseptic but has two uses.
Injury treatments are really quite simple in the game. For the most part, there not entirely necessary. It is more cost-effective than using medkits whenever you suffer a great injury. However, numbing the pain with painkillers for minor ailments is another strategy. If you find yourself trying to stay in a game even after major injuries or don’t want to keep wasting medkits, then the two-use army bandages are the better choice.
Med Kits
- Car First Aid Kit – Removes Bloodloss, radiation, and toxification. It adds a Fresh Wound and Restores 70 HP.
- Salewa First Aid Kit – Adds and removes the same as the car medkit, but gives you 85 HP.
- IFAK Personal Tactical First Aid Kit – Turns Bloodloss into Fresh Wound and treats toxication and radiation. It also adds 50 health.
- Grizzly First Aid Kit – This treats Bloodloss, fractures, confusion, and pain. It adds a fresh wound and restores 175 HP.
Out of the medkits of the Escape from Tarkov healing items, the car kit is a good choice for general use. This offers the best balance between benefits and cost. Some of the other medkits don’t offer very much beyond this kit’s capabilities but cost quite a bit more. The Grizzly First Aid Kit is of course the best choice if you’ve got money to burn, but a combination of healing items is a better investment than an all in one kit if you’re being economical.
Splints
- Immobilising Splint – This removes a fracture, takes 5 seconds to apply, and only has one use.
- Alu Splint – This does the same as the other Escape from Tarkov healing splints, but it has 5 uses and takes 3 seconds to apply.
This is a pretty simple choice here. If you can keep your stuff safe then the Alu Splint is the better choice, but if you’re trying to minimise your losses then taking an Immobilizing splint doesn’t do much harm.
Other Injury Treatment
- Vaseline – Removes pain and gives painkiller effect for 500 seconds. Also takes 2 energy and 2 hydration away. It comes with 10 uses and takes 6 seconds to apply.
- Golden Star Balm – This removes confusion and pain. It also removes toxification and radiation for 10 minutes. It adds painkiller for ten minutes and improves hydration recovery and energy. It comes with 10 uses and takes 7 seconds to apply.
- CMS Kit – This takes 16 seconds to apply and comes with 5 uses, it removes an injured body part.
- Field Surgical Kit – This also removes a body part, this takes 16 seconds to apply and has 5 uses.
These items are completely optional. If you’re putting together the Cadillac of health kits, then the Golden Star Balm would come in handy. Otherwise though, you don’t entirely need any of these Escape from Tarkov healing items of these for a successful raid.
Escape from Tarkov Healing Loadouts
With all of these choices for healing items, it can be difficult to decide what to take in. For the most part, painkillers can deal with a lot of problems that can occur. In a worst case scenario, painkillers will buy you the time that you need to get out of a firefight and to an extraction point, or to find more first aid. It is important to keep a med kit with you though. These two items should be the basis of your healing loadout.
As far as the other healing goes, splints will definitely come in handy and you should try to carry some if you’re in a longer game. However, these aren’t quite as essential and players on a budget can cope without them.
Using the right healing items is an essential part of building a decent Escape from Tarkov loadout. However, your performance in the game comes down to more than just items. You also need to be looking at the settings you use for such a demanding game. Using the right settings can improve performance, or you could try out the settings of some Tarkov streamers!