Welcome to Tarkov. Forget everything you know about health bars from other games. The most important concept in EFT is that you do not have one health bar. You have a body.

Your "total health" of 440 HP is a lie. It is not a single pool you draw from; it is a series of 7 small, fragile buckets. Understanding this is the difference between surviving a fight and dying without knowing why.


Your body is divided into 7 distinct zones. Each has its own HP pool, and each must be healed separately. If your arm and your leg are both at 50% health, you must heal them one by one.

• Head : 35 HP
  
• Thorax : 85 HP
  
• Stomach : 70 HP
  
• Left Arm : 60 HP
  
• Right Arm : 60 HP
  
• Left Leg : 65 HP
  
• Right Leg : 65 HP

Key Concept : Healing your "Thorax" with a healing item does not heal your "Arm." You must apply the healing item to each damaged part (either manually by dragging, or by using the hotkey which auto-targets the most damaged part).



This is the fundamental rule of Tarkov.
If your Head or Thorax HP is reduced to 0, you are dead.
(Note that bleeding into the destroyed state and health reduction from stimulants does not result in instant death, but any further damage will.)

It does not matter if your other 5 limbs are at full health. It does not matter if you have 405/440 total HP. If a single bullet deals 85 damage to your Thorax, your raid is over.
This is called "zeroing" a critical part. There is no recovery. There is no "downed" state.

Crucial Head Mechanic : The Head is internally subdivided into zones (Eyes, Jaws, Nape, etc.). Most helmets do not cover the "Face" hitbox. A single, un-slowed pistol bullet to your unprotected face will deal more than 35 damage and kill you instantly.


Why did you die so fast ? It's not always simple. Damage in Tarkov is complex.
Direct Damage : Simple. A 50-damage bullet hits your 60-HP arm. Your arm now has 10 HP.

Damage Overflow (The Introduction to "Black Out") :
What happens if your 60-HP arm is hit by a 70-damage bullet ?
The arm is reduced to 0 HP and becomes "Blacked Out."
The 10 "excess" damage points (the "overflow") are not lost. That overflow damage is multiplied and then distributed across all other healthy body parts.

Damage to a Blacked Limb :
This is what has changed and is critical to understand. What happens if you are shot again in a limb that is already blacked out?
The entire damage of that new shot is multiplied by a specific value, and then that new, modified damage is divided across all your other healthy body parts.

Crucially, these multipliers have been significantly reduced (nerfed) from what they used to be.
Here are the current damage multipliers for a shot to an already blacked-out limb :

• Shot to Blacked Arm: Damage x 0.49
  
• Shot to Blacked Leg: Damage x 0.7
  
• Shot to Blacked Stomach: Damage x 1.05

When you take damage, you don't just lose HP. Your body suffers from specific ailments called status effects. Ignoring these is a faster death sentence than the bullet that caused them. Each has a unique icon, a unique effect, and a specific cure.

Icon : Two red blood drops.
What it is : A minor artery or vein has been hit.

Mechanical Effect :
1.36 HP lost in each non-destroyed body part every 6 seconds until treated. Drains 5 energy per minute. Leads to death when total HP pool reaches 0

You can have multiple light bleeds on different limbs.

Threat Level :
Low (but persistent). You will not die from this in 30 seconds, but over the course of a 5-minute fight or a long run to extract, it will drain your health significantly and require healing.

How to Fix :
Aseptic Bandage (1-use)
Army Bandage (2-use)
AFAK (400 HP)
IFAK (300 HP)
Salewa (400 HP)
Car Medkit (220 HP)
Grizzly (1800 HP)

Icon : A major artery severed.
What it is : A major artery has been severed. This is an immediate crisis.

Mechanical Effect :
1.53 HP lost in each non-destroyed body part every 4 seconds until treated. Drains 6 energy per minute. Leaves a trail of blood splatters. Becomes a Fresh Wound when treated. Leads to death when total HP pool reaches 0

Threat Level : CRITICAL. This is your #1 priority to fix, even before healing HP. You must stop a heavy bleed immediately.

How to Fix :
Esmarch Tourniquet (1-use)
CAT Tourniquet (1-use)
CALOK-B Hemostatic applicator (3-use)
AFAK (400 HP), requires 170 HP from the medkit to heal a heavy bleed
IFAK (300 HP), requires 210 HP from the medkit to heal a heavy bleed
Salewa (400 HP), requires 175 HP from the medkit to heal a heavy bleed
Grizzly (1800 HP), requires 130 HP from the medkit to heal a heavy bleed

Icon : A white broken bone.
What it is : A bone in an arm or leg has been broken.

Mechanical Effect :
Leg Fracture : You cannot sprint. You will limp, making a loud "clomp-clomp" sound that is easily heard by enemies.
Arm Fracture : Your aim sways dramatically (like you're drunk), and all weapon handling (reloading, aiming, switching) is significantly slower.
A fracture always causes the Pain status effect.

Threat Level : High (Tactical). A fracture will not kill you directly, but it will get you killed. You cannot run, and you cannot fight effectively.

How to Fix :
Splint (1-use)
Alu Splint (3-use)
Grizzly (1800 HP) requires 50 HP from the medkit to heal a fracture
NOTE : Painkillers will mask the pain, allowing you to sprint on a broken leg (at a cost, see Section 7), but it does not fix the bone.

Icon : A muscle pain
What it is : The body's response to severe trauma. It is always applied when you suffer a Fracture or a Blacked Out limb.

Mechanical Effect :
Pulsating screen blurring progressively around the edges

Threat Level : Moderate (Tactical). Like a fracture, you cannot fight effectively while in pain.

How to Fix :
Analgin (4-use)
Augmentin (1-use)
Ibuprofen (8-use)
Golden Star (5-use)
Vaseline (3-use)
NOTE : This only masks the effect for a limited time. It does not fix the source of the pain (the fracture or blacked limb).

Icon : A grey "dizzy" swirl
What it is : A temporary concussion, usually from a grenade explosion near you or a bullet deflecting off your helmet.

Mechanical Effect :
Your sound is heavily muffled and replaced by a high-pitched ringing.
Your vision may slightly sway.
Lasts for 30-60 seconds.

Threat Level : Moderate (Tactical). This is extremely disorienting. You are temporarily deaf, making it impossible to hear enemy footsteps.

How to Fix :
Ibuprofen (8-use)
Grizzly (1800 HP)

Icon : A red square with bandages on top.
What it is : This status appears immediately after you stop a Heavy Bleed using a tourniquet (CAT/Esmarch) or a standard kit. The bleeding has stopped, but the wound is fragile.

Mechanical Effect :
Replaces Heavy Bleed after being bandaged. However, it will revert into a Heavy Bleed if the affected body part takes major damage, such as a bullet. Also, sprinting and jumping may cause Light Bleed. The duration is 480 seconds or until it starts bleeding again

Threat Level : Moderate (Tactical). It forces you to play slow. If you panic-sprint to cover after healing, you will likely start bleeding again.

How to Fix :
You must simply wait until the icon disappears.

Icon : A green drop of poison with a skull
What it is : You have been stabbed by a Cultist (special AI enemy that spawns at night) or walked on infected barbed wire (in the Labyrinth)

Mechanical Effect :
Deals gradual damage over time (140 HP/minute and causes pain).

Threat Level : CRITICAL. If you do not have the specific antidote, you will die, even if you heal through it for a while.

How to Fix :
xTG-12 Antidote (Injector)
Perfotoran (Injector)

Icon : A lightning bolt symbol

What it is : Caused 30 seconds after your Energy reaches 0

Mechanical Effect :
You lose 1 Health Point per functioning body part every 5 seconds. Leads to death on the next damage tick after reaching 0 HP on the head or thorax. Causes Tunnel vision.

Threat Level : Low. It won't kill you directly, but it makes you sluggish in a fight.

How to Fix :
Let your Energy replenish.

Icon : A drop of water on cracked ground

What it is : Your Hydration has hit 0.

Mechanical Effect :
You lose 1 Health Point per functioning body part every 15 seconds. Damage from this status effect causes Pain. Leads to death on the next damage tick after reaching 0 HP on the head or thorax. Grants Hands tremor effect.

Threat Level : Low. It won't kill you directly, but it makes you sluggish in a fight.

How to Fix :
Let your Hydration replenish.

Stats are everything. A good loadout is about efficiency : minimizing the time you spend healing and maximizing the HP you recover.


The "Heavy Bleed Trap" : Most medkits can stop a heavy bleed, but they consume a massive amount of durability to do so.

Example : A Salewa uses 175 HP points to stop one Heavy Bleed. That is nearly half the kit gone in one second. Never rely on medkits for Heavy Bleeds unless it is an emergency.

Because medkits are inefficient at stopping heavy bleeds and cannot fix fractures efficiently, you must carry these specific tools.

Heavy Bleed Stop :
Esmarch: (1 use, 1 slot). Time: 4 sec. Cheap but slow.
CAT: (1 use, 1 slot). Time: 3 sec. Faster than Esmarch.
Calok-B: (3 uses, 1 slot). Time: 3 sec.

The Pro Choice :
The Calok-B is the king. It fits in 1 slot, is fast, and has 3 charges. Always upgrade to this when you can.

Fracture Fix :
Splint: (1 use, 1 slots). Terrible. Do not use.
Alu Splint: (3 uses, 1 slot).

The Pro Choice :
The Alu Splint is non-negotiable.

Painkillers allow you to ignore the "Pain" effect (blurry vision) and run on broken/blacked legs. However, they deplete your Hydration and Energy.

The Pro Choice :
Vaseline or Ibuprofen are the best balanced. They last a long time without completely draining your energy.
Golden Star lasts the longest but has a very long opening animation (you cannot shoot while opening it) and drains a lot of energy.

These repair "Blacked Out" limbs. Without these, a blacked leg means you are limping to the exit.

Surv12 is objectively better if you have the space (e.g., in a Gamma container). It keeps your limb healthy enough to take another bullet. You can also put surgical kits in your special slots.
CMS is for when you are tight on space. A CMS-repaired limb usually has so little HP left that a single shot will black it out again immediately.

Understanding this mechanic is what separates "Timmys" from "Chads."

A limb becomes "Blacked Out" (or "Destroyed") when its HP pool reaches 0/60 (Arms) or 0/65 (Legs) or 0/70 (Stomach).

Visual Indicator : The body part turns Dark Red/Black in the Health UI.
Healing Constraint : Standard medkits (Salewa/Grizzly) CANNOT heal a blacked limb. The HP is locked at 0.

Aside from the HP loss, the limb ceases to function correctly:

Blacked Leg :

Movement : You cannot sprint. Movement speed is reduced by ~40%.
Noise : You emit loud gasps of pain and your footsteps become irregular "clomps" (highly audible).
Jumping : Jumping deals damage to the rest of your body.

Blacked Arm :

Aim : Stamina drains rapidly when holding breath (ADS).
Handling : Weapon sway increases massively. Search speed and reload speed are reduced.

Blacked Stomach :

Metabolism : Energy and Hydration drain rapidly. You will starve/dehydrate in ~10-15 minutes.
Audio : Your character coughs/gasps loudly due to dehydration pain eventually.

This is the math behind why people shoot at legs. If you are shot in a limb that is already blacked out, the damage doesn't disappear. It is multiplied and distributed to your remaining healthy parts (Head, Thorax, etc.).

The Formula :

Incoming Bullet Damage × Limb Multiplier = Damage Spread to Remaining Body

Current Multipliers :

Arms : 0.49x (Damage is halved. Arms act as armor.)
Legs : 0.7x (Damage is reduced by 30%.)
Stomach : 1.05x (Damage is slightly amplified.)

Tactical Implication :

Arms are Shields : Because of the 0.49x multiplier, blocking shots with your arms saves your life. It takes roughly twice as many bullets to kill you via arm shots compared to chest shots.
Stomach is a Weak Point : Because the multiplier is >1.0, getting shot in a blacked stomach kills you faster than getting shot in a blacked leg. Wear armor that protects your stomach.

To restore functionality to a blacked limb, you must perform Field Surgery.

The "Maximum HP" Penalty : Destroyed parts that are restored with a surgical kit only have 25% to 45% (CMS) or 60 to 72% (Surv12) of their max HP for the duration of the raid unless surgery is performed again on that body part, lowering it further.


The "1 HP" Rule : Surgery only removes the "Blacked" status. It leaves the limb at exactly 1 HP. You must follow up immediately with a Medkit to fill the bar.
No Head/Thorax Surgery : You cannot perform surgery on a Head or Thorax. If these reach 0, you are dead (unless they bleed out). Surgery is only for Arms, Legs, and Stomach.
Animation Lock : You cannot shoot or walk while performing surgery. You are helpless for 16-20 seconds. Cancel the animation by clicking Left Mouse Button (LMB), but this takes ~3-5 seconds to register.

In Tarkov, you do not heal to get "healthy." You heal to stay in the fight. If you try to heal yourself to 100% in the middle of a gunfight, you will die.

NEVER start an animation in the open.

• Healing animations restrict your movement (you cannot sprint).
  
• They make noise (zipping bags, popping pills).
  
• They prevent you from shooting. If you are shot, your first action is Movement, not Healing. Sprint to hard cover (concrete/metal), then assess.

Most players panic and spam their Medkit hotkey (e.g., pressing '4'). The Problem: Hotkey healing automatically targets the body part with the most damage, not the most critical part.

Scenario : Your Leg has a Light Bleed and is at 10/65 HP. Your Thorax is at 30/85 HP.
Hotkey Result : The game heals your Leg because it has lost more total HP.
Result : You get shot in the chest and die because you healed your leg.
The Solution : Open Inventory (Tab) and DRAG the medkit onto your Thorax.

This guarantees your vital organ gets the HP. It is faster to survive than to rely on the auto-heal logic.

You started using a Salewa, but you hear the enemy pushing you. You need your gun now.

Action : Click Left Mouse Button (LMB) or Right Mouse Button (RMB) frantically.
Result : Your character will stop the healing animation and pull their weapon back up.
Warning : This is not instant. There is a "putting away" animation that takes ~1-2 seconds. You must anticipate the push.

Don't fumble in your inventory. Muscle memory wins fights. Keep this setup consistent every raid.

Example :

Pockets/Rig Slot 1 (Press 4) : Heavy Bleed Stop (CAT/Esmarch).
Reason : Heavy bleeds are the #1 urgency.

Pockets/Rig Slot 2 (Press 5) : Main Medkit (Salewa/AFAK).
Reason : Standard healing.

Pockets/Rig Slot 3 (Press 6) : Painkillers (Injector or Pills).
Reason : Immediate mobility.

Pockets/Rig Slot 4 (Press 7) : Splint (Alu Splint).
Reason : Lowest combat priority.

Secure Container / Special Slots : Surgery Kits