How to Heal Blacked-Out Limbs in Escape From Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov is a relatively new battle royale-style game, probably one of the most realistic in the genre. Unlike most other battle royale games, however, the goal in Escape from Tartkov is getting to the extraction point, not eliminating the other teams. Although the game has been around for a few years now, new users are jumping into this MMO every day.

Most of them, however, are caught by surprise. Especially because this game doesn’t hold your hand – it lets you figure out its basics on your own.

After basking in the game’s straightforward movement and aesthetics, one question probably comes to the forefront:

This is a survival battle royale … so how do injuries and healing work?

The game is everything but forgiving.

Get shot in the leg, and you might just end up limping to the finish, which makes things harder and makes you easy pickings for other teams. There are ways to heal most body parts, though.

The Health System

Most games boast one of the few health system types available in FPS video games. Some have the auto-heal option that recovers your health while you aren’t under attack from an enemy player or NPC. Others feature a health bar that gets drained as you take damage. You fill this health bar through various health kits, medication, even food.

Escape from Tarkov takes the health system to a whole new level. It’s not a new principle, but it’s innovative for this type of game.

Here’s how it works:

Each of your avatar’s four limbs has its own health bar. During raids, you may get fractures from falling or blood loss from combat. Just like in real life, these issues need to be addressed ASAP.

What happens if you don’t address these health issues?

It can impair some of the game’s core mechanics.

Get shot in the chest, and you’ll start wheezing. The wheezing can then give away your position. Get hit in the arm, and using any weapon or tool is hindered. Get shot in the leg, and you might end up limping to the extraction point.

There are various healing items that can help you restore or at least partially restore health to a damaged limb. However, once a limb gets down to 0% health, it’s rendered “blacked-out” and regular healing items won’t work.

How to Heal Blacked Out Limbs in Escape From Tarkov

Once the limb goes black, it’s completely gone, right?

Fortunately, you don’t have to limp to the extraction point or rendered unable to use weapons properly if you have certain items.

There are two items in Escape from Tarkov that can help you fix this: the CMS kit and the Surv12 kit.

Both of these kits remove the “Destroyed body part” effect (blacked-out limbs). However, the CMS kit doesn’t heal fractures, whereas the Surv12 does. The CMS kit can be used five times, while the latter has as many as 15 uses. Using the CMS is 4 seconds faster than using the Surv12, though.

The Surv12 also takes up more inventory space, though, costs twice more and is more than double the weight compared to the CMS. Use either of the two kits, and the limb in question gets restored to 1HP. After using a kit, you can take medkits to increase a limb’s health to its current maximum.

After being blacked out, a limb can never be restored to 100% health capacity. Using the CMS kit will land you with 35% up to 50% of maximum health. Surv12 kits increase these numbers to 70%-82%.

So, which one of these two limb-resurrecting items is better? Well, it depends on the player and the compromises they’re willing to make.

The Surv12 kit is more powerful, has a bigger number of uses, and provides a better new health maximum. It’s also heavier and takes up more inventory space than the CMS. So, when you need extra container space you may find the CMS kit a better fit.

Both of these kits are found in the field, at various locations across a map.

Alternatively, you can get the CMS kit from Jaeger at Level 1 and from the Therapist at Level 2. The Surv12 kit can be crafted at the Medstation, as long as you meet the Medstation level requirements and provided that you have all the required resources. You’ll also find the Surv12 kit at Jaeger’s, after completing his task, called Ambulance.

If you’re in a bind, Analgin painkillers can help. They alleviate debuff effects for 230 seconds. They won’t heal a blacked-out limb, but they’ll make movement easier for just under four minutes. And this can mean life or death for some players.

How to Manage Pain in Escape From Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov isn’t the first game to introduce the concept of limb damage, but it’s a new mechanic for this type of game. And Escape from Tarkov’s pain system is equally unique and complex.

Here’s how the pain system works:

Whenever there’s an injury, bleeding, dehydration, and other unfavorable effects, the “Pain” effect is added.

These effects first start darkening your vision. However, if left untreated for long enough, it can cause the Tremor effect. This effect causes your screen to shake, significantly diminishing your aim and overall gameplay.

Fortunately, there are a variety of painkillers in-game that can counteract darkened vision and ignore the pain effect and debuffs from fractures. You can find different types of painkillers throughout the various maps or buy them from traders.

There’s an effect that acts like a painkiller, called “Berserk,” which also increases a player’s FOV. Berserk is a Stress Resistance Perk that you can unlock at level 51 (Elite).

The Items

Escape from Tarkov is not an easy game. Even the pros who’ve played this game for years only get to the extraction point 50% of the time. But one of the worst mechanics of the game is losing all your items when you die.

Yes, your favorite rifle, all those medkits, and body armor disappear when you die. This is little feature may prevent players from bringing along a whole bunch of items to a raid.

However, there is a way to insure some of your items so you don’t necessarily lose them after death.

For example, if you insure a rifle and die, the person who looted the rifle has a chance to get to the extraction point and your rifle. However, if they’ve looted your insured item and happen to die (which is often the case in Escape from Tarkov), the rifle will automatically return to you. It’s still a gamble, but the death rate in Escape from Tarkov is encouraging in this department.

Also, your container isn’t affected by the mechanic that has you lose everything when you die. So, remember to transfer rare and one-of-a-kind items into your container as soon as possible.

Additional FAQs

1. When did Escape from Tarkov come out?

On August 4, 2016, Escape from Tarkov was made available to select users as a closed alpha version of the game. However, the game’s official release date was July 27, 2017.

Since then, the game has enjoyed vast success, primarily because of Twitch streamers. Near the end of 2019, after a few years since the game’s release, Escape from Tarkov had reached the top of the list of Twitch, soaring past other big games, including PUBG, LOL, and even Fortnite.

2. What is the healing system in Escape from Tarkov?

Although the game’s health and healing system isn’t 100% unique, it is quite specific for both the survival and battle royale genres and surprisingly realistic. Given the fact that the goal of the game is reaching the extraction point, the health system that leaves the player damaged, limping, and impaired brings that much more excitement to the table.

Escape from Tarkov has a modular healing system where every injury can give negative status effects if not treated properly. Healing items can restore or cure some debuffs, but you need to find the right item to counter the negative effects.

3. How do I get Escape from Tarkov?

Escape from Tarkov is available on their official website, escapefromtarkov.com. On the home screen, select the “pre-order” link in the middle of the page and choose the edition that you wish to purchase.

The Standard edition gives you a basic stash and some bonus equipment.

The Left Behind edition gives you a bigger stash and additional equipment. Then there are the Prepare for Escape and Edge of Darkness editions that bring increased benefits for the beginner.

4. Is Escape from Tarkov worth buying in 2021?

The game isn’t without issues, but the developers are quick to address those issues, whether they’re in-game or online. They’re also quick to respond to the gamer community and user feedback. It’s this nurturing relationship with the players that makes the Escape from Tarkov experience unique.

So, the game is absolutely worth buying today. They have a substantial community player community already and it’s still developing and growing.

5. What is a good survival rate in Escape from Tarkov?

Escape from Tarkov isn’t an easy game. The level of player success is measured in the survival rate. The average survival rate is somewhere between 20% and 30%. Yes, that means that most players in a match don’t get to the extraction point.

If you reach 40% to 50%, consider yourself lucky. That percentile is hard to reach, and few ever do. Even the top-level players will end up not reach the extraction at least half the time.

The Health System in Escape From Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov’s gameplay, including the health and healing system, is relatively complex. Still, it’s the injuries and the near-death in-game experiences that make this game so fun and action-packed.

Fail to tend to your wound, and you may end up stuck with a blacked-out limb, which hinders your in-game performance. On the other hand, if you take your time to tend to your wounds, you are risking running out of time to get to the extraction point.

We hope that we’ve made this brilliant game more approachable to you, especially when it comes to its healing system and blacked-out limbs. If you have any questions or anything else to add, go ahead and leave a comment below.