5 Beginner Friendly Weapons in Tarkov

Escape From Tarkov has a large brevity of weapons on offer than can be used by the player to take out both AI and PMC alike. But in the early game, it can be difficult to decide what you are going to run especially considering that purchasing weapons from the vendors can be an expensive affair. There are, however, decent early game options they offer that can be utilized to a surprisingly effective amount. Today, we are going to run through five level one vendor weapons that should be considered more than other options on offer. Once you have access to the flea market these guns can be bought and modified for even cheaper than what the vendors can give you. Here are five beginner friendly weapons anyone can master in Tarkov.

Kedr:

Starting off we have the Kedr; a 9x18mm SMG clocking in at a little over 20k rubles. What makes this gun beginner friendly is the low cost of both the weapon itself as well as the ammo. If we want to use the cheapest ammo in the game, there is a 9x18 round that sells for only 14 rubles a shot. That is beyond dirt cheap. The round itself is nothing to write home about (50 damage, 5 pen), in fact it’s below average. But that price; it literally can’t be beat. The Kedr itself is a very simple weapon. You can throw a flashlight on it and that’s about it. Shooting at 900 rpm, it has a very reasonable spray control. The only downside is you’ll need to use a barter to get 30-round mags other than the one it comes with. But even still, 20 rounds being fired at 900 rpm is nothing to scoff at. There is also a suppressed version of the Kedr, the Kedr-B, but with level one vendors it must be bartered for with three clin wipers. But if you can get your hands on that version, the added suppressor makes this gun even better. Lower sound profile, as well as the removal of any muzzle flash makes this version a great alternative if you ever find one or feel like spending the extra rubles to buy it from Prapor level 2. There is also a third version of this weapon called the “Klin” and the main difference here is that it fires at a boosted 1000 rpm; making it even deadlier. But this version cannot be suppressed, and the additional fire rate might make the recoil harder to wrangle. But regardless of which version you choose, the Kedr is a solid place to start regarding getting used to Tarkov’s full auto.

ADAR:

A tried-and-true classic, and a weapon near and dear to my heart. If you’ve been around the channel for a while, you know where this is going. The ADAR: a 5.56 assault carbine that has the potential to be a menace in the game if your aim is true. I have loved this weapon ever since it was introduced all the way back at the end of 2018. It’s a single shot version of the M4 with wooden parts to start but can be modified with all similar M4 attachments. And while the single shot nature of this gun might be off putting to some new players, it’s that very same fire rate that will help you both hone your aim in game as well as conserve ammunition. Especially considering that the better rounds on offer are now more difficult to obtain. It can be bought from Skier level 1 for either 45k rubles, or for some odd reason, double the price; 90k rubles. I’m not sure why that’s the case, but if you have the flea unlocked you can get this base gun for sometimes as low as 20k rubles, which is worth every penny you pay. The biggest downside to the ADAR out of the box is that there’s no rear sight on the weapon. But if you don’t mind iron sights, you can get the M4 rear sight or carry handle from Peacekeeper level 1 for under $10 each. Otherwise, there are some red dots on offer in the early game, so find one you enjoy using and just attach that. Just make sure it sights above the front sight, otherwise the game is going to default to the front iron sight for your aiming. But the potential of this weapon cannot be undersold. Again, it’s just a single firing M4, which means it has the same modularity as the M4. And that’s what I love so much about it. It forces me to temper my fire rate but allows me to customize it however I wish. Here are a couple builds I enjoy using even though most of the parts are acquired much later on. If I had to summarize the ADAR in one word, it would be potential. This gun is nothing but untapped potential. And I love it for that.

PP-19:

Third weapon is the PP-19 Vityaz. Another SMG offering but in 9mm this time. It can be purchased from Prapor 1 for about 22k rubles and is another example of potential can be in Tarkov. It has a slower fire rate which makes it easier to control, has plenty of attachments on offer to pimp it out as you please, and can be fitted with decent ammunition (at least in the grand scheme of things). The selling point of the Vityaz, is the almost non-existent recoil. After the recoil changes this wipe, every gun feels so much better to handle. But it was the SMGs that saw the largest improvement, and the Vityaz might be lowest out of all of them. While it doesn’t shoot as fast as the Kedr, it does have better ammo on offer when directly compared to 9x18. AP 6.3 and the ever-elusive 7n31 can pack a punch if you have even just one mag of the good stuff. But even with just a simple red dot, you’ll get miles out of the Vityaz, even if you just use it to kill Scavs. It will be worth the price you paid for it and then some.

SKS:

The fourth weapon is the SKS. This weapon for a long time was a humble but effective 7.62x39 single shot carbine that was heavily used in the early game because of how common they were, but always fell out the later on a wipe goes. And I don’t understand why. Even 90+ days into a wipe, this gun can be a monster if used correctly. And what makes the SKS particularly interesting this wipe, is that BSG reworked its recoil, animations, and how modular it is. There’s literally never been a better time to run the SKS. It has more parts available to it than ever before, more ammo options, and it has never looked or felt better. It's also one of the quietest weapons when attached with a suppressor. It has a built in 10-round box mag, but can be swapped out with a 20, 35, or even 75-round drum magazine. That might be a little overkill, but hey it’s there if you want to use it. While 7.62 PS ammo is much harder to get your hands on nowadays, even rounds like T-45, US, or FMJ can still get the job done. 7.62x39 is a very consistent and reliable caliber in Tarkov, and yes, the good ammos are very strong, the not so commonly used rounds can still be effective, especially in something like an SKS where you need to pull the trigger every time you want to fire. But a suppressed SKS, with range and decent ammo, is a force to be reckoned with. And with the new parts on offer, you can make this gun look awesome while doing it. Can’t recommend the SKS enough.

VEPR:

And finally, we have the VEPR. Another single shot 7.62 rifle, but one that might attract more attention to those who even with the recoil update, find the SKS difficult to use. It might seem strange to list another gun that’s like the SKS, but there are enough differences between them that warrants listing this gun too. For starters, it’s pretty much an AKM but only a single shot; very similar to the ADAR and M4 comparison. It takes normal AKM mags, and all the standard AK parts that would be associated with that class of weapon. This is what feels the most different between the two weapons: their respective levels of modularity. The SKS has very specific parts that can only be fitted on the SKS, while the VEPR takes plenty of different AK styled parts. And that can feel better in the early game when trying to put basic parts on a gun. A dust cover plus red dot is all you need to be shooting better with a VEPR, but on an SKS you need either the “OP” version to get a dovetail mount on it or finding a rail for the front or back to get an optic on. It can be a pain especially if you’re new, so the VEPR is a little more attachment noob friendly. But in terms of performance, it behaves pretty similar to the SKS. In all honestly, it is a little easier to use because of the magazine differences. If you have just the 10-round box mag for both guns, the SKS has to load one at a time, while the VEPR can be reloaded with a different mag all in one action. At the end of the day, they both perform the same job, and have enough differences to warrant using both, but if we really look at even the smallest differences, the VEPR might edge out the SKS but a narrow margin. That said, both are still solid so use whatever is more affordable, easier, or immediately on hand.

Five weapons. Five different ways of playing Tarkov. All of these guns can be used early on and provide the player with different experiences, while also being beginner friendly and still effective no matter what time of the wipe we are in. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. I hope you found it useful, and if you did be sure to leave some feedback in the comment section and be sure to subscribe for more beginner friendly videos about different topics. I hope to see you in future ones.