Don't Sleep on Flashbangs in Tarkov

There’s a lot of kit in Tarkov. Different kinds of utility to allow for some extra ordinance. It could be a large variety of throwables, or even some under-barrel options now that those are in the game. Either way, if you have a foe entrenched somewhere and want to feel out where they might be, grenades have always been the go-to for those situations. Now, your first thought might be a frag grenade of some kind, and while those are definitely useful, I was thinking something with a little bit more of a blinding ilk. I get the feeling that a lot of people don’t even consider the flashbangs that are available to use in this game. And I can understand why. If I have the time to throw something at my opponent, I might as well throw something that can just out right kill them without me ever leaving the safety of cover. And to that extent, I would agree. However, there is something inheritably satisfying about being able to use a flashbang in those situations correctly, blind your opponent, and come out victorious. So, as nice as frags of any kind are, I would honestly argue to not sleep on flashbangs, and give them a try yourself if you haven’t.

Flashes are much different than something like an F-1, VOG, or impact; they don’t explode, obviously. But right out of the gate, one of the things I appreciate about them more than boom grenades, is that they are much quieter, and won’t attract the entire lobby to your location if you’re in the middle of a fight in a highly contested area like dorms, resort, D-2; you know, any of the thunder domes in Tarkov that we have gone over before. A simple pop is all you will hear; coinciding with a quick flash of light, which during the daytime can be difficult to see if you aren’t actively looking in that direction when the flash goes off. Otherwise, if you are far enough away from the center of the flash’s explosion, you won’t even hear it go off in the first place. And while you may be looking for fights, sometimes having everyone run to your location all at once is a little overwhelming. At least this way, the fights can somewhat be controlled and paced out a little better, allowing you ample time for reprieve to heal, loot, pack mags, and prepare yourself for the next challenger.

There are currently two different flash grenades in the game. Crazy how long we went with only just one. The Russian zarya flash grenade, which are unlocked at Prapor level 2 and are just over 9k Rubles, and the Model 7290 flash from Peacekeeper level 3 for roughly $90. The biggest difference between the two different grenades, and it’s just one aspect of them, is their delay before explosion. The zarya will go off after 2 full seconds of being out of your hand, and the 7290 will go off after only 1.5 seconds once thrown. The half second doesn’t sound like that much of a difference, but compare it to the two different VOG grenades, and it becomes a little more obvious how important that .5 second can actually be. Regardless of which one you use, both will do the same thing, blind people that are in the radius of the blast zone. If you see the flash go off, you will have 40 seconds of the stun debuff given to you, in addition to a blinding effect which fades away after about 20 seconds. And if you are unlucky enough to be within 10 meters of the center of the blast, you will also be given the contusion effect, which is honestly, besides not being able to see, the most annoying part of being flashed. That damn ringing sound is enough to throw my aim completely out the window, and gives the person who threw It, the perfect opportunity to make an aggressive play and try to take me out. Also, the fear you can instill in someone if they get fully flashed is not to be ignored either. As someone who has died many times to star rounds from the KS-23, that feeling of your screen being completely black is genuinely terrifying. Add another coin to the Tarkov is a actually a horror game jar.

I honestly just find flashes to be more interesting than frags. Are they better than normal grenades? Objectively, no, they really aren’t. Are they still useful in their own ways? Absolutely. If you have a scav in your way and need to reposition it, but also don’t want the map to know where you are, chuck one of those and you will not only get the scav and even bosses to move, but can blind them as well, making killing those who are just in your way much easier to kill. And again, they work on bosses too. Granted, it’s a little harder to get a perfect flash on a boss who will just move on frame one of you throwing the flash, but at the very least they can be blinded too. And what that means for AI is that they will begin to shoot randomly, and incoherently. Not directly at you, giving you a few precious seconds to make a play and take them out. They help especially against the bosses that have guards; Reshala, Sturman, Glukhar, Sanitar; these bosses are especially susceptible to flashes because there are so many potential people to become blinded by your toss. So, you throw one or two flashes, and you might just have the easiest boss kill of your life. There’s a certain level of “cool factor” when using flash grenades as opposed to frags; people are usually surprised when they hear one go off and have it land close to them. And that’s the weakest part about flashes; you don’t know at all if someone was partially, fully, or not flashed at all. It kind of sucks; perhaps and this might be too powerful, that if you get flashed enough by a grenade, your character automatically calls out that they are blinded by the grenade. I mean they already drop magazines on the ground when reloading even just partially flashed, so it doesn’t seem like too far of a stretch. Or even, if it was just some random F1 callout when they are affected by it. This way, you won’t know 100% for sure, but you might get a better idea if what you are throwing at your enemy is working even remotely.

Flashes are cool in Tarkov. They are unpopular just like smoke grenades are but can still be insanely useful if employed correctly; in the right place at the right time. It might not outright take a PMC out, but the fear you will put into their soul when their screen goes black, and they can’t see anything is more than enough to warrant their use time and time again. If you haven’t tried them or have been put off by flashes in the past, I encourage you to give them another shot. They are a fun and interesting piece of kit that has been sadly neglected by the community at large. And if you can master throwing them and know what signs to look and listen out for, your flashed opponents will be some of the easiest takedowns you will ever get. And besides, there is a task to take out PMC’s while they are flashed, so what other reason do you need? What are your thoughts on flashes in Tarkov? Be sure to leave a comment down below and subscribe for more videos about different pieces of equipment in the game that barely get used. I hope to see you in future ones.