Tarkov Ballistics, Settings & Connection Terms

By Treesz · Updated Nov 2, 2026

This page explains the shooting, settings and connection terms that Escape from Tarkov players ask about most: how bullets ricochet, what arm stamina does, what the Vudu 1-6x scope offers, what Nvidia Reflex and Post-FX change, how voice chat (VOIP) is limited, and what "offline mode" means today. It is written for players who are new to the game or came back for the 1.0 release.

Facts apply to Escape from Tarkov 1.0 and later. The game left its beta on 15 November 2025 with patch 1.0.0.0.41760, and the newest patch listed on the community wiki at the time of writing is 1.3.0.0.48484 (30 October 2026). Where something changed before or after 1.0, the date is given.

Term	Short answer
Ricochet chance	A helmet property: a shallow hit can bounce off
Arm stamina	Drains while you aim, hold or swap weapons
Vudu 1-6x	Variable scope, zeroing steps from 50 m to 300 m
Nvidia Reflex	Latency setting for Nvidia graphics cards
VOIP	Proximity voice chat, push-to-talk, in raid only
Offline mode	Practice mode and the local PvE Zone are two different things

Ballistics and body mechanics

Ricochet chance

Ricochet chance is the likelihood that a bullet bounces off an object instead of going through it. For player gear it matters on helmets only. According to the community wiki's ballistics page, the angle of impact has no effect on body armor, but a bullet that hits a helmet inside a certain range of angles can ricochet. The shallower the angle, and the higher the helmet's own ricochet chance, the more likely the bounce. Both the angle range and the chance are set per helmet.

A ricochet counts as the helmet stopping the penetration. Blunt damage still applies, but it is cut to almost nothing, and the helmet normally loses only the minimum durability, which is 1.

The Altyn assault helmet (Olive Drab) is armor class 5, weighs 2.5 kg and is listed with a High ricochet chance.
The ricochet chance of a helmet is shown on its item card as a rating. The display was returned for helmets in patch 0.14.5.0 (3 April 2024).
Patch 1.1.0.0 (3 August 2026) fixed the ricochet settings for gear with armor points, including vests, plate carriers and helmets.

Ricochet is often mixed up with penetration and fragmentation. Penetration is whether the bullet gets through; ricochet is whether it bounces off; fragmentation is whether it splits after impact.

Fragmentation chance is the odds that a bullet breaks apart on a hit and adds extra wounds. The ballistics rework in patch 0.12.11.0 (30 June 2021) covered penetration chances, bullet deviation and fragmentation. Details are in Fragmentation chance.

Arm stamina

Arm stamina is the separate endurance of your character's arms. It drains while you aim and on quick weapon swaps, and it is tracked apart from leg stamina. When it runs out, the weapon starts to tremble.

Source	Effect on arm stamina
Strength skill	Less stamina drain while aiming: 0.4% per level, 20% at Elite level
Endurance skill	Elite level adds "increased arm endurance"; breath holding grows 2% per level, up to +100%
Quick weapon swap (press 1 twice)	Costs arm stamina; training weapon mastery and the matching weapon skill lowers the cost
Seasonal modifiers	Marathon Runner: arm and leg stamina used 20% slower. Youth: arm and leg stamina +10

The quick-swap rule was added in patch 0.13.5.0 (10 August 2023). The seasonal modifiers belong to the PvP Seasons mode, which began on 3 August 2026 with Season 1, KORD BREACH (ends 7 December 2026).

Inertia

Inertia makes starting, stopping, turning and landing feel heavy. It was added in patch 0.12.12.0 (12 December 2021) and depends on the weight you carry and your Strength skill. A patch note of 22 October 2025 reduced the inertia dependency on carried weight in PvE mode, carrying over the balance used in PvP. See Inertia for the movement details.

Optics

Vudu 1-6x

The EOTech Vudu 1-6x24 30mm riflescope is a variable-zoom optic that works both as a close-range sight at 1x and as a mid-range scope at 6x. The reticle is the SR-1 MRAD.

Property	Value (community wiki)
Weight / size	0.57 kg, 2x1 slots
Ergonomics	-3
Zeroing steps	50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 m
Sight range	1500
How to get	Quest reward for Informed Means Armed; barter at Skier LL4 for 2 Broken GPhone X

The wiki also lists Ref (loyalty level 3) as a seller in the item data. If you use the scope at long range, set the zeroing to match your usual fight distance, as explained in Zeroing distance: zeroing is the range in meters at which the sight points exactly where the bullet lands.

The Valday PS-320 is often compared with it. It is also a 1x/6x optic, so it is not a fixed-magnification sight. It has zeroing steps of 50 to 200 m, a sight range of 1000, ergonomics of -5 and is needed for the task Job for a Patriot. Prapor sells it at loyalty level 3 for two bottles of Tarkovskaya vodka. More in Valday PS-320.

Graphics and latency settings

Nvidia Reflex

Nvidia Reflex is a latency setting for Nvidia graphics cards. NVIDIA describes Reflex Low Latency as reducing PC latency by synchronising rendering across the GPU and the CPU. In Tarkov it affects the delay between your mouse click and the shot appearing on screen; it does not change server ping.

Tarkov has supported it since patch 0.12.11.0 (30 June 2021), together with lower in-game input lag. Later fixes show where it can cause trouble:

11 October 2021: Reflex no longer lowers performance in the Hideout.
18 September 2023: fixed FPS drops when loading into the same location with Reflex on.
30 January 2025: the frame limit can be turned off in raids when VSync and Reflex are both disabled.
14 February 2025: fixed the interaction of VSync and Reflex when they are enabled one after the other during a raid.

If you see stutter after changing VSync or the frame limit, test with Reflex off first. For general frame-rate advice see PC performance terms.

Post-FX settings

Post-FX is the menu tab that changes the final picture after the game has been drawn. Community presets mainly adjust brightness, saturation, colorfulness and sharpening (luma or clarity), and many players raise them to see enemies in dark rooms. Presets differ a lot between guides, so treat any number you find as a starting point.

What matters after 1.0:

Patch 1.0.0.0.41787 (17 November 2025) disabled several Post-FX settings, so older presets and screenshots may show options that are gone.
Patch 0.15.0.3 (29 August 2024) fixed the ability to switch Post-FX on and off in a raid when the preview is turned off.
Patch 1.0.4.5 (20 April 2026) fixed Post-FX settings not showing while the preview was enabled.

Other picture options are explained in graphics settings terms.

Auto RAM cleaner

The game has an automatic memory cleanup option in its settings. A fix in patch 1.0.2.0 (10 February 2026) removed a client freeze when pressing ESC during a raid with automatic cleanup enabled. See Auto RAM cleaner.

Voice, modes and connection

VOIP

VOIP is Tarkov's in-raid voice chat. It was added in patch 0.12.12.0 (12 December 2021) and is designed for coordination and negotiation. The rules from that patch, which the changelog shows no later change to:

It works in raid only and in push-to-talk mode only. The default push-to-talk key is K; the toggle key is unbound by default.
You can talk for at most 15 seconds in every 20 seconds of raid time. Pressing the key too often triggers a short auto-block.
How well you hear someone depends on distance, walls, floors, active headphones and a lowered visor.
Scavs can notice players who talk.
You can report another player from the gesture menu while they speak or up to 2 seconds after; group members cannot be reported. Abuse can lead to a VOIP block or a ban.

VOIP was switched on by default for new players in patch 0.12.12.15 (10 February 2022). Patch 0.16.9.0 (20 August 2025) added noise cancelling, microphone sensitivity, quick microphone swap and a volume slider. Patch 1.0.4.5 (27 April 2026) fixed voices not being muffled behind some obstacles. After the 1.0 release VOIP remains a raid feature; the changelog lists no new limits.

Offline mode

"Offline mode" is a loose player term. It can mean two different features.

Mode	What it is	Progress
PvE Zone	A separate PvE character with AI-controlled PMCs; same rules as PvP	Saved on its own profile
Practice mode	Raids with adjustable AI, bosses, time and weather	Nothing saved

PvE Zone is sold separately on Steam as "PVE Zone" and is part of The Unheard Steam Edition bundle. Since patch 0.14.9.5 (4 July 2024) a solo PvE raid runs on the player's own PC. Group raids, Scav raids and Streets of Tarkov used the servers; solo Scav raids on a local client were added in patch 1.0.4.0 (27 March 2026). Since 7 February 2025 the location screen lets you choose local or server play.
Practice mode is for exploring maps and testing weapons. The wiki's Game modes page says no progress is saved on completion or termination, so leaving costs nothing. I could not confirm which editions can use it today; check the in-game menu.

Only practice mode is risk-free: the wiki describes PvE Zone as featurewise the same as PvP, so its raids carry normal risk. For lag and connection words see online play and lag terms.

Ping, packet loss, queues and Error 213

Ping abuse means exploiting high latency to gain an edge, which shows as teleporting targets and shots that do not register. See Ping abuse.
Packet loss is data that never reaches the server; it causes rubber-banding and disconnects, and a wired connection is the usual first step. See Packet loss fix.
Queue times are the wait before a raid. Patch 1.0.1.0 (24 December 2025) added the estimated time to enter a raid and the current matchmaking stage. See Queue times.
Error 213 has its own page: Error 213.

Guides and services

Gear choice decides how much the ricochet rules matter: our best armor guide compares helmets and plates. The patch 1.0.4.5 breakdown covers performance fixes and PvE changes. If you want a ready kit to start with, see the Tarkov starter pack.

FAQ

Do bullets ricochet off body armor in Tarkov?

No. The community wiki states that the angle of impact has no effect on armor except helmets. Only helmets have a ricochet chance, and it is set per helmet.

Is VOIP always on in Tarkov?

It is on by default for new players since 10 February 2022, but you can switch it off in the settings or by hotkey. It works in raid only, with push-to-talk, and with a 15-seconds-in-20 talk limit.

Is there an offline mode in Tarkov 1.0?

There is practice mode, where nothing is saved, and the paid PvE Zone, where solo raids run locally on a separate profile. Practice mode is the risk-free one; PvE Zone raids are played like PvP raids against AI.

Does Nvidia Reflex help on AMD cards?

No. It is an Nvidia technology and applies to Nvidia graphics cards only.

Is the Valday PS-320 a fixed-zoom scope?

No. It is a 1x/6x scope with zeroing steps from 50 to 200 m.

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