Escape from Tarkov – Five weapons to start with after the wipe

The wipe in Escape from Tarkov is here and everything has been reset. All unlocked weapons, ammunition, attachments and traders are gone – and everyone is starting over.

But for many replayers and newcomers, the question arises:
Which weapon do I start over with after the wipe? – Which weapon should I play?

In the following article, we’ll show you five options for the “early wipe” phase in the game that you can play immediately and without much effort.

The criteria

The following weapons and/or builds meet the following criteria:

• All items purchased from merchants are available from level 1.
• All items that are lotted in the game can be found quite often
• All weapons are very effective, at least in the early days

SKS 7.62×39 Carbine

The SKS is a stable early wipe option that is very playable even without modifications. As ammunition you should use the 7.62x39mm PS gzh.
You will get this ammo very often from scavs carrying either AK variants or SKS.

You can get the weapon itself for ₽ 21.810 at Prapor Level 1.

The only drawback with the weapon is the often difficult sighting with rear and front sights.
However, there is a trick here: remove the SKS RS (Rear Sight) from the weapon. Unlike many other weapons, this does not change the weapon’s behavior, but you now have a much better sight and still hit the bull’s eye.

• Advantages:
  • Solid early wipe option
  • No modifications needed
• Disadvantages:
  • Ammo must be collected
  • Must be supplied with ammo from pocket (internal magazine)

OP-SKS 7.62×39 Carbine

The OP-SKS is the advanced variant of the SKS, which opens up some low-cost modding options. To unlock the weapon, you simply need to unlock the Jaeger as Trader.

Once you have unlocked Jaeger, you can buy the weapon from him for ₽ 33.197.

If you want to save money and not use a sight at all, remove the SKS RS (Rear Sight) from the weapon just like the normal SKS, then you will have a better sight.

Since the OP SKS is equipped with a dovetail rail, you can easily attach a good sight, there are two options:

• Option 1: Axion Kobra EKP-8-02 reflex Sight
  • ₽ 10.194 from Prapor Level 1
• Option 2: PSO-1 4×24 Scope
  • ₽ 19.385 from Prapor Level 1
  • alternatively: exchange for 2x Sparkplugs at Prapor

As with the normal SKS, your best bet here is to shoot the 7.62x39mm PS gzh ammo, which you should collect ahead of time.

If you want you can exchange the internal 10 shot magazine for one or more 20 shot magazines.

You can get these from Skier Level 1 in exchange for 1x Chainlet or for $65 from Peacekeeper Level 1.

• Advantages:
  • Extremely powerful at the start of a wipe
  • Can be played without modifications
• Disadvantages:
  • Ammo must be collected first

Mosin 7.62x54R (Infantry) Carbine

The Mosin is pretty much THE strongest weapon in the first days of a wipe. The weapon itself can often be found at Scavs or you can buy it for ₽ 34.825 at Prapor Level 1.

The recommended ammo is the LPS gzh, but you won’t be able to buy it with the new wipe until Prapor level 2.

Fortunately, the ammo is often found in the game and scavs that carry the weapon often have up to 30 rounds that you can take.

Alternatively, though, to get started you can buy the new 7.62x54mm R FMJ ammo for ₽ 188 per shot at Prapo on Level 1.

• Advantages:
  • Extremely powerful at the start of a wipe
  • No modifications needed
• Disadvantages:
  • Ammo must be collected first
  • Difficult in combat against multiple opponents (bolt action)

HK MP5

A weapon that is often overlooked after a wipe is the HK MP5. This submachine gun makes short work of lightly armored players and scavs in the early days.

As a USEC you start with this weapon, otherwise you can buy it from Peacekeeper for $284.
Another option is to collect the brown A-2607 knives and the ER Bayonet knives, you can then exchange 4x A-2607 and 1x ER Bayonet for an MP5 at Peacekeeper.

However, instead of the 20-round magazines, we recommend you rather invest in the 30-round variant, which you can get for $33 each at Peacekeeper level 1.

For ammunition, you can start with the 9×19 Pst gzh (from your starting items) and the 9×19 PSO gzh, which you can buy for ₽ 54 from Prapor and for ₽ 52 from Jaeger.

• Advantages:
  • Strong performance to start after wipe
  • Can be played without modifications
• Disadvantages:
  • Can only be modified to a limited extent without effort

ADAR 2-15

Unlike the M4, which usually needs to be modded to be effective, the ADAR 2-15 is a much better and easily available weapon at the beginning of a wipe cycle.

You can easily get the weapon from a scav. However, this then has a low durability and a fairly high chance of malfunctioning.
However, for ₽ 14,490 you can get the weapon base at Skier Level 1, which is responsible for durability.

Disassemble all the parts from your ADAR and bolt it to this new base – and you’ll have a finished ADAR 2-15 with complete durability for a bargain price.

You will still have to collect some M855 Ammo or anything better from Scavs and loot containers, especially if you are not starting as a USEC and starting with a healthy amount.

Then you can also mount a sight if needed.

• Advantages:
  • Stable performance across all times in the wipe
  • Can be played without modifications
• Disadvantages:
  • Weapon must first be collected in the raid.
  • Ammo must first be collected in the raid.