Tarkov Armor Tier List - Complete S-F Guide - Patch 14.0 

Really appreciate you explaining how you evaluate and consider the pros and cons of the different armors. Makes it easier to understand the new system and for me to decide on what armors to use without just memorizing and following to the tier list to a T.

I'm running the Press armor with Class 4-5, it always comes back from Insurance, easy to repair. It takes a beating, for me feels like Gzhel

BSG already made changes since this video released - many of the rigs and plate carriers that had level 3 aramids/soft armor were stealth nerfed to level 2.

I feel like the only person who hasn’t been armpit shot this wipe. Despite sinking a lot of hours in, the ole “head, eyes” is still doing me in the most.

I rarely comment, but today I came across your video for the first time. From the first minutes, I really liked your manner of speech, your decency, the way you thank the guys who helped you in your experiments. This really pleases my ears, I’ll write a comment for support, and also say that you’re great. Keep doing what you enjoy. Thanks for the content!

Thank you for this, AWM. The work you and Gigabeef have done over the last week or two on testing and researching armour is invaluable to the player base.

I actually love the realism of the new armor system

Kirasa is S tier to me, 0 movement speed penalty, load it with two monoclete plates and it only weighs like 5.7kg total with level 4 protection + neck/throat and only -2% movement total. You can run level 5 plates in it, and it always comes back in insurance. Compare that to something like the Korund, it starts lighter but even without plates it starts with a -5% movement. It's like a superior version of what Trooper armor was

the floral uley rig that is tier 4 has been AMAZING to me. 30k on the flea and i haven't died to a single thorax shot in it after maybe 20 deaths. I kept being shot in the shoulders by PP/BP ammo and now i leave fights with like 3 shots in the shoulder with these beasts now! for so cheap it is 10/10

Haven’t played in 2 years. Came back this wipe and learning new stuff. Good to see this guy is still around and growing

If we had better hitboxes (like in Rising Storm 2) that were accurately modeled after real vital areas, then the plate system would be a hundred times better and the lack of soft armor coverage wouldn't be such a big issue. I pray that BSG makes better hitboxes in the near future

When it comes to the level 6 front and back plates for the Killa armor, I have found both of those plates in boxes on reserve.

The Korund is actually only lvl 2 soft armour. I just take the plates out and put them into the lower tier green one as it will be looted less often. Also, you can get the defender armour quite low weight with certain plat options...

I’m so happy the Gen4 HMK is back. I did myself a deep dive like this and so happy someone else noticed it’s going to be an amazing armour again!! ❤ the video!

12:20 aside from the side plates and rear groin, the redut and defender have the exact same hitboxes. The visual model mean nothing. Although it might look like the redut has more protection, it has the same protection. Right now in Tarkov all built in armor with a certain armor area, has the same exact hitboxes as any other armor with those same hitboxes.

15:00 "Don't get shot in the back" he says while shots to the front also might damage the backplate. :D

Gzhel continues to be one of the best armors for those seeking great protection with style, and even more so with the snow this season.

Found an error: The Korund is actually only lvl 2 Aramid all around, which is why it's so light with plates inserted. Please take note of that as it massively changes how powerful the armor is.

I love that the only armor restricted from flea rn is plates, this makes stash organization so much easier

Been running Thor since watching this video and ive had some great fights and won a good amount of them. As a solo i need that extra bit of survivability, when im taking hits im realising its only arm damage and not chest etc. Thank you for this video, making fights winable!

Just a heads up; you can find plates in the same crates you can find rigs and armors in. Also there is a class 6 ceramic back plate for the 6b13/Killa armors (Granit 4RS ballistic plates back)

Had a good laugh when you were defending the Thor's placement and absence of neck protection while wearing a bomber hat :) Great vid as always lol, good analysis and thank you for doing the work!

I just found the level 5 Granit 4 ballistic back plate of Killas Armor in the saferoom exfil on Interchange. Apparently it can spawn on its own at high tier loot locations.

Makes sense why most class 6 armors suck. I found one in raid, put it on, died to someone with RIP ammo. All shots hit right below the neck and I was confused why it didn’t block it (due to coverage). Was so confused on why I died to RIP ammo with class 6 armor UNTIL now. Thanks for the info. Keep it up

Huge video, Airwing! My god it's helpful! Thanks a lot for this. Love the detailed opinions on all of the armour - helps to make my own mind on the subject.

Anyone who plays tarkov this patch who does not watch this is a fool and is missing out on vital info for this patch.... i will link this in my discord. Thanks heaps for covering this i wish i had the resources to do so myself!!!

Glad he said "if it was a class three I could bump it up to here (c to b tier)" because they changed the aramid in the goon CPC GE from 2 to 3 after this.

It almost seems like they need to separate the chest hitbox between the area where your vital organs are vs the areas bordering it. My understanding is that's the reason plate carriers are shaped the way they are irl. If the health pool hitting vitals and the outsides of the chest are the same then carriers will never be good unless they cover more than they visually appear. However, if they do that, then what was the point of the rework.

Thanks for making this video. I've been sniping MMAC carriers with lv4 UHMW plates for 30-40k on the market.

thanks for this video - as someone who has really struggled with enjoying tarkov because of all the things you need to know about it, and dying a lot to really weird things that theroetically shouldn't have been able to pen my armor, this is really helpful and solid info. Much appreciated

I'm a bit confused with the statements about the Trooper (and 6B13): In this video, it's implied that each armor really only protects 1:1 the pixels of the body it is over. While Gigabeef showed the exact opposite being true: That there are a whole lot *more* hitboxes but in general, if the little "Armor Areas" on the armor says X is protected, that it is indeed fully protected, best example was the arm protection with the Zabralo. Curious what the consensus is now?

Good explanation. wasnt aware of the aramid construction tiers.

Great video, thanks! I have 2 things to add/correct though: 1. At 2:44 you say the green class 2 armor "behaves a little bit better than the aramid" because it's titanium. That's straight up wrong, aramid is lighter and has lower destructibility and better repairability than titanium, so it's better in every single regard. Unless there's something regarding blunt damage I'm missing. 2. 8:10 People - not just you - always gloss over the DRD armor's greatest strength: It's extremely light. Decent coverage, class 3 all around, and at only 4 kgs for THAT price is an extremely good deal if you wanna be mobile. Speed, momentum and all that, you know. If you're using a heavy weapon (or 2 weapons, like a bolty and an SMG or something) it's a great option if you don't wanna be overweight from the getgo. Untar at 8.5 is more than twice as heavy, and the Kora-Kulon at 11.1 almost thrice, which is ridiculous for how bad its coverage is. 3. 24:07 For the same (or rather, opposite) reason I disagree with the class 4 Uley being in B tier: It's heavy as FUCK. 12.2 kilos is a lot of weight. It's great for things like Factory or D2 runs, but for larger maps it hinders you a lot. Compared to the other class 4 rigs you trade mobility for better protection, so it's a sidegrade, not a straight upgrade, which is why it should also be in C tier imo.

**** THIS IS NO LONGER ACCURATE AFTER ARMOR CHANGES***** Would love an updated list after the changes! Love your videos, ty for hard work.

Lol woke up for work and I get to watch this hell yeah thanks airwing

I'm glad to see this after hearing how much testing you've done and are doing for the new armor system

Whatever people like/hate of the new armor system, BSG has accomplished something really incredible in terms of realism.

If / when you do an updated version of this type of video, could you update this video's description so I can just check here periodically to see if a new one has come? Thanks and thanks for all your videos. Definitely my favourite tarkov content creator.

the press only takes (in front) diamond shape russian plates (like all ZHUKK armors and 6b33 variants), the kirasa takes the most common shape, so it's better and I think it should be B.

Been loving your new guides for this wipe, I hope they’re quick and easy to watch and they always give multiple options

If I'm not mistaken, all the zones are the same size regardless of how the armor looks visually. The only exception to this is the plate zone, which depends on the plate itself (the diamond shaped plate has a different hit box than the NATO style ones, and I guess the 2 part rear one as well). Meaning if an armor has a chest zone, it's the same size as any other's chest zone.

Amazing video! Thank you for all the feedback and test done to achieve this!

Very informative, thank you. I also value movement much higher than tanky protection. I had similar impressions to some armors due to their great coverage but I never considered plates class, so this gave me a full perspective on armor now. Thanks a lot!

Tmk aramid works like the old armor system, meaning any aramid covering a certain hitbox will protect that entire hitbox and plates have their hitboxes actually simulated. I feel like this would significantly change a lot of your rankings.

IMO they really need to make a critical organ hitbox on the inside of the torso. If you hit the thorax from the front and hit the edge of the thorax it shouldn't deal full damage. However if you hit the soft armor from the side and the bullet goes into the center of the torso it would deal full damage. This would help out alot of these weaker armors imo.

Nice. I had to wait to the end of the video but I’m glad my favorite armor is S tier now. Now just gotta find them virtexes!

Can we get a helmet tier list and best load outs per trader levels?!?!

This is HUGE help! Thanks Marine! I did not play this wipe yet so I have no real experience of the new armor system and realise I would have made a lot of bad decision when I will start to play this wipe...

This is exactly the type of video I was hoping for when you said you had to work on some other stuff ending stream.

Amazing video to understand what armours to use this wipe, and its like the 3rd or 4th video on the topic too, was really lookinh forward to this tier list, oh, and i been listening to your music in mi bicycle to work, its great! I even have non tarkov friends who liked it, take care man, you are a great part of our community

Get this man to 200k subs press the button no on has got us covered like awm

the ana m2 is actually very good for a quick armor to put on. its class 3, protects thorax and stomach and is light. you can slap some class 5s in there and you have a really decent armor.

Nobody else noticed that plates for 6B13/korund are constantly stopping round that aren't rated for? 6B13 with default plates are able to stop PS12B 12 out of 12 times as we tested (front plates only)

for my super budget homies out there, i have been digging the 6B23-2 body armor (Mountain Flora). i take the front plates out of my 6b13 flora armors from my scav raids, sell that armor, and then save those front plates for the 6b23-2. the 6b23-2 has more total coverage, higher aramid insert durability, and the back plates are super cheap. only 12k from prapor LL2 it's not as good as the kirasa with UHMPWE plates because it's almost half the weight. but it's cheaper than buying a kirasa+2 new plates. is a 3x4 instead of the kirasa's 3x3, and the heavier weight means much higher chance of returning in insurance. and if you scav a lot you'll easily be able to replace the front plate whenever you need to.

Love the music airwing! “The Frankenstein Within” is top tier, giving me those Doc vibes 😎

Started playing again about a month ago, got a slick from a stash in my 3d raid, immediately put it on and felt invincible, just to get one tapped by a Scav with an SKS from point blank. Oh how the mighty have fallen

i have been running TV110 rigs since i use RR extracts often and nearly instantly noticed how often my stomach is blacked in fights then realised the armour dont cover it haha, AVS for me has been one of the better armour rigs to run under the ospreys, atleast from my experience this wipe

While I'm loving the new armor system for it's realism improvements, BSG REALLY needs to overhaul the weight and movement penalties next. While the smaller plate carriers don't have the coverage of the larger, bulkier armors, the tradeoff should be mobility and the weight/movement penalties don't reflect that for the plate carriers. It's literally their main selling point. A Crye JPC with CL IV steels weighs less and is a ton less bulky than an IOTV, even stripped of groin, shoulder, and neck protection. Tarkov's armor system should reflect things like that. Weight adds up and bulkiness is a huge mobility penalty in a gunfight. Just my two cents.

I really enjoyed the work you put in to making this vid. I would love if you could make a video explaining the difference in armor material. Anyways really good video! :)

I always run the Press and Kirasa armors with monoclete plates, they repair well and are extremely light.

20:50 afaik it isnt required for kappa but Booze, the quest after long line, is the most reliable way of getting your second zabralo.

They nerfed the Devtac Ronin Helmet. It use to not have muffled sound, it might have actually had comtac increased audio range. A few days ago it is now heavily muffled and audio range is shorter.

I like running the rigs that don't have good coverage on maps like woods or shorline (if I'm avoid resort), since at those ranges most people are gonna run armor that can punch through the armid protection zones. I would prefer the extra movement speed and lower weight so I can reposition and break LOS faster than having more armor.

Not sure if this was oversight on your side or you just misspoke, but korund has lvl2 integrated armor, not lvl3. You can see it in the video when you hover over it.

I like running Thor and Press vests simply because they're light as ffooook. They weight just above 5kg where as other similar armors weight closer to 10kg. And press vests are pretty much free right now. And ofc you can change the plates.

As a tactec 5.11 owner irl with level 4 plates I can tell you firsthand that the 5.11 tactec DOES NOT have integrated soft armor irl of any kind whatsoever. It is plate only. Oddly enough you can buy side plate pouches for the 5.11 tactec and hexgrid, which is completely omitted in the game

by crafting the press armor, you get a free lv3 back plate. That is the lightest plate in the world. I use those to swap out the backplate for some of the heavier rigs.

Just an FYI I have found in raid a class 6 back plate for 6B13.

I've ran the lvl4 uley and ratrigs decent amount(keep finding the green one on scavs) The blunt damage feels to be pretty bad, can't tank too many of them compared to someone hitting your plates, but still good overall 👍 I think i would rate the armors exactly the same, especially after hearing your explanations

Kirasa is S tier because people for some fucking reason are selling level 4 poly plates for like 20 to 30k on the flea. The Kirasa can be bought for 50k so essentially you got a level 4 armour with neck protection and great mobility stats for 70 to 80k. It's ridiculously good value.

Just throwing it out there - you can buy half-masks from Fence for 3400 per, and you can trade 3 half-masks for a PACA at ragman lvl1, so if you're on a budget, you can still get a PACA for just 10k

Thanks for the video! Super helpful. Love considering the insert armor lvls.

This is so much information, thank you for simplifying it❤

Since the bug (feature?) with chest being hit trough arms is still on , the Osprey class 5 is S+ tier. And its only 130k r for barter, which is insane. Arms (shoulders) protection is important

Sir just wanted to let you know that i have found the killa armor back plate in raid, i do not recall if it was in a weapon crate, stash or duffle but i have found one and have not seen killa once this wipe. I can provide a screenshot if you would like. (Just to be clear its a lvl 5 not a lvl 4 in case anyone was thinking i just found the lvl 4 one. I checked first to be certain.)

I dont normally get anxious but holy shit, just double click armor or right click inspect rigs and it brings up the same info popup that you made it more difficult to get to. Informative but holy shit, if you get as anxious just skip to the end, its still a good tier list.

Fun fact: 6B3TM "ratrig" in russian community called "potato", because it's look quite similar ngl.

Im pretty sure I found class 6(br5) armour back plates for 6bs and killa armour type in a gun chest on woods. So class 6 plates do exist for them, but probably are found in raid only items.

This guy is amazing

Thanks for this! Helpful!

Another banger and great informative video. Thanks for the work you do for the regular Joe's that need this info. Much love brother

You can put the Tier VI VM-K ceramic plate in the Korund, though the flavour text does say it is ceramic *and* steel.

I just started this game and have been having a blast and your videos have been invaluable. I was wondering if you were going to do an Ammo guide for this patch based on the new armour system? Or is the older video still applicable?

excellent video, sending it to my friends asap!

at 16:10 you said the Korund is class 3 aramid, but in game it says class 2, which I think severely hampers the armors rating even more imo

Incredible how we went from only wanting to protect the thorax because stomach shots can be sponged to wanting as much coverage as possible because a shot to the arm pit deals thorax damage.

I take the plates from the OTD armor and switch them with the press armor , Putting it to lvl4 and having 200 hit points .

That last one is really good, but I think you're going to want elite str before running around w/ some of those heavier armors on your tier list.

My thing with the new armor, they need to have different hp values for penetration areas. For example, if you get shot through and through on the edges of your torso, front to back, it should not do nearly any damage, it's a grazing wound. Basically, would just require them drawing a hitbox zone in the center of the inside of a player's thorax, that if a bullet passes through that zone, it does the maximum damage, but if it doesn't it's vastly reduced. You could take it a step further and model organ hitboxes or something, for me the current armor is next to worthless, I might as well not wear any.

Bruh, this is an awesome tier list. Thanks for the work and thought on this!

Korund is only lvl 2 aramid. You also forgot to mention that eastern plates cover less of your torso that western

The only things I want changed for armor; cleaner hit boxes, vitals zones, and the ability to wear plate carriers over pure soft armor.

Thank You for Info Marine

Brilliant, thank you! Being a Timmy and wearing red/blue armour, no so brilliant but great content, thank you!

It would be great if we could stack up straight plate carriers with certain soft armors much like it was back in alpha and at the cost of ergo/mobility. It's not an uncommon sight in real life.

The class 5 Ceramic back plate for the 6b133 can be found in stashes as well.

you can find the killa backplate in raid, they are rare but they are out there. Got two of them so far

Damn Ospery went from avoid it is horrible to you should run it.

Ur the best, thank u for this and all the other informative stuff u put out. Greatly appreciated.

excellent video, continuing the trend of excellent info-packed content. keep it up