Having the best armour equipped in Escape from Tarkov will ensure that you survive your raids, but the recent armour hitbox changes in Patch 0.14 have made separating the wheat from the chaff even more challenging.
As the game has a bespoke penetration system that dictates which bullets are effective against the six armour classes, making sure that you’ve picked the right one for your situation is essential. The last thing you want is to lose an expensive kit simply because you got your armour choice all wrong.
Here we’ll break down the best body armour and armoured rigs that you can use in Escape from Tarkov right now at every class level. Taking into consideration the material type, durability, weight, and armour areas, you’ll only get the best of the best when it comes to protection.
Best Class 2 armour
If you’re going for Class 2 armour – and you only really should if you’re fighting scavs – then the trusty PACA is the best and only one you should pick. It covers your thorax, stomach, back, and sides, and has minimum movement reductions with a low weight too.
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The 6B2 body armour (Flora) should only be an alternative if you’re picking between it and no armour at all, as it doesn’t cover your sides, is heavier than the PACA, and has greater movement penalties.
Best Class 3 armour
- BNTI Zhuk-3 body armour (Press)
- BNTI Kirasa-N body armour
- DRD body armour
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Class 3 armour is mostly when you’re going to have to start using armour plates, as the ‘soft armour’ base of most options is merely Class 2, with the option to insert Class 3 plates for extra protection.
The BNTI Zhuk-3 and Kirasa-N are by far the best-in-class options here, giving you Class 2 soft protection on the sides, neck, and throat (the neck/throat area is a big bonus here), and the option for Class 3 plates on both the front and back of the armour.
This is very strong as it stops you from being blindsided or wiped out by a stray shotgun pellet, and the Aramid material is the most durable material too, letting the armour last for longer.
Alternatively, you could also go for the DRD body armour, which is essentially a Class 3 version of the PACA. This doesn’t cover your neck or throat but also is Class 3 across the board for extra protection. It’s a bit more difficult to get your hands on though, as it isn’t sold by any Traders.
Class 3 armour has become a lot stronger due to the changes Battlestate Games has made to armour hitboxes and ammo availability, so definitely don’t write it off in the early to mid-wipe stages.
Best Class 4 armour
- NFM THOR Concealable Reinforced Vest body armour
- 6B23-2 body armour(Mountain Flora)
- Interceptor OTV body armour (UCP)
- Crye Precision AVS plate carrier
- FirstSpear Strandhogg plate carrier (Ranger Green)
- ECLiPSE RBAV-AF plate carrier (Ranger Green)
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Class 4 is where things start getting serious, and there are some excellent choices for your PMC here. The NFM THOR is fantastic both for its weight and availability, as you can pick it up at Ragman LL2 and it weighs a were 1.7kg with Aramid material. It doesn’t cover anywhere on the neck unfortunately though, so you’ll have to pray that a stray shot doesn’t take you down.
The 6B23-2 is probably the top option here, covering pretty much all areas with Class 2 armour (including the groin and buttocks!) with Class 4 plates on the front and back. It’s not too heavy despite its superior coverage either, coming in at just 3.3kg with minimal movement reductions too. Don’t get this confused with the 6B13 though, as this covers less and is constructed with Ceramic instead of the 6B23-2’s Aramid, making it far less effective overall.
The Interceptor OTV is similar to the THOR yet packs a much higher durability value, making it much more effective when hit with bullets on the fringe of penetration. It’s a bit heavier and has greater movement penalties as a trade-off though, so you’ll have to weigh up your options.
Class 4 is also where we start to see the viability of armoured rigs as actual protection, and there are a surprising number of great options to choose from. What separates them most then is the armour areas and storage space. The Crye Precision AVS stands out with five 1×2 slots, five single cells, and two 2×2 blocks – giving you an abundance of space for mags, meds, and loot.
On the other hand, the Strandhogg and RBAV-AF both offer three 1×3 slots and a 2×2 box, alongside four 1x1s for the former and six for the latter. This is great for any extended mags, as they can sometimes stretch three slots vertically.
Best Class 5 armour
- NPP KIASS Korund-VM body armour
- 6B13 M modified assault armour (Tan)
- BNTI Gzhel-K body armour
- Ars Arma CPC MOD.1 plate carrier
- CQC Osprey MK4A plate carrier (Protection, MTP)
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Class 5 is quite the mixed bag, as there are some super strong armours that I wouldn’t recommend due to their weight and somewhat over-coverage, leaving a handful of picks that offer the best of both worlds.
Your go-to basic Class 5 kit should always be the NPP KIASS Korund-VM, as it offers full soft coverage with Class 5 plates in the front, back, and sides. It does have some hefty movement penalties, and the soft parts offer only Class 2 protection, but for its availability and price, it’s a fantastic option. I always find myself using this as soon as it’s available, as it lets me get the upper hand in most gunfights.
The 6B13 M (Tan) is a bit of a tricky one to recommend, as while it offers Class 5 front and back plates with Class 3 soft across the board, it’s only obtainable from Interchange’s scav boss Killa. This means that it’s really quite rare – but if you do manage to loot it then it’s definitely worth using.
Unsurprisingly though, the BNTI Gzhel-K remains the meta body armour for Class 5, offering Class 3 soft protection in the sides, neck, and throat, alongside Class 5 plates for the front and back. The strength of the Gzhel lies in its low weight and mobility, letting you move without restrictions while maintaining strong protection.
The IOTV Gen4 body armour (Assault Kit) is somewhat of an honourable mention if you want to feel like a tank, as it gives you Class 5 plates on the front, back, and sides, alongside Class 3 on the neck, throat, and even the arms. It’s super heavy with severe movement reductions though – and you don’t always want your arms protected either for the sake of your armour’s durability.
In terms of armoured rigs, we have two options: the Ars Arma CPC MOD.1 and the CQC Osprey MK4A. The CPC MOD.1 provides Class 5 plates to the front, back, and sides, while remaining light and with little movement debuffs.
The Osprey on the other hand is a monster for this armour class, giving you Class 5 plates for the front, side, and back, alongside Class 3 soft armour for the arms, neck and throat. This covers you across the board without too much of a movement penalty either.
Best Class 6 armour
- 5.11 Tactical Hexgrid Plate Carrier
- LBT-6094A Slick Plate Carrier
- BNTI Zhuk-6a body armour
- Tasmanian Tiger SK plate carrier (Multicam Black)
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Class 6 is a bit different, as any armour is worth using because most bullets in the game won’t stand a chance of penetrating the plates. The selection is very much a balancing act between light armours with less coverage, and heavy tanks that cover you across the board.
The 5.11 Tactical Hexgrid and LBT-6094A Slick are very much of the former category, giving you just front and back protection with nothing on the sides, neck, or throat. While this isn’t ideal, they both more than make it for it in speed – so it’s a balance that you’ll have to consider based on your playstyle and what you intend to do in the raid.
The Hexgrid might seem heavier from the offset, but that’s simply because it is pre-built with hard plates. This does come at the cost of having no soft armour, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue with Class 6. The Slick on the other hand comes in much lighter with minimal movement debuffs but offers only Class 3 soft armour with Class 6 front and back plates.
The BNTI Zhuk-6a then emerges as an improvement, giving you Class 3 side, neck, and throat protection in general, alongside Class 6 plates for the front, back, and side. It doesn’t weigh a lot either – although you will get a 5% movement speed reduction.
The armoured rig selection for Class 6 isn’t great, but the Tasmanian Tiger SK is a great option if only because you can actually get it from the Traders with a barter at Ragman LL4. Its main quirk is that there’s no soft armour, so you must make sure that you’ve got both front and back Class 6 plates equipped, as the armour is functionally useless otherwise.
Armour hitboxes & armour plates explained
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Where previously an item would have one single armour class that would cover the entire section that it states with that class, armour now only protects what it visually covers, and each section has a potentially different armour class. This was changed in patch 0.14, leading to confusion for many players.
Furthermore, BSG has also introduced armour plates to the game, creating a distinction between ‘soft armour’ that is part of the rig itself, and separate auxiliary plates that can be inserted into specific armour.
With a few exceptions, most armour in the game now only provides a maximum of Class 3 protection, and you need to insert plates of a higher quality if you want to prevent bullet penetration. Any areas without plates will likely have a lower armour value too, leaving you vulnerable to weaker bullets and lucky shots.
The plates do have their own weight and movement penalties to consider alongside individual durability, so consider that when choosing one armour over another, or between different plate options.
Armour plates are often layered over the existing ‘soft armour’ that is already part of the armour that you’re placing the plates onto. This means that any incoming bullet will now have to penetrate through two separate surfaces, giving you a potentially higher level of protection even if the overall class might be a little lower.
Moreover, excellent Escape from Tarkov YouTuber Gigabeef discovered that if a bullet fails to penetrate an auxiliary armour plate, the wearer will now receive zero blunt damage. This is contrary to how the old armour (and new soft armour) works, giving greater benefit to high armour class plates.
You’ll now be ready to jump into your next raid with the best armour possible – but make sure that you’ve also got the best ammo and one of the meta weapons to complete the perfect kit. Your opposing PMCs really won’t know what’s hit them!
We have more helpful guides like this on our dedicated Escape from Tarkov homepage, letting you find out the best settings to improve your fps and see every night vision option compared.
Categories: Gaming
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
