Ammo has always mattered more than guns inEscape From Tarkov,and with the big meta shakeup introduced in Patch 0.14, players will need to know what the best bullets are if they want to take down the competition.
The following is a list of ammunition sold by LL1 and LL2 traders early in the wipe. This doesn’t account for the advanced ammo types one might find in their randomEscape From Tarkovraids or the ones you can craft at a Workbench. If you’re fresh out of bullets and are wonderingwhat to spend your money on, take a gander at the table below to find a suitable option.
Sniper Rifles
Submachine Guns benefited greatly fromPatch 0.14’s recoil changes. Almost every starter SMG, especially the PP-19 and MP5, are now extremely strong thanks to having virtually no recoil. Ammo doesn’t matter as much for these weapons early on as long as players aim for the neck. If armor does become a problem, then the 4.6x30mm and 5.7x28mm rounds should do the trick against Class III protection, at the very least.
Meanwhile,shotguns have remained more or less the same. Most early-game buckshot will still have trouble penetrating Class III armor, so make sure to stay close and aim for the face.
When it comes to intermediate assault rifles, players will behard-pressedto find anything with decent armor penetration.Most of the useful ammo typesfor 5.45x39mm and 5.56x45mm rounds have beenmoved toLL3 traders, including the 5.56x45mm M855 rounds that were the standard ammo for NATO rifles. Because of this, assault rifle users will need to rely on their scavenging skills and luck to find good ammo for their favorite weapons. However, most rifles are still lethal even with bad ammo, thanks to the recoil rework.
For battle rifles and sniper rifles, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the LL1 options. Ammo for these weapons generally has decent ammo penetration up to Class III, though players will have to be more accurate with their shots. The most reliable out of these ammo types is the 7.62x39mm FMJ forAK rifles sold by Prapor, as both the ammo and the guns that use them are relatively cheap.
