Tarkov Has A Suppressor Problem

Suppressors are strong in Tarkov. I mean, really, really strong. Well, at least on the weapons that benefit them. Because unfortunately, like weapons in this game, attachments suffer the same fate that they are all not created equal. Some parts are just outright better than others for certain roles. You want better ergonomics on a DMR? Run this. You want lower recoil and don’t mind being loud with something like an AK? Use these. But when it comes to making your weapon quiet, removing muzzle flash, and having that “tacticool” option available, some guns do it better than others. And this has only become more exacerbated by the many different nerfs to suppressors over the years; making their ergonomic penalties much more felt when being used. Even after all the changes they’ve gone through, some weapons just perform better because their suppressor options are not only more flexible, but also don’t harm the weapon nearly as much as others. So, we’re going go over some of the issues that Tarkov has with suppressors. And maybe some potential ideas to remedy this divide between calibers.

Right off the bat, I should mention that these issues are mainly with assault rifles, and maybe DMR’s. No other weapon type has these kinds of disparities between calibers. Pistols are kind of a non-factor, SMGs are actually pretty balanced, shotguns... well, there’s only two options so that’s fine. That leaves again, mainly the rifles and DMRs. And the biggest contention I see is between 5.45, and 5.56. How those suppressors simply behave so differently at a fundamental level. I know why they do, but it’s important to bring attention to it, though. For example, the way most 5.45 suppressors work (with one glaring exception), is that they attachment goes right on the weapon. Simple enough; no muzzle there already, you can just slap it on. Now you are much quieter, have no muzzle flash, and have a decent amount of recoil reduction. So, the AKs are simple enough. 5.56 weapons work a little differently. Most of their suppressors require an additional muzzle attachment to be properly fitted onto the weapon. And therein lies the problem. 5.56 can make their recoil reduction stats much higher than that of 5.45. An example of this would be the NT-4 suppressor. One of the oldest in the entire game. That suppressor has a recoil reduction stat of –10%. Which is the same as the 5.45’s PBS-4 suppressor. However, what the NT-4 has going for it, is the additional muzzle attachment that is required to use it. That piece also has a recoil reduction stat, which is –8%. So, technically, the NT-4 has a total recoil reduction stat of –18%. Of course, this comes at the cost of an additional part needed to be used, and a heft –22 ergonomic penalty. But with 5.56 weapons in general, they can recoup that ergo penalty with relative ease. But I suppose the main problem here is that, the two suppressors are fundamentally different. Some calibers can get massive recoil reductions, while other weapons struggle to achieve the same numbers. Now, obviously the elephant in the room is the waffle suppressor for the AKs. This is the exception. However, even this one work differently. Because where the massive recoil reduction comes from is the muzzle device itself, not the suppressor. The muzzle device is a whopping –17% recoil, and the suppressor itself is only –7%. So, you get –24% total; more than the NT-4, but where the reduction comes from is the opposite. And this is the same across most AKs. It’s the muzzle break that does the heavy lifting, which is the opposite to 5.56. You can see how quickly and muddy this conversation gets. Which is why it’s somewhat difficult to talk about it. Bue these two calibers aren’t the only issues with suppressors.

7.62 is also a funky caliber when it comes to attachments. In general, a lot of the 7.62 AKs have their own set of three suppressors, but out of all the calibers, these feel the worst to run. The AKM Hexagon, which gives –9% recoil, the Zenit which gives only –8.5%, and the PBS which is –12% recoil. While relatively solid, these numbers don’t really compare with other weapons, so what’s to be done? Well, with a special attachment, you can run .308 suppressors on 7.62 AKs, making them immensely scarier than with their own suppressors. And while I won’t go over any specifics because there’s a bunch of options and they are all strong, it’s crazy to me how you can run a suppressor of a different caliber, without a conversation kit or something. I don’t know exactly how all the inner workings of weapons are, and whether in a videogame that would make remotely any sense but allowing 7.62 to have more powerful suppressor options is both interesting, and potentially game breaking at the same time. Again, not everything has to be the exact same numbers, but what could potentially make running loud weapons more common, is to really emphasize those muzzle breaks on weapons where they shine. And to me, 5.45 and 7.62 are the two calibers I would most likely run loud currently. But what if 5.56’s best in slot recoil reduction attachment was a loud muzzle break? This is where we can get into some potential changes of how these systems work.

The idea of making loud muzzle breaks best in slot for recoil reduction was the initial catalyst for this whole video. Imagining an M4 that wasn’t suppressed, but instead had a huge muzzle on it with an insane amount of recoil reduction. That was what spurred me to talk about this. It’s an interesting concept, that loud and proud would be the go-to way of having guns with as little recoil as possible. And if you wanted to be suppressed, you would sacrifice some recoil reduction for the ability of stealth. I know I’ve been comparing Tarkov to Battlebit quite a lot recently, but that game has it so you sacrifice a portion of your better recoil, if you want to run a suppressor and be quiet. It’s an interesting tug of pros and cons. And something like that in Tarkov, universal across all weapons, would be fascinating to see and try out. You’d have more people running loud weapons with either flash hiders or muzzle breaks, and the suppressed weapons might be reserved for mainly SMGs which would help facilitate a specific role for them as well. Granted, this is all speculation. Depending on how they balance the parts, it could become even worse than what we have, where one muzzle is best and that’s all you see. So, it may not all be good times depending on what the values would be set at. I suppose you could have more than one option for best in slot, so you at the very least see some visual variety and it isn’t literally just one option on every gun. But, since that isn’t going to ever happen, all we can do is hypothesize and come up with these what if situations.

Suppressors are arguably too strong in Tarkov. That’s kind of the long and short of it. For some rifles, having a suppressor on it guarantees the most positive outcomes possible for you in terms of surviving gunfights. You get to have a quiet weapon, it has the least amount of recoil possible, there’s no muzzle flash. And it sounds really cool. But seriously, it’s crazy how effective they can be on the right weapons. Whereas for others, having nothing but a muzzle break and going loud and proud is the most optimal way to run some guns. It would be interesting to see the game get flipped on its head and everyone running around with loud weapons, and rarely seeing weapons with suppressors on them. Maybe an SMG or bolt-action rifle here and there, for specific roles. But again. The chances of the game pivoting like this is pretty much zero. At least we can imagine the game like that and talk about how it would play out. But what are your thoughts on suppressors in Tarkov? Are they too strong? Do they have enough drawbacks to where they feel balanced? Also, what’s your consensus on having suppressors go on weapons they aren’t intended for? Please let me know down in the comments and be sure to subscribe for more videos talking about the potentially ever-changing balance of attachments in Tarkov. I hope to see you in future ones.