Back to Lore
GLOSSARY
40 terms every Tarkov player ends up learning, usually the hard way.
Factions & Groups
- PMC
- Private Military Company operative, the character you play. Every PMC belongs to one of two factions, USEC or BEAR.
- USEC
- United Security, the western PMC contracted by TerraGroup to protect its secrets. One of the two playable factions.
- BEAR
- Battle Encounter Assault Regiment, the Russian PMC created to expose TerraGroup. The other playable faction.
- TerraGroup
- The transnational corporation whose illegal research caused the entire conflict. Its Labs subsidiary built the secret facility beneath Tarkov.
- Scav
- Scavenger, a local who stayed behind and turned to looting. Most are AI, but players can also raid as a Scav with free random gear.
- Player Scav
- A raid played as your Scav character instead of your PMC. Free gear, no risk to your stash, on a cooldown timer.
- Scav Boss
- Named elite Scavs with guards and unique loot, like Reshala, Killa, or Tagilla. Each rules a territory. See our Bosses guide.
- The Goons
- Knight, Big Pipe, and Birdeye, a rogue USEC squad that rotates between four maps. Track them with our live Goon Tracker.
- Raiders
- Heavily armed AI soldiers found mainly on Reserve and The Lab. Far deadlier than regular Scavs.
- Rogues
- Ex-USEC AI operatives holding the water treatment plant on Lighthouse with mounted weapons. They hold fire on USEC players unless provoked.
- Cultists
- The Witnesses of the Arrival, hooded night stalkers who ambush with poisoned knives. Their purpose is one of the game's mysteries.
- Fence
- The trader who runs the Scav network. Buys anything, tracks your Scav reputation, and gives the Collector quest for the Kappa container.
- Lightkeeper
- The mysterious end-game trader on the Lighthouse island, reachable only through a long quest chain and guarded by the sniper Zryachiy.
Raid Mechanics
- Raid
- One round of Tarkov: spawn on a map, do what you came to do, and reach an extraction point alive before the timer ends.
- Extract
- The exit points that end your raid successfully. Each map has several, some conditional (money, keys, green flares, or co-op).
- Found in Raid (FIR)
- A status items earn when you extract with them after finding them in a raid. Many quest handovers and all flea market listings require it.
- Secure Container
- The pouch whose contents survive death. Sizes range from small starter containers up to the 4x3 Kappa.
- Insurance
- Pay a trader before the raid and gear you lose may come back, as long as nobody extracted with it. Offered by Prapor and Therapist.
- Marked Room
- Special locked rooms with symbols by the door that spawn rare valuables and keycards. The dorms marked room on Customs is the most famous.
- Marked Circle
- Cultist ritual circles where items can be placed and exchanged. Tied to the cult and late-game content.
Progression & Economy
- Wipe
- A periodic full reset of all player progress, levels, stashes, and quests. Everyone starts over, and the early-wipe economy is its own experience.
- Flea Market
- The player-driven marketplace, unlocked at a level requirement. Prices move with supply and demand. Track them live on our Market page.
- Loyalty Level (LL)
- Your standing with each trader, from LL1 to LL4, gated by player level, reputation, and money spent. Higher levels unlock better stock.
- Hideout
- Your upgradeable base. Stations generate money, craft items, and buff your PMC. Track upgrades with our Hideout tool.
- Kappa
- The largest secure container, earned by completing Fence's Collector quest. The classic long-grind goal. See our Kappa tracker.
- Barter
- Trading items instead of money with traders. Some of the best gear in the game is cheapest through barters.
- Scav Karma
- Your reputation with Fence. Raise it by playing Scav cooperatively and using car extracts; it improves your Scav runs and Fence's prices.
- GP Coin
- Arena-earned currency spent at the trader Ref. Bridges Arena progression into the main game.
Community Slang
- Chad
- A player who runs expensive gear and pushes every fight head-on. The opposite of a rat.
- Rat
- A player who moves slowly, hides, and wins through patience and ambushes rather than aim. Ratting is a legitimate lifestyle.
- Hatchling
- A player who enters raid with only a melee weapon to grab loot with zero gear risk. Widely disliked, occasionally profitable.
- Gear Fear
- Being too scared to use your good equipment, so it rots in your stash forever. Every new player has it; the cure is dying with it equipped.
- Head, Eyes
- The kill report you see when a single bullet finds your face. The most feared phrase in Tarkov.
- Third-Party
- Joining a fight late while two other parties wear each other down, then cleaning up. The smartest and rudest way to win.
- Extract Camper
- A player who waits at an extraction point to kill people leaving the raid. Universally despised, eternally present.
- Wiggle
- Leaning left and right rapidly to signal friendly intent, usually between player Scavs. The official diplomatic language of Tarkov.
- Cheeki Breeki
- Scav battle cry borrowed from Slavic slang, roughly celebrating a successful hustle. You will hear it right before or after being shot at.
- Loot Goblin
- A player who ignores fights entirely and vacuums up every item on the map. Often found in duffle bags, rarely found in gunfights.
- Juiced
- Describes a player or stash flush with high-end gear and money. A juiced player is a walking loot pinata, if you can win the fight.
- Meta
- The community-agreed best-in-slot guns, ammo, and builds of the current patch. Check the ammo chart, the meta always starts with the bullet.
New to the game? Our beginner mistakes guide covers what to actually do with all this vocabulary.
Beginner Guide