Scavs

When the blockade sealed Tarkov, the civilians who stayed behind had to survive somehow. Scarcity did the rest. People banded into packs, armed themselves with whatever the war left lying around, and turned to looting, robbery, and worse. The locals gave them a name: Scavs, short for scavengers.

Scav groups range from disorganized rabble to genuine gangs with territory and leadership. The most organized answer to bosses: Shturman's Svetloozersk gang holds the sawmill on Woods, Reshala's crew runs Customs, and every other map has its own power structure. Our boss guides cover each of them.

In gameplay terms, Scavs are both the AI enemies that populate every raid and a playable mode: you can enter a raid as your own Scav character with free randomized gear, no risk to your PMC stash, and a cooldown between runs. How you behave as a Scav feeds your reputation with Fence.

The smartest habit in Tarkov is learning to tell AI Scavs from player Scavs in a half-second: the AI mutters in Russian, stares at walls, and patrols aimlessly. The player Scav is the one wiggling at you and hoping you wiggle back.