Escape From Tarkov: 10 Best Beginner Trades

Picture this:

It’s your first time playing Escape From Tarkov. You wisely decide to start out as a scav and begin testing the waters. And, hey! You’ve scored your first kill! You begin looting everything you can as fast as possible – weapons, ammo, armor, mods, and… cans of beef stew? If you’re like me when I started playing, you probably opted to leave behind the cans of Tushonka because you didn’t think it was worth anything. But, a seasoned Tarkov veteran knows that a few cans of that beef stew you left laying around can be traded in for a shiny new AK!

This game is tough in a lot of ways, and learning trades as a beginner is one of them. That’s why I’ve put together this list of the best trades you can make as a beginner in Escape From Tarkov. Each of these trades can be made at level one with each vendor, so the only things required are the items.

Prapor

Prapor can turn your beef stew into an AK. You read that correctly.

Prapor is one of the most useful traders starting out in Escape From Tarkov, as he has a good variety of items that aren’t too expensive. However, he’s kind of a cheap-skate, and you should only sell items to him that the other traders won’t take – because he’ll almost always offer less.

The first trade I’d like to discuss is the aforementioned “3 Tushonka for an AKM” trade. That’s right, Prapor will take 3 of your Tushonka cans (the small kind) and in turn give you an AKM. What’s the catch? Well, there isn’t one. The AKM is a potent rifle that delivers one of the best ammo types in the game (7.62×39) in both automatic and single fire modes. You can check out how all of the different kinds of ammo performs on the Escape From Tarkov Wiki.

Next, you’re going to want to give Prapor your Clin Wiper sprays in turn for packs of 5.45×39 BP ammo. This ammo can definitely get the job done, and it is used by many weapons you’ll find early on, such as the AK-74, AK-74M, AKS-74, AKS-74N, and AK-105.

Therapist

Therapist sells meds – who would’ve thought?

As you’ve probably already figured out, Therapist is your go-to for medical supplies. She’ll pay a premium on meds that you sell her, some electronics, and dog-tags that you take off of PMC’s.

As for trades, she has two of the most useful trades for beginners and veterans alike in Escape From Tarkov. First, you’re going to want to give her your matches for painkillers. Painkillers are a must-have in raids, as they nullify the effects of blacked-out limbs for a few minutes at a time, and they come with four charges. Just make sure they’re kept in a safe container so you don’t lose them upon death.

Next, she’ll take 2 duct tapes in exchange for a Car med kit. This is a great kit, as it can heal over double the amount of health that an AI-2 can, as well as stop bleeding. Even though it takes two spaces of inventory, it will save space due to its multi-functionality.

Skier

A battery can’t shoot, but an ADAR can.

The next trade for beginners in Escape From Tarkov is offered by Skier – he’ll give you one of the best early-game rifles you can find in turn for a rechargeable battery. The ADAR is single fire and delivers 5.56×45 ammunition, one of the most well-rounded ammo types in the game.

As for what you can sell to skier, he like mods, but only certain ones. Picky.

Peacekeeper

If only busted hard drives were worth anything in real life.

Contrary to his name, Peacekeeper sells plenty of deadly gear. The catch with this trader, however, is that he only deals in U.S. dollars, so most of his gear is off-limits when you’re just starting out in Tarkov. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some good trades though, starting with a trade that will net you an M67 grenade for a couple of Zibbo lighters.

Next, 8 knives may seem like a lot, but they are worth very little individually and you’ll find them on almost everyone you loot. For your efforts, Peacekeeper will reward you with the deadly MP5.

Last, you can turn your damaged hard drives into backpacks. While an MBSS is low on the totem pole of backpacks, it gets the job done and is worth more than some useless hard drive.

Mechanic

Storage and a shotty.

If you ever need to sell a weapon, this is your guy. Mechanic also loves mods, but he doesn’t offer quite as much as Skier. So, check with Skier first, and sell whatever is left to Mechanic.

As for trades, you can pick up a sweet modded MP-133 shotgun for 4 red pliers. The second trade is probably the most difficult to do on this list, but you’ll quickly learn that storage space is paramount in Escape From Tarkov. Once you’ve collected four blue and one green gunpowder, you can get an ammo case from mechanic. This case takes up only 4 storage slots but contains 49 slots of ammo storage. Pretty sweet!