Escape from Tarkov is a unique game, thanks to its realism and tactical gameplay, making even the most experienced players feel like newborns grabbing a mouse and keyboard for the first time. Tarkov’s attention to detail makes the game challenging; it requires players to make hard decisions in tense moments, with a robust looting and inventory system that will give you headaches – but for the right reasons.
This guide will cover one of the main aspects of Escape From Tarkov: the player stash and how to effectively organize it.
What is the Player Stash in Escape From Tarkov?
The player stash in Escape from Tarkov is a digital inventory system wherein you can store all your in-game belongings, such as gear, weapons, equipment loot, and other items you acquire through raids, trades, or rewards. This stash is only available outside of a raid through the game’s main menu.
Player Stash Limitations
Here is where things get interesting, as there is a limited number of slots that you will have to organize to fit all your belongings. Knowing how this system works will play a pivotal role in successfully storing everything in your stash.
After a raid, if you have no space in your stash to store loot, the items will remain in your character unless you discard them or make room for them in your stash. If you complete a SCAV run alive, any item that you cannot store in your stash within Escape from Tarkov will be lost forever.
Types of Stash
When you first buy Escape From Tarkov, you can select one of many editions with some benefits based on what you choose. One benefit is stash size; the higher the edition, the bigger the stash. It is important to note that whatever edition you get can be upgraded later at a discounted price since you already purchased the game.
- Standard Edition – Basic stash (10×28 cells)
- Left Behind Edition – Increased size of stash (10×38 cells)
- Prepare for Escape Edition – Greatly increased size of stash (10×48 cells)
- Edge of Darkness Limited Edition (EOD) – Huge size of stash (10×68 cells)
What Edition Should You Buy
For starters, we recommend you begin with the Standard Edition. You can use it to get a feel for the game and how much you will play. If you struggle with storage, you can upgrade your stash at any moment for a discounted price.
For more guidance, please check out our more thorough guide on which version of Escape from Tarkov you should buy.
Tips to Organize Your Stash Effectively in Escape from Tarkov
As simple as some of these tips seem, they are helpful and need to be more obvious at times. Implementing most of these recommendations impacted our gameplay, allowing us to conserve more valuable items while saving space.
Upgrade Your Stash
There are two ways of upgrading your Stash in Escape From Tarkov. You can acquire a better edition or upgrade it in-game by progressing through the game.
To upgrade your stash in Escape from Tarkov, you must meet certain criteria and acquire specific items.
Requirements to Upgrade Stash In-Game to Level 2
- WD-40 100ml Cans x4
- Hand Drill x1
- Pack of nails x5
- Pack of screws x10
- 2.5 Million Rubles
- Level 1 Vents
You can upgrade your stash to level 4, equivalent to the stash provided in the Edge of Darkness Limited Edition. In other words, it is up to you whether you want to spend extra money or if you are all in for the grinding to upgrade your stash.
Item Rotation
Item rotation is simple but not always obvious. The position of an item in the stash will determine whether it can be stored in specific slots.
As you can see in the image, the weapon requires two six-slot spaces to fit. If you have the necessary space, but the item needs to be in the correct position physically, it won’t fit. To rotate your items, simply grab and hold the item with LEFT-CLICK and press R to rotate the item 90 degrees.
Feel free to review our detailed guide to rotating items in Escape from Tarkov.
Backpacks Inside Backpacks Inside Backpacks
If you are struggling for gear and don’t want to get rid of essential equipment at the moment, storing backpacks inside backpacks is a good way to save some gear for later.
As long as a backpack is empty, you can store another one of the same size or smaller inside it. Furthermore, you can store items such as rigs, armor, helmets, and weapons inside the second one. To do this, simply drag one backpack above the other; if one lights up green, you should be good to go.
Prioritize Valuable Items
Prioritizing valuable items in your stash is critical. Some are harder to obtain, while others have an endless pool of loot and spawn rates. For this, we recommend sticking with items that are needed for a current quest or that are highly valuable to traders.
During a raid in Escape from Tarkov, it is better to grab everything you can find and place it in your stash. Once your inventory is full, discard the less valuable items for better ones. In this way, your inventory will be filled with precious loot once you finish the raid.
Note: Spending too much time organizing your player inventory during a raid is a great way to perish in-game. Ensure you are safe in your raid in Escape from Tarkov before organizing your stash, if at all, during the raid.
Related Guide: The Best Locations on the Woods Map in Escape from Tarkov for Great Loot
Invest in Containers
While containers can be expensive, they are hands-down one of the best investments you can make with your in-game money, as they will save you tons of space.
What Containers to Get
- Junk Container – This can get acquired early in the game but at a high price from the Therapist trader. What’s great about this container is that you can throw in any valuable items found in a raid, except for gear, weapons, and food.
- LBT-2670 Slim Field Med Pack – Medical supplies are vital in Escape From Tarkov. It never hurts to have tons of them organized in your stash in Escape from Tarkov. A great way of storing them is acquiring the LBT-2670 Slim Field Med Pack. This provides a lot more space for medical supplies than the slot it takes in your stash.
- Ammo Case – Especially after the last update, which makes it harder to acquire some specific ammo type, the Ammo Case comes in clutch as it only takes four slots and allows you to store tons of ammo stacks and boxes.
- Weapon Cases – For Weapons Cases there is a wide variety of them, and whichever you decide to get will be highly beneficial as weapons can take a lot of storage in your stash.
Lose Your Gear Fear when Playing Tarkov
Having gear fear is expected in a game like this. Yet, maintaining the habit can become a significant problem in Escape from Tarkov.
If you can’t overcome this problem while playing Escape from Tarkov, we invite you to visit our Solo Anxiety guide, where we go into deep detail on this topic.
Remember that bringing good gear usually equates to winning more fights. Not utilizing your gear and avoiding conflict is a terrible habit. It will have you spending hours organizing your stash within Escape from Tarkov to fit irrelevant items, and it is just not as fun. Enjoy what you’ve earned.
Have Loadouts Ready to Go, Organized in Your Stash in Escape from Tarkov
Having loadouts ready to go inside backpacks is an excellent way of saving space in your stash and preparing for your next match without searching through each backpack to construct a loadout.
Have a backpack with a weapon, a helmet, armor, and medical supplies ready at all times.
Use the Wiki to Know What Items You Need
Escape From Tarkov’s Wiki and other sites such as playerauctions.com are great ways to know what items to keep or sell.
Dissemble or Fold Your Weapons to Save Space in Your Stash while Playing Escape from Tarkov
Some weapons, such as snipers, can be massive and take up a lot of slots. If you struggle with space in your stash in Escape from Tarkov, disassembling them is the way to go. They will become smaller, and you can store their parts in smaller slots.
You can manually disassemble more significant parts of the weapons on the inspection menu or by pressing RIGHT-CLICK and selecting the dissemble option.
Moreover, some weapons have foldable stocks that reduce the weapon’s size. To fold a weapon stock, RIGHT-CLICK the weapon and select fold.
Last Thoughts on Organizing Your Stash in Escape from Tarkov
Escape from Tarkov can be complex and challenging, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a unique experience like nothing else in the gaming industry.
We hope this guide will be beneficial for your Escape From Tarkov experience, helping you to organize all of your items in the game. Let us know what topics you want us to cover in future articles. For more great Escape from Tarkov tips, check out our companion guide to get better at the game.
Feel free to visit our other guides for Escape From Tarkov and other great first-person shooters we have covered on our site, including our list of the top 5 extraction shooter games like Escape from Tarkov.
Good luck and have fun, comrades!
