A rifle with 5 scopes and other dumb guns you can make in Escape From Tarkov

(Image credit: Battlestate Games)

Modding guns in Escape From Tarkov is an almost spiritual experience. Where most online shooters might give you a choice of scope and muzzle attachment, Tarkov lets you customize every conceivable component. Gas tubes, barrels, receivers, side mounts, and optics can all be replaced to create your perfect angel of death, a weapon of war tailored to your every desire. The guns you are about to witness are not these guns.

Because with light, so must come darkness, and the freedom of Tarkov's overwhelmingly complicated gun modding lets you make some truly abhorrent monsters. These are just a few of my favorite guns, each one so weird it could be an Exotic weapon from Destiny 2. And if you dare follow in my footsteps, I've even created a shopping list for each one so you can easily recreate them.

Be sure to click the icon in the top so you can fullscreen these images and behold their full glory. (Image credit: Battlestate Games)

Eye of Providence

"And God said, let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, and it was, like, really bright." — Excerpt from ancient religious text

You cannot kill that which you cannot see is probably the most fundamental truth of any shooter, but thankfully there's the Eye of Providence, a Colt M4A1 equipped with five flashlights that will let you peer into even the blackest abyss and bathe your enemies in radiant, scintillating light. And to make sure you can always get a bead on your foes, I have attached five separate optics: three reflex sights mounted on a Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 scope, with a fifth T-1 reflex sight mounted at an angle along the handguard. Other notable features include a suppressor and drum magazine because reloading is for losers.

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Shopping list:

Colt M4A1 5.56x45 assault rifle
Hera Arms CQR pistol grip-stock
ADAR buffer tube
Magpul PMAG D-60 5.56x45 60-round magazine
Colt AR-15 charging handle
406mm Molot barrel
Rotor 43 5.56x45 muzzle brake
MK12 low profile gas block
34mm one piece magmount w/ multimount rail
Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 rifle scope
Three Belomo PK-06 reflex sights
Remington Arms handguard for a R11 RSASS
Remington RAHG 4 inch guide
Zenit RK-1 Foregrip on B-25U mount
NcStar MPR45 backup mount
Aimpoint mount for Micro series
Aimpoint Micro T-1 reflex sight
Five Remington RAHG 2 inch guides
Five 25mm mount rings
Five Armytek Predator Pro v3 XHP35 HI Flashlights

Each round in the magazine is a different type of ammo, so you'll never know what you'll get. (Image credit: Battlestate Games)

Box of Chocolates

"Mama always said, dying was a part of life. I sure wish it wasn’t."

Any warrior worth his salt can kill regardless of the weapon, and Box of Chocolates is the gun that separates warriors from corpses. I have meticulously loaded its 20-round drum magazine with at least one of each different type of 12-gauge ammo, meaning you'll never know whether your next shot will unleash a devastating 12x70mm AP-20 slug or just some useless buckshot. But that shouldn't concern a true warrior like you. Along with the customary suppressor, Box of Chocolates also comes with a laser designator and dual flashlights—so you can guarantee your enemies will always be coming to you.

Shopping list:

Saiga 12ga ver. 10 12/76 shotgun
Izhmash SOK-12 Sb.0-2 dust cover
Izhmash SOK-12 AK type stock
Izhmash AK polymer pistol grip
Izhmash SOK-12 rear sight
MaxRounds Powermag 20-round 12/76 magazine
SOK-12 aluminum handguard MTU002 Long Top
Eotech HHS-1 sight Tan
Zenit RK-1 Foregrip
LA-5 tactical device
Two 2P Klesch flashlight + laser designators
Hexagon 12K sound suppressor

Sight and Silence

"A coward judges all he sees by what he is." - Unknown

Though you might think this a mere PM pistol modded with a sight mounted suppressor, the inverse is actually true: This is a suppressor modded with a pistol. Yes, the distinction matters. Legends say that eons ago mythical gunsmiths called the Alpha Dogs forged a suppressor with a weaver rail built on top of it so that warriors could mount optics on the suppressor itself. It was, naturally, branded as heresy and the Alpha Dogs were disembowled in front of The Autarch and his court. Most were of these profane suppressors were thought destroyed, but a few have apparently survived.

Shopping list:

PM (t) 9x18PM pistol
Alpha Dog Alpha 9 9x19 sound suppressor
Aimpoint mount for Micro series
Sig Sauer Romeo 4 reflex sight
PM/PPSH 9x18PM 84-round drum magazine

Bucking Bronco

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

This AKS-74U platform boasts four laser designators to ensure you can always get a bead on your target—which is good because you'll need all the help you can get the moment you pull the trigger. The AKS-74U already suffers from wild recoil, but without a stock this bad boy will kick harder than a mule, making it a challenge to kill even the closest target. To compensate, Bucking Bronco comes with an enormous 95-round drum mag, so you can spray and pray all day. The two optics, however, are a cruel joke by its designer: Both of them are obscured by the other and pretty much useless. Something tells me you won't need them anyway.

Shopping list:

AKS-74U
Izhmash AK-74 Textolite pistol grip
Zenit RP-1 charge handle for AK
AKS-74U Gas Tube
95-round 5.45x39 magazine for RPK-16 and compatibles
Alfa Arms Goliaf AKS-74U Handguard
Holosun HS401G5 reflex sight
AKS-74U Dust cover
B-18 mount
Sig Sauer mount
Sig Sauer Romeo 4 reflex sight
Three AN/PEG-2 tactical devices
2P Flesch flashlight + laser designator

Lil' Prowler

"Alone in the dark, even the smallest of creatures is terrifying."

The Lil' Prowler is a compact SMG boasting an expensive nightvision optic perfect for stalking your prey and gunning them down in the black of night. The 50-round drum mag is a necessity, though, since you'll need all the help you can get trying to shoot up close while looking down a 3.5x scope. If you manage to survive until dawn (you won't), Lil' Prowler even features a secondary reflex sight mounted on top of the nightvision scope.

Shopping list:

HK MP5 Kurz 9x19 SMG
X Products X-5 MP5 50-round 9x19 magazine
MP5k Polymer handguard
MFI HK universal low profile scope mount
Armasight universal base
Vulcan MG night scope 3.5x
Belomo PK-06 reflex sight

With over 7 years of experience with in-depth feature reporting, Steven's mission is to chronicle the fascinating ways that games intersect our lives. Whether it's colossal in-game wars in an MMO, or long-haul truckers who turn to games to protect them from the loneliness of the open road, Steven tries to unearth PC gaming's greatest untold stories. His love of PC gaming started extremely early. Without money to spend, he spent an entire day watching the progress bar on a 25mb download of the Heroes of Might and Magic 2 demo that he then played for at least a hundred hours. It was a good demo.