Escape from Tarkov ― NATO rounds pt.2

The first article of this series is available here: Escape from Tarkov ― Ammo History

Warmageddon

Warmageddon is not a NATO-adopted round.
At first glance, the name sounds almost absurdly aggressive, but once you understand the background behind its development, it starts to make a lot more sense.
This round is generally understood to have been designed for situations such as:

• counter-terrorism operations

• urban combat

• environments where civilians are likely to be nearby

Its design philosophy is very clear.

• penetration is deliberately limited

• the round is designed to dump its energy inside the human body

In other words, instead of penetrating through the target, it aims to maximize damage to the body itself.
Put simply, this is a round designed with two priorities above all else:

• reliably stopping the person it hits

• preventing over-penetration that could injure a third party

Seen from that angle, even its violent name starts to feel less exaggerated.
If the goal is to end a fight as quickly as possible, it makes sense.

Would Mixing It with AP Make It the Ultimate Combo?

At this point, a very natural question arises.
If you use AP rounds to defeat armor,
then follow up with Warmageddon,
would that not maximize damage overall?
I actually posed this question to ChatGPT.
According to real-world military doctrine, however, this kind of mixing is generally not done.
The reasons are straightforward:

• the ballistic behavior differs

• the roles of the rounds are clearly separated

AP rounds are specialized for defeating armor.
Warmageddon is entirely focused on stopping the target once hit.
In real military usage:

• AP is used as AP

• Warmageddon is used in its own specific context

Ammunition is selected by scenario, not mixed casually within the same role.
This is a good example of how game logic and real-world operational thinking can diverge.

How It Fits into Tarkov

From here on, this becomes a Tarkov-specific discussion.
Warmageddon appears to be extremely effective against:

• unarmored Scavs

• lightly equipped NPCs

On the other hand, against:

• heavily armored PMCs

its lack of penetration becomes a direct and serious disadvantage.
Thinking of Warmageddon as a round with a very clearly defined role feels like the most accurate way to understand it.

FMJ (Full Metal Jacket)

When you hear the term Full Metal Jacket,
thanks in no small part to the movie, it sounds powerful.
In reality, FMJ does not describe performance at all.
It simply describes construction.
FMJ refers to a bullet structure consisting of:

• a lead core

• enclosed by a copper or brass jacket

That is it.
It does not automatically mean high penetration or high lethality.

Why Full Metal Jacket Exists

There was a time when bullets were made entirely of lead.
Pure lead bullets, however, came with many problems:

• they fouled the barrel easily

• their shape was unstable

• they could not reliably withstand high-rate fire

Covering the lead core with a metal jacket was a solution to these issues.
The FMJ structure was born from the desire to make feeding, firing, and overall behavior more stable.
As a result, FMJ became widely used as:

• civilian ammunition

• training ammunition

• a baseline bullet structure

FMJ in Tarkov

Because of this, both in the real world and in Tarkov, FMJ is generally treated as:
a standard round with no special performance characteristics
Even officially adopted military rounds such as M855 are structurally FMJ-based, but their actual performance is determined by other design factors.
For that reason, expecting too much just because a round is labeled FMJ is usually a mistake.

HP / SP

HP and SP are very easy to understand once you know what the names mean.

• HP: Hollow Point, with a cavity in the tip

• SP: Soft Point, with exposed lead at the tip

Both share common characteristics:

• they deform easily inside the body

• they are designed to avoid over-penetration

These rounds have traditionally been used primarily for hunting, with goals such as:

• reliably stopping the target

• preventing the bullet from passing through and causing collateral damage

How They Differ from Warmageddon

This naturally brings us back to Warmageddon.
HP and SP rounds are defined by their structure, which causes them to deform as a result of impact.
Warmageddon, on the other hand, is different at a conceptual level.
It is designed from the outset with the sole purpose of stopping a human target.
Both are low-penetration rounds, but the degree to which they are optimized for that role is fundamentally different.

SSA AP

Among Tarkov players, SSA AP is often regarded as the strongest round available.
That evaluation, however, is heavily influenced by game balance rather than real-world performance.
SSA stands for Superior Shooting Ammunition, which is the name of a real civilian ammunition manufacturer.
The key point here is simple:
SSA AP is not a NATO-adopted round.

Why AP Exists on the Civilian Market

In the modern world:

• private security contractors

• law enforcement units such as SWAT

increasingly face opponents wearing body armor.
As a result, even in the civilian market, there has been demand for rounds with:
a certain level of armor penetration
SSA AP can be understood as a product born from modern security realities.

The Gap Between Reality and the Game

Based on real-world data, SSA AP is generally not considered superior to M995.
Its extreme effectiveness in Tarkov is likely driven by factors such as availability and game balance.
This is a good example of something that is:
rooted in reality, but exaggerated for gameplay purposes
Keeping that distinction in mind helps avoid confusion.

SOST / RRLP

SOST and RRLP are not grouped together simply because their names look similar.
They share a much more important connection.
Both were developed as responses to problems inherent in AP ammunition.

The Problems with AP Rounds

AP rounds are:

• extremely hard

• highly resistant to deformation

These traits make them excellent at defeating armor.
At the same time, they also cause serious issues:

• excessive over-penetration

• increased ricochet risk

• higher likelihood of injuring unintended third parties

SOST: An Answer to Urban Combat

SOST, Special Operations Science and Technology, Mk318 Mod 0, was developed based on urban combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The challenge was contradictory:

• rounds needed to pass through light barriers like walls or vehicle panels

• but could not afford to over-penetrate once they hit a target

SOST was designed to strike a balance:

• penetrate just enough

• stop once it hits the target

Because it was developed specifically for US Marine Corps special operations units:

• it does not use the general M designation

• it uses Mk for special equipment

• and Mod instead of A for revisions

RRLP: A Different Answer Focused on Safety

RRLP, Reduced Ricochet, Limited Penetration, Mk255 Mod 0, was developed not for combat, but for:

• training

• urban environments

• safety considerations

To reduce ricochet and over-penetration accidents, it was designed to:

• fragment when hitting hard surfaces

• resist penetration

• minimize ricochets

As a result, in Tarkov it is often classified as a useless round.
In reality, that simply means it performs exactly as designed.

Why Neither Was Fully Adopted

Neither SOST nor RRLP was adopted as a standard, all-force round.
SOST was too specialized, so its limited adoption is easy to understand.
RRLP, meanwhile, faced a different criticism:

• if training becomes too safe

• the gap between training and real combat grows too wide

In other words:

Tracing these adoption and rejection decisions reveals something fascinating.
It offers a glimpse into the uniquely harsh logic of military organizations.
And honestly, that alone makes the subject worth digging into.

The next article is available here:　7.62×39 rounds pt.1

Note:

The background ideas and actual gameplay experience discussed in this series are also touched on during my weekly streams every Friday.

The format is different from writing, but it may help deepen your understanding from another angle.

If you’re interested, feel free to stop by.

▶ YouTube : B.K. Gaming Channel
▶ Twitch : kaz_the_minotaur