Escape From Tarkov: Stim Guide | Every Injector Explained

Stims or injectors are basically medical supplies that grant a handful of benefits depending on the type. There are some that heal your HP for a set amount, remove negative status effects, grant buffs for a certain period, or even restore limbs.

That said, the list of stims in the game is quite long that it can be overwhelming to read through all of them. To help make that easier, I have compiled this stim guide to enlighten you about the positive/negative effects of each stim and when you should use it.

Stim Guide | Every Injector Explained in Escape From Tarkov

There are a total of 16 injectors in the game, each of which provides a different effect. Let’s have a look at each of them.

Morphine

Morphine is quite possibly the most common injector in the game that acts as a fast-acting painkiller. It can provide you with a painkiller effect for up to 300 seconds with the downsides of 15 less hydration and 10 less energy.

That said, you can counter its downside by bringing enough food and water and then consuming them shortly after taking this injector.

Propital

Yet another common injector, Propital offers a wide range of buffs including a painkiller effect for 240 seconds, health regeneration, and increases to various stats. However, you will end up receiving tunnel vision and tremor 30 seconds after its effects expire. Also, these debuffs will last for 270 seconds.

In most cases, you want to use it when you need fast healing, especially if the med kit is not enough.

SJ6

This injector increases your stamina by 30 points for 240 seconds. Apart from that, it also increases your stamina recovery for the same duration. Similar to Propital, you will also get tremors and tunnel vision 40 seconds after using it, though they only last for 200 seconds.

Ideally, you want to use it when repositioning is necessary during combat.

ETG

You can think of this one as the more advanced version of Propital as it basically provides all of its effects, except for the painkiller. On the flip side, it will reduce your health/endurance by 5 levels for 60 seconds. It will also reduce your energy recovery by 3 per second for the same duration.

Due to these, you want to use this injector when your health is at a critical level for rapid healing.

Zagustin

Zagustin could be the ultimate stim as far as bleeding is concerned. What it does is remove any existing bleeds and prevent any form of bleeding for 180 seconds. It also increases your vitality by 20 levels for the same duration.

However, it will decrease your metabolism by 5 levels for 180 seconds, give you tremor for 170 seconds, and reduces your hydration recovery for the same duration.

Due to its bleed-stopping effect, you want to use it when you have multiple bleeds active as this is where it shines the most.

M.U.L.E

The MULE basically lets you carry a huge amount of weight for a very long duration. This is quite useful when carrying tons of important loots. With the MULE active, you can get a 50% increase to your weight limit for 900 seconds. However, it will cause you to take more damage and drains your health by 0.1 per second within the same duration.

Due to this, you only want to use it when you’re overweight and are heading for extraction.

Meldonin

Meldonin is quite a pretty powerful injector for a number of reasons. First, it decreases the amount of damage you take by 10%. Second, it increases your stamina recovery by 0.5 per second for 15 minutes. And lastly, it increases your strength and endurance levels by 10 and 20 respectively.

However, it will decrease your hydration and energy by 0.1 per second for 15 minutes. As such, you only want to use it when starting a raid or just a few seconds after engaging in combat.

XTG

XTG is designed for a specific purpose: to remove poison and prevent yourself from getting inflicted. This is at the cost of a 5-level reduction in your health skill for 60 seconds. You want to use it when hunting cultists or if you are poisoned.

SJ1

Think of this one as the weaker version of SJ6. Basically, you can get 20 levels to your endurance, strength, and stress resistance for 180 seconds. On the flip side, you will suffer from energy and hydration depletion for 200 seconds.

Ideally, you only want to use it for crafting SJ6 as much as possible. But if the situation calls for it, you can use it to gain movement buffs during combat.

P22

A weaker version of the Meldonin, P22 provides you with reduced damage taken for 60 seconds. At the same time, it will increase your health, vitality, and stress resistance levels by 10. However, it will cause you to have reduced stamina recovery and endurance levels.

You should only use this injector during or right before combat to benefit from its damage reduction effect.

L1

The L1 is basically a combination of effects from various injectors. It gives you the painkiller effect for 120 seconds and increases your stamina, endurance, and strength by 30, 10, and 20 respectively. However, it will deplete your energy and hydration by .45 per second for 60 seconds.

Due to its effects, you can use it anytime you want to gain a boost in your movement speed or if you are slightly overweight.

Adrenaline

This injector removes contusions, grants the painkiller effect, and increases health regeneration. Moreover, it also increases your endurance, strength, and recoil control by 10 levels for 60 seconds. All these come with energy and hydration depletion which last for 30 seconds.

Ideally, it’s best used before or during combat to maximize its recoil reduction effect.

AHF1-M

Basically a weaker Zagustin, this one prevents bleeding and also increases your health by 5 levels for 60 seconds. The only downside is that you deplete hydration by .3 per second for 120 seconds. It’s best used before combat as a means of preventing bleeding.

3-(b-TG)

This injector is designed for the purpose of looting. Throughout its duration, you can enjoy increased attention and perception. It also increases your strength by 10 levels and stamina recovery by 1 per second. However, it depletes your energy by .25 per second and causes tremor for 45 seconds after 220 seconds.

Obdolbos

Considered a meme item by plenty of EFT players, the Obdolbos increases your endurance and strength by 10 levels for 30 minutes. It also increases stress resistance and charm by 20 levels and stamina recovery by .5 per second.

Its list of downsides can be quite long, with the most prominent being decreased memory, intellect, and attention. It also causes pain, light bleeding, and tunnel vision throughout its duration, among others. The only instance you should ever use it is to complete the “Samples” quest. Other than that, DON’T ever use this stim.

SJ9

The last injector on this list, SJ9 reduces your body temperature which causes you to be undetectable by enemy thermal devices. On the flip side, it reduces metabolism by 20 levels, depletes health by .1 per second, and causes pain and tremor for quite a lengthy duration.

You only want to use it if you think the enemy is using a thermal device. Other than that, you’re better off just selling it.