Tarkov Halloween Event 2026: EFT Halloween Guide

Patch 1.3.0.0 launched the Tarkov Halloween event on October 29, 2026, and an end date has not been announced. The Infected Lab and Infected Factory host the outbreak in a separate map-selection tab. This EFT Halloween guide covers the patch timing, both maps and their exits, the questline, the enemies, the rewards and the Arena mode.

When the Tarkov Halloween event starts

Patch 1.3.0.0 began installing on October 29, 2026 at 07:00 GMT, with downtime of 5 to 7 hours that could be extended.

It is not yet clear whether every part runs the same in PvP and the PvE Zone.

The two infected maps

The event's main activity is concentrated on The Infected Lab and Infected Factory, infected versions of The Lab and The Old Factory. Both sit in a separate map selection tab rather than the normal location list.

Only small groups can enter either location, and insurance is disabled on both. Bring gear you can afford to lose, and expect a large squad to split up.

Exits on the infected maps

On the Infected Lab the only two extracts are Sewer and Parking.

The Infected Lab exits need an access item found on the location rather than brought in: there are two items in the manager’s office, each leading to one of the two extracts. You will likely find only one and must take that extract, and the area is often contested or surrounded by zombies.

The event questline: quarantine or vaccine

A new questline asks you to choose how to respond to the outbreak. You can help enforce the quarantine on standard locations at moderate risk.

The alternative is to go straight into the outbreak zones and carry out Therapist’s follow-up examination: locate a dead scientist in a hazmat suit on Infected Lab or Infected Factory, open the body with Medical instruments, take a blood sample from someone who died from the virus, and hand it over.

Enemies in the outbreak

Infected come in fast, slow and ranged types, each with its own behaviour, and combat mechanics were rebalanced around surprise attacks and ambushes.

• Infected Tagilla: returns to raids carrying his scythe.
• Infected Black Division operatives: appear in the outbreak alongside him.
• Cultists: activity rises at night during the event, which makes night raids riskier.

Rewards

You get commemorative achievements, an event poster available only during this event, and in-game resources by advancing the story quests and killing infected. Exact reward items and amounts were not listed with the launch.

Preparing for the EFT Halloween event

Use this EFT Halloween guide's preparation list before you enter either infected map:

• Take equipment whose loss you can accept: on both infected maps, insurance does not work.
• Prepare for a small squad: only small groups are permitted on the event maps.
• Be cautious with night raids: during the event, Cultists are active more at night.
• Start the questline early: the event has no listed end date.

Arena: CheckPoint: Bloodlust

Escape from Tarkov: Arena has its own Halloween mode, CheckPoint: Bloodlust, a team-based 5v5 mode with firearms completely disabled, so all fights are melee. Players wear masks modelled on classic horror-film killers. Combat uses only knives and blunt weapons.

Matches and kills give double XP, Battle Pass progression gets a 1.5x bonus, and cash prizes are paid out. Completing a special questline earns the "Mask Off" achievement.

Zombies in Tarkov 2026

Tarkov zombies in 2026 are no longer a tease: the event is built on a virus outbreak and a mass of aggressive infected. Before the launch, studio head Nikita Buyanov shared images of infected inside The Lab and promised it would be big.

The game's own term is "infected" rather than zombies, but it is the zombie event players were waiting for. Do not confuse it with the Lab event Scourge Incursion, which was separate and is over.

Other changes in patch 1.3.0.0

• Weather: the in-game season switched to fall.
• Loot: some Currency and Valuables items got easier-to-grab colliders.
• PvE Zone: PMC bots of high difficulty are now able to spawn in high-level locations, and they always regard players as hostile.
• Hideout: two customization sets arrived in the Expansion Hub, "Your Own Celestial Empire" and "Once Upon a Time in Tarkov".
• Skills: Metabolism now gains levels from energy and hydration you restore; in Seasonal mode every skill levels more quickly; diminishing returns have been rebalanced; and tripwires placed by players stay longer.

The Unity 6 engine migration is not in 1.3.0.0 and arrives with patch 1.3.5.0 in mid-November.

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Scourge Incursion: the lead-up event

The Scourge Incursion is a separate Lab event that started on October 16, 2026 and was extended to October 26, when it ended. It introduced the boss Scourge alongside elite Arena guards carrying high-tier weapons such as the PKM, and Therapist sold TerraGroup Labs access keycards at Loyalty Level 2 during it.

The boss spawns beneath the central Cat area. Fighting him goes in this order:

1. Throw fragmentation or impact grenades beneath Cat to flush the guards out without giving them line of sight.
2. Bait the aggressive guards around corners, holding head-level crosshairs on the doorways and stairs up to Red Room and the bunk bed offices.
3. Kill the rushing guards before hunting Scourge, who generally stays passive while they push.
4. Avoid the open floor and the side opposite Cat, where the AI's accuracy lands instant headshots.

History of Tarkov Halloween events

Halloween 2025

The 2025 event started on October 22, 2025 with roaming Cultists and festive item changes. The special Cultists Oni, Harbinger and Ghost spawned on Customs, Woods and Shoreline in the locations normally held by the Goons, and Cultist spawn chances rose across standard maps.

Tagilla spawned armed with a scythe. AI enemies wore tactical jack-o'-lantern pumpkin helmets and carried acid-green signal flares. World containers held pumpkins filled with sweets, trader portraits turned spooky and the Hideout gained Halloween lighting.

Halloween 2024

An outbreak spread from The Lab from October 31, 2024, tracked on an external event site. Infected civilians, PMCs, lab workers and Tagilla attacked players with fists, knives and pistols.

Melee hits from infected applied the Virus debuff, which reduced hydration and caused temporary deafness until extraction or death. The Lab was free to enter without a keycard, and a containment block opened near the G11 quarantine area.

Scavs and Scav bosses stayed neutral to PMCs unless provoked. Player Scavs could turn the infected neutral by drinking two bottles of Tarkovskaya vodka, Dan Jackiel whiskey or Fierce Hatchling moonshine.

Halloween 2023

The 2023 festivities arrived in two parts, culminating in the Zryachiy ritual on October 30, 2023. Raids outside Factory and The Lab featured roaming Zryachiy and six Ritual Cultists conducting a 6-minute, 30-second ritual beneath a blue sky beam.

Completing the ritual summoned Vengeful Zryachiy, a boss with a massive health pool who hunted PMCs. Killing the roaming Zryachiy turned the time to night and closed all but one extraction, and the Primal Fear and Chilling Horror debuffs caused permanent weapon misfires until the raid ended. Unjammable weapons such as revolvers, the PPSh-41 and stationary guns were useful against Vengeful Zryachiy.

Halloween 2022

Beginning on October 27, 2022, global debuffs and roving bosses dominated raids. Tagilla roamed all maps with 1,900 HP, a scythe and a skull mask.

PMCs spawned into every raid with random negative status effects, and weapons jammed more often. A community website tracked a global "Dooomed" counter that triggered 30-minute global modifiers whenever it reached 666,666. Cultist spawn rates were elevated on all maps except The Lab.