The Impenetrable Arm Bug is Back! (FIXED??? - UPDATED 28/02/25)

In a recent video, streamer and content creator HyperRatTV revealed that the bug affecting bullet penetration and damage when passing through arms—which had been fixed in the February 21 patch—is back, albeit with some differences.

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28/2/25 UPDATE:

Today BSG released a Technical Update that should fix this bug. I will update here if the fix is actually working.

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Battlestate Games certainly has a knack for attracting some of the most controversial opinions. The Escape from Tarkov community had just finished celebrating the numerous technical updates released by BSG in recent weeks—fixing various bugs and issues—thinking that the studio was finally turning a corner in resolving problems. However, almost immediately, BSG repeated one of its all-too-frequent mistakes: reintroducing old bugs while trying to fix new ones.

In the February 21 patch, BSG had just resolved a major issue that disrupted bullet hit registration when passing through a character’s arms before reaching the chest. Previously, bullets would go through the arm but, upon hitting the chest, would only damage the armor without penetrating it to harm the body underneath. This happened even with high-caliber, high-penetration rounds that should have been able to pierce the armor and cause significant chest damage.

Everyone rejoiced—but unfortunately, the joy lasted only three days. On February 24, HyperRatTV posted on X, reporting that the bug had returned.

HyperRatTV also uploaded a demonstration video on YouTube, where, with the help of a friend, he conducted tests confirming that:

• A bullet that passes through a character’s arm hits and damages the armor but does not penetrate it to harm the chest, even if it’s a high-caliber, high-penetration round. No direct bullet damage reaches the chest—not even blunt damage. The only chest damage comes from collateral damage when the arm is blacked out by the shot.
  

• A bullet that goes through an arm on a character without armor seems to cause no direct chest damage, despite there being no armor to absorb the shot. In effect, it’s as if the arm completely absorbs the bullet. Again, the only chest damage is the collateral effect of the blacked-out arm.

"Abuse Canted Sight + B-25"

For this reason, HyperRatTV referenced the Canted Sight + B-25 abuse in his post. By equipping the NcSTAR MPR45 Backup mount, which allows for a canted sight, alongside the Zenit RK-1 tactical foregrip on B-25U mount, the character holds the weapon at an angle, positioning the left arm in a way that covers the entire chest. Due to this bug, this positioning essentially turns the arm into an additional layer of armor (see the image above).

Some Good News

The only silver lining in all of this is that Daniel (@appl3z0r on X), Lead Community Manager & Coordinator of Sherpas and Emissaries for Battlestate Games, quickly responded to HyperRatTV’s post, announcing that the bug will be fixed in the next patch (see below).

We wait (more or less) hopefully.

Until the fix arrives, either aim for the head, or use very high flesh damage ammo and aim for the legs or the arms. Center-mass shots are definitely not a good choice.