What is PMC Karma in Escape from Tarkov? – Explained

Escape from Tarkov has a game-changing mechanic called PMC Karma, which was introduced in patch 0.15. PMC Karma almost works the same way as Scav Karma, where you do certain activities or deeds, and you either get punished or rewarded for doing them. It was already impactful for Scavs, but PMCs are a whole different story. Here’s how PMC Karma works in Escape from Tarkov.

How Does PMC Karma Work in Escape from Tarkov?

PMC Karma is a hidden parameter or stat each player has for their PMC. While playing as a PMC, doing specific actions or tasks gives you an increase or decrease in your hidden PMC Karma. If you do a specific action, a sound notification will play, and you’ll know if you did something to change your PMC Karma.

The PMC Karma feature was implemented to change how players “play” the game. Some players love to camp in a single spot, hoping for a big payday through someone who worked hard to loot everything in the raid. This playstyle could be seen as dishonest, and this is what the PMC Karma aims to do.

You’ll lose more and more PMC Karma for doing “dishonest” activities as a PMC. You’ll gain those PMC Karma back after doing a more “open” play style. The 0.15 patch notes are as vague as they are, but these are pretty common when Battlestate Games releases their major updates.

Overall, if you play the game naturally without looking to do some exploits or rude behaviors, you should naturally get enough PMC Karma.

PMC Karma will be tied to future mechanics, especially with the boss, Paristan, which is where the whole 0.15 patch revolves around. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with, especially with the Marathon or map-to-map features becoming available, too. The patch took one of the longest wipes to date and it comes after their Unheard Edition fiasco, too.

Here’s an additional guide for patch 0.15 regarding all the Transit locations in Escape from Tarkov.