How to Increase PMC Karma in Escape from Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov’s new PMC Karma feature in patch 0.15 brought a lot of controversy to the game. Players have been concerned about the feature for years since it was already planned for so long. Each PMC will have a stat called the PMC Karma. Doing specific activities can raise or lower your PMC Karma, and some of you might have even heard the dreaded sound notification that indicates a dedication to your PMC Karma. Here’s everything you need to know about increases and decreases in PMC Karma in Escape from Tarkov.

What Actions Increase PMC Karma in Escape from Tarkov?

Actions that increase your PMC Karma are “open” playstyle activities you do while in the raid. These activities are basically playing PvP against other players or being more “aggressive” in terms of playstyle. The more you move, the more open your actions. While there are no clear indicators for increasing PMC Karma, you can treat every action as good or bad. If you are playing more and engaging against more PMC (indicated by your kills/performance), you’ll have no problems with PMC Karma.

The mechanics could change in the course of a few months, and we might not even see it. This has been the case for multiple features in Escape from Tarkov. Initially, the plan for PMC Karma was to get increases to PMC Karma when you kill the opposite faction (BEAR vs USEC and vice versa) and lose some when you kill a player on the same faction as your character.

This mechanic won’t bode well with the current gameplay or playstyle because everyone will hestiate on every engagement they encounter.

Related: All Transit Locations in Escape from Tarkov

What Decreases Your PMC Karma in Escape from Tarkov?

Currently, PMC Karma is aimed towards dishonest playstyles, which are the so called “rats” who camp non-stop and those who AFK (away from keyboard) so they experience less PvP since there will players who have extracted already. These type of playstyles ruins the experience of some players who are actively and honestly plays the game through finishing quests, farming items, and fighting hard bosses.

When you camp or stay still for a few minutes, you might hear an ominous sound notification. This sound means that you lost some PMC Karma, and someone is out to get you soon. Lowering your PMC Karma will force the Partisan boss to be heavily aggressive toward you. He’ll hunt you down, lay down some traps, and send some of his cultists to ruin your runs.

However, Partisan only spawns in forest-like maps such as Woods and Shoreline. Partisan also shows up in Customs (dorms area) and this is where he is the most dangerous. Putting all those tripwires inside the extremely cramped hallways will force players to be extra careful when approaching this area. Since it is a hot area, you don’t want Partisan to get aggressive toward you since you might be fighting another PMC in the area.

There will be more changes coming to PMC Karma throughout the wipes and hopefully, it makes the game even better.