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Escape from Tarkov’s 2026 Halloween outbreak adds infected to normal raids and creates two dedicated high-infection queues: Infected Lab and Infected Factory. The event began with patch 1.3.0.0 on 29 October 2026; Battlestate Games has not announced an end date. Infected attack at close range or with pistols, some can apply the Virus effect, and the two special maps disable insurance. Their exact health, armor, and body-loot tables are still unpublished, so plan around sound, ammunition volume, medical supplies, and quest objectives rather than a guaranteed zombie loot farm.
This guide covers how spawns are presented, what the different infected do, how Virus and damage work, what community reports can—and cannot—tell you about health, and which pumpkins, extracts, and quest rewards are documented.
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How do zombie spawns work in the 2026 Tarkov event?
The outbreak is a map modifier, not a permanent AI faction. The raid-selection screen shows each location’s infection level, while the dedicated Halloween tab lists Infected Lab and Infected Factory at high biohazard. The official event page is available at escapefromtarkov.com/halloween, although its event information is still being filled in.
Ordinary maps and infection levels
Day-one 2026 observations found biohazard symbols at moderate or medium on most regular maps. Icebreaker, Factory, and Labs did not display the same icons in the ordinary map list because the event provides separate Infected Factory and Infected Lab queues. The exact percentage represented by each icon, and whether levels ramp over time as they did during 2024, has not been officially published.
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Battlestate describes the outbreak as spreading from The Lab across Tarkov. In 2024, a web tracker at the Halloween page changed as the infection progressed; that history is useful context, not proof of the 2026 rates.
Which infected appear?
The 2026 wiki identifies three visual classes: infected civilian, infected lab technician, and infected PMC. They roam and attack with hands, knives, and pistols. Battlestate’s 29 October release adds behavior categories—fast, slow, and ranged infected—and says their combat mechanics now include more distinctive behavior and surprise attacks. Infected Black Division operatives also appear.
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These names describe appearance or behavior, not a published health tier. Battlestate and the official wiki have not released per-type hit points, armor values, or damage tables.
What triggers a horde?
Infected are strongly attracted to sound. Suppressed fire reduces the chance that your position becomes the magnet, while unsuppressed shots and explosions can pull additional infected toward you. A 2024 retrospective reported players fighting one or two infected immediately after loading and then drawing a chain of roughly 25 within about 30 seconds; that is historical experience, not a guaranteed 2026 wave size. Poor climbing behavior was also reported in 2024, with vehicles on Streets sometimes providing temporary elevation, but no 2026 map-safe spot is guaranteed.
Where does Infected Tagilla spawn?
Current 2026 wiki notes place Infected Tagilla on Infected Factory and Infected Lab. Do not assume he appears on every ordinary map: in 2024 he roamed all maps, but the current 2026 event listing scopes him to the two infected locations. A later hotfix could change that.
He carries the Old hand scythe. Its published weapon values are 293 Chop damage, 415 Stab damage, and 1.2 metres of effective distance; the scythe itself is not lootable from Tagilla. Standard, non-infected Tagilla has a published total of 1,220 health (Head 100, Thorax 320, Stomach 260, Arms 130 each, Legs 140 each), but there is no official Infected Tagilla health table. Treat contact as immediately lethal until you have space and a clear firing lane.
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What are Infected Lab and Infected Factory like?
They are separate event queues designed for small groups and are explicitly covered by the insurance disablement. Battlestate’s release says both locations are completely overrun, available only to small groups, and have insurance disabled. Read the in-game queue card for the current party limit; the announcement does not provide a numeric squad cap.
Infected Lab
- Raid duration: 30 minutes.
- Published PMC count: 8–10, according to the 2026 Escape from Tarkov Wiki.
- Enemies: infected and Infected Tagilla.
- A TerraGroup Labs access keycard is still required.
- Lights are off and all doors are unlocked.
- Parking extract requires car keys; Sewage Conduit requires a Collector map.
Documented example locations for the extract items include the rounded Recreation Area conference room for car keys, and the servers-room PMC corpse or the same conference room for a Collector map. These are functional objectives, not cosmetic drops.
Infected Factory
- The contaminated Factory contains debris, bodies, and blood; the outside area is blocked.
- Enemies are infected and Infected Tagilla.
- Gate 3 and Gate 0 are always-available extracts for all factions.
- Insurance is disabled under the event rules.
Because insurance will not return equipment from either map, enter with a kit you can afford to lose. Night vision is especially useful on Infected Lab. A squad also makes the stationary scientist-body interaction safer.
How much health do Tarkov zombies have?
There is no official 2026 zombie HP table. Battlestate and the wiki have not published hit points, armor, or a per-body damage model, so any exact number presented as a 2026 fact is unsupported.
Community reports are still useful for tactics when labeled correctly. Day-one Labs footage described headshots as the reliable target but said infected often required multiple head hits. The same report found no clear practical advantage between flesh and high-penetration ammunition in two raids and recorded extreme ammunition use: one belt reportedly used 115 rounds to kill about 15 infected. That is a player observation, not a benchmark or official statistic.
2024 players commonly described unarmored infected with several apparent health tiers. Some upper-body targets absorbed full magazines, while headshots and leg-focused attacks were more efficient. Flesh or hollow-point ammunition became attractive because the targets were generally unarmored. The 2026 event may rebalance those values, so carry ammunition volume first and choose caliber second.
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How do infected damage players?
Melee, pistols, and ranged infected
Civilians, technicians, and PMCs can strike with hands or knives. Some infected use pistols, and Battlestate identifies a distinct ranged behavior type; day-one footage also reported an infected carrying an AK. Infected Black Division operatives add another dangerous armed threat. Do not assume armor makes a rush safe: multiple attackers can stack hits faster than you can heal.
What does the Virus effect do?
A hit has a chance to apply Virus. The official wiki says it briefly removes hearing and reduces hydration. The effect is removed only by extraction or death, not by ordinary in-raid stims. Day-one reports specifically said Propital (Peratorum) and eTG-c (XTGs) did not clear it and described additional damage plus hearing and vision disruption. The official wording establishes the chance, symptoms, and removal condition; it does not publish a precise duration or damage value.
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2024 guides reported frequent heavy bleeding from melee attacks and recommended carrying extra hemostatic supplies. They also described low-penetration pistol rounds producing bleeds through armor, but 2026 official notes do not confirm that rule. Bring spare bleed treatment and water because repeated contact and Virus-related hydration loss can compound quickly.
How do you kill infected in Tarkov?
- Use a suppressor. Sound is the main aggro engine, so suppressed fire gives you more time before additional infected converge.
- Prioritize the head. Multiple cranial hits are the most consistent 2026 community observation; do not plan on universal one-taps.
- Carry high-capacity magazines. RPD-style 100-round belts or other large magazines reduce reloads during a rush. The AA-12 Gen 2 and its 20-round drums are also documented quest rewards, not a promise that every shotgun is optimal.
- Create distance before shooting. Back through doors and chokepoints, keep a route to an extract, and avoid standing still in a room that can be entered from several angles.
- Use grenades to distract or buy time. Reports describe grenades as useful for redirecting attention, but they are not a substitute for sustained fire.
- Pack medical tools and water. Bring bleed treatment, hydration, and the Medical tool required for the Follow-Up Examination quest.
Flesh-damage ammunition was effective against many unarmored 2024 infected, while 2026 testers did not establish a reliable flesh-versus-AP advantage. Use the ammunition you can carry in quantity and maintain headshot discipline.
Can you loot zombies in Tarkov?
There is no confirmed 2026 infected-body loot table. Day-one Infected Lab footage showed at least one downed infected without a loot prompt, so do not treat every corpse as a searchable scav. Some 2024 infected PMCs and technicians could be searched, but that earlier behavior does not establish what every 2026 body contains.
Pumpkin with sweets containers
Pumpkins are the reliable world-spawn event container. Each weighs 3 kg, occupies a 2×2 inventory grid, cannot be sold on the flea market, and must be opened after the raid by right-clicking and unpacking; unpacking destroys the container. The wiki describes the contents as random surprises, while 2024 coverage listed sweets, crafting materials, ammunition, and weapons.
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One pumpkin can be sacrificed in the Cultist Circle. The unique craft takes 1 hour 6 minutes and produces the Jack-o’-lantern tactical pumpkin helmet. The helmet weighs 1.2 kg, has armor class 2 and 40 durability, uses UHMWPE, and covers the face, head top, nape, ears, eyes, jaws, throat, and back of the neck.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which zombie-event quests give documented loot?
Halloween: Rumors — Skier
Visit Infected Factory and eliminate 10 infected. Published rewards are 26,000 EXP, 1,800 Euros, one MPS Auto Assault-12 Gen 2 from TeraGroup Labs, three AA-12 20-round drums, and four packs of 12/70 SuperFormance HP slugs (25 shells per pack).
Halloween: The Best Defense — Skier
Visit Infected Lab and eliminate 10 infected, with survival/extraction and the special extract item listed as optional objectives. Rewards are 36,000 EXP, 2,700 Euros, one Norinco QBZ-191, three QBZ-191 30-round magazines, and four packs of 5.8x42mm DBX95 ammunition (30 rounds per pack).
Halloween: Follow-Up Examination — Therapist
Find a scientist in a hazmat suit who died from the virus on Infected Lab or Infected Factory. Therapist specifically requires a naturally deceased specimen, not someone you killed. Open the body with Medical tools, which are consumed, take the blood sample, and extract; the quest item is lost if you die. Listed locations include the Labs sewage-conduit tunnel, the intersection near the blue-keycard room, the middle of the working area, and Factory positions outside the medical labs or on tanks by the pumping station. The reward is two TerraGroup Labs access keycards, two Adrenaline, and two Trimadol.
Halloween: Initial Examination — Therapist
Pick up the TG-VI-26 vaccine batch in Lighthouse Water Treatment Plant Building No. 3, second floor. It must be quest-active and Find in Raid, and you lose it on death. Handing it to Therapist closes the alternative Skier stash route, and vice versa. The listed reward is 200,000 Roubles, increasing to 210,000 with Intelligence Center 1 and 230,000 with Intelligence Center 2, plus one Document case.
The storyline also advertises commemorative achievements, an exclusive event poster, and additional valuable resources; the announcement does not enumerate every extra item.
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How is 2026 different from the 2024 zombie event?
| Axis | Halloween 2024 | Halloween 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Map structure | Infection spread through regular maps; Labs opened without a keycard. | Regular maps show infection icons, with separate Infected Lab and Infected Factory queues. |
| Tagilla | Infected Tagilla roamed all maps. | Current wiki notes place him on Infected Factory and Infected Lab. |
| Scav behavior | Scavs and bosses were friendly unless provoked. | That friendship is not restated; killing Scavs as a player Scav carries no event karma penalty. |
| Alcohol trick | Vodka, whiskey, or moonshine could be used to befriend infected. | No 2026 confirmation. |
| Quest structure | 23 limited-time quests. | New chain beginning with Rumors, Best Defense, Follow-Up Examination, and Initial Examination. |
| Insurance | Not the defining rule for a dedicated infected queue. | Disabled on both infected maps. |
What should you bring into an infected raid?
- Suppressed primary weapon.
- High-capacity magazines or a belt-fed option.
- Extra bleed treatment and water.
- Grenades for distraction and emergency space.
- Night vision for Infected Lab.
- A Labs keycard for Infected Lab.
- Medical tools if pursuing Follow-Up Examination.
- Throwaway armor and weapons on insurance-disabled maps.
Use stronger protection when confronting Black Division or Tagilla, but remember that no published Infected Tagilla armor or health value exists. The safest economic assumption is that every item remains on the map if you die.
Is the Arena Bloodlust mode part of the zombie raids?
No. Arena’s CheckPoint: Bloodlust is a separate 5v5 mode with firearms disabled, horror-killer masks, double match XP, 1.5× Battle Pass progression, cash, and a Mask Off achievement. Coverage places its window through 5 November 2026; that date is not an end date for the main-game outbreak.
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When does the Tarkov Halloween zombie event end?
No official end date had been published as of 30 October 2026. The 5 November date associated with Arena CheckPoint: Bloodlust applies to that separate mode, not automatically to the infected raids.
Can a player Scav kill infected without losing karma?
The 2026 event notes say there is no Scav-penalty for killing Scavs as a player Scav. They do not restore the 2024 rule that Scavs and bosses were friendly unless provoked, so do not rely on old friendship behavior.
Do I need a Labs keycard for Infected Lab?
Yes. Current 2026 notes and day-one footage state that Infected Lab still requires a TerraGroup Labs access keycard. The 2024 event’s keycard-free Labs access was a different rule.
What happens if I die while carrying the vaccine sample?
The TG-VI-26 batch is a quest-active, Find-in-Raid item and is lost on death. It is obtained in Lighthouse Water Treatment Plant Building No. 3, second floor, and the Therapist and Skier hand-in paths exclude each other.
Are ordinary infected corpses worth searching?
There is no confirmed 2026 body-loot table, and at least one day-one downed infected had no loot prompt. Search only when the game provides a prompt, and prioritize pumpkins, extract items, and quest objectives instead of assuming zombie bodies pay out.
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