Gym in Escape from Tarkov: What Is the Severe Muscle Pain Debuff?

Battlestate Games released the 0.13 update for Escape from Tarkov on 28th December. This patch brought forth the much-awaited Streets of Tarkov map, new weapons, shooting range upgrade levels, and the start of the new wipe. All player gear and progress in the game reset, prompting players to start afresh. Players can now unlock a gym in their Hideout and as suspected by the community, the defective wall comes into play here. The severe muscle pain debuff in Escape from Tarkov is due to working out in the Hideout gym. 

This guide will help you unlock the gym, workout, and increase your physical strength. Let’s also understand what the gym debuffs are in Escape from Tarkov including the severe muscle pain.

Unlocking the gym in Escape from Tarkov

The gym in Escape From Takrov is the first Hideout expansion in patch 0.13 and with the help of the fitness center you can increase your strength, endurance and Hideout management. The gym in Tarkov is buildable after you destroy the defective wall in your Hideout. Following this, you will get a minigame that will help you level up your skills besides raids. You will first be prompted to clean the room behind the Defective Wall and later construct the gym. For both the steps, you will require a number of items and this also takes up considerable number of hours before it gets built. 

Firstly, you need to find the Defective Wall in your Hideout and upgrade it. The prompt will read, “A piece of wall with heavily swollen paint. Part of the paint fell off. Water is seeping from the wall. There seems to be something behind this wall.” After a few hours of upgrading it, you will finally enter the gym.

Minigame in the gym

You will find a working bench inside the gym and once you start the minigame you will find a mouse icon appearing at the middle bottom of the screen. You will have to precisely hit the right mouse buttons in order to complete the workout correctly. Pressing the wrong buttons will not only hinder your workout but will also cause damage to your muscles and bones. Remember that working out will consume energy and water levels in Escape from Tarkov. 

When your workout does not go according to plan, you can get the following debuffs:

• Mild Muscle Pain: When this is inflicted, your skill gain from the gym is reduced by 50%

• Severe Muscle Pain: When severe muscle pain is inflicted, your skill gain from the gym is reduced by 100%

While the mild muscle pain seems to be temporary, players have pointed out that the severe muscle pain debuff does not have a timer. One Redditor wrote, “I’ve had Severe Muscle Pain for a whole day and a half now, there’s no timer or any indicator on how long it’s going to last for. The Weak Muscle Pain had a (less than a day) sign under it, but Severe is totally lacking that. Not sure if it’s a bug or something.”