How to unlock Ref the Trader in Escape from Tarkov

Many different NPCs in Escape from Tarkov offer unique quests, rewards, and trades. One of these characters is Ref, an arena host who organizes pit fights across Tarkov.

When you first meet Ref at the Tarkov Airport, you won’t be able to access his trading menu, but completing the correct series of objectives will unlock his wares. Here is everything you need to know about unlocking Ref the Trader in Escape from Tarkov.

Escape from Tarkov: How to unlock Ref the Trader

To unlock Ref the Trader, you’ll have to complete a quest called “Easy Money – Part 1,” which requires you to have already completed the “Burning Rubber” questline. Easy Money – Part 1 is given to the player by Skier, and has two main objectives. First, you’ll have to travel to The Woods to find a special poster at the USEC Camp.

The Woods

The USEC Camp is on the top left of the Woods next to the mines, and the “Bison vs Undertaker poster” can be found sitting on a white lawn chair. Thankfully, Tarkov.Dev has a useful interactive map to help you navigate this sprawling forest. Keep in mind that once you pick up the poster, you’ll have to escape from the Woods without dying, or you risk having to restart the mission. The closest Extraction Points to the USEC Camp are the Scav Bunker to the north, or the Scav Bridge at the very top of the map.

Customs

The second half of Easy Money – Part 1 requires you to travel to the Scav Base on the Customs map and place the poster within the first-floor dormitory. You can stash the poster on any of the five beds on the first floor to complete the mission. The Scav Base is labeled as the Fort on the interactive map of Customs. Once you plant a poster, you don’t have to survive to complete the task.

Luckily, you don’t have to do the second portion of this quest immediately. You can stash the poster in your off-raid Quest Inventory within the character menu until you are ready to complete this final step. Once you have completed the questline, you’ll unlock the following rewards:

• 4,500 EXP
• 35,000 Roubles
• Trading with Ref

How to increase loyalty with Ref in Escape from Tarkov

Ref specializes in selling rare and powerful weapons, plenty of ammunition, and modifications for your arsenal. However, just because you unlocked Ref as a trader doesn’t mean you’ll immediately have access to all his wares. Just like every other NPC in Tarkov, you’ll have to increase your loyalty level with Ref to access his rarer deals.

You can increase your loyalty in three different ways:

• Leveling up your character
• Purchasing and selling items with Ref
• Completing quests given by Ref

Every trader, including Ref, has four loyalty levels that take serious time, money, and patience to grind. If you want to get to the max loyalty level with Ref, you’ll have to reach player level 35 and have a reputation above 1.20. If you focus on completing the aforementioned loyalty requirements, you can passively level up and eventually unlock the rarest of Ref’s deals.