The hardcore shooter is one of the most rewarding games out there for those of you who enjoy hyper-realistic gunplay and tactical team play, but getting to grips with it can be a struggle, especially if you’re a newcomer. Like most of its players who shoot on sight, Escape From Tarkov is pretty to noobs. So many players will ask how to play Escape from Tarkov well?
It’s a bit of a complicated answer, though, as the game itself is complex and pretty unfriendly to new players looking to jump in for a quick game. To get there, we’ll have to dip into how to play Escape from Tarkov and win. Don’t worry, as we’ll toss some tips into the guide to help you get there. Over this guide, we’ll go over 15 important tips to play Escape from Tarkov well, and help players to play this complex and exciting game.
Escape From Tarkov is a hardcore looter shooter at heart with RPG elements. It's a 'hardcore and realistic online first-person action RPG/Simulator with MMO features and a story-driven walkthrough’. You find yourself in the city of Tarkov after conflict breaks out, and you can either side with USEC or BEAR.
The online game has two real factions – BEAR and USEC. Which you’ll pick from when you first boot up the game – before going toe to toe with AI and human-controlled players across a variety of maps in the war-torn city of Tarkov. As the name suggests, you have to escape from Tarkov, but in reality, all this means is you have to survive a single raid – an outing into one of the city’s maps. While you’re on a raid, either as your chosen faction in PMC or as a Scav raider, channel your inner trash panda and hoover up as much loot as you can. If you get out, you can choose to store this loot or sell it for a profit. Fail and you’ll have the cost of healing yourself and replacing your gear.
In Escape from Tarkov, If you want to avoid the constant fear of losing all your gear and your money, you’re going to want to stay alive.
Scav Mode: In this mode, you can play as a part of the faction, Scavs. Opting to play the game as a Scav would mean that you will receive randomized equipment and gear which are usually low in quality or quite unbalanced. You will be spawned mid-way into the game, into a raid area where you'll have no context of what has been happening. You will not be attacked or aggressed by an AI Scav unless you offend them first; although rarely seen, some of them might even cooperate with you! Moreover, Scav load-outs are free which means that your stash is not at risk like they are during the PMC run for loot! like PMC operators, Scavs too have to locate and reach the extraction zone to unload their loot to survive. All progress, experience points, loot, and earnings will be lost once the game ends; no tasks can be completed as a Scav except for, finding a few items in the raid.
PMC Mode: In the PMC mode, you play in a first-person perspective as a hired official of one of the operatives- BEAR or USEC. You have to select a map and then start at the beginning of a raid sequence with your character being equipped with the items you chose at the stash. Being a PMC operator, you can choose to attack and kill other operators as well as Scavs. Your goal is to locate and reach an extraction zone so that, you can escape Tarkov. To do that, you have to survive the current raid and escape with the stash that you're carrying along with you. A key is available in the game that allows the players to view the list by double-tapping on it.
Offline Mode: When you choose to play as a PMC operator, you'll be shown an option that will allow you to play offline. In this mode, you won't be able to play with other players (neither PMC operators nor Scavs). This mode can generally, be used as a tester mode or EFT leveling wherein you can adjust your character, weapon, location, and other such settings. The offline mode though offers some more features too; these include turning on/off the AI Scavs, adjusting weather and time, bosses for different maps, and much more. Your progress, along with loot, XP, and statistics will be completely lost upon termination of the game. This also means that you can stop your game-play mid-way without incurring any penalty.
When you run raids as a member of your chosen faction, everything you enter with goes on the line. If you choose to go in as a friendly Scav though, you get an opportunity to escape with free gear. You see, in Escape From Tarkov, Scavs are the AI that terrorizes you when you play as PMCs, but you have the chance to utilize them every once in a while for raids.
When you play as a Scav, you’ll be pushed into an ongoing raid with random gear, but you won’t be attacked by other Scavs unless you engage them. You still have to watch out for players, but if you can escape, you’ll have made a cushty profit while buffing your arsenal.
Every player has access to a secure container during a PMC raid that will allow you to keep items you’ve found, even if you die. The size of your secure container will differ depending on the edition of the game you’ve bought. The smallest is 2×2 while the largest is 3×3. You can upgrade these as you progress, but they’re very much late-game buys due to their price points.
That leads us to our next point. Depending on your finances, you can buy many different medical supplies to keep you fit and healthy in the field. While bandages, splints, and painkillers are an absolute must for newcomers, we’d recommend you pick up an IFAK and a CMS or Survivor Kit as soon as you can. The latter two products will allow you to reattach your limbs if they are blacked out during combat.
Your weapons are assigned a number in Escape From Tarkov, but your medical supplies aren’t. As you’ll quickly come to realize, jumping into your inventory mid-fight to stitch your stomach back up isn’t exactly ideal, but there’s a way to mitigate that.
When you load into a rave, drag your med supplies up to your quick bar, memorize the numbed assigned, and you’re good to go. Next time you’re shot, you can find a nice little hole to heal without worrying about pressing the tab.
The nature of Escape From Tarkov means you’re going to get lost a lot. If you’ve got a second screen or access to a big enough mobile or tablet device, it’s best to load up a map that you can refer to during a raid. You can find lots of community maps online, complete with extract locations, on places like Reddit and the EFT wiki. If you’re starting out though, we’d recommend getting to grips with Customs and Factory first.
Every single map on Escape From Tarkov has a number of different extracts. You’ll be given a different selection depending on how you’re doing the raid and some are only accessible with the help of others or through a key.
Every map will always have a set of extracts that are always open. There are some though, like Smugglers Boat on Customs that are only open at certain times. Generally extracts that feature '???’ in the raid are time, cash, or item-sensitive, so don’t bank on them if you need to escape.
There are also some extracts like Factory Gate on Woods where you’ll need to find a friendly player Scav to extract. It’s worth knowing now that nailing these extracts is very rare – but Fence will give you some good rewards if you do find someone willing to take up your offer.
When you load into a raid, double-tap 'O’ to see the raid’s countdown and your extracts. This will give you an idea of how long you can spend wandering the streets of Tarkov before you’ll need to get out of there. If you’ve found a lot of loot and you want to escape earlier, that’s fine, but make sure enough time has passed or you have enough raid experience so it doesn’t count as a run-through.
The hideout might seem like a random addition to Escape From Tarkov, but it’s something worth dabbling with. Each upgrade will give you access to new things like the Workbench, which allows you to mod your guns, or increases your rest time so you can recover from raids quicker. There are specific things you’ll need to complete for each upgrade and it can be quite pricey, so make sure you know what you want before you commit to it.
The maps on Escape From Tarkov have bosses that can spawn at set locations. These guys are guarded by Scavs and are super aggressive, so don’t take one on unless you’re prepared. If you do come across one during a raid and you don’t want to engage, then run. Run as fast as you can and don’t look back.
There’s an unwritten rule in Escape From Tarkov and that’s the wiggle. If you see someone wiggling (by pressing Q and E repeatedly), it’s another player saying 'I’m friendly’. Obviously, we’re not going to tell you not to shoot them – it could be bait after all – but assess the situation and decide what you’re going to do.
When you finally muster the courage to use your own gear as a PMC in a raid, make sure to insure it. If you die but no one picks it up, it’ll return via Prapor or Therapist in the next day or so.
Who you choose to insure with is up to you, though. Prapor offers lower rates, but his returns are slower, whereas the Therapist is more expensive but will get your gear back to you within 24 hours.
Don’t learn the hard way. Only bring what you need (and can afford to lose) to a raid. Since Tarkov is hyper-realistic, you’re going to need to plan your gear meticulously. When you’re starting out, you don’t need to bring a second weapon, but you do need to invest in medical supplies and decent armor.
When you boot up the game for the first time, you’ll be given PACA armour. Since it’s a level two vest, it won’t do much to keep you alive, but it’s better than nothing to kick you off. Once you get the hang of things, make sure to look up the hierarchy of things like armour, helmets, and ammunition, so that when you’re actually out and about you’re less at risk of dying to a single round. Similarly, you’re going to want to stock up on medical supplies.
If you want to get to grips with Tarkov’s gunplay or learn loot routes, your best bet is to try out an online raid. You can go in totally alone without any Scavs so you can get well acquainted with the map without any distractions or you can go in with Scavs and get some shooting practice in. It goes without saying though that any items you find in offline raids won’t be moved over to your stash though.
Escape From Tarkov has quests that will help you unlock new items and traders in the game. If you’re looking to actually progress, these quests are paramount to your raid experience. Every quest requires you to do something different and there are guides online for specific ones in case you get stuck, but they also range in difficulty.
When you complete a quest, you’ll be rewarded with cash, items, or both, and your reputation with a particular trader will increase, leading to better prices all round.
Summary
Thanks for reading our guide on 10 Tips For Playing Escape from Tarkov. Escape from Tarkov also can be a bit of a punishing FPS game, but once you get to grips with it, you’ll have it down soon enough. Of course, knowing how to play the game helps, and we’ve provided some tips to help you out if you’re a beginner. If you need more advice, make sure to read through the rest of our guides here. And if you need roubles in Escape from Tarkov, you can click here.
