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GAFPLAYS: Escape from Tarkov

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
S0EoqDD.jpg


Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore, realistic milsim survival online PC shooter with RPG elements. The basic premise is to outfit your character, then go out on a mission (solo or in a group) against other players and AI scavengers, where you'll complete objectives, kill opponents and take their gear, loot buildings, and attempt to extract from the map alive. If you die, you'll lose most of what's on your character (insurance can mitigate this as long as no one loots you). If you successfully extract, you'll carry back everything you had on you and be able to stash it for use later or sell it.




This game is intense. By risking all of your equipped gear every time you set out on a mission, you're provided immediate stakes that amplify the nerves of any firefight. As opposed to other games in the same vein, though, there is persistence with most of your progression through a safe stash of the rest of your gear, your secure container (which can carry a handful of items out of combat even if you die), equipment insurance, level and skill progression, and cash. There is also a recovery mechanic that allows you to join a mission (a "raid") as a scavenger ("scav"), where you won't risk any of your gear and spawn with random gear that you can bring back to your stash to use with your main character if you successfully extract.

Tarkov has been around for a few years, but it recently hit its stride with patch 0.12, and has quickly shot up to become one of the most watched games on Twitch.

Solo or with a group, if you have the balls to handle Tarkov there's a lot of fun to be had.



Let's use this thread to discuss, coordinate groups, and get new folks into the game.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Im still debating this game. Worried it will be too complicated for my liking.

It's definitely complicated, but it's possible to have a good time while slowly figuring out the various game systems. There's no tutorial and zero handholding, though. You even have to reference paper maps to figure out where you are; no gps.

First experience in the game goes something like this:

 

Kupfer

Member
I'm an Arma/DayZ/Squad player.
I'm not sure about this game, never played it though. You pay for being part of the beta - ok. The more you pay, the bigger is your stash, the more loot you can store right? For me thats kind of P2W.
Then I've seen a video on the netcode once, where it was stated out, that the game has like 1 second delay. I can't image hitting targets with such a delay, also being hit while being behind cover isn't fun.
I like the look of the game though and would like to try it, but I don't want to support this p2w mechanic and I want it via Steam.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
I'm an Arma/DayZ/Squad player.
I'm not sure about this game, never played it though. You pay for being part of the beta - ok. The more you pay, the bigger is your stash, the more loot you can store right? For me thats kind of P2W.
Then I've seen a video on the netcode once, where it was stated out, that the game has like 1 second delay. I can't image hitting targets with such a delay, also being hit while being behind cover isn't fun.
I like the look of the game though and would like to try it, but I don't want to support this p2w mechanic and I want it via Steam.

It's not very P2W. A large stash mainly makes loot management more convenient (and hoarding more satisfying). You can sell excess gear for cash without much loss either way, and buy your loadouts at-will.
 

Mikado

Member
Addressing the P2W thing - fwiw now with the addition of Hideouts, you can increase your stash up to the maximum from any purchase tier by doing specific missions in game. Also the best Secure container in the game has always been available only from missions and is better than the one in the most expensive purchase pack.

Sure there's some additional guns included with the Edge of Darkness pack but I guarantee you go in with any of those by yourself, with no experience... they will not be your guns for very long.
 
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Kupfer

Member
Okay I get it, so not as much as p2w as I thought.
What about performance?

Is it still a problem?
Can a mid tier gaming rig handle the game? (i7 3770, GTX 1070ti, 1440p)
Is it a standalone client or an own launcher by the company?

I don't know if you remember, but this whole game politics reminds me of The War Z, now Infestation Survivor Stories, which was one of the first DayZ Rip Offs and was like pure scam. The hype was real, because everybody wanted a better DayZ and many bought it, it was the same as in tarkov, multiple packages to buy, from base game to premium stash and items and an own launcher. The developers could do what they wanted without anyone could do something about it. I don't want to redo this mistake.
 

Mikado

Member
Regarding perf, not gonna lie - it can be a bit rough in places (unity engine gonna unity), however you should be just fine the the 1070ti. Check any of the optimization videos on what settings to turn off and you should have few problems (at or above 60 fps most if not all of the time - I'm at 40 at worst and 70-80 at best with a 960 and an i7 4790 from five years ago).

There are some annoying pauses/freezes occasionally though. Some of them are netcode related (the recent twitch promotion seems to have netted an influx of new players and the servers are bit swamped), but some pauses happen even in offline when groups of AI "Scavs" spawn in.

On a positive note, Unity seem to be paying special attention to this project since it's a unity game that doesn't look like one; I've heard they are targeting some of their ongoing optimizations towards EFT's use of the engine.

Edit: They have their own game launcher but it's just for updating and patching Tarkov; it's not a storefront
 
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Corderlain

Banned
Shroud is an absolutely awful person to watch play this game. Doesn't do justice to how hard it will fuck you and you will absolutely enjoy it. Game performance is pretty dependent of your processor instead of your gpu which is strange. I played it on low settings with a gaming laptop with a gtx 1050 and it did fine. Game still looked decent too.

Make no mistake this is a punishing game that takes work to enjoy but is honestly worth it. If you're gonna buy it get the cheapest version and use PayPal. It's also cheaper than the other payment options.
 

TrainedRage

Banned
TrainedRage TrainedRage , do you still Tarkov?
I was permanently banned about 7 months ago when they had a huge ban wave. Don’t know why I was banned and can’t contact BSG about my account.

So I’m out like 140$

I would get back into it, but I think I’m going to wait until it’s released and I don’t have to pay some crazy money for needed inventory space.

love the game, hate the devs.

I’m glad more people are playing it. But when I was playing the game was infested with wall hackers and aimbots.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
I was permanently banned about 7 months ago when they had a huge ban wave. Don’t know why I was banned and can’t contact BSG about my account.

So I’m out like 140$

I would get back into it, but I think I’m going to wait until it’s released and I don’t have to pay some crazy money for needed inventory space.

love the game, hate the devs.

I’m glad more people are playing it. But when I was playing the game was infested with wall hackers and aimbots.

Wow, that sucks. Yeah, reasonable to not be willing to jump back in right away after all that.
 

TrainedRage

Banned
Wow, that sucks. Yeah, reasonable to not be willing to jump back in right away after all that.
Don’t get me wrong. The gameplay is absolutely amazing. The sense of intensity you get knowing you could get your gear stolen by some dude laying in a nearby bush at any moment.

I loved playing the Woods map. That was my jam. It took me months before I understood player spawns and how the map flows. But when I got it it was some of the most glorious moments I have had in gaming.

I remember loading up after players had a big pvp battle. I waited and waited until the last guy started looting. Snuck up and popped him. I took so much good gear. Then I noticed another player very close. I crawled back into some bush and waited. He was feet away from me looting then ran off. Never saw me. My heart was beating out of my chest.

I got those experiences a lot in Tarkov.
 

zeorhymer

Member
I've enjoyed my time watching people play the game. It does get intense. What I don't like is how you can pay to get the best gear right off the bat if you wanted to instead of organically getting them through raids.
 

Flintty

Member
Don’t get me wrong. The gameplay is absolutely amazing. The sense of intensity you get knowing you could get your gear stolen by some dude laying in a nearby bush at any moment.

I loved playing the Woods map. That was my jam. It took me months before I understood player spawns and how the map flows. But when I got it it was some of the most glorious moments I have had in gaming.

I remember loading up after players had a big pvp battle. I waited and waited until the last guy started looting. Snuck up and popped him. I took so much good gear. Then I noticed another player very close. I crawled back into some bush and waited. He was feet away from me looting then ran off. Never saw me. My heart was beating out of my chest.

I got those experiences a lot in Tarkov.

That sounds amazing. The whole game seems to take the Division Dark Zone concept and add bells and whistles and a shot of vodka.

I’m tempted but I’m usually trash at PC FPS games, which won’t work well with the gameplay loop and mechanics in this. I hate losing loot.
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
That sounds amazing. The whole game seems to take the Division Dark Zone concept and add bells and whistles and a shot of vodka.

I’m tempted but I’m usually trash at PC FPS games, which won’t work well with the gameplay loop and mechanics in this. I hate losing loot.

I am also trash but it has not hindered my enjoyment. I don't really get into the high end of it like my friends do. Decent Stuff is pretty easy to get from SCAV runs in my experience.
 

Flintty

Member
I am also trash but it has not hindered my enjoyment. I don't really get into the high end of it like my friends do. Decent Stuff is pretty easy to get from SCAV runs in my experience.

And you can definitely keep gear you find in SCAV? I read otherwise somewhere else.

I might give it a go but tempted to wait for Steam so I can have some degree of consumer rights. The banning TrainedRage TrainedRage mentioned seems excessive with little chance to appeal.

I think I live the concept but games where I lose loot make me nervous was shit 😂
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
And you can definitely keep gear you find in SCAV? I read otherwise somewhere else.

I might give it a go but tempted to wait for Steam so I can have some degree of consumer rights. The banning TrainedRage TrainedRage mentioned seems excessive with little chance to appeal.

I think I live the concept but games where I lose loot make me nervous was shit 😂

I mean as long as your survive yes you keep everything you find
 

TrainedRage

Banned
And you can definitely keep gear you find in SCAV? I read otherwise somewhere else.

I might give it a go but tempted to wait for Steam so I can have some degree of consumer rights. The banning TrainedRage TrainedRage mentioned seems excessive with little chance to appeal.

I think I live the concept but games where I lose loot make me nervous was shit 😂
You can play as a geared scav every 20 min. If you make it out you get to keep any of the gear on you. I use them to gear up when supplies run low. But they usually have crap gear.

some of the fun is doing what people call knife runs. You use your main but take everything off. Save a backpack. Then you wait until you hear a gun fight. Slowly observe the players then when they move out go scavenge any gear you can.

there are so many ways to play.
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
You can play as a geared scav every 20 min. If you make it out you get to keep any of the gear on you. I use them to gear up when supplies run low. But they usually have crap gear.

some of the fun is doing what people call knife runs. You use your main but take everything off. Save a backpack. Then you wait until you hear a gun fight. Slowly observe the players then when they move out go scavenge any gear you can.

there are so many ways to play.

Lol i haven't heard of the knife run, seems like my style of play.
 

Dr.Morris79

Member
I had a try of this, done the start bit, looked right up my alley, got into a game and spanked within a couple of minutes from someone who looked tooled up to the nines.

Uninstalled. As much as these online games look fun to me they all seem to suffer the GTA V syndrome, if you're crap or just starting, you're fucked. It's just not fun

To me, anyway.
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
I had a try of this, done the start bit, looked right up my alley, got into a game and spanked within a couple of minutes from someone who looked tooled up to the nines.

Uninstalled. As much as these online games look fun to me they all seem to suffer the GTA V syndrome, if you're crap or just starting, you're fucked. It's just not fun

To me, anyway.

I think it's designed more now to play with a small group of people. It's very unforgiving to start.
 

Mikado

Member
Reminds me a lot of EVE Online in terms of instilling powerful Gear Fear - which I like. Unlike EVE though, there really isn't a Kiddy Pool to hang out in if you want to avoid the main game (I suppose there's offline mode but it doesn't net any progress so that doesn't count).

Some advice I've heard about overcoming gear fear is to just immediately sell all the stuff you get in your stash at the beginning (well except for your secure container obvs lol). Convert it all to cash, then buy simple loadouts with that. You learn that the junk in your stash isn't really that important or unique.

I'm still terrible at Tarkov but I enjoy it. Since you can reset your account at any time there's no reason not to make a bunch of simple loadouts and just run them till you run out of cash - every time you reset, you get the starting equipment entitled to you by your purchase level. By playing aggressively, you may just find you get a few successes and get over the initial hump. And if you don't, you can start again but with more experience.
 

Flintty

Member
You can play as a geared scav every 20 min. If you make it out you get to keep any of the gear on you. I use them to gear up when supplies run low. But they usually have crap gear.

some of the fun is doing what people call knife runs. You use your main but take everything off. Save a backpack. Then you wait until you hear a gun fight. Slowly observe the players then when they move out go scavenge any gear you can.

there are so many ways to play.
Lol the knife run sounds so me.

Every time I see this game I misread it as...



There’s a blast from the past!
 
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ecnal

Member
Are there any good beginner guides that people recommend?

Mostly just trying to figure out what I should/shouldn't be doing early on.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Are there any good beginner guides that people recommend?

Mostly just trying to figure out what I should/shouldn't be doing early on.

I found success with doing PMC runs on Customs, mostly focusing on completing the initial set of tasks, while doing Scav runs on Factory for a steady stream of basic guns and armor (AI scavs will not aggro you unless you shoot them, but watch out for player scavs and PMCs). Learn the main extraction points in offline mode.

Here's a comprehensive beginner guide:

 

Jooxed

Gold Member
Anyone have a good site with decent maps? I have pretty much only been running customs and woods because those are the only maps I am used to currently.
 

Reon

Member
How's cheating in this game? Does it use a good anti-cheat? I always loves these types of games concept-wise but they get ruined by cheaters.
 

Mikado

Member
I really like this game, but holy moses, the Matchmaking servers are a mess to behold right now. I hope BSG have some plans on how they intend to deal with it properly going forward because the shortened in-game raid times ain't it; I regularly Scav into Interchange with about five minutes left, and barely have time to sprint to an exfil to keep the crappy MP-133 I spawned with, much less find any loot.
 
Recently gave this game up. Put about 800 hours into it.

My main critiques are:
-Point shooting is OP. You can negate ergo and just focus on recoil control. Lasers help with spraying recoil as well. Guns are lasers and killing pmcs is easy as fuck. Compound this with the skill system that people cheese (I never did) and it's even worse.

-Amassing cash is piss easy once you know routes. Can make 300k+ in a short safe raid on interchange. Tension lost.

-Extract camping is too easy to do. Trust me, I've done it. It becomes extremely profitable once you know the flow of maps and can anticipate geared boys.

-Thermals make the game even easier. Can confidently storm around the maps and look at poor saps from a distance. Never even had a chance.

-Once you learn initial spawn points on maps it's ridiculously easy to sprint to a choke point and ambush everyone on your side within the first 5 minutes of a match. Now that side of the map is free and you took all their gear.

-Scavs are easy to kill, but they love to black out your arms in one shot with a Toz from 50 yards away. They are both frustrating and easily manipulated.

-Did I mention how easy it is to make money? It's stupid easy once you learn about the game and it's systems. Loot is too reliable. They desperately need dynamic spawning of loot, but I don't think that will fix the problem enough.

-It's fairly reliable to play the game as passive as possible and avoid all conflict. Find a less populated route and spam it. Finish the gaming session with a few easy million rubles.

-Shotguns are fucking worthless in comparison to everything else, even in close quarters.

-This game is a hackers wet dream. Battle eye surely helped, but all it takes is one sneaky wall hacker to ruin your run when you decide to finally bring in that juicy armor and M4 build that took 20 minutes to build.

-Very easy to run no armor and a mosin or vepr Hunter with m80 and fuck everything up in your path. Take all the gear from pmcs and extract.

-You spend so much fucking time in the menus. It's part of the design. Didn't bother me at first, but it gets old really quickly. When you play with other players that becomes even more of a problem waiting on other people.

-Netcode is fucked. Might not always appear as such, but the peakers advantage is very very real in this game. New players are so unsuccessful largely due to this. They want to be careful and calculated and then get blown away by people like me who just quick peak angles and spray into the corner with good ammo. When you get peaked it's very obvious the peeker sees you first.

I could go on and on. Do I think it's a bad game? Fuck no, it's actually awesome. The problem is that the skill ceiling is like smacking your head against a ceiling fan on the highest speed. "Getting good" ruins the fun and satisfaction. I'll check back in when the game is more feature complete. Maybe it won't be so piss easy to be successful. I started giving away my weapons cases and millions of rubles just to see if rebuilding myself would kindle that spark I first had and it didn't. Was so easy to rebuild it wasn't satisfying. And no, this isn't a flex. It's just the state of the game right now and has been for a long ass time.
 
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Digity

Member
I really like this game, but holy moses, the Matchmaking servers are a mess to behold right now. I hope BSG have some plans on how they intend to deal with it properly going forward because the shortened in-game raid times ain't it; I regularly Scav into Interchange with about five minutes left, and barely have time to sprint to an exfil to keep the crappy MP-133 I spawned with, much less find any loot.
Scavs always spawn in late. They have shortened the raid times to help with server load so that is also the issue.
 

Mikado

Member
They have shortened the raid times to help with server load so that is also the issue.

Indeed. I maintain it's a poor bandaid though, especially for a game that ostensibly rewards the Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast approach. Unfortunately it sounds like they never designed their server architecture for any kind of elastic demand, so it's possible they've painted themselves into a corner scalability-wise. I guess we'll see what happens.
 

Digity

Member
What level is everyone and how long have you been playing?

Currently level 21. I’ve had the game since 2017 but never seriously got into it until patch 0.12 and when I was finally able to convince some friends to get it.
 
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