Maybe you’ve seen this game played by your favorite streamer or about it from an article on a website like IGN or Kotaku either way you’ve decided to try Escape From Tarkov. As you might imagine from the somewhat difficult process to purchase the game the game itself is not any easier. So if you are familiar with battle royales like Fortnite or Apex Legends you might find yourself a bit of a loss when encountering this whole new game. The reality is that most extraction shooters are much harder than your typical battle Royale and require some tactics that you might not be used to. It’s all about knowing when to fight strategies and all sorts of things that you need to learn the art away or things to a small beginner’s guide that you will find in this article. So let’s get started and talk a little about what you need to know to survive in Tarkov.
Before we get started you need to understand that even before you hit the ground you should learn about the philosophy of Tarkov to make sure that you have the highest rate of success possible. You see in most extraction shooters the way it works is that you want to gather as much gear as possible and leave before getting killed. This is of course no different when it comes to Tarkov but there is a major difference in how the game plays. If you are in any way aware of Arma you might have a better idea of how this game plays. As you can see, Tarkov relies heavily on extremely precise and small movements meaning that you can lean at a different angle or slowly lower yourself to a certain level giving you the perfect way to him through a window or hide in a bush.
All these little techniques and movements are extremely important to always make sure that you give a smaller target as possible to other players. You also need to keep in mind that if you are doing that all other players are as well which means that finding people and getting good shots is extremely difficult but not impossible. It is all about training your eye to spot the smallest movement and the smallest mass that appears to be out of what should be around. This becomes extremely dangerous especially since all your friends in your squad won’t be marked. So communication is key especially if you are trying to be extremely reactive to any sudden movement that appears to be out of order. You wouldn’t be the first to mistake one of your friends for a scav or another player.
Since communication is key and finding enemies can be quite difficult it is very important to learn to choose your battles. This means of course that you should learn to spot enemies from afar and decide whether or not it is worth engaging in combat. Sometimes playing vulture as some people call it can be extremely rewarding even though it might be a slower way to play. What this means of course is to learn to spot engagements and instead of joining the fray, you wait the combat out. As you see other teams exchange fire you can learn their positions and eventually move on them as the combat draws out. Playing like this is the best way for starting players to get used to how to game works without having to rely on working escape from Tarkov hacks which can still be quite rampant in the game.
As you can see Tarkov is all about strategy especially if you are playing as a team. As time goes on and as you play more and more you will start to understand how to move as a unit and use actual tactics when clearing buildings or when patrolling streets to avoid being ambushed by snipers. Mind you Tarkov has a very high difficulty curve and learning it can be quite frustrating but once you are mastering the actual skills required to dominate in this game winning is as satisfying as anything else. So don’t be scared of it and enjoy your time in Tarkov.
