Picture this: You’ve just looted a couple million worth of rubles and you’re heading towards the extraction point, and as you’re running you hear a shot, BAM! You’re dead.. Losing valuable items can be the most frustrating part of the experience due to unexpected deaths. Here are some tips and tricks to help you survive in Escape from Tarkov. 

Before Entering a Raid: 

Choose BEAR or USEC 

Choosing between BEAR or USEC will change what weapons you start with in your stash. You’ll get AK-style weapons with BEAR, and NATO-style assault rifles with USEC. Remember, once you’re in a raid you can use whatever you want. 

Research Item Cost & Location 

Before starting an actual raid I suggest watching some Youtube videos on common stash spots, and other important loot areas. Each map has key areas that  have the most valuable loot that most of the server will fight over. You should get a good idea of what’s important to get from each map. Also, you can research what everything costs so you’ll know what to take. The last thing you want is a backpack filled with apple juice and cigarettes. 

Plan your Gear 

Having an understanding of what you’re going to do before entering a game is important. Imagine just loading up with a sniper rifle on Factory without a clue of what you’re gonna do with it. Consider your weapon, your armor, and what kind of medical equipment you’re going to bring. What’s your game plan for this raid? Am I just going out there to finish this quest? Am I after a boss?  

It’s important to plan effectively so you bring the right gear, but also plan which path to take because some maps can be gigantic. Knowing where to go,  how to get there, and where the enemies might be is important planning that can give you the edge once you’re in the heat of battle. The last thing you want to do is enter a raid and aimlessly run and loot, and become some easy kill for some Chad who’s bulldozing through the whole map. 

Pay Attention to Your Weight 

Whatever you do, don’t bring your entire inventory to a raid. Not only is that a bad idea because you might lose it all, but you have to consider how overweight you’ll be. You will drastically reduce the speed at which you move around, and you’ll be an easier target. A good rule of thumb when starting is to keep your weight under 40kg before you start a raid. 

Bring Medical Items 

Get familiar with what medical items can do, and which you need. Some only stop light bleeds, and some items are for heavy bleeds or both. You should bring sufficient medical items, because even if you survive a fight you might be yelping like an injured dog, and announcing your presence to the whole server. The last thing you want is to bleed out – while you’re carrying your precious gear. 

Early Game Tips: 

Play Offline

It might not be as entertaining or exciting, but it won’t hurt you to get an understanding of the game offline first. You can practice using the many different guns in the game, and learn how recoil works, and how to position yourself in gunfights. Doing some offline raids can get you more confident for an actual raid so you don’t freeze up when you encounter your first PMC!

Know your maps Inside Out:

 Each map is unique and has certain hotspots. Take your time to learn them so you can find things quickly and explore the ins and outs of the map so you can gain an advantage. The last thing you want is to be easy prey. Ground Zero is sort of the designated newbie map, but it kind of makes this a bit too difficult. Maybe do a few quests here to start your questline, but it’s very pvp-centric. Maybe Start on factory for a healthy dose of action and learning.

Be Vigilant 

Being aware of your surroundings and always being ready for an enemy is the most important tip to take away from. You’re surrounded by enemy players who  want to loot and kill you, so you have to remember they can be hiding anywhere. The game’s sound design makes you increasingly scared to move since each surface has a sound cue. 

 So, your enemies can accurately pinpoint your location by what kind of surface you’re walking on. Every bush you brush past, or window you hop out of can easily give away your position. But the good news is, you can also use it to your advantage.  Checking corners properly, clearing rooms and being aware of sound cues could mean the difference between you dying or extracting safely. 

Do Quests 

A good way to start leveling up fast when you’re not good at mowing down an entire lobby is to focus on questing. Collecting items, and doing tasks for each trader can also unlock  more weapons and gear.  

If you want to start leveling up but aren’t good enough to mow down an entire lobby for XP  – a good way to gain XP  is to focus on questing. Collecting items, and doing tasks for each trader can allow you to unlock more weapons and gear. You can buy better ammo, and use overall better equipment.  

Use Sound 

Sound is a good way to hear your enemies, both AI and real players can be detected by small sound cues from their footsteps to certain doors being smashed open. Being alert and attentive to these sounds can give away an enemy's position and give you an advantage once you get a hang of the maps. 

Watch your Stamina

Your stamina bar is very important since you can drastically reduce your speed if you run out of it. That means if someone spots you, you might die easily. So, try to maintain a decent amount of stamina in areas where you might encounter a player. Try to manage it wisely so you can take cover or run if you’re in a jam.

Get Access to the Flea Market

A good way to start making money is to have access to the flea market. You are going to have to grind it out to level 15. You can combine doing quests, killing scavs, and healing yourself to gain some XP quickly to get that level. Once you’re able to use the flea market that’s when you can start selling your valuable items for money.

Mid Game Tips: 

Conserve your food 

Make sure you’re properly hydrated and have enough energy. You can start dying out slowly if you lack enough energy. Keeping your character well hydrated and well-fed is another important aspect of survival. You can loot food around the map. Certain foods will give you a huge energy food, and some might lower your hydration levels. So, before you swallow down that tub of mayo, make sure you have some water with you. 

Hide

Sometimes hiding is the right move. You can’t always win every fight. One thing you should learn in Escape from Tarkov is that survival is the name of the game. Even if you manage to kill everyone in the server you won’t be able to loot their gear. Because of the weight system, carrying too much stuff can cause you to become an easy target. So, if you find enemies, think before you shoot. It might be better to just hide and wait for them to leave. Your chance of survival will increase, and you could maybe find them in a more vulnerable position later.

Kill Scavs  

A good way to collect some amazing items in the game is to kill Scavs, which are the AI characters that roam the map. Some are player-controlled, and some are just AI. If you kill enough of these pesky little rats you can eventually find some valuable stuff in their pockets. They sometimes have keycards to Labs or rare keys. Maybe even a good backpack if you need an upgrade.  

Looting & Making Money

Don’t just grab every little thing you see. Make sure you research ahead of time what are some high-value items, and check if the value for each slot makes it worth carrying. The last thing you want is to carry a bunch of packs of cigarettes and other worthless junk since you’ll become heavier and it’ll be harder to move.

Stay Calm

Don’t panic when you see a PMC, if they haven’t seen you yet, you can easily reposition yourself or just hide in the toilet or something. Don’t think that you have to take each gunfight, but if you are in one don’t fret just make your shots count. It doesn’t take much to kill in this game. A well-placed headshot means even a level1 can kill the highest levels out there. 

Kill Players or Not 

You have to decide in the raid whether or not you want to actively hunt other players or avoid them. At some points in the game, if I got enough loot and I hear people hiding, I tend to wait it out and only move once the coast is clear. It’s not always wise to take every fight unless you're Chad. There’s no shame in ratting it out the whole game if you’re trying to raise some cash. Or if you want to get used to the maps first. As a new player, it’s certainly a better idea to kill Scavs only. The bullets you have access to won’t be enough to penetrate the armor of the higher-level seasoned players. 

Keep an Eye on the Clock:

Time management is important for your survival. Pay attention to the timer and make sure you have enough time to loot items and maybe do 1 quest or 2. You can avoid extracting campers if you leave a raid at an earlier time. If you end up extracting super late you’ll have to deal with hordes of Scavs.

Late Game Tips: 

Play your Scav

You should play your Scav because it gives you a chance to loot up a map and scavenge for remains. If you lose a lot of valuable gear on your PMC a good way to recover is to load up your Scav. You might get lucky on the right map and find some great items. When you play a Scav you get the benefit of being able to sneak up on weakened PMCs who have a lot of gear and maybe killing them for some easy loot. If you learn the maps and where valuable items spawn they can be a great investment because you can plan loot routes on your Scav to make money quickly. 

There is always another 

Now this is a kind of joke in the Tarkov community, but since we are all realistic and stuff we aren’t working with a minimap. All we have is our wits with us, and there tends to be this rule that when you kill one player there is a high possibility he has a friend lurking around. So, if you happen to kill someone don’t rush and loot. Make sure to wait it out a bit, and maybe bait your enemy. It might mean the difference between you or your mystery foe dying. 

Extract Safely 

Finding a good extraction point towards the end of the game is important. Keep in mind the longer you stay in a raid, the more likely you are to die to someone. I tend to notice an increase in pesky extraction campers once the time limit has dwindled toward the 20-ish minute mark. So, if you’re trying to maximize your chance of staying alive, extracting early could mean the difference. If you leave too early though you might miss the chance to pop a headshot on the guy who has been looting the whole game. Sometimes it pays to wait a tad longer and sneak up on some little rouble rat who thinks he has the upper hand by waiting till the clock runs out. 

Play Labs

Don’t be afraid to play the map labs! It’s the most PVP-oriented map in the game, but that’s because it has the best loot. It’s a good way to challenge yourself as a new player, but also you can easily scavenge good loot off dead players or Scavs in this map. You have a high risk when entering, but there’s also a high retard. A little luck could mean you walking away with a few million ruble

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