Something a Tarkov player once said about the game: “It is so much pain, disguised as pain, but I love it”. And when you play a few times you get the feeling of what they meant.
Tons of loot to examine and put in your pocket, players that blend in with trees, and heavy bleeding that you can’t stop because you don’t know how.
There are things you can do to ease off that pain of learning Escape from Tarkov and ultimately get better. Things like practicing in offline mode, learning maps, understanding guns, and gear, and a few more.
Play Practice Mode Raids
Running out of your stashed loot when learning the game is frustrating. This is why the first thing you need to know is how to use the practice mode.
Practice mode is an offline raid just for you to learn the game. There will be no other players only SCAVs (bots).
To start a raid in practice mode in Escape from Tarkov:
- Press “Escape from Tarkov” in the menu
- Select PMC as your character
- Choose the location and the time phase
- Tick the “Enable Practice mode for this raid” checkbox
- Launch the raid
When you enable the practice mode you will be able to change the raid’s settings. Everything from weather to toughness and amount of SCAVs. Use those settings to practice the environment you want.
Playing in offline mode will not contribute to your overall progress in the game. Items you loot in offline mode will not transfer to your stash at the end of the session. So don’t expect to cheat the game this way. But practice mode is a great place to learn many aspects of the game.
Learn the Maps
The first thing you will notice when you load into the actual raid is that there is no minimap or any map whatsoever. This means you will need to figure out where you are and where to go looking at buildings and landmarks around you.
Every location in Tarkov has unique POIs like bosses, switches, stashes, locked rooms, and keys for them. The ZB-1013 exit on Customs for example requires you to go to a different building to flip a switch and enable the light. Only then you will successfully extract.
To navigate through Tarkov you can buy a map from the Therapist. But why do that when you can google detailed maps of each location? A tool like Map Genie has all the points of interest marked on every map.
Our advice is to choose one map and play only on that map to learn the landmarks and exfil points. The best maps to start with would be Factory and Interchange as they are quite small and easy to navigate through.
Work on Movement and Pathing
Now that you know the maps, you have a better idea of how to get from point A to point B and grab the loot from points C, D, and E on the way. Map knowledge will also help you build awareness and pathing when raiding.
Start learning which places have good loot, which places are often contested by PMCs, how your exfil locations look, and start planning your route.
The same goes for a gunfight. Doesn’t matter if you are in a gunfight or about to start one, as long as you know your surroundings and where the enemy is, you can map out a path to a more favorable position.
When planning your paths consider the amount of noise you will make. Whenever you move you make sounds and so do the enemy players. This is why movement and audio become so important and skills like Perception are favored by the players. Work on your movement so you stay mostly quiet and always listen to any sounds.
Do Extra Research
You can already tell that there is a lot going on in this game. Once you start getting into the game you will find tons of different items and mechanics that are not thoroughly explained. To learn more, you will need to do extra research. We recommend reading through the Escape from Tarkov Wiki page.
The Wiki page has most of the relevant information about the game. If you don’t know where to start, here are a few things you can learn:
- Learn the difference between a SCAV and a PMC
- Learn about gun malfunctions and how to prevent them
- Explore traders, what they have to offer and how to level them.
- Different types of ammunition and how they affect your gameplay
That’s only a tiny part of what’s to come. You may spend more time on Google and Wiki pages than you maybe wanted to. But that is part of the experience when learning Escape from Tarkov.
Whenever you feel like things are confusing you, start searching them up, one by one. Eventually, you will have a good understanding of the different mechanics and items that are in the game.
Learn the Equipment and Guns
Weapons and armor in this game are all different and have different uses. When you start playing, choose a specific loadout and stick with it for 10-15 raids. You will have a good feel of your gun, capacity, protection, and your overall capability during the raid.
It’s not all about guns and vests. You will need provisions, like food and water, as well as medicaments to survive. And different items can have different effects on your body.
For example, a bandage can’t stop heavy bleeding, only light ones. And if you don’t have a medic kit or something that will help you, you will bleed to death.
Make sure to examine every item in the inventory to see its effects and start gearing up. Think about what you might need more of. For example, if you have light armor, you might want to have extra medications.
Be Ready to Lose
Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore game and even with all the knowledge in your backpack, you may die to a guy sitting in a dark corner of a random room.
Don’t get discouraged. Many players die to random things and die often in general. That’s the part of the game and what makes extracting with your loot such a big and satisfactory moment.
Play Solo
Our last piece of advice for you is to play solo or with a friend who is on the same level as you. It is great to have someone who is high-level carry you, drop you task items, and high-tier loot, but you will not learn anything about the game this way.
Ask others for advice or an explanation on how something like gear mounts work, but leave it at that. The only best way to learn is when you do things yourself.
