Finally play Escape from Tarkov in 2023: Will it work or will I fail miserably?

A new shooter for the new year: Dennis got stuck into Tarkov after the wipe. Now he tells you about life as a noob – and what you can learn from it.

Escape from Tarkov has a huge and loyal fan base that swears there is no better shooter in the world. Despite this, I have always given this game a wide berth until now, because its reputation precedes it by miles.

Tarkov is hardcore in its purest form: not only is there complex weapon handling, but also realistic ballistics, different types of ammunition, survival elements – and if you don’t wear a high-end helmet on your head, you’re usually dead immediately after a headshot. Weapons, equipment and loot can then be bagged by the enemy.

On the one hand, I’m put off and find the whole thing far too demanding in my mid-30s. On the other hand, the old shooter pro in me still wants to master this part. After all, I started playing Fortnite in 2021 as a joke and have been able to achieve dozens of victories since then. So I can still do it – or so I thought.

In this article, I’ll tell you about my first steps in Tarkov, what I’ve learned through countless screen deaths, and how you can do better than me when starting out in the popular shooter.

2023 start with Escape from Tarkov – can it work?

For 2023, I have resolved to really learn one thing that I can only half do at the moment:

• Speak Korean because my girlfriend is from South Korea and I want to understand why she calls me Babosaeggi so often. Then she won’t have to translate for me when I write articles about Korean streamers who win the lottery live.
• Playing the piano because my sinfully expensive electric piano is slowly gathering dust and I would like to be able to play the complete soundtrack of the film “La La Land” one day.
• Escape from Tarkov because I love killing other players and looting all their equipment since Ultima Online. Yes, your Dennis was a nasty player kill.

Since I’m abysmal at really committing to anything, I asked my Twitter followers – and since I’m mostly followed by video game fans, of course Tarkov made the cut. Ok, someone voted for Korean after I had already bought Tarkov, but then it was too late.

I would like to learn one thing in 2023 that I can only do half of. More than one is unrealistic. But which one?

– Ｄｅｎｎｉｓ (@YungWerner) January 3, 2023

So here we go: I installed it, started it – and was immediately beaten to death. There’s a stash that I can somehow expand, umpteen different merchants, and there’s 1,000 different things in my crate.

I’m not completely new, I’ve already seen one or two Twitch streams and know roughly what it’s all about: I’m immediately thrown onto a map on which NPCs (so-called scavs) and other players run around. There is loot everywhere and at the end I have to find an exit.

The first steps as a Tarkov noob

Yeah, it’ll be fine. So I equip my MP5, a protective waistcoat and a helmet and just take a look. According to the overview map, the map Factory is the easiest. Two minutes later I’m in the game and standing in a barren room, after ten seconds I can already hear wild gunfire in the distance. And while I want to turn down the graphic details, because everything just jerks like a pig, I hear someone running in my direction. As soon as I get out of the menu, a guy with a shotgun is suddenly standing in front of me and I’m immediately dead. Now.

I repeat the whole thing two more times. On the next attempt I can survive – for 30 seconds. Because only ten metres from my spawn point sits a camper who must have heard me running around. So on attempt number three I rely on tactical waiting myself. And with success! An enemy comes running towards me shortly after the start of the round, I send him down with a volley from my MP5.

But when I searched for loot, I was disappointed beyond measure, in his corpse only a lousy pistol with two magazines was waiting for me. Nevertheless, I feel invincible right now. As quickly as the guy fell over, I can certainly repeat this a few more times, while I search for the exit very slowly and carefully.

But then I meet an enemy I am no match for. As I climb a gloomy staircase, I hear the footsteps of a player above me. I’m sure he hears mine too. I pause – and two seconds later a massive meat tank in thick armour charges around the corner. Even though I’m holding it at full speed, it just won’t die. Instead, I am once again on the ground in a flash. The death screen tells me that I did 500 damage, but 350 of it was absorbed by his armour.

What I learned in Tarkov – and how I managed to get in after all

I quickly realised: Tarkov really is as hardcore as you always hear and read. It is incredibly demanding, complex and realistic – and difficult for beginners like me to access without help. And the Russian developers are incredibly proud that their work has this reputation. A pro I, the old shooter expert, am at most dying here.

Since my first rounds on Factory, I’ve put about 25 more hours into the game and can tell you: the title is trying to finish you off. And if you don’t want to spend half an hour sneaking across a huge map only to get shot by a camper at the exit and lose everything, then you might want to leave it alone.

In the meantime I manage to survive more and more often, but the way to get there was tough as nails. To give you a better idea of what to expect besides lots of deaths, I’ll finish by giving you a few basics.

1: Learn a map inside and out

You’ve been playing Counter-Strike for years on Dust2? Then EFT is the right place for you. Because here you will be rewarded for learning a map inside out. And I don’t mean the tiny factory map.

Instead, I concentrated on Customs for the time being. The map is spacious, there is a petrol station, old factory buildings and construction sites. The loot is not the best here, but there are rarely enemies with high-end equipment. You only have to watch out for the dorms, because that’s where the professionals gather.

Find a map of the map of your choice in the (Tarkov Wiki) first learn where the exits are. You can kill all the enemies on the map, but if you don’t reach the extraction point before the time limit expires, it won’t do you any good.

EscapefromTarkov edgerunners https://t.co/7QUhCcu9zs pic.twitter.com/z8QSbYUpB7

– Battlestate Games (@bstategames) October 25, 2022

Ideal for this is the offline mode, which you can play with AI opponents. Since you can’t lose your equipment here, you can also practise shooting at the scavs at the same time. Once you have memorised the names of all the exits and their positions and know in your sleep where you have to go at the end, that’s half the battle. Scav mode is also good for exploring.

But beware: learning just one map will cost you a lot of hours, because after the exits there are also loot spots, entry points of players and scavs as well as many other things on the plan. If you really want to master all maps, it will take you months or years.

2: Master medical treatments

Just as important as map skills are medical treatments if you survive a firefight injured. And in Tarkov, at least at first, this is a science in itself. There are four different types of injuries, all of which require their own treatment materials:

• Each part of your character’s body has a certain amount of health. You can replenish them with various medkits.
• Mild and severe bleeding will cause you to lose life points and can be stopped with bandages and blood clotting granules.
• Breaks will also cause you to lose health and cause pain that will blur your vision. You will need a splint for treatment.
• If a body part is completely destroyed, you will have to patch it up with a Survival Kit or a CMS Kit and can then heal it up again with a Medkit. If you don’t do this, you will be at a great disadvantage.

My tip: At least always take a medkit, a bandage and a splint with you in your Secure Container – that’s the small container that can’t be looted by enemies.

3: Combat basics

Tarkov is a shooter, but there is actually hardly any shooting here. After about 25 hours of play, I have fired just about 1,000 shots. Because much more important than a quick finger on the trigger is tactical thinking and good positioning – so I usually finish off my enemies with a few well-aimed shots, panicked continuous fire is only possible at close range.

Three tips that have made life easier for me in Tarkov:

• Be sure to try to spot your enemy’s position first. This is difficult with campers, but at the latest when you hear footsteps or gunshots, you must be extremely careful. If you spot your enemy first, the battle is often won.
• If an enemy has spotted you and is firing at you, you must keep moving and find a new position. Hiding behind a corner and then peeking out will often only get you killed in Escape from Tarkov. If I have no idea where I’m being shot at, I just run away in the opposite direction – I have to do that sometimes.
• Shoot at the head! Sure, that’s shooter rule number one, but in Tarkov it’s even more effective. A hit to the head is usually fatal if the enemy is not wearing a high-quality helmet. Hits to the chest are much less efficient, depending on the ammunition and armour of the enemy.

Finally, the most important tip: play the way you enjoy it. I usually keep the risk low in my raids and only start with cheap equipment. On the one hand, it’s incredibly satisfying to take expensive gear from a well-armed player. On the other hand, I play Tarkov a bit like Monopoly and simply can’t have enough money in my account – so the good stuff goes straight to the flea market. When the virtual ruble rolls, then I’m happy.