I want to preface this by saying I am by no means a "good" player. I am average at best and historically speaking, have lost most of my 1vs1 firefights vs Tarkov veterans, although lately, I have been doing exceptionally well, simply by changing my approach to Tarkov and the strategy I adhere to now.
My current stats for those who may be curious: I am sitting at a 52% survival rate and averaging 6 kills per death (just shy of 1.6 PMC kills per death). I have around 850 hours in Tarkov and started December 12th, 2018. A few weeks ago, I was at a 27% survival rating, 2.7 KD (.41 PMC kills per death).
If you're like me, the adrenaline pumping, nervous, shaky hands, always on edge, usually buckle under pressure type, it can make being good at games like this very difficult. Faced with either quitting Tarkov, simply due to the fact that I was just so bad and becoming extremely frustrated, or finding an approach that allowed me to win firefights and escape regularly, I came up with a game plan that has worked out surprisingly well for me.
Tip #1: Exercise patience. This may seem like common sense but let me expound on that some. When you spawn in, your first reaction may be "I need to rush to this area of the map for the good loot!" or "Let me move to a good vantage point quickly to catch people off guard!". I thought like this for a long time and failed miserably at it. Patience goes an incredibly long ways in Tarkov. In my opinion, this is the single most important personal attribute to being "successful" in Escape from Tarkov. Let the good players rush to the good loot and popular vantage/choke points. Take your time and set yourself up to pounce on them, when they leave these areas thinking they are safe.
Tip #2: Walk, don't run. This can be grouped with being patient but there's an added benefit by doing this. You will hear approaching players a lot easier and more quickly by walking around the map versus running. Look at it like this: If they are running, they will have a hard time hearing you walking and if you're walking, you'll have an easier time hearing if they are running, or walking. Also, be sure to occasionally stop and listen. Just find a little obscured spot, or somewhere where you aren't fully exposed, visually, and just listen. If you practice this religiously, you'll be surprised at how often you were really close to someone and by stopping, you now know where they are, yet they have no clue you're there, and are aware of them. Easy kills.
Tip #3: Don't ever be afraid to fall back. Being shot at but don't have the slightest clue by who or from where/which direction? Fall back. On a map like woods and shoreline, this can be difficult, but if you've been traveling in a semi/straight line for a decent amount of time and all of a sudden are being shot at, it's most likely within your cone of view, even if you can't see it. Turn tail and haul ass. Be sure to swerve and run in erratic patterns while retreating. Don't make it easy on your attacker.
Tip #4: Funnel your attacker. This ties into falling back. There are a lot of aggressive players in Escape from Tarkov. You can take that aggression and turn it against them. When/while you're falling back, consider that you might be getting pursued and pick a stopping point that will put you at a big advantage. I don't mean sitting in a corner and waiting for them to round it, as this can still get you killed. I mean picking a spot that they would least expect you to be, while being visually hard to see with some distance between yourself and your pursuer. This can be inside a bush that might be in their path of travel, laying down behind a car, with a clear shot on their legs, maybe peeking through a crack on some shelves, peering into an area they might think you've retreated to. By putting your attacker in a position that puts you at a big advantage, while making yourself difficult to see, there's a high chance you're going to win the fight. If putting yourself at a big advantage isn't a possibility, continue to run until you know you are far enough from your attacker so that they are no longer a threat…for now.
Tip #5: Kill & Chill. Title basically says it all. When you down a target, you're chumming the waters. Whether it's a player or a scav, once you've killed your target, just kick back and chill out. You can spend a few quick seconds to reposition yourself from where your initial shots came from to potentially help get the jump on any approaching players. If I kill a player, I give it anywhere from 2-5 minutes and sometimes upwards of 10+ minutes, if I want to use it as bait. Scavs get just a few minutes tops unless it's in a high traffic area.
These 4 things have dramatically changed my game play experience over the past few weeks. I went from being frustrated, angry and on the verge of uninstalling the game to extracting game after game after game with kills and loot of all sorts, so I figured I'd share for those who may be in the same boat that I was. I hope it helps you and if you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to help!
