A couple of quick notes on what to expect both before, during and after the wipe:
- You are going to lose everything in your stash. Everything. You will start over as a day one baby, just like as if you had just bought the game and were starting it for the first time. What you choose to do with your stash before wipe is up to you, but now is not the time to get attached.
- You will lose all stats except Time Online. That's there as a cruel reminder of what real life skills you could have mastered with your time instead of playing the Tarkov Treadmill. K/D, survival rate and everything else is totally reset.
- Don't expect to play a whole lot on wipe day, if at all. Servers will be down for a long while, and once they're back up, there'll be a lot of stress on the servers. Matchmaking will take forever if it even works, raids will crash and you'll lose all your gear when you are at your absolute poorest, and generally it'll be a fairly rough experience.
- Don't expect patch notes immediately. Sometimes they're super detailed, sometimes Nikita throws you a big ol' patch and says "hey, check out what all this new stuff is on your own."
- Way more stuff will change from this wipe to the next than you expect. The real reason so many veteran players look forward to wipe is because BSG incorporates some fairly dramatic changes in every wipe cycle. This wipe saw VoIP, a massive overhaul to movement and inertia, a new map, and a dramatic reduction in the amount of things you can vendor on the flea. The same strategy and meta you used this wipe for success may not be as viable next wipe. Last wipe, 5.56 was super meta and everyone ran M4. Now, no one runs in. In 12.10, the PK-06 was the godtier best optic and finding one meant that you got a free 50,000 on the flea market. Now, it's trash-ass low-tier loot. Last wipe, most of the foregrips were terrible and there were only three or four worth using, this wipe most of the foregrips are good. This happens all the time in Tarkov, so don't rely on your old knowledge and keep an open mind.
- You will almost immediately get out-leveled, so don't feel the need to compete. It can be very demoralizing to get killed by a level 11 on your second raid of the wipe, but it absolutely happens. Don't sweat it. This wipe I ran into someone doing Punisher part 6 when everyone else was doing the fucking pocketwatch quest. It'll happen to you. Some people have all the time and dedication in the world.
- The first two weeks of wipe are, by far, the hardest time to do low level tasks. It is going to be absolute hell on Customs and Woods for the next two weeks. Be patient and get through it.
- You've got this wipe for the next six months, so take your time and enjoy it. People often feel a tremendous pressure to level as fast as they can in the beginning. Don't. There won't be another big update or wipe until at least Christmas, so take your time now and play at your own pace.
If any other multi-wipe vets have advice, feel free to pitch in.