4Game

Pouch nerf is not supposed to stop hatchet runners, it is supposed to stop hatchet runners from playing only half the raid. It connects the success of looting to the success of extracting. Very important distinction.

Without the pouch nerf:

• Players can sprint to the item they want, and touch it, then it is safe in pouch and they stop caring about extracting. All their tactics are optimized not for survival or smart play, but for running fast. He plays a game of olympic loot sprinting. He gets the reward the moment he touches loot.

• Meanwhile a normal player who carries in gear, has to worry the whole raid about surviving. If he fights and collects large loot, he has to carry it out. He plays the whole raid, start to finish. This guy is playing tarkov, a game about realistic combat. He gets the reward if he extracts.

With the pouch nerf:

• Everyone has the same base risk of surviving the whole raid. The tactics may differ, the loadout may differ. Some might even still hatchet run. But all have to play to survive. Loot runs are now unified with combat runs. (avoiding combat while getting good loot is a skill too).

This is why the nerf must remain in place. No single item must be allowed into it. This is not about stopping hatchet play, it is about putting it on the same level of risk as any other way to play. So the argument that "it forces a particular playstyle" is absurd. No one stops a player from choosing any gear he can afford.

If you manage to hatchet ninja a whole raid, grab fat loot and get out unseen, then you deserve respect, let's just be all on the same risk level.