It's very interesting to listen to streamers that have played this game since alpha talk about when Tarkov was at it's best for them. Contrary to popular belief on this platform, not all Tarkov streamers are W-keying bunny hopping FPS gods. Some very much enjoy playing this game with no flea market, even by hardcore rulesets.
Also let me clarify, none of what i'm about to say is intended to "shame" or shit on what other people find fun. I'm just trying to point out that a sizeable chunk of this game player base want this game to be something drastically different than others, or even what the dev's want.
I'm listening to Lvndmark the other night talk about when tarkov was at its best for him. He said back in the day before the flea was when the game was at it's best, but not for the reasons you may think. He specifically described what made it great for him, mentioning customs: The map was less than half the size it was now, and every single raid everyone rushed dorms, and it was just an insane clusterfuck meatgrinder. You didn't survive as much, you didn't really loot anything except player gear when you survive, You just keep running it back and rushing the exact same PVP hotspots. You didn't play to survive, you played to kill.
Now, i love Lvndmark, i watch him all the time. He's very entertaining to watch specifically because he seeks out PVP non-stop for his audience. But I've never heard anyone describe more clearly what is essentially Call of Duty with extra steps.
This really illustrates a fundamental divide in the way some of us play this game.
Some play this game for the pure PVP, the game really doesn't start for them till they have max traders. They start every raid and immediately rush PVP hotspots for the action, not the loot. They generally don't like the grind or the quests. Most wouldn't be unhappy with starting the wipe with max traders and a huge wad of cash.
Others play this game as a MMOFPS looter shooter, and enjoy feeling their character getting stronger, seeing their stash get larger, seeing their traders offer more goodies. they enjoy questing for the most part, and playing fights with the intention to survive, not to kill.
I enjoy both. I really like the questing and grind of an MMOFPS. But once I get max traders, there's not a ton to do except hunt down players.
Ultimately the Arena mode will offer a game mode catering to each playstyle, but i really hope BSG doesn't stray too far away from their vision on the main game mode.
