Hatchet runners are still an issue. I'm not talking about bambey running in with a hatchet in nighttime reserve to the lootspots to ram GPUs up their prison wallet. Lets be honest here, we ALL know its the level 35+ sweat lords that do it. I know it. You know it. Grandpa Pestily knows it. Everybody knows it.
Why? Is it gear fear? Is it the optimal play strategy for making number go up? (It still is even after nerfs, see science for prior to FiR changes but those changes were made to counter RMT not hatchet boys so it didn't really move the needle too much just perceptual bias). Reasons? Most likely its the idea of "I need a minimum equipment to compete." You need meds, proper ammo, class 5 armor, rig, etc., and all of that costs a LOT of money, especially right now thanks to BSG tripling to quadrupling the price of almost every "meta" ammo.
How do we solve this? Simple, first you CANNOT put anything Found in Raid in your container. Secondly, traders can give you loadouts on a cooldown that you can't sell back at certain trader reps. Just a decent kit that's randomized dependent upon the traders nationality (so AKs for Prapor and M4s for Peackeeper) with a decently modded weapon, decent ammo, capping out at Class 4 and the m856a1 tier of ammo. Guess what? No more budget boys, no more pistol boys, just decently geared boys you can loot. Best part is this could be used to get players to use weapons they wouldn't otherwise use. Granted, we'd want to transition this off of traders and onto factions (when they get added) because then it would give incentive to rank up with various factions within the game (which would be dope).
"But what about mah immersion? This is a survival game, I'm bringing in GOOD gear and they should have to spend money on their gear!"
Firstly, its not a survival game. Tarkov is a battle simulator. You know what's not very immersive? Hatchet boys that run at me. Also pistol boys. Add on top of that they don't feel rewarding to kill because they weren't bringing anything of value in. Only thing this change would do is make them have stuff worth looting. They don't get to ram crap up their prison wallet and cackle as they die.
Secondly, everyone now has basic gear that they will have no reason not to bring. No one will be safe, especially not the sweaty chads that think they deserve it with their Class 6 armor and air frames. Sure, if you invest you'll always have an advantage over basic kits. That's the point, you invested so you get a bit of an advantage. But you shouldn't feel safe. You shouldn't feel secure. Every PMC fight should be tense, not just the occasional geared v geared.
Personally, I'm tired of dunking on pistol boys and low geared players. I'm tired of hatchet boys. But mostly I'm tired of not feeling anything when I die because the GPU is in my butt hole. I'm tired of avoiding fights with PMCs who already looted high loot areas because I know anything valuable is in their butt hole. Two birds, one stone. Every fight tense, every fight a reward.
