You ever see those highly upvoted videos of people playing against what seems like a team of drunk vegetables? If you have, you’ve either commented, or seen the comment. “Where are those guys in my raids? When I play they flick shot me and head eyes me immediately!”
Let’s start by saying I’ve been playing tarkov for 3 years. I usually hit around 45-48 every wipe, with around a 58-62% survival rate. I am experienced and would like to believe I’m good at the game, but I am by no means a god at the game, however I pretty often have raids with 4-6 player kills. “Finding” those guys is never that simple. What it boils down to is a few things.
First, and obviously, skill level. The better you are at the game, the more you’re gonna make landmark/pestily/(insert your favorite creator here) like plays. You can progress and get better at the game, but make no mistake, not everyone will be on that level. You can learn recoil, you can learn maps, and you can learn common player routes, but some things come from pure inherited genetics AND age. Reaction times being one of those things. Regardless, make no mistake, skill level is a key factor in making such plays happen.
The second thing has already been touched on. Game knowledge. To me, game knowledge is king. From map layouts to player routes to game noises, these all aid in finding players and inevitably..”those players.” If you know a map well enough, you can give a pretty accurate guess as to where the gunshots you hear are. You know what guns to expect by the sounds, you how aggressive they are by how quickly the shots move in whatever direction they move and you can even get the drop on people by recognizing a route they’re taking from how the sound of their shots travel through the map. It comes with time, but either way knowledge will aid in getting you those upvote worthy plays.
Third is aggression..timidness..courage? Level..fuck I don’t know what to call this. Let’s start by saying I don’t mean aggression in the sense of full tilt sprinting with a slick plate, altyn, and meta HK. What I mean is simply this, if you’re too timid to go wear players are going to be, you’ll almost never run into “those players.” You have to be willing to go where people will be and have to be willing to fight with the people you meet. If things go your way, you get gear, loot, and experience and when the stars line up, you find “those players” that make you wonder if the person on the other side was even conscious.
Finally, along with everything above, it’s all a numbers game. The more raids you run, the more players you run into, the more likely you are to find “those players.” If you spend 45 minutes in raid, followed by 20 minutes in stash slowly selling and organizing, you’re less likely to have those run ins. Do you have to speed run? No, but you should be running efficiently enough to be in and out of stash in 5 to 10 minutes max.
Anyone can find “those players” there’s always someone less skilled than you with less knowledge with you and there’s always someone better and more knowledgeable. It’s a numbers game and not one of us is without our win and death streaks. I’ve lost 2-3 mil in a day and I’ve made 2-3 mil in a raid or two. Regardless, the complaint “where are those players in my raid?” Is a bit off base. Get out there and make some plays! I wish you all the best loots and shoots.
