You, you are the PMC.

TLDR: To many of ya'll forget this is an RPG first and a FPS second. If you want a game with hand-holding-recoil, minimaps, and danger markers, well… I hear warzone is a realistic FPS.

Inspired by the adrenaline post from earlier today, I think many of the complaints here in this sub are forgetting one thing. You, as in you're own skill, your own knowledge of maps, lore, quests, your own expertise in flicks, recoil control, movement mechanics, your own understanding of gunplay and squad tactics, YOU, you are why this game is hard-core, cause you, suck.

Okay, that was a bit harsh. Let's break it down. I've been an avid FPS player for 12+ years. Tarkov gives nothing in terms of balance because war isn't meant to be balanced. I've played FPS games that are one sided teams but still aid the player. I've played games that balance the teams but don't aid the player. Tarkov does neither.

Maps. Tarkov gives no minimap or objective markers, they only give landmarks and lore maps (not looking at 3rd party maps). It's you that has to remember the loot spots, the layout, the danger, not your PMC. Your research matters.

Lore. Tarkov gives no explanation to quest decisions or hints at what these factions are. Your PMC does not gain trader karma, you do. You figure out the atrocities of Terra Group by going out of YOUR way and reading the IRL books about tarkov, watching the films and involving yourself in the tin hat discussions.

Quests. Tarkov gives little to no quest hints. Downed drones somewhere around shoreline. Scavs at the cottages. Tarkov rarely tells you how or where these objectives are, there are no map markers or hints. It is YOU the player that does the research and finds these out.

Flicks. Your reaction time matters. The hours you put into Aim Lab and other FPS trainers matter in the same way your time spent at the range matters. Tarkov gives no danger icon. YOU, you the player must know where the danger is.

This one will be good, waiting for the comments…
Recoil control. You, you the player must BRACE! Use your mouse, pull the gun down. IRL if you just fire without bracing, that gun is not going to be in your hands for long. Why should we expect any different if we don't brace when firing. Pull the mouse down, fucking BRACE! … Automatic fire IS NOT accurate at all. You and your knowledge of your gun and its mods affect the recoil, not your avatar. Now, BSG was kind enough to give us some stats that effect recoil, giving us the first point that your avatar has some mechanics that you personally don't possess. Mastering is a clever tool to help bridge the gap between player and avatar for example. // However, I do think that the recoil needs to be reworked but only because my unstocked MP5 shouldn't clip through my avatars head when going full auto. This is a failure of the system, not the player. //

Movement mechanics. The inertia change had a learning curve, and this just proves my point further. When inertia was implemented, everyone was trying to figure out how to side step peek in a way that our weight wouldn't pull us out into the open. Guess what. YOU the player learned that, not your avatar. We don't have cheesy slide cancels or silly jetpacks, we have a heavy body that you the player must learn to control. Why do you drop your backpack before getting into a fight. Your PMC doesn't suggest it, you learned it through trial and error. Before inertia it felt like your avatar was guiding you, now it feels like your guiding your avatar.

Gunplay. Tarkov does not suggest what weapon you should bring, it does not suggest which mods or attachments you should use. Good ammo? Shit ammo? You do the research and in part through trial and error, learn what guns perform best; what ammo is for killing, what ammo is for the range. However, Tarkov helps our little avatar by giving stats like vertical and horizontal recoil, which in my personal opinion BSG should do away with. Unless someone can point to these recoil management stats IRL, I don't think they fit in with Tarkov. YOU are the PMC and it should be your job to document the outcome of modifications.

Squad tactics. Tarkov doesn't give you any tools (yet) to help squad play. How you maneuver and communicate is up to you, you the player. YOU are the PMC.

I started this rant because a question was posed that stated something like, doesn't your PMC generate adrenaline? No. Your PMC is a lifeless shell that reflects YOU. Do you generate adrenaline when getting in a gunfight or can you manage it? Tarkov is a RPG FPS, one of the first of its kind. It is a feat in game design and should be praised. Now, BSG recognizes that it is a game at the end of the day and thus there must be status effects. These status effects are meant to hurt YOU, not the PMC; if they hurt the PMC or avatar, you would have a permadeath scenario. BSG needed a way for YOU the player IRL to get shot and thus status effects were born. Notice how the status effects like endurance or covert movement adapt to YOUR playstyle. Gun mastery, intelligence, strength, and every other stat modifier are reflection of how YOU play the game.

IRL, if you sprinted everywhere, you'd be pretty damn good at it. #endurance #cardio.