From One Player To Another – An Updated Guide

Hello again fellow Tarkovians (or whatever the hell we call ourselves besides 'gimp').

A little bit about me. I served as a medic attached to an Army infantry unit in Afghanistan where I saw more than my fair share of combat while on dismounted patrols. I like to apply my experiences to games like Tarkov like some dudes armchair quarterback NFL games after those glory years in High School. I'm looking at you Poolshark. You know why you handsome devil you. I'll be like Doc Brown and jump in my DeLorean to roll back time to those prime years.

Now, this may look like a familiar post for those of you who've been around for a minute. I wrote this guide three years ago and realized I'd never built upon it or updated it since the original writing. I know I re-wrote it or made a part two the next wipe but fuck if I posted it. I'm realizing now COVID had hit and time got all wibbly wobbly on me. Huh… fuck, am I bitter vet now? Sometimes I still feel like a Timmy but I look around me at my lvl 5-6 armor, my (personal) meta builds (I like my own style alright? Don't judge my ADAR…), and my personal growth since I last posted. A lot of this still applies though and I've updated with my thoughts or tweaked it as I saw fit. I may make a follow up post and I'm happy to update/edit this one based off of comments. As I love to tell my boss, "If I knew everything I wouldn't be here."

​

1. Confusion is your friend
   1. By confusion I mean do not stay still, don't wait for the enemy to come to you, unless you're setting an ambush, and don't let them dictate the battlefield.
      1. Dictation of the battlefield could be seen as holding a ridge, waiting for them to make it half way down the hill, or otherwise putting them in a bad position from which you have the superior position. A favorite is catching them in the open without cover as most of the time they'll panic and run for the nearest cover while you continue to shoot at them. Someone should tell them about the mad minute… but that's to come!
   2. This also means, don't give them information. Ever noise you make is a piece to the puzzle of your location. Not just shooting, but also walking.
      1. Hint, you can be upright and slow down your walking pace with the scroll wheel. BUT THIS IS BROKEN AS SHIT IN CURRENT WIPE! If you're reading this in a few months hopefully it's been fixed but I'm not going to kid myself…. take the following with a grain of salt. Or a pound of salt. Whatever. You'll see in the bottom left a little speaker icon and slider that drop. That's your noise level being produced. When in doubt, lower is better. That being said, a slow target is an easy target.
2. Violence of action
   1. When you push, push hard. In for a penny, in for a pound. If your foot passes the threshold then you need to be in the room. Killzones are a very real thing.
      1. A killzone is an area which is easy to aim at. It could be a door, an entryway, a corridor, or anything else that will dictate your movement to a more constricted space. Get the fuck out of them. A window counts as well and I generally advise that if you're going to shoot out of a window stand as far back in the room as you reasonably can to lower your profile.
   2. Ammo is cheap, your life (and gear) are not. I'm not endorsing just lobbing rounds, see Rule 1.1 if you're curious, but rather once you do start an engagement don't get all panicky over your bullets. If you were low to begin with you shouldn't have engaged. If you were engaged I wish you the best of luck. Accuracy helps with this over time as you'll expend less rounds to accomplish the same goal.
      1. Note: I'm no longer a new player. Ammo is not fucking cheap. Dear Odin… next time I down a scav with a bullet that costs more than their combined kit I'm willing to loot I'm going to cry. I may already be crying. That said, most mid-tier rounds aren't too terrible. I am not above a good ol' mag dump to keep a head down as I'd still prefer to be a little bit poorer than dead and losing my entire kit.
3. Armor does not equal life
   1. You only have so much blood and endurance. Armor will take damage, not negate damage. Tarkov doesn't seem to punish you too much for taking rounds to the chest if your armor holds up but here's a hint. If you don't face the enemy with your armor they won't hit your armor. Instead they'll hit things like your nice squishy arms.
      1. So I should clarify this a bit. Armor is a lot more nuanced than I knew at this time. The simple answer is X round can pen tier Y armor in 2-3 shots. The rule of thumb I've learned is that Penetration/10 = the armor it's viable against. Higher quality armor (within each tier) will have more durability which can soak more rounds and therefore makes the pen chance lower on consecutive hits. That's not to say a PACA will stop a LPS round if the PACA is full durability, but it'll stop more Pst rounds at full durability.
      2. Also facing the enemy allows them to head eyes you more easily so good luck. At least you'll have your gun pointed in the right direction to shoot back.
4. Rapid fire isn't accurate
   1. This irritates me every time I see someone start spraying at me from 50+ meters away. You're wasting rounds for no reason. One, it doesn't make me duck and it shouldn't you either unless it's an established ambush. Generally being on the receiving end of full auto fire from an AK is about as accurate as North Korea's missile program. Breath, aim, shoot.
      1. Meta Build enters chat: Y'all wanna see a laserbeam? Watch this… seriously though, at higher levels you can get away with this. It's not perfect, but between recoil control (both in-game and IRL) and a well built gun you can do some cruel and unusual things you wouldn't dream of early wipe.
   2. If you're within 50m and/or in Close-Quarters-Battle (CQB) then full auto is a valid answer. Depends on how panicky you are. Don't get grumpy though if you're seeing your rounds fly down range and the intended recipient doesn't die. You probably missed.
      1. Rapid fire while on single fire is still valid CQB. Not always, and it depends on the gun build, but I've definitely taken a kitted ADAR up against equivalent guns and won because I wasn't spraying my mag in a general direction
5. Sustenance
   1. Food and drink. Hot damn is this an over-looked feature that the veterans just kind of get and the new players completely forget about. You need to eat and drink and, if you're going on a longer raid on say Streets, Woods, or Shoreline you'll need more to make it through. Sure, you can loot it as you go, but I normally just throw a Hot Rod in my pouch for the "oh shit" situation. That'll get you to a food spawn or extract without too much hassle. You can also do Sprats and EWR or whatever floats your boat.
6. Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)
   1. That Mosin's looking mighty fine but an ADAR 2-15 just came in from a Scav run and you just gotta upgrade you know? Let me ask you this. Why? Some guns are better depending on your play style so you can swap out whatever name for Mosin and ADAR 2-15 you want. The point is, why fuck with what works? If you want to tinker and try new styles then cool. But coming in brand new I advise against a plethora of guns. If you want to tinker, use offline mode first and if it doesn't work out, sell the gun. Don't risk a new toy on a raid when you have no idea how it handles.
   2. FOMO isn't as bad now that durability of scav weapons is reasonable to repair but still, don't take a new weapon platform and kit it out just to lost it because the numbers looked great on paper but it was a hog of a gun that you couldn't ADS while moving (Looking at you Spectre) and you didn't plan on how many rounds it ate up in a firefight so you're already running dry with only three scav kills to your name.
7. Scan your surroundings
   1. Some players have an eagle eye for spotting my precious dome popping up to say hello to the world. It happens, you'll get domed, and you'll learn not to poke your head out. That's not the point. If you don't know where the enemy is, it's a moot point. Now, if you know their location and insist on poking your head out then vary it up. Left, right, crouch, move locations. Whatever works best for the situation. See Rule 1.1.
   2. Camo is a thing in this game. I now vary up my kits depending on where I am going. Usually just Urban and Not Urban thanks to all of the same assets but pay attention to it. Anyone who's ran the UNTAR mission knows what I'm talking about, but for those of you who have not I'll explain. Certain colors stick out like a sour thumb depending on the terrain so I stay away from those. Going Woods or Shoreline? All green, more green, and maybe a dash of tan. Going into Streets? Blacks and greys all day.
8. The Mad Minute
   1. I love this one. Someone shoots at you and you proceed to panic. It's to be expected, lead hurts and I'm told it's toxic. Well, take that panic and put it to good use by clicking that pointer finger like a mad man while looking in the direction of your aggressor who's fucking up your day. This plays on your fight-or-flight response. Why not both? Take cover and put lead down. This may conflict with Rule 4 in general, but this is to make someone flinch. Not everyone will, but any advantage in a battle should not be wasted.
      1. Consider this. You've already lost the initiative. You are at a disadvantage more often than not. This is one of the few ways you can regain control of the firefight. As you get better it may be the wrong answer but it rarely is. That said, don't stay in the open shooting if you can get to cover. The Mad Minute is for putting them on the back foot while you figure out how to take control of the fight. Not to leave you in the open with an empty mag, the heart stopping sound of "click", and a dream of better days.
9. An honest fight is a losing fight
   1. I'll see you at noon, in the street, with only pistols. Uhh… yeah, sure. You know what honor is for? Getting stabbed by someone without it. Now, this is only a game and we can have fun, partake in shenanigans, even send SoS with my stupid Scav's pistol light that I spawned with because that sounds like a fun challenge. At the end of the day though, will you die to be the good guy or kill to be the victor?
      1. Note, this does NOT apply to groups. Since I originally wrote this I've become quite the team player. I grew up on solo play but now I run in 2-3 stacks regularly. The ONLY honest thing about our fights is that we will announce our presence before you die. With a gun shot. If you can hear it with the suppressor on and the state of audio in this game. Who the fuck knows. But, be honest with your groups. Share loot, be friends, and enjoy the game. Now, if I find that USB or GPU I ain't gonna say shit unless you're my best friend but still… it's the spirit of the idea right? Right?
10. Cover vs. concealment
11. This is a simple concept that often is misunderstood. Cover means the object will, in theory, stop whatever's coming my way. Concealment just means it will block line of sight and obscure my position. Hiding in concealment does NOT mean you can't be shot, it's just harder. Hiding on cover will generally also be concealment but don't trust in that. Your duck walk may lead to a rifle barrel poking out. You're covered, not concealed.
    1. Note: Scavs don't give a fuck about this, and neither do pro gamers on TTV with the absolute best gaming chairs. Cover will stop the bullets, but concealment means nothing to them at this time.
    2. Hello darkness my old friend… I've come to pop some scavs again. Hehe. Anyways, night time raids are usually pretty great for scav hunting. Their aggro range is neutered to shit and you can pretty easily engage them without getting shot back… usually. Then it turns into a Rammstein show, there is fire everywhere, and every scav keeps screaming about breaking my cheeks or some shit.
12. This is particularly comical when someone forgets to back up off the door they're camping. Your barrel is an object I can see. It doesn't end .02mm from your face. If I see a barrel poking out I'm going to back away and either frag your position, if I have one, or flank around and use concealment to cover my approach until your cover is null and void. In the Army we'd just grab it and yank you out the door right before putting rounds into you or detaining you, really depended on how strong of a grip on the trigger you had.
    1. Update: This is still a thing I see all the time. Took a player scav out that definitely had the drop on me if not for his god damned barrel hanging out like he forgot to zip up. Seriously, back up off the doors and windows people. If I come out swinging you're gonna have to turn more to track me anyways. Now I can just lean peak you to death or leave a present at your feet that will open in 3, 2, and 1…
13. Friendly Fire Isn't
    1. I don't know how to say this, but you need to communicate clearly and concisely. The whole "I'm by the tree" on Woods or "I'm in the building" on Streets is old. Learn the maps the best you can, describe your location, but be quick about it with enough detail to guide your teammate. Even something as simple as "I'm on your left" as you're shifting up through an area is a huge help, or "Heading to third from second" so the team knows where you are, where you're headed, and likely how you'll get there. Failure to communicate is how people get shot. Well, that and jumpy players who see their buddy sitting in a shadow they were definitely told about but forgot and they twitched and put a M80 round through their face. Not that I've ever done that… recently… this week?
14. Medical Care
    1. How could a medic not include this last time? Fuck me, I'm a bad medic. Just don't tell anyone I lost my EMT license years ago.
    2. You need a heavy bleed, a light bleed, a healing kit, and a pain killer every raid. Early wipe this is a bandage, esmarch, and some anal beads… I mean anal gin, and cheese. Serious, who named this shit? Anyways, that's the load out early on. Over time you can cut out the light bleed equipment and use better healing kits to cover those more efficiently. While you still have AI-1 (cheese) you need them though. I also highly, highly, highly suggest splints and CMS kits until you get Alu Splints and then a Surv12 kit. The Surv12 is a CMS and Splint in one that works a hell of a lot better, has more uses, and can be refreshed at your medstation so don't use them to 0/15. Ibuprofen is also better than the anal beads, though you'll still stick it up your ass so make of that what you will. I generally run a Calok, IFAK/AFAK (depending on what I got), Surv12, and a bottle of Ibuprofen at this point. The Surv12 and Ibuprofen go up ze ass as they're multi-raid equipment.
    3. Note: Need is not want. You don't "need" splints or a CMS/Surv12. You WANT those things though. First time you go limping across Shoreline with a broken leg you'll understand the difference between need and want real fucking quick. Like I WANT less fall damage because that cliff was NOT that big but I NEED medical treatment right the fuck now. Then again my back is fucked from a similar fall in full kit so maybe they're not that far off. Anyways, I strongly suggest you at least bring a good healing kit (Salewa, IFAK, AFAK), heavy bleed control, pain killers, and something to unfuck your broken limbs. A blacked out limb can be lived with, a broken limb is hell.
    4. Painkiller meta is bullshit… but damn does it work. So, you may see streamers constantly popping pain killers. Why are they doing that you ask when it decreases your hydration and/or energy (depending on the pain killer)? Because if they're already under the painkiller effects and you break something on them they can keep fighting close to normal. You too can benefit from this perk if you just bring a little something for the side effects.
15. Have fun
    1. I can't stress this enough. It's a game. I personally treat every death as a failure in my training and/or ability to remember the training. I could go on and on for days about tricks, tactics, and skills that may help but really a lot of it's real world stuff. That doesn't mean I don't have fun though. Nothing is quite as satisfying as putting rounds down range and watching the bodies drop, surviving an ambush against all odds, or winning an CQB fight with a Mosin against two dudes rocking kitted out AK's and full L4 armor.
       1. Gah, that's dated. L4 is an absolute minimum after a week or two and full chad status hasn't even come into effect yet. But, remember we're all here to have a good time. Enjoy the game, gripe about the obscene amount of hackers, wonder who spray painted "John Connor" on my back and sent in the scav Terminators, and blame shitty Russian devs for making such a great idea such a shit game that I'm some how addicted to and can't find a replacement anywhere else. It's like smoking Pines in Afghanistan. God those cigarettes sucked ass but when I can't get my fix elsewhere what's a dumbass to do?

For the Cardinal Rule:

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

Fuck that, new cardinal rule. Slow is still smooth and smooth is still fast but this takes precedence.

If there's one, there's two. If there's two, there's three. If there's three, there's four. If there's four, there's five. If there's five, you're about to get third partied.

TL;DR

Bullets & beans baby, but still no god damned Sanitar key…