Intro

This is a survival Guide / Tips with huge emphasis on the Survival part. It concentrates on stealth and sneaking. Or in other words the art of avoiding people xD

I saw some topics / comments here of people asking how to make money / complete tasks without PVP so I decided to try to help out. I hope it will help at least someone out there.

I will be giving Customs as an example, but I think most of the points here will work on other maps.

For who is this guide meant for:

– People prioritizing survival over combat.

– People with lots of patience.

Objectives:

– Loot runs.

– Quest completion.

– Staying alive.

Disadvantages:

– Your aiming / shooting skills will not improve much if at all.

– Raids will take significantly longer.

– You will be branded as a coward.

Advantages:

– Higher chance of survival.

– Easier way of earing cash (except playing a scav ofc).

– Easier way of completing Quests.

Now, before I start I want to mention that all of this heavily relies on good sound ques. You MUST be aware of where steps, shots or explosions are coming from. That said, for the moment the current game audio is severely broken. It is incredibly difficult telling the direction or distance of events on the map. It is not impossible, but it is adding a huge difficulty bar for people who aren't W-Key warriors. I have personally decided not to play till the audio is fixed.

____Part 1 Pre-Raid preparations____

Night or day

• Night raids are generally speaking safer. Though they require special night vision gear which is very hard to obtain before you unlock specific traders or reach the flea market.
• Day raids are much more lively, but dont require gear. And you can usually see pretty much everything even if it is standing in the shadows

– Map knowledge

Map knowledge is key to survival. I recommend playing as a scav to at least learn the map layout and PMC paths. Playing offline removes the danger and thus the learning you can do. Yes you will learn the map layout, but you wont learn the late game PMC paths.

Another thing you must be aware are the spawn and exit points. They, along with the map hotzones are the key of avoiding people.

If you don't know the maps well, I recommend having a map open on your second monitor while playing.

Here is a good site for Tarkov maps:

https://mapgenie.io/tarkov

– Dying is fun !

I know I know, "But Hermit isn't this a survival guide !?" Have no illusions here, you WILL die. There is no amount of preparations or planning that will save you 100% of the times. This guide can only aim for minimizing deaths.

Now that we are prepared for the inevitable, lets take advantage of our failures.

Each death is a learning experience. Just after you die try self evaluating your actions. What did you do bad? What could you improve ? What did you do well ? All of those questions and more will help you adapt for the next raid. Dying only makes you stronger in the long term.

I recommend recording each raid so you can review your mistakes afterwards.

I use OBS Studio for recording. But it might be too much on the technical side. I have heard people also using Nvidia ShadowPlay for that (not 100% sure of the name)

– Set Objectives.

Before you start the raid you must set specific objectives. Do you need to get a quest item from fixed location or need bunch of items for your daily? It doesn't matter as long as you go into the raid with a purpose.

– Plan your route.

Now that we know what we want to achieve we need to plan how to get to where we want to go. I recommend opening a tarkov map and having a quick glance at the potential spawn locations. There are generally 2-3 main spawn areas at the map edges. Try planning a route from those main spawn areas toward your main objective.

– Clothing

This guide concentrates allot on stealth. So it is good not to have too flashy clothing. I dont mean gear. I mean the clothes you could buy from Ragman. Depending on which faction you have picked and what level you are, you will have different sets available to you. I like to hide in bushes and snipe. I have noticed BEAR has better camo clothing options, so I go for that clothing set. If you want to play in urban area you choose set that will blend you with the environment and so on.

If you go to Ragman->Services and right click on each clothing then they will be equipped on your character so you can see how they look without buying them. If you right click on your char then you toggle gear on or off.

Here is a link with the clothes for both factions:

https://escapefromtarkov.fandom.com/wiki/Tactical_clothing

– Weapons 1

The most important thing here is that you MUST have a suppressor on your weapons !

The rest is pretty much a personal preference. Try different weapons and see what works for you. For me, I dislike the current recoil system. So I use shotguns with buckshot for close range. Cant really miss with that 😀 And currently use VPO Hunter for sniping. The shotgun is for defense, and the VPO for attack. But as I said that is my current preference. I have tried and am still adapting what works best for me. Just try different weapon configurations and types and have fun analyzing their benefits and disadvantages till you find your preferred set.

For starters I would recommend picking something cheap and easy to replace till you master the art of being a hermit and avoid people.

– Ammo

This is a rabbit hole to go into… I am definitely not an expert, but as a general rule higher numbers of HP and Armor Damage the better.

Here is a url with good ammo charts:

https://escapefromtarkov.fandom.com/wiki/Ballistics

– Headsets

This is very important part. This whole playstyle relies on sound ques. The less ambient noise you have the better. Try them all and see with which one you feel most comfortable with and stick to that one so you get used to the sound.

I personally used Sordins. I like how much they muffle the ambient sound. Currently though I use the new Peltor ComTac 4. They are literally the best headset in the game, pretty much 0 ambient noise. But they are quite pricey as well.

Later on if/when you feel confident in your survival I would definitely recommend using Peltor ComTac 4 despite the high price.

– Gear 1

Personal preference as well. Again, if you are new I would recommend cheap and easy to replace gear.

One note I would leave here is to try not to have too flashy gear. A drastic example will be wearing that shiny RED packa. Try wearing armors and rigs that compliment your clothes. So that you will not stick out too much from the surrounding environment.

BSG have done pretty good job of adding variety of rigs, backpacks etc in various colors and designs, so try different stuff out and see what suits you.

A note I can add is always to have some sort of face cover on your head, so it doesn't stick out from the rest of your camouflage. I prefer using the black gasmask, but I am weird 😀 You can just buy a cheap face cover from Ragman instead.

– Gear 2 – Weapons 2

If you have become good at surviving. Not a master, but you also do not die every raid. I would recommend investing in your gear. It does help to have the flea market at this point too.

A good armor and helmet could and WILL save your life when you encounter enemies. Do not be tempted to cheap off on sub partial gear. You only have to survive a single raid and you would have payed off the initial investment.

Same thing goes for your weapon/s , but dont overdo it. Some specific weapon parts cost arm and a leg for very little advantage. Its up to you though, I am not your mom xD if you think the benefits are worth it go for it.

– Food

This playstyle takes lots of time and patience. Thus bring food and water. 50 hydration and energy at minimum per raid should be enough.

– Meds

Again this is a personal preference. BSG have added lots of different types and stims that you can decide what works for you best.

I personally like the Grizly and Ibuprofen painkillers in my secure containers, along with a CMS surgical kit. (That is if you have EOD container) I like the versatility of the grizly. It can fix anything but blacked limbs, and it has huge durability. I like being able to patch myself up to 100% without worry.

– Stims

Now about stims. I used to have an injector case as well with:

* Propital: for slow HP regen (the painkiller effect seems to be removed now it seems)

* eTG-c: For emergency fast HP regen. It is pricey, but it could save your life if PVP fight is unavoidable and you are hurt.

* SJ6: Good for running away or to smth fast.

* M.U.L.E: Good for when having too much loot and you want to get away from your current location.

​

Now that you are all geared, have objective and have written your will lets enter the raid !

_____Part_2 The Raid_____

– General Mindset:

It is okay to run away and not take EVERY fight. Yes people will call you a coward, but who cares what other people think. You are hopeful Hermit acolyte and do not care for such minor things ! You will be picking off what is left on their brave corpses like a vulture.

You are here to achieve your objective and NOT fight. (We will talk about fight later) If you see PMC/s and they haven't noticed you, then it is okay to NOT engage. Let them pass through on their way. You are not in a hurry, you have a grocery list to do and there is no point in killing them.

– Sound

Always listen out for sound ques. Gunshots, explosions, scav shouts etc. Those will help you greatly to create a mental map of the current situation. Don't be scared of gunshots and grenade explosions and so on, be happy for them ! Without that you will have incredibly dificult time pinpointing who is where, how many of them there are and doing what.

Think of it like being in a forest the scavs/birds are chirping, the big elephant/chad is stomping like a bulldozer and pushing away all trees. Some rats/player scavs are giving their best to chip away at the elephants or generally stay out of their way.

It is all connected and once you get used to the melody it will be like a hole story is written in your mind. You will know exactly what is happening on the map and it`s mood.

YES! There are moods, dont look at me like I have lost my mind O_@!

There are elephant/chad herd battles, there are boss fights, scav bedrails. You can determine all of that by just being patient and listen.

The real time to worry is when everything is quiet. THEN something is terribly wrong and probably you are at the wrong place at the wrong time o_o

– Quests

Completing quests in hotzones like dorms can be troublesome. Especially when you have to exit the raid alive. I recommend just following all the other tips here till much later into the raid. Lets say with 10 mins left. Then you would have to worry only for player scavs standing in your way. Go in and out fast and hope there aren't any PMC`s

There is always another !

The way of the hermit is one of loneliness and seclusion. Thus you might often forget that other people generally play in groups. If SOMEHOW you manage to kill a player you might be tempted to loot his body. Who knows what goods and trinkets might be hiding in there. WRONG ! If you kill someone and there is nobody around that means the deadman`s buddy is hiding in a bush somewhere waiting to shoot you while you lot his associate.

"Bbbut.. Hermit I killed his buddy too, it must be safe now ._." WRONG ! His buddy has a buddy too, and his buddy`s buddy has a …. you see where I am going here ? There is nothing on that chad`s body that you need. Just move away and stay safe.

The only exception to this is if you find a dead body late game and you haven't heard shots prior to this. Then its usually safe to check it out.

– Loot

In order to avoid people and still have full backpack you have to know every loot spawn on the map. A great way of learning that is scav runs.

Learning the stash locations is an excellent way to earn money. Almost nobody loots them and they have very good loot. With time you will learn to make loot paths. For example on Customs I have a few generally safe loot paths on my way to the extract. I cant really post pictures here and show you, but you can figure it out what works for you with time.

Have a look for open/looted crates and spawns on your way. (With the latest patch I don't know if containers stay open or not, but regardless you will see loot is missing)

If you encounter few empty crates in a row that means you are following the trail of someone else. And every other future crate on that path most likely will be empty. In that case try switching your path.

– Sneaking

Silence is your friend (that meaning you staying silent is your friend). Try to just walk as a rule. No stomping around like a mammoth. Yes you can run at specific areas, but in general if you aren't sure what you are doing its better to go slow and steady, you are not in a hurry. That way you make less noise and you can hear better if anyone is near you.

Use the sneak mechanic if you find yourself near PMC. Unfortunately now it doesn't work, but have it in mind for when BSG fix it.

If someone shoots at you, then immediately reposition. That scav shooting at you is a extraterrestrial beacon for all the chads in 10KM radius that YOU are there and that YOU are on the menu !

If someone is coming near you and they haven't seen you. Hunker down stay quiet and when you see them poking through BLAST them. Have in mind they can hear you ADS.

– Spawn

The first 5-10 mins of the start of the raid are a bloodbath. Some people have all spawns memorized and take advantage of that and try killing you in the first few seconds / mins.

You must also memorize or at least have a quick look on the map (on your second screen) for other spawns. Try avoiding the other spawns near you.

You have several options here:

• Hunker down in a bush somewhere for 10 mins. Though that is extremely boring.
• Go and loot stashes or low traffic places where people dont usually loot. A good example is the garages behind big red on Customs. Nobody goes there and is a good timekiller till everyone moves away from that part of the map. Yes the loot isnt that much, but you can still find good stuff there if you know where to look.
• Personally I like to find a good sniping spot in a bush or a building and spend the first few mins there. I generally kill scavs. I could take a shot at a PMC but only if I don't mind risking my life.

– Post spawn

After the spawn danger is passed comes the rush for the hotzones. Every map has them. For Customs everyone will rush for Dorms, Alamo(Forthress) and Crackhouse. If you know all the spawn spots just draw a straight mental lines/paths from them to the hotzones. Then avoid as much as possible those lines/paths. Remember that those rules apply only at specific times. For example there is no need to fear too much going to one of those paths at late game there are ofc few exceptions.

For example be aware of people going from the opposite direction of the map. They are on their way to the part of the map you spawned so they can extract, so have that in mind. You will usually meet those at the middle of the map.

Now In combination with Spawn, hotzones and sound ques you will have a good mental picture of what is happening. If you hear some spot being contested, just go around there. But have in mind where those people that are fighting will go next. If you avoid them the wrong way you might find yourself directly on their path to their next PVP objective.

Generally speaking players go in straight lines from spawn towards exit. They will curve away to reach the hotzones, and some loot spawns.

– Fighting/Defense

So inevitably you will encounter SOMEONE that wants a piece of you.

* Scavs: Its easy with scavs, (as long as they dont have the terminator auto aim bug. If they do avoid scavs at all costs)

Generally scavs anounce themselves loudly, look at you for few seconds then they miss few shots and then they instakill you. This gives you plenty of time to get rid of them. A tip I will add is to never re-peak a scav or you will be instakilled regardless of terminator mode or not.

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* PMC`s and Playerscavs: If players see you they will almost always go for the aggressive warrior fight. Once locked onto you they will smell your fear ! Now before we do anything here we must understand the mind of the beast. The common chad will act like the typical warrior and he will expect you to also fight on their terms. They will get annoyed or / and confused when you don't comply.

When they shoot at you, run to cover. Then shoot at their general direction a few times. This shows them that you mean business and you will want to engage in the alpha male fight ritual. Maybe throw a grenade as well to show how eager you are to get them. After which make sure you are in cover and they cant see you. Then run ! Run away from the fight as fast as possible ! The key here is for them not to see you run away. If they do their predator instinct will kick in and they will hunt you forever.

They will think you are running not because you are a coward Timmy… kakhem.. I mean the honorable teachings of the Hermit, but because you are carrying something valuable ! At this point you might as well shoot yourself and save yourself the trouble 😀 Nah I am kidding, but in general try to avoid them seeing you run away.

I like flanking them in a huge circle and snipe them from behind, but that is only if you know what you are doing and dont mind dying.

So at this point IF you ran away successfully you will be on to your next adventure, while the chad/s will be still looking for you in the old spot. They will be paranoid and confused for a while then move on wondering why did you disappear when it was a perfectly good day to risk your life away.

Now I am not saying that this will work on everyone 100% But I have found out its a good tactic in allot of cases.

Another situation is when they catch you out of position. You are trapped in a building. They might know or not know you are there. Regardless they are coming in ! Hunker down, try to hide yourself well. When the come through the door start BLASTING.

With all the server changes I am not sure who has the advantage in this situations. Maybe peakers advantage applies and they will see you 1-2 sec before you see them… I don't know. Regardless I think holding an angle is your best bet in that situation.

END

Ok that is about it for this guide. Congrats if you have read it till now. The long term goal of this playstyle at least for me is to become sort of an assassin and snipe people away from a distance, reposition and repeat till I can kill a whole team of chads without them seeing or hearing me. But that is ofc a long way away if at all happening. If you want to go for the same goal you can use the same tips as above but instead of always ignoring players, try to snipe more so you will improve your aim.

Would love if you have other things to add or correct as well.