I have seen so many effing "new player, what do I do/sell/keep", "help!", and "what am I doing wrong??" posts this wipe. Here are my suggested resources for learning the most you can out of raid, so you can go into raid with a tiny bit of confidence:
JesseKazam's Complete Escape From Tarkov Beginner's Guide:
This is a bit old, but most info is still relevant and it's one of the only guide's I've seen that really explains the most basic of the basics, i.e. how do you even extract in this game?? Too many guides assume a certain amount of familiarity or map-knowledge and their tips are going to be lost on you.
USE MAP GENIE:
Every map except for Reserve has a detailed Map Genie entry which lets you toggle all sorts of settings. The wiki has decent maps for learning layouts, but they don't reveal locked doors, item spawns, etc.
THE ONE TRUE AMMO CHART:
Stop using whatever your friend gave you, because it's trash. EFT ammo spreadsheets are eye sores and beginner's are going to struggle making sense of them. I have never seen this website linked anywhere, but it has interactive graphs that let you compare caliber and ammo types, flesh vs. armor damage, indicates which ammo's will one shot to the head or thorax, details muzzle velocity and armor damage, it even links to the Wiki so you can find out how the ammo is sold/quest locked.
USE THE DANG WIKI FOR EVERY QUEST:
Always read the fine print on the wiki before you start any quests. The in-game descriptions almost always leave out important info that will screw you. The wiki pages also have tips for the easiest ways to complete some of the more obscure tasks.
SEARCH THE ITEM'S WIKI BEFORE YOU SELL IT:
If you aren't familiar with the item, look it up in the wiki before you sell it to see if it is needed for any quests or hideout upgrades. Try to figure out how rare or common it is. You don't need to hang onto fabrics for the Ragman Textile quests when you are level 13. There's a decent chance you won't even get that far in your first wipe. Keep the wiki ready while you are in raid, if it seems safe enough you can alt+tab and search the item right then and there.
KNOW THE FLEA MARKET VALUE:
If you finally make it to level 20 and you don't know what is worth what, right-click filter by item on everything in your stash so you can get the basic picture. Use the above link while you are in raid to find out what items to hold and what to drop (it also links to the wiki). 10k rubles per slot is a good rule of thumb, but you should be filling your bag. It's better to hold onto a few 7k items than have empty backpack slots.
LINKED SEARCH YOUR GUN PARTS:
You lucky bastards…. As of the latest patch, you can right-click linked search items through the flea market, even before you have it unlocked. You can only see items sold by traders at your level, but this will still go a long way to helping you understand the basics of gun modding. What attachments fit on what guns and what needs an adapter vs. what can slap straight onto the receiver.
KNOW WHICH TRADER TO SELL TO:
Until you have the flea market at level 20, your only source of income will be selling junk to traders. The order of Trader buy-back prices from highest to lowest is Ragman > Therapist > Jaeger > Mechanic > Peacekeeper > Skier > Fence. Different vendors buy different things, so tab through each one to see what they will and won't buy. For example – Ragman won't buy guns or meds, but he often pays as much as the flea market for chest rigs and helmets. Jaeger offers only a tiny fraction less than Therapist, so if you need to level him up don't worry about the lost rubles.
Durability is an important factor for guns as well as armor now, so no vendor besides Fence will buy any item with lower than 60% durability. Guns are cheap to repair, armor is not. Repair guns to sell to Mechanic if they are just below 60%, sell everything else to Fence.
YOUR SCAV IS YOUR BEST FRIEND… up to a point:
Now that you've got all your links open, use your scav on Customs or Woods, or any map you need to learn for quests/loot. You risk nothing besides your time using your scav, which makes alt+tabbing to check out your links less risky. If you are REALLY new your main objective should be figuring out how to extract before the timer runs out.
Don't shoot other scavs unless they shoot at you.
And don't run your scav ad nauseum. If you aren't running your PMC you aren't getting much quest progress, you aren't gaining XP to gain levels for traders and flea market, and you aren't leveling your skills like strength and endurance. Every time you die as a PMC, you are still leveling Endurance a tiny bit for every meter you sprinted and Vitality for every bullet you are shot with.
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This list could go on forever, but there are plenty of videos with tips and tricks for when you get your sea legs. This post is for those who don't even know where to start.
P.S. Yes the Scav Junk Box is worth it. If you only have 1k rubles left over after purchase, it will still be worth it. Buy two.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/EscapefromTarkov/comments/p5ni8l/new_player_handbook_for_you_sorry_souls/
