TL;DR minimize Scav usage, play as your PMC. Anything you do on your PMC directly progresses towards level 10 and the Flea Market, Scavving doesn't.

^{It came out as a long read, bear with me.}

As we all know, there's been a huge influx of new players given Tarkov's recent surge in popularity – and many of the newcomers are struggling to get to level 10 to open the Flea Market, that would give them an easier time in the world of Tarkov. By now, some of them have left, never gotten over the learning curve – but those who stayed, some of you are struggling. With money, gear, and your skills as a player.

I suggest checking out the official EFT-wiki for task-related needs, and your favorite Youtuber or Streamer for some other stuff related to the game!

The market doesn't make you a good player. Gear (or ammo) doesn't make you a good player. But they help.

Now pay attention to this bit right here:

It's very late in the wipe. What you should be doing right now (as a new player) is to learn the maps, extracts and PMC spawns. Map knowledge in this game is the key. This is why you should play as your PMC as much as possible, to learn where you, and your enemies can spawn – and get out from. This is how you "git gud".

And I want you guys to start doing this RIGHT NOW, fuck the gear fear, fuck making big bank or a full stash – start taking your shit out for a walk, it's most likely gonna come back from insurance anyway if you die, because all the Chads are full of juice THIS LATE IN THE WIPE, and the new weight system helps too.

We're already heading fast for the upcoming reset, and you will lose every progress you've made. Sure, that might sting the newer players or players with little time, kids, and working three different jobs, but take this end of the wipe perioid as an opportunity to LEARN. You'll be more ready by the time the next wipe comes to lose and progress your hard-earned pixels. Trust me.

Sure, I recommend using your Scav on cooldown, and it's a good way to make some extra buck, or just run to the nearest extract with what you spawn with – and transfer it directly to your PMC. Play the FREE gear you just got as the Scav on your PMC and make some PROGRESS with the real deal – it's only roughly 40,000 experience for level 10. A Scav kill is what, 300 xp? Kill a few per raid and loot something – that's already 500 xp even if you die. Add in the tasks you can complete as your main character, and more succesful raids & extractions ramp up that number quickly.

This right here is the catch: by playing as your PMC is the only way to PROGRESS your PMC, and to get closer to the level 10 Market-gate. Anything you do as a Scav keeps progress on your Scav ONLY, unless you happen to find a find-in-raid task-item.

Reposting my images, here's what your progress will look if you play more on your PMC than your Scav. Sure, I've put in the hours, and this is my 3rd wipe. I was as lost as most of you are right now on my 1st.

Quoting myself from an other thread:

Your Scav does level up and gain skills though – next time you're Scav-running, open your inventory and take a look at the overall / stats tab, you'll see your Scav level and his skills. Compare those to your PMC's, which one is higher?

And yes, I know in the main menu / character tab it says "overall" on the level / skill page while PMC / Scav are greyed out, but that's wrong. It only shows you your PMC's stats, not overall stats.

You can see easily it's not overall-stats as it states from the run-throughs alone.