I really like Escape from Tarkov. I like the way it can be a mil-sim game, a survival game. I enjoy its difficulty, its brutality, its complexity. In particular I really like the attention to detail. It's a very rich immersive game that leverages player interaction to keep the world fresh and gives players many many different avenues to pursue.
I try to play daily, or every other day. But between the two wipes I don't have many hours of gameplay when compared to most. I'm still very much a noob. My suggestions aren't insights distilled from thousands of hours of gameplay. They are just some ideas I have.
Lastly, any new feature of the game can have unintended consequences. Battlestate Games has a lot of challenges to juggle: Unity, Hackers, Real Money Traders and some idea with which we players might be enamored could have unforeseen results, like skewing the flea market, discouraging beginners, or worse.
So, with those disclaimers out of the way, here are some ideas I've mulled. Feel free to disagree in the comments.
Maximum Loadout Value Maps
One aspect I really like as a beginner is the struggling with rifles, single-fire carbines, and other "cheap" weaponry that is not meta'd to the max. Also, I get the sense from the game developers, that they really want to have that development: players starting with garbage weapons and incomplete kits, and working their way up to full kitted (night vision, infrared scopes, Level 6 armor, stims, etc.) But as the wipe continues, more and more levelled players dominate any level with weaponry that is not available to me as a noob. In one sense that's fine, as it introduces its own set of challenges and rewards if I were to manage to bag one. But on the other, it can be really discouraging for beginners.
I've heard other players suggest that some servers only allow players of a certain level, so there would be a server for beginners. But I think a better idea would be map variations that have a maximum loadout value.
Imagine a Customs variant where you can only join if your current on-person gear loadout is less than 50K rubles of equipment. Perhaps there could be three variations of Customs: 50K max. 100K max. and no limit. They could be similarly loot populated, with the 50K Customs having less overall loot value. That could serve to both preserve the "starvation/survival" feel of the game, and have a way of safely segregating PACA beginners from Thicc Slick Chads. It could also mean that the AI Scavs can be better kitted in the higher loadout levels, making them more of a threat. This might require a fixed-value for all equipment used by the servers (as opposed to current market). There may be consequences I haven't considered, but I feel like it's a good idea that would preserve the original intent and feel of the game.
I like the idea of a 50K night raid. Flashlights baby!
Birds
I'm not positive, but I believe that the birds stop singing once the shooting starts. If not, that might be a nice feature, the bird sounds on some of the levels get quieter or louder based on recent activity. Also, in places like Woods, it would be cool if sometimes when shots are fired nearby, that a flock of birds would rise from the trees and fly up off the map. A dumb feature, probably too difficult to implement, but the sort of detail that fits Tarkov.
Helicopters
According to the story, at the fringes of Tarkov sits the Russia United Armed Forces making sure that no-one enters or leaves Tarkov. You may have died to their snipers. It might be cool to see (and hear) helicopters or planes far overhead in the distance sometimes, enforcing the cordon.
Limited Flea Market Access
I can't speak from authority, because I have never yet reached the flea market. However, it seems to me that there are really two games in Tarkov: before you hit the flea market and after.
One solution is to give all players access to the flea market, EXCEPT change it in the following way:
- any player can sell anything on the flea market
- but a player can only BUY from a seller who has the same Level as them (or lower).
So, if you are Level 2, you can sell something you pulled out of a raid on the market. Any player who is Level 2 or above will be able to buy it. But when you want to buy something, you can only buy what is being sold by Level 1 or Level 2 players.
One unintended consequence of this is that if you are a top player, Level 2000 or something, that when you go to sell some bandages, there is no one to buy them, because there are no other Level 2000 players (or very few). So that might mean that some items, when sold by high level players, are marketed to any player Level 10 or greater instead. Because we don't want to make the flea market less useful for levelled players. Note this also gives BSG more leverage over the flea market. Maybe bandages sold by high level players are always marketed to level 10 or greater (like the existing flea). But perhaps an exotic weapon or case or something has a minimum market-to level of 20 or 30 or 40 (when the sellers level is higher than that). So that could serve to keep Level 10 players from simply buying anything they want. Bringing back that "scavenge/survive" aspect of the game to everyone, not just noobs.
Other consequences might be giving incentive to RMT (Real Money Traders) again, so I can see where this suggestion may be controversial.
Flashlight As Melee Weapon
On-gun lights are all very good. But a basic stick flashlight should be a regular object in Tarkov. It can be kept in the scabbard, instead of a knife. You can hit other players with it, doing minimal damage. Of course, it would be most useful to, you know, see in the dark. And, in many ways, more realistic that all the mounted lights we see now. Those seems like they should be somewhat exotic. Though maybe they could be craftable from a normal flashlight and duct tape.
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