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Update: Raid 60 - Having Fun on Shoreline

New VSS 

I almost bought a VSS from Fence yesterday. I really liked that weapon back when I briefly had one during my Woods purgatory.  It was listed for 80K. Without thinking, I went to purchase, but it had already been sold.  This was lucky for me. I can't buy the ammo or the magazines required for that weapon. I clearly wasn't thinking straight.

So I decided to build my own.  Here is my recipe for a DYI VSS for people who don't have access to the flea market:

  • VPO-209 (buy from Fence for ~40K, or, more easily, get from Scavs)
  • Rotor 43 Suppressor (Skier for 28.7K )
  • Submachine gun of your choice (Kedr from Prapor for 15K, Kurz from Peacekeeper for 186 U$D, sometimes Fence has suppressed SMGs)
That's it!  Now, instead of clicking 'B' to change between auto-fire and single fire, you just switch weapons!  To round it out, you might want a scope:
  • Bastion AK dustcover (Skier 6.3K)
  • 25mm Rings (Jaeger 1.7K)
  • Pilad 4x Scope (Jaeger 15K)
If you buy each of those from the dealers, including the VPO from Fence and a Kedr from Prapor, the total cost is just north of 100K. However, Kedrs and VPO-209 are very common Scav weapons, so subtract those.  And, if you are anything like me, you probably have scopes lying around with nothing to run them.  So typical out-of-pocket cost is just the suppressor (28K) and the bastion (6.3K).  Cheap!

My rule of thumb is if you can hear the footsteps of your adversary, it's time to switch to the autofire weapon.  Full disclosure: I suck at this game so take that into account before following my advice.

Quick side note: the Rotor 43 Suppressor only became available from Skier relatively recently.  I'm very happy to see it.  I am not sure, but I think that the latest update has reduced the amount of suppression it provides. It seems louder than the last time I ran it. 

Last side note: The .366 TKM FMJ ammo is pretty sweet. It's a great choice against Scavs.  Probably less great against geared players.  But there is an  AP variant and that one seems quite good on paper. You'll need the flea to buy it, but sometimes Scavs run it.  I know, because I've had them send more than a few rounds my way.

Raid 60 - Shoreline

Interchange isn't proving to be what I'd hoped. It's great place to get loot or get killed by a lurker, with seemingly no in-between.  So I decided to learn a new map: Shoreline. I did two offline raids (with Scavs) to help get oriented and enjoyed both of those raids immensely.  But, in order to advance, I can't hide in offline mode. So, despite having explored less than half the map I decided to just jump in.

Goals:
  • survive and extract
  • maybe kill Scavs
  • try out my new noob VSS.
Progress:
  • achieved the minimum for all three goals
Loadout: Two weapons.  A Kedr with lots of mags of Pzh ght and my suppressed, scoped VPO-209 with .366 TKM FMJ.  Class 4 armor, ears, meds.  Also I am wearing the "Shattered" mask. It's provides very light face protection. I've been running it lately, and it has saved my bacon when fighting shotgun Scavs.  Two weapons and a scary Halloween mask? Who the hell am I?
Insurance: 41K  (whoa!!)

I spawned in near the tunnel extract.  This puts me on the side of the map I still haven't explored offline yet. But that's good, because I sort of know where the "Road to Customs" extract is and I'll be working towards terrain I have covered.  

I took concealment and started scoping out scav island (the one connected by the rusty ship). I figure no one is going to be extracting soon. I'll just wait for the Scavs to spawn.  And one did spawn - right above me on the road!   I could hear his footsteps, so I switched weapons, made sure the Kedr was set for auto-fire and left concealment to peek the road. I thought I had a fairly good idea of where he was, but I was wrong. I peeked up and didn't see him. But he saw me and blasted me with a shotgun.  He blacked one of my arms. I sought cover behind a rock and tried resuming the fight while he shot at me again.  I had trouble getting the shot lined up, but ultimately I did and I let loose with nearly a full magazine of 9mm. I definitely landed hits, but apparently not enough - he turned and ran.  

I really do not want to die in the first two minutes of a raid.  I was in bad shape, but I can't stay on this exposed beach with him above me. I left cover and went to pursue, when I heard him gasp and die.  I didn't hear a shot. Did he bleed out from the wounds I inflicted? Or was he sniped from afar?  I went back in the lee of my rock and began to med.  Treated the bleeding, used the CMS to unblack the arm, spent up my cheese and IFAK to restore myself to "pretty good".

I returned to concealment, scoped the island. Still no sign of Scavs.  Ok, I need to leave.  I crossed the road, hit the woods and began to make my way across the map.   I turned around and saw a player moving down the beach towards where I had been, but I lost sight of him too quick under the lip of the road to do anything about it.  

As far as I knew then, there were only three ways across the river. (I think there are actually four).  The beach road bridge, the hydro-power station, and the resort.  I aimed for the hydro-power station.  The route takes me a bit close to the village and Sanitar's vacation home, but it seemed safer than trying to get by the gas station.  

I don't know where any of the buried caches are, or really where any loot is. I found one grenade in a box outside the hydro-power station. The hydro-power station itself was quiet. No bodies. I entered it, but it had already been thoroughly looted.  

Made my way towards the Road to Customs extract, avoiding the radar and radio tower hills. I scoped the area near extract, looking for any campers. No sign of any, but there are plenty of places to hide.  I left concealment to step forward, and there was a Scav right below me, not two meters away.  He scared the crap out of me.  I hip shot my ersatz VSS and took him down before he could get off a shot.  

I reached extract. Loot: one grenade.  Feeling pretty good. I looked over, and there was a body just outside extract. I scooted over to it and looted it.  I think it was a player Scav - no dog tag, no backpack, IDEA rig.  But he was wearing Korund Class 5 body armor and carrying an M1A rifle with a Valday scope. Score!! I folded up the Kedr, grabbed the rifle, shed my armor and took the Korund.  I was so excited I forgot to scour his pockets and rig. A big oversight, because if he had picked up good ammo, that stuff is worth a fortune.

After extracting, I kept the scope and armor and sold the M1A.  I'm committed to my VPO-209 and am looking forward to putting the Valday on it. Lipstick on a pig.


Time In Raid: 32 minutes, 23 seconds. (palindrome)
Exp: 1923  ( first raid on this map, lots of exploring bonus)
Killed: Adrey Vazheyy  (apparently I did not kill that first Scav)
Healing: 3K rubles
Ammo Used: 36,  Hits: 4 (3 on the first Scav, 1 on the second?), Damage to body: 124, Damage to armor: 113. Accuracy: 0.11

Mistakes

  • misplacing the Scav in the first battle. 
  • didn't give proper consideration to hard cover - especially with Scavs and their magic aiming hard cover is essential.
  • overlooked magazines when looting

Successes

  • achieved all my goals: survived, killed a Scav, extracted.
  • the shattered mask took some damage. Who knows, it might have saved my life?

Postscript

I still need salewas and spark-plugs. I've been running Scav raids on interchange, but in two out of three of them I was killed by another Scav within the first minute.  Tarkov.



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