I Tarkov Poorly

Now that the flea market requirement has been lowered to 15, I no longer need to press to level 20.  Modulo rubles (and cheaters), I can play the game as I want.   So should I chad it up and go Timmy hunting?  I'll probably continue questing.  My highest paying quests are the Ragman quests on Interchange, but I did most of those last wipe.  I should focus on my low level Skier quests to level him up, and also unlock the Peacekeeper questline, things I've never done before.  Raid 86 - The Sixth Time is the Charm Goal: get "the information" Skier needs from some train car on Customs. Loadout: suppressed AK-102 with ADO scope, class 4 armor, ears, meds, the usual.  This is my sixth attempt at this, the others having all been undone by encounters with players (and one death to some scavs). How embarrassing.   Spawned above the river, near smugglers extract. I set out immediately. I crossed the map avoiding both scavs and players, killing three scavs near the military chec

Raid 83 - No Raiders, All Trouble Destination: Reserve Goal: Kill 2 Raiders. Visit 5 Rooms for Ragman, hoping they are unlocked by someone. Loadout: New Class 4 Armored vest, Vityaz with many mags of Pst gzh, etc.  But no backpack Spawned in tank dugout next to train station. Looks like I won't be arriving at the bunker first.  Crossed map, descended into bunker via White Pawn stairs. Someone is moving in the bunker. From the shelter of the white pawn doorway I aimed down sight. A geared player crossed, I fired.  He ducked into the black pawn antechamber. I displaced - moved up to the ramp leading to black pawn. I'll try flanking. I withdrew up the ramp and quietly moved down the hall heading towards the black pawn stairs. The PMC was coming up the stairs  - I aimed down sight again. He started crossing the hallway and I fired - he wasn't expecting that. He spun, fired, and ran back down the stairs.  His aim was true though - BP tore into me.  This hallway is a death trap.

Get 15% More Game with this One Simple Trick As mentioned, I finally accrued over a million rubles. It's time to spend some of that money on yours truly. Can you guess what I bought? Not armor, not a weapon.  I dropped 340K on a Labs key card.  Awesome! Now instead of only six maps to enjoy, I have seven.  My Escape from Tarkov is 15% bigger!  I have no intention of going into a real Labs raid, but I very much want to learn and explore a new map.  So I've been running Labs a bit offline.  It's not going well.  I wander around lost for fifteen minutes, and then a raider kills me before I even see him.  Not that different than my online raids. On Ammo When I first started playing EFT I read and believed the advice about always using the best ammo. And once I reached the flea market last wipe I spent untold millions of rubles on SPP, M995, M61, BP. But now I no longer ascribe to that philosophy.  In all my raids for this wipe and last, I doubt there have even been a handful of

I crossed over the million ruble barrier recently. That's great to have some of the financial worry behind me. And I picked up a new Ragman quest on Reserve: visit 5 different rooms. Pretty chill. Except it requires four keys that cost more than a million rubles in total.  Awesome.  But I ran a scouting mission as a scav and some of those rooms get unlocked by PMCs and left open. So maybe I can just piggy-back on someone else, like I did for Delivery from the Past .  Destination: Reserve Goal: Kill raiders in bunker (still need 2 more) and visit the 5 rooms. Raid 79 - Sigh Loadout: Beloved Vityaz with Pst gzh, one grenade, Class 4 armor. Meds, ears. Caught the pole position spawn this time - spawned in the bunker itself, white pawn dead end. The raiders don't always spawn in the first minute, so I looted a couple containers and slowly made my way into the bunker. It was empty. I visited all the places the raiders hide. Nothing. I pulled the D-2 switch, except for the lights com

There has been a new update to EFT that has several bug fixes and big changes to the Scav AI. I haven't had much time to play this week, but I tried some short offline raids and the AI opponents are definitely behaving better. Wow. Impressive.  Raid 77 - The Duo Destination: Customs Goal: Retrieve "the Information" for Skier, murder scavs for Prapor Loadout: ADAR with 855 and used Class 4 armor, ears, meds, food and drink. Spawned into one of the buildings in the industrial cul-de-sac.  I really need to return to Reserve to finish killing raiders, but I wanted to see the new Scav AI first hand.   I looted the building and as I exited things really started hopping - there was weapon fire from every direction.  I slowed down and carefully went from cover to concealment to cover but there was no one in my immediate area.  The train car I need is on the other side of a wall - I doubled back listening to the weapon fire. Some of that fire was definitely combat. Some of it migh

 I have three quests on Customs: stash a golden zippo lighter for Skier fetch a package from the director's office for Mechanic pick up a package from dorms for Prapor I want to do all three in one raid. I already make two attempts at this triple, but died to a player and Reshala.  Third time is the charm. Raid 76 Loadout: Vityaz and Class 4 armor, meds, ears, food and drink. Supposedly there is some event right now where raiders are on other maps besides Reserve and Labs. Need to watch out for that. I spawned into one of the buildings in the industrial cul-de-sac.  Looted it and then headed out. If there is one thing I know on Customs, it's how to avoid combat and that's the play today.  I looped around, carefully and unhurriedly and arrived at dorms.   Inside the three story dorms building it was quiet. I unlocked room 203 and got the package for Prapor. I exited and continued - scanning the rooms, trying to stay in the rooms and out of the hall.  A scav near the stairwel

Raid 73 -  Dead Before I Saw Him #1 Destination: Reserve Goal: Kill 2 raiders and survive Loadout: Vityaz, No Armor Spawned in parking lot next to the trains. Made my way to King. The raid is quiet - King seemingly untrespassed. I entered the bunker, flashlight on.  Searched high and low for raiders. Nothing. Killed a single scav. Flipped D-2 switch. No sound of activity. Searched everywhere. No one spawning. Looted. On my way out, as I approached D-2 I heard footsteps running, approaching up the ramp from King. I turned off my light took cover and leaned out. Someone sprinted past. I fired my weapon - which was dumb. I missed, of course, but now my adversary knew I was here.  Suddenly two grenades - I jumped to cover. A third grenade. Moved again. Nice work, so far.   Don't wait for him to come to me - I need to push. I turned on my light, aimed down sight and leaned left (ugh, left lean) and began to approach around the corner.  A blast of autofire and I was dead, never having se

 A dozen raids ago I was excited about heading to Reserve to kill raiders, and a half dozen raids ago I was pleased to pick up this quest to kill 5. But now it's getting old. I keep dying to players and the few times I've managed to get down into the bunker it's been just scavs.   Goal: Kill two raiders and survive (need the survival for the Ragman quest) Raid 71 - Same old, same old. Loadout: Vityaz with Pst gzh, Class 3 armor, ears, meds.  Spawned in garage across from King. Made my way to King - no one here. Very quietly and slowly descended down to the basement, restoring the doors behind me in case someone comes behind perhaps they'll be less cautious. I stopped at the top of the metal staircase that descends into the King antechamber.  Last raid I went blithely down this and got myself cut down.  I stopped and listened. Footsteps in water. Raiders or a player. The footsteps seemed to be approaching - I aimed down sight, if they come into the antechamber I may be a

 I have three quests on Reserve: kill 5 raiders (only 2 to go), get med documents (bought the keys for 400K) and mark fuel tanks.  Let's do all three in one raid! Raid 69 - Halfway Connected Loadout: Vityaz SMG and Class 3 armor, meds, ears, two markers, the two keys in my secure container.  I spawned at the dome. Walked down the hill, marked the first tank, taking longer than I hoped because I forgot where the hole in the barbed wire is.  Descended into bunker via White Pawn. The bunker was empty - two dead bodies (scavs?) and open looted containers. No sign of anyone. I searched it completely, checking all the corners the raiders hide hoping that maybe one was here, but no luck. Checked the D2 switch - it was pulled already.  As I exited the D-2 hallways I heard footsteps by the office entry. I killed my flashlight, approached the big room and leaned out. The silhouette of someone in a penis helmet was standing outside the office door. I fired, emptying an entire mag into their h

I am short funds. I should be running scav raids to get some money, but I'm eager to take another run at Reserve, to kill the last two raiders I need for the quest and to get the medical documents for a different quest.   Raid 68 - 0 Exp Loadout: Vityaz PP-19 with buttloads of Pst gzh (best I can afford), class 4 armor, ears, meds, the two keys I'll need in my secure container. Spawned in the corner barracks with the far away marked room. This place. I jumped out the rear window and started to cut behind the cleavage. This time I'm going to try a different route - I cut down the gap of the cleavage and dropped into the bunker. Light on and started the crossing. No scavs down here nor Glukhar and his guards. As I entered the tunnel going up to the loading docks, the siren went off - someone had pulled the switch for the hermetic door. Great, that's all I need - for this place to be flooded with raiders.   Wait - that's exactly what I need. I listened and double check

With the flea market now available to me I can buy some keys I need. So I dropped 400K on the two reserve keys that I need for the Disease History quest.   Destination: Reserve Goals: kill 2 or more raiders to complete Prapor quest retrieve the medical documents from locked rooms for Therapist quest Raid 66 - The Gamer Loadout: Press armor, RPK-16 light machine gun, meds, ears, one grenade. I spawned in one of the vehicle bunkers over near the train station. Crossed the map and made my way to White Bishop. I don't know why I went there first, I should kill raiders then get the medical record, but I didn't want to forget. I got the medical records, while up there numerous footsteps tromped through the first floor of the building. I waited behind my closed door and after they departed continued. Descended to the White Bishop ramp. There was someone moving down there. I quietly went down the ramp, I leaned out and saw him over near the storage room. I aimed and fired and missed. D

Thirty thousand XP is required to go from Level 16 to 17.  So far my PMC raids have barely moved the needle - nine raids and only 6000 XP.  But my scavving has been going great.  I got a flash drive (quest complete), a power cord (quest complete), and a corrugated hose.  And with that hose I expanded the lavatory in my hideout and so it was soap and water to shampoo, shampoo and vodka to cleaner, cleaner and tape to Kek tape, Kek tape and magazines to magazine, and done four times that's two more quests.  So my scavving has suddenly closed four quests and now I need only 3000 more XP to make level 17.  Moreover, I have a new quest on Reserve: kill 5 raiders.  Perfect!! Raid 65 - In which I kill all the raiders Loadout: Vityaz SMG with lots of mags. Press Class 3 armor. Ears, meds. Spawned in the King garage. This is one of the closest spawns to the bunker. I made my way straight there - closing any doors I opened so as to not alert any who might be following. As I made my way downs

I ran four quick raids on Reserve. Three as a PMC and one as a Scav.  In two of them, I don't believe there were raiders in the bunker. In another two I know firsthand there were neither raiders or scavs in the bunker. Destination: Reserve Goal: Kill raiders in the bunker. I'm going armorless.  When (not if) I lose my kit, it's less stressful if it's just the weapon and the meds. Armor, even crappy armor, drives my cost up.  Raid 62 - Showering and Cowering Loadout: MPX with dot sight. Meds. Ears.  - I've tried the MPX offline and I like it well enough.  I spawned at the death trap spawn, in the corner vehicle bunker across the field from black bishop.  This time I made my way south, cut over and entered black pawn via the hole in the wall to the bathrooms. There were multiple footsteps in the building. I stepped further into the bathrooms, out of sight from anyone ahead or behind me, listening. Someone unlocked a door - that's the marked room downstairs, should