Raid 1 - Level 2

I have not played Escape from Tarkov in over a month now.  Schedules have changed, interests and hobbies have shifted a bit.  I started playing EFT just over a year ago and started this blog a month after that.  So a year is a good run. 

If it weren't for the new wipe and the 12.12 update, I probably wouldn't play at all. I am really not looking forward to running the same set of missions again ( Bronze Pocket Watch, Delivery from the Past).  Bleah.  But I'm very curious about the new map and what the introduction of inertia will mean to the game. I'm less curious about VOIP - I have turned it on so but I'm not sure if I'll use or enjoy it.  But I'm curious.

The game wiped on Sunday. I downloaded it, updated, and tried to immediately jump into a raid on the new Lighthouse map.  But there were backend issues and I was unable to join a real raid. I explored the map briefly in offline mode, struggled with the inertia changes a bit, and then put the game down.

Some days later I had the opportunity to try it again. I ran my first raid last night. 

Raid 1 - Level 2

Destination: Customs

Goals: Kill 5 scavs, find Salewas and the loot I need for the hideout (sparkplug, toilet paper, etc)

Loadout: Slightly modded AK-74M with PSO scope, class 4 armor (gift from Prapor), basic meds, ears.

I spawned in the storage units.  I don't like this area - long sightlines, not much cover, not much loot.  I exited to the Crossroads extract and started to make my way along the road.  Oddly, I forgot about looting the two boxes next to the extract.

As I proceeded, I shifted into the roadside bushes and started to creep a bit - there's a spawn ahead of me, and this early in the wipe there may be a stream of traffic heading to the Tarcone Director's office.  A player crossed the road and stopped by the bushes. He wasn't far, just far enough that using the scope would be practical and not awkward. I took careful aim on his head, held my breath and headshot him ... and that didn't kill him for whatever reason. He spun and started firing, but I was obscured in the bushes and had a bead on him. His firing was wild and mine controlled. Down he went.   

His dog tags said his name was Faustian.  I took his tags and his backpack (I forgot to bring one) which he had very kindly already pre-loaded with some shitty loot.  But as Faustian is just a level 3 and using a VPO-136, which suggests he may be struggling, I didn't take anything else.  Good game, Faustian. Until next time!

I killed two more scavs as I crossed the map. In both cases I was in a bush and the scav walked up so close I could smell him. I cleared the air by releasing a bit of gunpowder.  

There were a lot of bodies around the map, mostly scavs. I tried to loot as many of them as possible - not that I expected them to have much, but I need the XP. As was pointed out on Reddit by someone, you need to touch a lot of butts.

As I came through construction to big skeleton, there was a dead scav there at the corner of the building. I stepped closer - he was wearing the white armor!!  Awesome.  Footsteps around the corner. Player or scav?  Well, whoever it is they have probably heard me.  I stepped wide around the corner, aiming laser on, kill mode engaged. Did I misplace the sound? There is no one here.  Or there.  Oh - there he is, crouching just a meter from where I was. I fired and hammered him with some good shots, but my delays had cost me. He was already firing on me, and as his magazine emptied, I went down.

Time In Raid: 17 minutes, 42 seconds
Exp: 1372  
Kills: Faustian (USEC Level 3), Fedya Puh (AI Scav), Lesha Chseveshnik (AI Scav).  Good Game everybody, thanks!!
Ammo Used: 43, Hits: 11, Accuracy: 0.21, Damage to Body: 351, Damage to Armor: 130
Killed By: HK416-ZYK  with many rounds of 9x18mm. - Good Game HK416-ZYK.  Until next time.

Mistakes

• misplacing sound
• being too eager at end?  I think pushing was the right play. 

Successes

• Not a bad start
• Killed a PMC
• Got 2 scavs. Only 3 to go to finish this first Prapor quest

Closing Remarks

The holidays are coming and Covid is still keeping things closed, so I'll likely have some time to play. There's a new map to explore, and I am somewhat motivated to get the epsilon container this wipe - to finish the Punisher questline.   So I might continue playing and blogging.

But that said, there is a very real chance that I won't play much in the coming months. I don't play any other video game, but I have other hobbies that have already deprioritized EFT for me, and despite the new release, that will not likely change.  Is this my last post?  Probably not. But there's a real chance that last post is coming.  This blog may taper off sometime in the near future.

So, once again, I'd like to thank Battlestate Games for making Escape from Tarkov. It's a great game. It's probably the greatest game.  I have hated it and loved it. Fear and exhilaration are both served in heaping shovelfuls. I have enjoyed this game immensely. 

Thanks to all my readers that have followed my many many mistakes and misadventures. I hope it makes you feel better knowing there is someone out there who struggles just as much as you.  Good luck out there in hell!