Published , by Timo Reinecke
Published , by Timo Reinecke
It's a daunting task to get into Escape from Tarkov. Battlestate Games’ extraction shooter has one of the steepest learning curves in all of gaming. Part of that are its maps, small or large, all come with their unique twist on Tarkov’s formula. So, to get you started, we picked out four maps you should learn when starting.
Woods is the large forest map of Escape from Tarkov. There’s lots of cover, loot hotspots are far and wide between, and you tend to get into little skirmishes instead of big firefights. It's the perfect map for beginners because you’ll be fighting more AI than real players and PMCs that seek out PVP action tend to avoid the map entirely.
Thanks to the big lake and sawmill in the middle, and the large mountain to the northeast of the map, it's also very easy to figure out where you are. As a new player, you can get some experience with firefights thanks to the Scavs roaming the small villages and camps while veteran players are usually drawn to the sawmill and large camp to the east.
Cheap rifles such as the SKS or a Mosin are usually enough to get you through a raid, but having something as fast as a sidearm is recommended. You should also bring a helmet to avoid getting picked off easily.
If you want to learn how to fight, Factory is the map for you. Loot isn’t exactly great here but toolboxes and medical crates offer a lot of materials for your hideout. But that’s not what you're here for. You’ll have firefights with Scavs and players with little downtime in between and there are a lot of corners, catwalks, and hidey holes for you to consider.
Factory is relatively small, has exits on almost every side, and you can easily spring to an exit in one go. It's easy to make out where players and NPCs are at any point so you can always pick battles. That is unless Tagilla, the boss of Factory, is around. He’ll yell and charge at you with his sledgehammer so just run and hope he finds another victim.
As for equipment, handguns, SMGs, and shotguns are recommended. You can bring armor but since you’ll be fighting across very short distances, unless it's tier 4 or higher, I wouldn’t bother to bring one.
Ground Zero is supposed to be Escape from Tarkov’s tutorial map and it is without a doubt a great microcosm of everything you should expect when playing the game. You’ll have many mid to close-range encounters, thanks to the street you’ll always know where you are, and there are several levels of elevation and tight corridors to switch things up.
Loot is evenly distributed across the map so you’ll always spawn next to something worth taking. It's also a great map if you just want to get some Scav kills, as they’ll often walk up and down the streets and go after every player they see and hear. It's an incredibly intuitive map that you can get a hang of pretty fast and it will split players under and over the level 20 range to even the scales a bit.
For equipment, you want to roll out with body armor, helmets, and an SMG or assault rifle to cover all your bases. You’ll get into a firefight eventually and the ability to dump half a mag in someone's back if you get the chance cannot be understated.
One of Escape from Tarkov's most iconic maps, Customs offers a bunch of great spots to loot all of which are evenly distributed across the place. A few hotspots are the dorms in the north of the map and the fortress to the south. But there are many other spots worth visiting and lots of Scavs to kill in between them.
Most of the action happens within the walled industrial era, where you find the crackhouse on the western side, the fortress in the middle, and various smaller factory buildings to the east. If you’re just looking to make your way to an objective, the woodland area in the northern part of the map is the safest way to get there. Players also tend to ignore Big Red, the storage house on the western part of the map, and the parking garages behind it, so they might be worth looking through.
For gear, you should bring anything that works on a medium range. So SMGs, assault rifles, and regular rifles are top picks, but a trusty AK with a sight will do the job. Just be careful if you’re heading to the dorms or new gas station because players and NPCs there tend to be geared for a fight.
For more on Escape from Tarkov, make sure to check out our tips for beginners and check out our impressions of Delta Force: Hawk Ops’ early alpha.