Escape From Tarkov has sent me on a long quest for some toilet roll

Deep in a rusting warehouse, in a broken Russian state, I scope around a corner and stumble across the site of a massacre. Four, no, five bodies stretch the length of the hall, slumped and discarded. After reeling from the dead I click into Tarkov mode… Someone in that pile might have a roll of toilet paper!


Though there is no military value in bog roll, Escape From Tarkov thrives on loot. All the gruff men scouring the levels, with their carefully arranged layers from a tactical Urban Outfitters, are basically popping out for something from the shops/corpses. It might play a bit like a survival shooter, and it might also feel like a battle royale game, but “winning” is simply a case of getting out of the vast levels with more stuff than you entered with. You don’t need to be the last man standing, but you do need to have netted something for your time.

In my opening days as a scavenger, a roll of two-ply with a puppy on the wrapper was about all I could focus on. It was an easily understandable requirement in an otherwise baffling game. Vendors in Tarkov will often require additional items to trade alongside rubles. I wanted an armoured vest, and the vendor needed some loo roll and soap alongside payment. Hygiene is important, especially during an apocalypse, and somehow, somewhere I’d already found some soap.



So I had a purpose, which was good because it was a rare moment of clarity in a game that thrives on obfuscation. When you’re asked to Escape–as the title behooves you to do–you need to work out where the unflagged escape routes are (there are in-game maps, but every single person in the community will tell you to use the game’s wiki). Looting requires you to take the time to uncover what you’re looking at, leaving you in prime position to be turned into a corpsey lootbox for someone else to rifle through. It’s chaos! I chose to focus on that single item, hoping I’d learn the rest of the game by Andrex osmosis.

Each round has a time-limit hanging over you like someone banging on a toilet stall demanding you hurry up, but it’s not a swift game. It’s built for stealth, with a control scheme that plays like an accessible Arma. Stances and speed are adjusted in small degrees. As I traipsed across the warehouse strewn Customs map, I learned that running full pelt around the map was a sure way to get dead. Then I learned that doing the same, but crouching, just made you dead in a more compact position. It was starting to feel like the only way I would escape would be to load into the level and run straight for an exit. I tried that. I did not make it. Death was around every corner, hidden in every shadow, squatting in every bush. You don’t learn by doing; you learn by dying.



And using the internet. Google told me the dorms in the Customs map was a known loot haven. There’s no guarantee with RNG, but I figured that there was a good chance that I’d uncover my totemic toilet roll in that squat little collection of buildings. I somehow made it there alive, and snuck in. Like dorms everywhere, they’re incredibly unwelcoming. Dark, claustrophobic, and a place where high-level NPCs spawn. I stalked the corridors, cracking doors and checking rooms, closing them as I went, because I was taught to be respectful even during an apocalypse. I found piles of crap and burnt-out detritus, but no loo roll. When I discovered a body pile on the roof it was full of worthless military doodads. This is a world with more shotguns than sponge soft shitter sheets.

So I backtracked downstairs and froze: half the doors were now open. I wasn’t alone. I crouched and backed up the corridor as another player emerged. He was zig-zagging, checking every room. I settled into a prone position and watched, fascinated. He never once looked at me. He wasn’t aware he was being watched. It was like looking at myself many deaths ago. This is how I learned that you really, really need to take your time and plan every step as you hunt for loot. What a clumsy idiot I must have been! A walking target, crazily mumbling about commodes. I can feel all those crosshairs converging on me as I type this…



Then the door into the building opened and another played entered. I shot at him and missed, the guy I had been tracking dropped back into a room, and the new player shot me in the face. I’m not sure there’s even a lesson in that. It just happened. Maybe if I’d had the toilet paper I’d have been more cautious and let them fight each other while I tried to make myself smaller and less shootable? I’ve since stalked around Tarkov as stealthily as the controls will allow. I still died in a garage with a hand full of rubles and no poop paper, but at least this time I saw my murderer for more than a second. We even engaged in a what could charitably be called a face-off.

In a way, Tarkov reminds me of One Red Paperclip, a website where a guy started out with a paperclip and traded his way up from it until he owned a house. Risking life and limb for a roll of toilet paper is just the start. With the TP, I can trade onwards and upwards, to the point where I’ll be able to fit out my hideout with a room that generates toilet paper. That’s the dream. The hideout also has the capability to store a BitCoin mine, but right now that’s so far off that it might as well be a time machine. Or a bidet.

For now, I’ll keep playing. There’s someone out there in the same position I’ve been in. Zigging when they should be crouching, zagging when they should be trying to work out what grip fits perfectly on an HK 416A5 5.56×45 assault rifle by searching the wiki on their second monitor. I hope I find them, if only to see if they have a roll of two-ply on them. I still really, really need it.

A big Escape From Tarkov update just wiped your characters, soz

You’d have thought people would have escaped from Tarkov by now, but they’re still at it. Escape From Tarkov is a brutal, sandbox-ey shooter about scavenging for loot in a warzone where everyone has better guns than you – except for right now! A big update to the current early access build has brought a load of changes, but one of the most significant parts is the character wipe. Tarkov’s central appeal lies in looting, and now (not for the first time) all your loot has gone. My friends say they’re happy about this, and I still do not understand them.

I suppose I do, really. The goal in each round of Tarkov is to enter a big map and leave with more gear than you came in with, and that loop never clicked with me. I imagine I would find losing all my hard-earned loot galling, but the internet’s “Fiyenyaa” tells me: “It’s fine, it makes for a level playing playing field to start off with and building up from nothing again is part of the fun for me. The only bad part is having to re-do some of the incredibly bad quests.”

The internet’s Fiyenyaa might be pleased to know that those quests have been twiddled with. Developer’s Battlestate Games say they’ve “simplified Jaeger’s quests”, as well as changing various other old quests and adding new rewards. Quests in Tarkov are pretty barebones – they have you going to a specific place, or searching for a specific gun, or just killing NPCs or players. They give you XP, and levelling up makes you better at an intimidating array of specific things.

There’s loads else that’s new. You can now lean while prone, the NPC AI and positional audio have both been souped up, and lots of tweaks have been made to the “found in raid” status on items. That’s significant, not only because it changes which gear satisfies quest conditions, but also because you can now only sell gear that you’ve found on a raid. My pal Alex tells me that “this makes it harder for market traders to flip items and control supply” on the player-driven flea market. They’ve also added captcha security, which the devs say you’ll need to wade through “if there are suspicious actions at the flea market and in the trade”. Even Fiy acknowledges this sounds annoying.

I didn’t get on with Tarkov, but Craig Pearson had a grand time hunting down toilet paper.

My friends who watch Tarkov-heads on Twitch tell me these wipes come around twice a year, and Battlestate do ’em to both give veteran players something new to do, and so they can test new systems out with players who aren’t already loaded.

There’s plenty I haven’t mentioned, so do check out the patch notes.

Tarkov is still in beta, and buying in now will set you back £35. You’ll need to grab it from Battlestate’s website.

Escape From Tarkov's next map is off to the big city

Battlestate today gave a new look at Escape From Tarkov‘s next map, named Streets Of Tarkov. Escaping the woods, warehouses, villages, and industrial facilities of previous maps, it’ll head right into the big city. Battlestate say it will be the hardcore PvP first-person scavenge-o-shooter’s “biggest and most detailed location ever”. I say it has some unexpectedly stylish apartments for a game where you’re desperate to find bog roll.

“It will be the biggest and most detailed location ever,” Battlestate COO Nikita Buyanov said on the PC Gaming Show today. “There will be a lot of explorable buildings and grounds. It’s an attempt to simulate the city, the realistic modern city.”

A location like this does seem important for contrast. The game’s set in a Russian region which collapsed so hard that civilians fled and armed factions took over, but it doesn’t have that full vibe if you’re mostly poking around warehouses and the occasional run-down shopping centre (which, really, you can find on any British high street).

Buyanov also mentioned that the upcoming patch 12.7 will expand the Customs map, enlarging the overall area by 30-40%. He added, “The next update will totally overhaul the whole skill system and there will be a new boss called Sanitor. This boss will be able to heal his partners and search for stashes, we always try to bring something new in terms of new bosses. Really big amount of cool features are to come this year. We’ll try to bring some new experiences for you.”

Escape From Tarkov is currently in paid beta, with access coming if you pre-order for €35.

Whatever you call it, hit our E3 2020 tag for more from this summer's blast of gaming announcements, trailers, and miscellaneous marketing. Our E3 stream schedule will tell you what to watch and when. See all the PC games at the PlayStation 5 show and everything at the PC Gaming Show, for starters.

How to learn the maps in Escape from Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov (EFT) features one of the steepest learning curves in gaming today. There are very few tutorials once you load up the game for the first time, leaving you to fend for yourself. While some of the game’s mechanics can be deduced with common sense, other aspects cannot. Some take tons of experience and playtime to even begin to understand, such as the different maps.

Perhaps the most important part of EFT is learning the various maps and their extraction points. However, the game doesn’t offer any help in this area. So, instead of figuring it out for yourself, why don’t we give you tips on how to navigate the maps?

Ways to learn the Escape from Tarkov maps

Of course, the best way to understand something is to gain experience. The only way to do this is in EFT is to play the maps over and over. However, starting out, this can be extremely difficult as you’re dropped into an unknown area and told to find an extraction point.

The problem is, you don’t even know where you are, let alone where an extraction point is. Well, if you fall into this category, fear not. There are ways to speed up the learning process.

First, the biggest thing you want to do is go into Offline mode. We went over how to do this in our beginner guide to Escape from Tarkov. Offline mode helps you learn EFT without the stress of losing your loot. Also, you’re given 40+ minutes to make your way around the map.

A fan-made Customs map guide. Credit to Reddit for the image.

To start, you’ll want to learn either Customs or Interchange, as those are the most popular maps. Learning them is difficult, but if you’re equipped with a third-party map, it becomes much easier. Simply go to Google Images and look up a map of Customs or Interchange. This will help out tremendously with finding extraction points and landmarks.

To figure out where you actually are on the map, find a landmark near you and take a look at where that is on your map. For example, on Customs, if you spawn by the silos, then you know you’re on the eastern side.

This is by far the easiest and most efficient way to learn the maps in Escape from Tarkov. Make sure to keep up with Daily Esports for all EFT coverage!

Escape from Tarkov Scav Boss guide: Where to find and eliminate them

Escape from Tarkov is one of the most popular titles on the market today. Its recent boom near the end of 2019 is still going strong in 2020, with thousands of new players hopping on every day. However, Escape from Tarkov (EFT) is one of the hardest FPS games you can play, as it offers very little in the way of tutorials. Essentially, you’re dropped into an extensive looting/inventory system with almost no knowledge of what’s going on. Beyond that, the maps are even more confusing to navigate. Although, the maps also hold some secrets, and they’re called Scav Bosses.

Who are the Scav Bosses in Escape from Tarkov?

Currently, there are four Scav Bosses in EFT: Reshala, Killa, Glukhar, and Shturman. All have beefed up health and stats and are equipped with heavy armor and ammunition. Taking them down is difficult at all levels, but they offer some sweet loot if you manage to do so.

Each Scav Boss in EFT is different in the way they behave and try to attack you. They appear on four different maps, and if you don’t know about them, you can be eliminated in the blink of an eye. So, to prevent that from happening, we’re going to go over each of the Scav Bosses so you can have a better chance of taking them down.

Reshala

This Scav Boss is most likely the first one you’ll run into. He spawns in only on the map Customs, which is the best map for beginners to learn first. Though, like all other bosses, he only spawns in a third of the time for each raid. With Reshala, you can find him either at the Gas Station or wandering around Dorms.

Reshala comes with four bodyguards who will attack you first. Your initial job is to eliminate all of these guards, then move in for Reshala. Once you kill the bodyguards, you can find Reshala behind shelter since he doesn’t immediately attack you. Aiming for the head is your best bet since he doesn’t wear any protective headgear.

Killa

One of the easier Scav Bosses, Killa can be found on Interchange in the middle of the mall. Unlike the other Scav Bosses in EFT, Killa has no bodyguards protecting him. However, you need to make sure he doesn’t spot you initially since he ferociously hunts you down.

Using cover to your advantage, wait until his back is turned and then pepper his armor with penetration bullets. Going for his legs is also a viable strategy but is a little riskier. Remember to keep moving from cover to cover, as Killa will continuously move around.

Glukhar

Gluhkar is perhaps the most difficult Scav Boss to kill. He comes with six bodyguards that are all extremely aggressive and come equipped with high-powered machine guns. Gluhkar spawns in on the map Reserve at the Train Station, Tank Hangar, or Barracks.

The strategy to eliminate Gluhkar is similar to that for Reshala, which is to kill all of the bodyguards first. However, Gluhkar doesn’t find shelter during the fight, so you can attempt to kill him first.

Shturman

Lastly, we have Shturman, who spawns in on the map Woods. Usually found at the sawmill in the middle of the map, Shturman is accompanied by two guards. All three of these Scavs like to engage in long-distance fights, so it’s recommended to wait until they spread out, then go in for the kill on Shturman.

A well-placed headshot should be able to take out the Scav Boss with one hit. However, if you require more than that, keep aiming for the head.

That’s our guide on the Scav Bosses in Escape from Tarkov! Keep up with Daily Esports for more EFT coverage.

How to claim Escape from Tarkov Twitch Drops in June 2020

Image via EFT

Escape from Tarkov is back in the limelight when it comes to the streaming world. Starting last week, Twitch and EFT teamed up to deliver Twitch Drops on certain streamers’ channels. This is a fairly common practice nowadays, as Valorant gave Closed Beta access the same way. However, instead of one-time rewards, viewers can earn multiple rewards in all shapes and sizes. These drop prizes can then be used on your personal Escape from Tarkov account, provided you’ve taken the correct steps. If you’re wondering what those steps are, keep reading to figure out how you can claim this round of Twitch Drops.

Claiming the Twitch Drops for Escape from Tarkov

If you’ve participated in Twitch Drops or Twitch Prime rewards before, then you probably already know what to do. Though, if you’re new to this process or need a refresher, follow these steps to ensure you don’t miss out on any rewards.

First up, you’ll need to connect your Battlestate Games account with your Twitch account. This can be done in the “Connections” tab of Twitch or on your EFT profile. Either way, simply log in to both accounts and they should be linked.

Image via EFT

Once this is complete, all you need to do is watch a certified Twitch streamer. The list for each day’s streamer list can be found on Escape from Tarkov‘s website. Every day through June 22, which is when the promotion ends, new streamers will have drops on their channel. Make sure you’re watching one, or more, of these streamers in order to receive drops.

During this watch time, you’ll be guaranteed to receive one item in Escape from Tarkov. This item could be a weapon, rare item, or piece of equipment. According to EFT, you can watch more than one broadcast to increase your chances of earning more drops.

Which Escape from Tarkov streamers are you watching? Let us know, and keep up with Daily Esports for all gaming news.

Can Escape from Tarkov overtake the battle royale genre’s popularity?

Escape from Tarkov has been at the top of Twitch since the dawn of the new year. With many streamers playing the game and holiday loot drops in effect, there’s certainly a high demand for the game. In fact, many known battle royale streamers have dropped their game of choice to play EFT with each other. Influencers like DrLupo, Cloakzy, and TimTheTatMan have all gotten in on the EFT popularity. However, we’ve seen spurts from titles like this before, Sea of Thieves being a great example. So, will EFT be able to sustain its success and potentially put a major dent in battle royales’ popularity?

Escape from Tarkov making noise

Escape from Tarkov is an online MMO first-person shooter set in the dark, gloomy city of Tarkov. The player’s goal is to loot the open world, complete quests, and take down other players. There are, of course, more intricate details in EFT, but that’s the shortened version.

EFT has been around for quite some time, launching in open beta nearly two years ago. The game gained some traction with high-profile streamers checking it out but nothing major. However, this past holiday season, Escape from Tarkov developer BattleState Games implemented holiday drops.

These drops include a wide variety of in-game loot that players can earn by simply watching streamers play the game. This, paired with EFT‘s fun and exciting world, launched the game to the top of Twitch seemingly overnight. Escape from Tarkov went from 5-10,000 viewers to nearly 200,000 in the span of a week or two.

With such a massive viewership increase, speculation arises whether EFT can sustain this top-tier success. The game does have substantial replayability and provides a battle royale-type component with the online atmosphere. Although, battle royales have been at the top for nearly five years, starting with H1Z1: King of the Kill and now with Fortnite and Apex Legends.

It will take months of high viewership to say Escape from Tarkov is the next big thing. However, BattleState Games is on the right track to potentially make a run at battle royale titles.

What do you think of Escape from Tarkov? Let us know, and keep up with Daily Esports for all gaming news.