EFT Tutorial and Guide
THE TARKOV CENTRAL
Choose Your Own Path
Escape from Tarkov is a unique game for many reasons that you’ll discover as you play, but one of my favorite aspects is the freedom it gives players to choose their playstyle and path in the game.
Being an unfinished project and with the full questline not yet available, we don’t know exactly what the game will be like upon its final release. Nonetheless, I believe that even after the game's release, players will retain significant freedom in how they choose to play.
Afterall, I think that what makes every raid unique in EFT is exactly this variety in playstiles, that interacting with eachother, create an infinte number of combinations.
The Race
Many players love the competitive aspect of the game, which is currently centered around the race that begins with each profile wipe. Wipes create a recurring cycle where all players start from level 1 and race to level up faster than others to gain a competitive advantage in terms of equipment, weapons, money, and skills, ultimately striving to prevail over others.
Living Tarkov
While the competitive race appeals to many, others prefer to immerse themselves in "living" the survival experience that Escape from Tarkov offers. These players focus on its intricate landscapes, amidst the chaos, and simply in the game’s deeply immersive world. For them, Tarkov is less about victory and more about the journey—discovering hidden treasures, mastering the terrain, and crafting their own stories of survival and resilience.
Playstyles and Freedom
Players who adopt a less competitive approach can still enjoy the game and hold their own against more competitive players with better gear or more playtime. Escape from Tarkov rewards not only in-game skills and equipment but also knowledge of the terrain, cleverness, and patience, allowing careful and strategic players to outsmart and "outplay" even those with superior skill and equipment.
Some players lean towards a more role-playing (RP) experience, creating their own versions of the game with self-imposed rules to make it even more challenging. For example, some play without ever using the Flea Market. Some players choose to be completely peaceful, aiming never to kill anyone—whether AI or other players. Others have turned themselves into war reporters, documenting the conflict by interviewing PMC and Scav characters.
VoIP and Interaction
In this context, VoIP has been a glorious addition to Escape from Tarkov, offering endless possibilities for interaction with other players: from agreeing to avoid conflicts, to making friends, just for chatting or to form alliances, to deceiving and betraying, distracting opponents, or pushing them to talk in order to better pinpoint their position and execute them.
Economy and Modding
There are also players who focus heavily—or even exclusively—on the game's economy, buying and reselling items, ammunition, and equipment on the Flea Market. For them, the thrill of profit and strategic trading is as rewarding as combat or exploration (if not more).
Additionally, many players are passionate about weapon modding and spend a lot of time in game trying to create the ultimate meta gun, or just the best looking, or the ultimate meme gun.
The Timmy, The Chad and The Rat
In Escape from Tarkov, players often categorize different playstyles using community-defined archetypes.
The Timmy: A new or inexperienced player, often under-geared and unfamiliar with the game’s mechanics. They tend to play cautiously but lack the skill or knowledge to navigate high-risk situations effectively. Timmies are typically seen running basic gear, avoiding fights, and looting whatever they can find. The term is often used endearingly, as many players start as Timmies before evolving into other playstyles.
The Chad: An aggressive, highly skilled, and well-equipped player who seeks out PvP fights. They run expensive gear, move with confidence, and actively push engagements rather than avoiding them. Chads are known for their excellent aim, fast reflexes, and tactical movement, often dominating less experienced players or those who play defensively. Their playstyle is high-risk, high-reward, as they frequently engage in intense battles.
The Rat: A player who avoids direct combat and adopts an extremely passive and opportunistic strategy. Rather than actively seeking loot or fighting enemies head-on, the Rat stays hidden in corners or dark areas for extended periods, waiting for other players to pass by so they can ambush them with minimal risk. This behavior is often seen as cowardly or unsportsmanlike, as Rats exploit the element of surprise to get easy kills without engaging in fair fights. While some players consider it a legitimate survival tactic, the community generally uses the term in a negative sense (especially those who fall victims of their traps).
Each of these playstyles contributes to Tarkov’s dynamic and unpredictable nature, making encounters with other players varied and intense.
There is no “intended way” to play EFT
No one can tell you that you’re playing it wrong, as long as it doesn’t involve exploiting or cheating.
Choose your own path, and good luck!