Escape From Tarkov: Arenais a game of inches and milliseconds. With a time-to-kill quite a bit lower than the average for the competitive shooter genre, a wrong step or a poorly-timed turn can mean instant death. But there’s a lot you can do to turn the tides in your favor.
Arena might be overwhelming at first, especially if you’ve never played Tarkov previously, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be in for a treat. This is a list of a few important things to keep in mind while playing the game, which can give you a crucial advantage and a bit of a head-start.
7Change The “Discard” Keybind
Speed Is Key In Arena
This might sound very minor, but it really isn’t. Arena is a very fast-paced competitiveshooterthat doesn’t give you much time to work with, especially during the early parts of a round. If you want to loot something, change your helmet for someone else’s, for example, you want to be as fast as possible.
Yet, the time you’ll take to hit Delete (the default keybind) or to Right-Click and press “Discard” might mean death. Just choose an easier to access key, like a mouse button or something closer to WASD. Speed-up your looting as much as you can.
6Loot Essential Items And Upgrades
Whether it’s a teammate or an enemy, if they’re dead, they don’t need any of the items that dropped alongside their bodies. As long as you are behind cover or in a safe-area, take a bit of time to loot items you need or direct gear upgrades.
This can help shore up weaknesses in your presets. Let’s say you have a loadout without a headset, grab one as soon as you can. If you see a body with better armor or helmet than yours, use it. It might be the difference-maker in a close round.
Tips For Quick Looting:
5Pay Attention To Armbands
Teamkills are extremely costly in Escape From Tarkov: Arena. You lose money every time you kill a teammate, and you might lose a few rounds because of it. Unlike most competitive shooters people are familiar with, Arena kept the minimal Tarkov UI.
This means no name-plates, no colored arrows on top of people. The only way to distinguish a friend from a foe is to check their armbands. Don’t lose track of which team you are on and, if you’re not sure if the head you’re aiming at belongs to a teammate or an enemy, just don’t shoot.
4You Can Check How Many People Are Still Alive
A Crucial Tool For Late-Round Scenarios
Every map allows you to check how many players are left on each squad. Just like the armbands, this is inserted into the game itself, instead of being a UI element. Just look for a big TV screen that’s half-red, half-blue. These screens are always in the same position on each map.
You should memorize these positions as fast as you can, as this is the only way to be sure how many people are left at any point in time. The white squares are players who are still alive, while the dark ones are the players who died.
3Use Tactical Combo Devices
As you progress through the presets, you’ll quickly find that your weapons will become fancier. They’ll have scopes, foregrips, modified stocks and tactical devices. These devices are flashlights, lasers, or both simultaneously. Not only do they have their obvious uses for illuminating dark areas, they have some hidden Tarkov-specific benefits.
Having a tactical device turned on improves your hip-fire accuracy (whichever device it is), flashlights can make your silhouette harder for the opponent to discern, and lasers are essentially crosshairs.
2Play Around Objectives
In The Teamfight Game Mode
Escape From Tarkov: Arena has a very low time-to-kill. Every weapon has the potential to one-tap someone in the face, even a lowly pistol. This means that you can’t play this as if you’re playingCall of Duty. Running around and shooting people is fun, but if your main purpose is winning, remember that the Teamfight game mode isn’t actually a Deathmatch.
Once the initial timer ends, one of the objectives will become available, and controlling it means victory, regardless of how many people are alive. If you have gotten control of the objective areas, don’t overextend, even if you have a player-advantage.
1Pay Attention To All Presets
Classes Are Playstyle-Defining
The presets being used by both squads will dramatically change how the game is played. Every class excels in different things and has some key weaknesses. As soon as you get into the game, press tab and check both team portraits. You’ll learn to discern what class the portraits are representing, and this is crucial for creating a game-plan for you or your team.
If the enemy has a range advantage, use cover and flank. If your team has multiple assault presets, spread the grenade throws to control as much space as possible. Use your team’s arsenal as well as you can, and neutralize the enemy team’s.
