Does Tarkov Need Another Recoil Rework?

(Intro)

BSG might plan to update the current recoil system we have in Tarkov, and it doesn’t look to be for the better. On the TarkovTV that happened this Halloween, at the very end of the stream, Nikita showed off some work in progress clips of a new revised recoil update to the current system we already know and love. And immediately, people looked at the footage and did not want them to go through with it, which promptly frustrated Nikita. He then said they won’t do it, but something about that whole interaction felt off. I can tell he was trying to convey his point in that they weren’t actually changing the values of the recoil itself, but instead reworking how the recoil is conveyed to the player and the visual feedback that is given to us. And to be honest, after looking at the footage they provided and trying to recreate it on the current patch of the game, I’m inclined to believe they were indeed going to make some adjustments to the recoil, if ever so slightly. But this whole thing begs a simple question: does Tarkov right now need any kind of adjustment to its recoil system. The short answer is no. But it’s a little more complicated than that.

(Patch 0.14 Saved Tarkov)

The major recoil update that honestly kind of saved the game happened on December 27th, 2023, with patch 0.14. This was when BSG wiped the slate clean and rebuild the recoil in Tarkov from scratch. And it’s the current system we have. Being almost a year since that change, it’s weird that they would want to mess with it again so soon, being pretty much a full year since it was first introduced. Before the recoil change, guns felt so awkward to use in full-auto, and burst-fire was the worst way to use your weapon. Not that many weapons have an official burst-fire mode. But for those that do, it never gets used because it’s so bad. It felt like for a long time if this wasn’t addressed, or if it was fixed poorly, people would stop playing because the recoil, it wasn’t even that it was bad, it just didn’t make sense in the context of a video game. Weapons that immediately have their recoil at the worst state for the first ten or so bullets, before slowly working itself out into a relatively controllable pattern. If anything, it should be the other way around. Either way, BSG see potential to improve the system in their eyes, and with it came a short video giving us some work in progress footage of the new system in place. They only showed a few weapons for some examples: the SCAR-H, SR-25, UMP-45, Saiga-12, and the ASH-12. The first thing I noticed when watching the video is that point-fire recoil visually looks the most interesting. There is more oomph behind each bullet fired, and genuinely does look better. The guns feel heavier and have more impact. However, when the sights are aimed down, there is noticeably more camera recoil, or view kick. It’s difficult to explain, but the camera almost twitches and contorts in a circular motion very rapidly. Shooting one bullet at a time looked to be okay; the sights were definitely being thrown around a lot more than they do currently, but the full-auto is where the problems rear their ugly heads. The SCAR was aiming at the top of the shooting range after firing all twenty rounds of the magazine. And worse off, the UMP looked like the worst example they showcased. An SMG with a fire rate of six-hundred rounds per minute, should not have that much recoil. It should be one of the easiest guns to manage, and after seeing the video, it looked like it had the most recoil outside of the obvious SCAR. Again, they said they did not change the values of the recoil on any of the weapons for this potential change. But I’m starting to not believe them.

(Side by side comparison)

The easiest way to tell if they did in fact change things, is to compare. So, what I did was build each of the five weapons they showed off as close to their example as I could with what I could visually see of each weapon. And then, tried to match the cadence of how they fired in the video as close as I could. I’ll show you a side by side what they look like, with how the guns currently operate on the left, and their work in progress on the right. Hopefully this can convey whether or not they did in fact mess with things more than they are letting on. The cadence of the shots isn’t one hundred percent accurate but even with these side by side you notice a lot of differences, and pretty much none for the better. Just the camera work; how shaky everything is. While there is a new element of punch and impact that goes into this new system, it sacrifices so much to deliver a moderate to little increase in immersion. And sacrificing accuracy and weapons just feeling good to use isn’t worth it at this point in Tarkov’s life. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, and trust that they aren’t changing anything in terms of the weapon’s recoil. But it’s difficult to look at these clips side by side and take them at their word. Even if they are just messing around with the camera, even that right now in the video doesn’t help make the guns feel better to shoot. Agitating the reticle more by messing with the camera around the gun can be done well, and when executed correctly, can illicit the response they want us to have. But obviously, right now, it’s unanimous across those that saw the video that people are not wanting this to be added into the game. But after all of this; looking and comparing the two different version, the question still needs to be asked: do we even need any adjustments to recoil right now?

(We don’t; here’s why)

We don’t. It baffles me that they want to keep poking this bear after pretty much nailing it almost perfectly a year prior. Guns feel like their patterns make sense, and visually, just seeing the guns react and being fired make sense. When you look back years ago at how recoil was before, it blows my mind we were all kind of okay with it for as long as we were. I’m all for making slight iterations and improvements on a system, but with something as critical to the game of Tarkov as recoil is, there is an element of delicateness that needs to be ushered. BSG has to be cautious with anything they do to recoil. Part of me almost wishes that if they were to actually change or alter anything related to recoil, that they don’t tell us. But with that, people will notice almost immediately and begin to suspect something is different or off. So, I do respect that they wanted to give us a heads up with this iteration. But it isn’t necessary. If they wanted to impact how players engage with their weapons, instead of tackling recoil again, they could implement new stances and positions to hold our guns. You know; low-ready, high-ready; makes it feel like depending on which stance you’re currently in, that will have an impact on how your PMC handles the weapon. The recoil is fine as it is right now. Could it be better? Yes, of course it can always improve. But in terms of things that need any kind of tuning or adjusting, recoil is not high on that priority list.

(Outro)

Recoil is an incredibly delicate topic. It’s one of the most important components for Tarkov, and having it feel bad doesn’t do the rest of the game any justice. They finally nailed it last year and everyone praised the game and the developers for how much of an improvement it was to the old system. I remember seeing work in progress of the 2023 recoil and being seriously worried, but they proved me wrong. Could that happen again if they reworked it a second time? Perhaps, but since the community was so vocal about their disdain for what was shown it seems like they won’t change it after all. But I still wonder if they had actually adjusted the weapons or if it was truly all just fancier camera work. Who knows; regardless, Tarkov right now doesn’t need any adjustments to recoil. It's fine the way it is. And I’m just glad we have what we do right now, because it could've been so much worse. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me know down in the comment section below your thoughts on the direct comparison of the two systems, if recoil needs any work and be sure to subscribe for more videos about the unnecessary adjustment of systems where that effort could be put in better areas of the game that need help. I hope to see you in future ones.