Hardcore Tarkov – 30 Days Later

(Intro)

As of the uploading of this video, it’s been a full month since the hardcore wipe began. And over those thirty days, a lot has happened. Some of it for the better of the game, others have me still scratching my head as to why changes were made so soon after the whole thing was released. It's been kind of a whirlwind with everything going down on top of just playing the game and trying to make the hardcore experience work and to be successful in it. Luckily, it hasn’t been all bad, but there have been so many changes and iterations that we should have a conversation about the hardcore wipe in its entirety. So, let’s go over the first month of this wipe; the good, the bad, the ugly, recapping most of what has happened with traders, mechanics and pretty much everything in between.

(The hardcore mission statement)

The point of this hardcore wipe was twofold. Firstly, it was to simply shake up the game in a way that has never been experienced before. Putting so many restrictions across the game forces the community to either adapt to it or simply walk away for the time being. And those restrictions hit pretty much every avenue of engagement for the player. Items costing more, selling for less, no flea market, insurance so expensive it becomes not worth it. So many different places this hardcore wipe could be felt. And while we were given somewhat of a heads-up in that regard, the screenshots of the changes didn’t tell the whole story. Secure container restrictions to which we didn’t have a clue what that meant until we played. It was a big risk for BSG to take; many changes were going to instantly bounce off this wipe; it isn’t what some players want out of EFT. They want their deathmatch run around and do nothing but fight other player's experience. And while that isn’t a wrong desire, that experience has now been firmly placed inside of arena, if that’s all you want out of Tarkov.

Second and more importantly, this wipe is a test. A chance for BSG to see how far they can push some of these more restrictive changes. What people are okay with, what needs to come back, and what can be met in the middle on. There is a high likelihood that some bits of what has changed here in this hardcore wipe will be around when 1.0 hits. In some way shape or form. Maybe the cost of insurance will be more than what we are used to, but not as expensive as it is now. Maybe only certain items are allowed inside the secure container before and during raids. Who knows? And that’s the exciting part; with all this raw data and general discussion around this wipe, BSG could potentially have the blueprints needed for a successful 1.0 should they use that information correctly. That’s a heavy statement because 1.0 could be one of two things; either very similar to the game we currently have with some touch ups here and there. Or a much different game that we basically have to relearn after thousands of hours. Now the biggest question surrounding this wipe is, was it successful or not?

(The answer is... whatever you think)

We’ve talked about my own personal grievances with this wipe. And the gist was that the idea was awesome, but the execution was anything but. Things changed too rapidly without trying to find any alternative solutions to problems that players were pointing out. The biggest one to me was how fast the forced transits were removed. Granted, they were essentially broken, and worse, have been broken since they were introduced over a year ago. If BSG had addressed them in a timely manner like they should’ve to prepare for this wipe, I still believe having the transit be our primary transportation around Tarkov would’ve worked. The plan was to always open the map up and slowly roll out better loyalty levels with the traders as the wipe progressed. But I am surprised by how fast we have already gotten some of the traders to level three, especially Ref. To me, at this point, the hardcore wipe is over, and what remains are some inconveniences that have yet to be reverted back to before this patch dropped. The speed was something I figured might take a little longer to get where we are now. But upon reflection, a full month to have level three traders available isn’t that bad. Maybe it’s just the fact we’ve been so inundated with changes; far more than we have when compared to previous years. My hope I suppose was that things were going to get to all traders at level two around now, which again, thinking about it, is too long for how fast the player base can plow through this game under the right circumstances. Two weeks for level two was about right; my only hope is that we don’t see level four traders for a while. Even though their inventories at max loyalty don’t change that much, at the very least keep that stuff out of the accessible rotation for the time being. Another week or two at least would be lovely, but time will only tell.

(Was it all worth it?)

Was this experience worth all the grief from the community? Again, it’s something we have discussed previously, but the simple answer is yes, and the more nuanced answer is... kind of. At the very least I will commend BSG for being willing to take the risk of shaking the game up as much as they have. Tarkov has never really gone through a phase like this, where from day one our ability to use all the mechanics offered in the game is so compromised. Again, I would’ve liked to have seen some more grace and finesse with how many of the changes were handled, because they needed a scalpel to make these changes, and they ended up using a hammer. Not ideal when so much is being changed so fast and all at once, but to their credit there were paying very close attention to everything and were making changes to the hardcore wipe almost every day. Tarkov is already such a divisive game from the get-go just because it’s an extraction shooter. But the ripple across the community this go around was something I haven’t seen since maybe the inertia introduction years ago. So many voices about whether this wipe was a failure or not. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thrown my hat into the ring as well; we’ve been talking extensively about this wipe since it began, because it’s important. There are major implications with everything that has happened so far, and all the roads lead to 1.0. If we are still getting it later this year, there’s a good chance it will borrow from this wipe in many regards. So, to me, having BSG mess around for the first time since day one of a wipe is valuable, even if it’s not what the majority or maybe in this case minority of people who play EFT want. Regardless of what’s in store for the future, I am at the end of the day, glad that this wipe exists. I’ve said this a dozen times but once more won’t hurt, this game needed a shake up on this level. If we just got the same exact wipe again with some new gear and maybe bosses at the start, people would’ve just complained it’s the same old song and dance for the billionth time. At least now, there is a story to tell with the final wipe before 1.0. And to me, there’s something special in that.

(Outro)

A full month has passed since the start of the first official hardcore wipe. And with it, a lot of changes, conversations, capitulations and more have culminate into an experience that is much different from the status quo. More restrictions, more expenses, less income; it all works together to foster a game that has put such an important emphasis on your life and survival. You don’t always have to wipe the lobby; you don’t even have to take out any scavs. Just collecting your quest items, looting around, and extracting is more than enough when you are hurting on rubles to keep your wipe experience going. The best part of this, despite everything wrong with it, is that it really goes back to the most important goal of EFT; playing the game the way you want to while you’re in a raid. Even if people would argue they can’t because they have no access to good gear, that’s the point. You’re supposed to take it slow, scavenge around, and fight tooth and nail for every crumb you can get your hands on. It’s been thirty days of hardcore; I wonder what’s going to happen with thirty more. 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 hardcore wipe after its first month, where you stand right now in terms of progression and be sure to subscribe for more videos about the breakdown of the most controversial wipe experience Tarkov has ever had. I hope to see you in future ones.