Instantly Reloading Off Hand Weapons Needs to Go

(Intro)

Tarkov has a myriad of different mechanics in the game that you can take advantage of. Many intentional and deliberate; and some, potentially not as much. For how complex EFT can be sometimes, it makes sense that there may be some interactions or opportunities not meant to work the way they do or are just not supposed to be in the game at all that can be utilized if you know about them. And one of them has been in the game for almost its entire life. Which is the ability to quickly and instantly reload your offhand weapon through some menuing while your inventory is open. It’s never been actually talked about by BSG if this gimmick is intentional or not, but it hasn’t stopped people from using it a lot over the years. I’ve personally known about it for a while and have found myself using it when the circumstances call for it. But a mechanic like this that may not be intentional begs some questions: should it be removed from the game? Does make the experience in EFT worse because it exists? Does removing stuff like this make the game less interesting as a whole? These are some good questions to ask, and hopefully by the end, we will answer them in a way that makes sense and can lead to a nuanced conversations bout mechanics like this both in EFT but also video games as a whole.

(The mechanic and how it works)

I don’t know if there is a proper name for the mechanic, but to explain it quickly, you can in EFT, reload weapons that you are not currently holding in your hands as long as you have magazines for it either in your chest rig, or pockets. And to do so, you just open your inventory right click the weapon you want to reload, making sure it is not in your hands, and the mags should automatically switch for a fresh one. Also, a random tidbit of information, magazines will always reload from left to right in your chest rig depending on which magazine has the most ammunition in it. But it’s a very simple trick to pull off, and when in combat can be an extremely effective way of reloading a weapon, you maybe got off another player, or even a scav. As cool and tricky as it can be, it doesn’t make a lot of sense within the confines of the game itself. It definitely is a quirky mechanic that perhaps shouldn’t work the way it does…? Hear me out.

(Both sides of the argument)

On one hand, something like this adds a level of complexity to an already complex game. But this isn’t something like artificial difficulty or ambiguity that we see present in other places within Tarkov. No, this is more like tech; something you won’t use all the time but will pull out in a pinch if the situation calls for it. And stuff like that adds a small extra layer to the game that makes it just that much more interesting. Which is cool; games that have oddities of quirks make them more compelling to play. A simple example would be in the original Call of Duty Modern Warfare Three; there were some weapons that when held would give you a bonus to your endurance when sprinting. For no good reason; they just do that. Which is cool, and while it may make the game that much more unbalanced if some weapons have these passive buffs, it’s part of the charm of these games. And something like instantly reloading off hand weapons in EFT fits that description. But for those who don’t know about it or get caught on the receiving end of a player taking advantage of it, the mechanic can feel kind of annoying to have to always think about.

However, I also look at it from the perspective of if you’re on the receiving end of this mechanic. You’re in a fight with someone and you know they’ve used two different weapons worth of ammo, so you decide to push because in your head they should be out of ammo and vulnerable. And then you swing the corner and get tapped in the face. You knew he was out of ammo, but little did you know he swapped magazines instantly and mowed you down. Now this could be chalked up to them having a sidearm at the ready or another gun in a little nest of stashed loot. But this would equate to playing some PvP fights in a Souls game, and you know your opponent is out of stamina because he’s using an ultra-great sword and they can only swing four times before being out of stamina, so you try to retaliate, and he somehow swings two more times and beats you. It’s an unintended interaction that can either save a life or cost one. I also understand that the use case for something like this is so low, you might be able to actually benefit from it one in every twenty or more raids if you’re lucky. It’s not just an unintended mechanic or bug; it goes deeper than that in the context of EFT.

(Should mechanics like this be embraced or not?)

Instantly reloading an offhand weapon isn’t a glitch or an exploit. It’s not making you invincible or getting you to place on a map you shouldn’t be, but there is definitely a question of whether or not mechanics like these should stay or go. Again, they add some charm and flair to a game by creating more layers that players can take advantage of if they know about it. But inversely, it can undermine an engagement where one player should win because they are making all the right choices, only to get snuffed out right at the end. So, while personally, I probably wouldn’t mind seeing it go away for good. I could also see the developers adjusting it in the future where trying to reload your offhand weapon either takes a couple of seconds as does normally reloading, or it forces your character to pull out that weapon and then perform the reload. While slower and actively trying to get you sent back to your stash, it would be a little more grounded in the game where every action is deliberate, long and should be intentional with the timing of it. So, looking at it from both perspectives, I am kind of torn. I know I said I would be okay with its removal, and I would be, I don’t know; something about it is just cool. Having this piece of technology that you can bust out every once in a while, that might save your life. Those moments where you can utilize some interesting technologies are some of the best moments in any game. Again, it’s not cheating or an exploit, just a strange and perhaps unintentional interaction between the menus and your weapons.

(Outro)

Ultimately, reloading offhand guns instantly has been in the game for a long time. It has never been fully acknowledged by BSG and at this rate, might not ever be noticed. There is credence to whether or not people want it to stay or go; it makes the game more interesting, but it also is just weird and can be the reason you lose a fight against someone who you thought was dead to rights. Perhaps the infrequency of it in general is enough to leave it in the game, but if it starts becoming more utilized and we see clips of people wiping three, four, or even five man squads utilizing it, perhaps it will then be time for BSG to take a look and really make the choice if it should stay or go. Either way, if you didn’t know about this before watching, jump into an offline raid and give it a try. It’s kind of cool, and if you remember to use it whilst having two weapons it might just save your life. Thank you very much for taking the time out your day to watch this video. Let me know down in the comment section below your thoughts on this being able to reload your offhand weapons instantly, should it stay in the game or be removed and be sure to subscribe for more videos about potentially unintended quirky mechanics in the game that haven’t been brought to the forefront of a conversation about their inclusion in a game. I hope to see you in future ones.