Interchange is SO Close to Greatness in Tarkov

(Intro)

Interchange is so close to being such an amazing map in Tarkov. On paper, Interchange has the best map idea; an abandoned mall with two levels and tons of stores that are desolate that you can explore is such a cool vibe. Imagining myself walking through a big mall that hasn’t seen a soul inside it since the collapse is such a fascinating idea. And while the map has gone through a lot of tumultuous versions over the years, it’s probably the best it has ever been right now. I used to hate this map; feeling as though forcing everyone into a singular location to quest and fight was problematic. Especially considering some of the issues with the map which we will be going over. But after playing the map, and the interchange arc for years now, it has grown on me quite a lot. For as constricted as you can feel walking around the mall, it feels so satisfying and some of the most immersive experiences you can get in EFT. So today, let’s talk about Interchange; what has happened over the years, the quests, the spawns, ups and downs, and see why the map is a solid addition, but with some small changes could be so much better.

(Interchange design-wise)

As mentioned previously, the idea of Interchange is extremely interesting. An abandoned ultra mall with two, technically three floors, tons of stores, and ways to maneuver around. For being such a simple map when you look at the layout, it’s rather complex. A giant square with the mall in the center. A few different points of interest outside, and extracts at the corners. But like I said, the layers of complexity are quickly realized when you start to use the outside loading sections of each major store to get in and out of the mall. On top of that, using the back rooms and offices to get around to each major store is also something that overtime, has become incredibly useful instead of just walking around the main hallways waiting to get dropped by a player. There is a lot to play around with, and it’s what has elevated my enjoyment of the map over the years. Using the second floor to more safely navigate around, playing with a more range-heavy build and simply allowing stuff to happen around you without feeling left out, it’s made the map so much easier to enjoy. The lighting is also something that has finally gotten to a point that feels reasonable. For years, this map was insanely dark, and a flashlight didn’t really help illuminate what was in front of you, but instead just provided you a beam of pure light towards whatever you needed to put down. Lighting has been one of if not Interchange’s biggest problems since it was released. And is now at a point that isn’t perfect, but substantially better than it has ever been before. But that is only one component that has improved; there is another that is still problematic, much like other maps in the game.

(Spawns are still awful)

The spawns on Interchange are some of the worst across all the maps currently in the game. With the map being generally smaller than most others, and the fact that there are no spawns directly inside the mall because that would be understandably unfair, the mad dash which we’ve talked about is on full display while playing Interchange. There is a real possibility your raid could end within the first ten seconds of loading in, which is a shame to even fathom the chance. There are only twenty-five spawns across the entire perimeter of the map; many of which are next to each other. So, depending on how many players enter the raid and how many are solo or in groups, it can quickly create chaos by looking either left or right and just immediately seeing people make their way inside the mall. Again, other maps have this problem as well, but something about Interchange makes it particularly annoying. Maybe because there is only one major point of interest so not being able to at least get inside the mall feels like a waste of time. But either way, there aren’t too many issues with the map, but this is certainly one of them.

(An expansion to Interchange?)

Interchange could maybe use another point to go loot that is similar in size to the power station at the northeast corner of the map. We did get the small openable sea can and hidden extract in the garage, but they don’t add much once you use them once or twice. Nothing crazy, but just a little something extra to give players who spawn close that new building a place to go investigate while the rest of the map tries to get inside the mall. Because as weird as it sounds, being late to getting into the mall can sometimes be a good thing. Sure, you might miss some of the loot that spawns inside, but the confidence to know that there may not be anyone right behind you as you enter gives you a somewhat secure sense that you might be able to walk around a little bit before getting into a fight. Either that, or maybe it’s time to make the mall bigger; again, not by a large amount there isn’t a ton of wiggle room to play with. But whether that means more stores around the perimeter, or maybe even a small third floor that can be accessed by the stairs in the back hallways and not the escalators. That would be awesome. A store or two, and maybe some super-secret marked rooms that need special keys. Just that idea alone kind of sounds awesome. But there is an argument that Interchange could use a little extra... something. Because it’s the mall, and that’s about it.

(Time spent on the map)

When compared to other maps in the game, it feels as though we spend the least amount of time on Interchange as a whole. The primary vendor to give us quests to do on Interchange is Ragman; since he dabbles in providing clothing and gear for us to wear, it makes sense that the mall is an integral part of his business. Other vendors also give us quests there later, but Ragman is our main connection to Interchange, and it starts at level seventeen once you get him to loyalty level two. Looking through all the quests he provides, there is at most twelve quests from Ragman that actually require you to load onto Interchange. He has many others that are either on different maps or just require you to hand found in raid items to him. So, when compared to maps like Customs, Woods, Reserve, and especially Streets, there is a distinct lack of things to do there. Again, I know other vendors have us travel to the mall and get things done for them. Skier and his quest chumming comes to mind. But in general, it feels as though, if you really hated Interchange, can kind of blaze through this arc of the game in a day or two with some luck. It also makes me wonder why Lighthouse and Streets have gotten so much love over the years when a large portion of players still struggle to play those maps at optimal framerates. Out of all the maps in the game that need some modern BSG attention, I would say Interchange needs it the most. Lighthouse is a close second, but at this point they’d have to basically remake the map from scratch with a new layout to fix the problems with that hot mess. But Interchange doesn’t necessarily have problems (other than spawns), but more a lack of things to do. It's a boring map when compared to its peers. A mall, little power station and that’s it. The best concept, but the execution is quite literal. And that’s not a bad thing, but it could use just a little bit more of...something. I’m not sure exactly what that could or should be, but I’d take anything at this point.

(Outro)

Interchange has really grown up over the years. It went from a simple and abandoned mall that had interesting opportunities to fight and engage other players, to what feels like a more mature version of itself but still lacking in a few areas. It wouldn’t take much to make this map amazing; adjusting the spawns to not be so chaotic and so reliant on getting into the mall first, adding better extractions so we don’t have essentially one option if we want any loot and adding another point of interest for those who get those unfavorable spawns, and the map would pretty much suffice everything it originally set out to achieve. It's so close to greatness; something I have come to appreciate overtime. I despised this map when it was still fairly new; I never made it into the mall and whenever I did to complete even just one quest, someone from somewhere that I didn’t notice would just send me back to my stash. But now, after years of playing it, learning much more about how to navigate around it properly, I enjoy this map. It's one of my favorites, especially when I can just walk around on the second floor and take out scavs leisurely. It’s awesome; the idea is sick, the atmosphere inside the mall is sick. The other maps have places and moments that reflect these feelings; resort of Shoreline, D-2 on Reserve, and sometimes the empty long streets on... well... streets. But I don’t know, Interchange is different, at least to me. It’s so close to being amazing, let’s hope we can get there eventually. 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 Interchange as a map, what can be done to improve it and be sure to subscribe for more videos about what makes Tarkov maps tick, and how the close they can sometimes be to greatness. I hope to see you in future ones.