Interchange Received Tarkov’s Best Expansion – Here’s Why

(Intro)

Interchange finally got the expansion it desperately needed, and it feels awesome to play on. For years, this map has been boiled down to essentially one focal point on the map with not much else going on for it. Granted, it makes sense; the mall has tons of loot scattered throughout and within the context of the lore for EFT, it is critical to the operations of Ragman who has connections with multiple of the traders we interact with. But for a long time, it felt like Interchange was missing something; an extra layer or point of interest that could allow people to go somewhere else other than the mall if they don’t want to head straight into one of Tarkov’s largest Thunderdome's. And while the power station was another building for people to explore and I use that word loosely because it’s so small, even with the addition of the power switch and Ref locked rooms, the rest of the map felt like it was the least thought out after the main attraction was figured out. So, come summertime, when on their roadmap for this year they had an expansion to Interchange listed as one of the additions coming, I was very excited, but also mainly curious what they could possibly change on the map to give it more life and something other to do than just the mall. And luckily, the update delivered. So, let’s go over what’s new with the Interchange expansion, compare it to other maps getting larger and why this might be the best expansion when it comes to new POI’s, mechanics and bringing life back into an old map. It’s been a long time coming for Interchange, and it’s pretty much everything I wanted and then some.

(The new parts of Interchange)

While the new actual playable area on Interchange isn’t the largest compared to other maps, it makes up for that by being some of the most efficient and practical space added. Now, on the north and south sides of the map, there is much more foliage and differences in the general landscape than what it was previously. It's hillier; it goes back deeper than it did previously and now makes walking around the outside of the mall easier instead of just silhouetting against the giant blue wall that was used as the border of the map. It always felt like a gamble whenever you exited the mall and were running around because it felt like there wasn’t enough cover to protect you should someone spot you making a break for the extract. At least now, it’s going to be a little more difficult to follow players making a b-line towards either of the extractions, especially EMERCOM. And there are places where you can break line of sight and duck away under cover. The biggest change is easily on the west side of the mall after you leave the front, because now that wall is also gone, and there is an entire village/FOB area very similar to the USEC camp on Woods. A new area to explore, loot and even extract from with the new flare extract that is behind the village. Which all I can say is, finally. Holy, you have no idea how nice it is to have even just one new additional extract that is always open. It’s one of Interchange’s biggest problems; how for the vast majority of players, you will either go through the railway or EMERCOM. The coop extraction, which is still there but has now been moved under Goshan, is still there but rarely used. And the safe room for extract requires a keycard that isn’t super common. But now, just having one new way of leaving the map that is away from the mall and relatively safe, feels amazing. Tagilla can now spawn on Interchange as well, which is kind of a wild change, but considering they gave him a small little hideout under the mall in the parking garage, and also that his brother Killa roams the map, it kind of makes sense from a thematic standpoint. I can only imagine fighting both of them at the same time on a semi-consistent basis or if their spawn rates would be different enough to where that would be a rarity.

(Other expansions in EFT)

It’s a shame it took Interchange this long to get some kind of expansion. I mean technically, the safe room extract was added after the map was introduced into the game, but to me that doesn’t count as a proper expansion. But still, when comparing it to other maps that have been adjusted after their release, it feels like the healthiest balance of new points to check out, playable parts of the map being added, and new extractions being introduced. Don’t get me wrong; I can’t think of an expansion to any of the maps that I genuinely dislike, with the exception of maybe one, but something about Interchange being made bigger just feels right. Let’s look at some other maps, for example: Customs has been expanded, I think three or four times, and that map feels like it doubled in size, especially on the edges of the map. Shoreline got expanded too, but mainly had its terrain adjusted to feel not as flat similar to Interchange. Reserve has been made bigger, but entirely underneath the map so while you don’t need to engage with it much unless you are questing, it’s the only expansions personally I find has done more harm than good to a map simply because most of the fighting takes place down there instead of a above ground in and around the main buildings. But it’s definitely a subjective thing; design-wise and from a thematic perspective, D-2 is awesome; a freaking underground bunker that you can easily get lost in your first time walking around with an additional extract was certainly a cool addition. But with Interchange, it didn’t need much, which is why not only does it feel the most welcome but also potentially the best expansion we’ve gotten thus far.

(Interchange’s might be the best)

From someone who used to hate this map with every fiber of my soul, to genuinely enjoying it for the most part, my personal experiences with Interchange have come quite a long way. I always found inside the mall to be confusing with the different stores you need to visit and not understanding the cardinal directions. But, once you grasp where the three major stores are located (Oli, Goshan, and Idea), it becomes way easier to understand the rest of the map. I honestly thought the inside of the mall was going to be changed more. Maybe shuffling some of the more sought after stores around, so they feel more spread out. I think it would’ve been interesting to move Tech light on the second floor to where the burger store is; pretty much the opposite location diagonally on the second floor. That corner of the mall sees some of the least activity because it just doesn’t have a lot of interesting things going on. The burger store has some food spawns but that’s about it. So, seeing a redistribution of the stores was kind of exciting. Sadly, that didn’t end up happening but it’s okay because the parking garage got better with more things to do. What ultimately needed to change for this to be successful was the perimeter around the mall. It was boring, flat, and generally dangerous to navigate around. It was almost safer to just go through the mall and spend as little time outside as possible. Luckily, the terrain is now lively enough that it will be harder for people to spot you through windows or out of the corner of their eye on the outside balcony overlooking the streets. The new extract is awesome finally having an option that is always up, has no weird gimmick other than bringing a flare which you should always have on you anyways, and is far enough away from the action inside the mall that it feels like a safe way of extracting consistently, assuming no one else wants to do the same. I can’t really think of anything else I would’ve wanted out of an Interchange expansion, which in my eyes is a good thing. It means the execution was good enough to not warrant any additional changes, which for once is something we kind of needed. Simple, effective, and generally received well; an easy win for an old map.

(Outro)

Interchange at long last has finally gotten the attention it needed for quite some time. The map personally has gone through a lot of phases, but by the end of the original design, I had grown quite fond of it. I had found my own ways of enjoying the map, even if the map was definitely lacking in some departments and could still be quite frustrating if even just a few things went wrong. But now, with the ability to navigate the map much more safely, with more interesting locations scattered around the outside and with just generally more of what makes the mall work, Interchange’s expansion might be one of the best we’ve received in the game. Granted, compared it some other maps it’s only gotten one, so it may not be fair to compare maps with more than one expansion, but regardless I am overall happy with the outcome and only hope another map that is in desperate need of some changes can receive them sooner rather than later. 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’s most recent expansion, whether or not it feels like it’s enough and be sure to subscribe for more videos about hopefully Lighthouse getting the same treatment because holy crap is that map awful to play. I hope to see you in future ones.