Long Range Tarkov is the Best Way to Play the Game

(Intro)

There’s about a thousand and one different ways to play and engage with Tarkov. But the best way, is any form of long ranged capability. Something about being distant from your target, completely unaware of your presence; with good positioning, timing, and some luck, a single bullet can end a fight before it even begins. Luckily, EFT facilitates the use of long ranged weaponry better than any other playstyle. With tons of weapons, attachments and maps that really lean into this gameplay, it feels the most unique and both easy and hard at the same time. There’s a lot that goes into effective ranged play, and while there is definitely a conversation to be had about the acquisition of some items which we’ll get into, as a whole, there aren’t many other games out there that deliver the same gratification Tarkov does when you take down a target from hundreds of meters away, with a single shot. Today, I wanted to go over ranged gameplay in EFT and why it’s my personal favorite way to play, and why everyone should engage with it more often.

(Control of the pace)

The primary aspect that players struggle to get a handle on with EFT, is being in the driver's seat when it comes to fighting AI and especially other players. When you’re new or still learning the game, it always feels like you are on the back foot; never getting the jump on someone else and always having to be reactive instead of proactive. When you take fights on your terms, you set a pace that unless you screw up and whiff the shot (which can always happen), engagements can end before they become out of control and you lose your target or they somehow swing the fight in their favor. And this is a concept that the closer the target is, the more challenging this idea becomes to put into practice. Your time to react goes significantly down and depending on armor and ammo that is being used, even up close a single bullet can be enough to send you back to your stash prematurely. And while most maps allow for a variety of different distances to be played with, sometimes you don’t get a say in whether or not you can sit back and take a shot from range.

However, this changes as the range between your target gets further. Yes, even fights at distances across most of the map can still end in a single bullet, but you have more elements of stealth at your disposal. Your opponent might not be aware of your presence; which makes lining up the shot potentially that much easier. Keeping people at an arm's reach allows you to simply watch what they are doing. Are they geared and trying to get to an extraction? Did they take someone out and are trying to clear the area so they can loot safely? Are they hiding a quest item? At the end of the day, the answer doesn’t really matter. But it can clue you in on what they might be doing next, and from there you can adjust your position in anticipation of their movements. If they run off, you might be able to get ahead of them and set up another ambush. These concepts really boil down to good map knowledge and knowing where people might be versus where they want to be. If it sounds like a war is going on at the dorms on Customs, you can plan for that. Take a position in some bushes, or anywhere that provides a height advantage where you can get a good view of the two buildings and the surround trees. An example would be on the second floor of the newer construction building; you can prone out and watch the three side entrances into the three-story dorms. From where, if you zero up to one hundred meters, any shots you take should land precisely where they need to be. Of course, you wouldn’t know this unless you try it. And that’s where the experience comes into play. Playing enough of a map grants you this insight into some angles that might offer you opportunities to make some long shots. The major problem with this playstyle, is that there is a high likelihood you will not be the only one doing it.

(The main problem)

While ranged Tarkov is both fun and rewarding when it all comes together, the biggest problem with this style of playing is that pretty much anyone can do it. Once you have the flea unlocked, getting your hands on different weapons and optics that provide the range necessary to be successful becomes kind of moot. In the early game, getting your hands on a half decent scope isn’t the easiest endeavor. The best thing you can normally do is find a full AK variant and attach a PSO scope on it. You have a serviceable four times scope. And while many reject that line of scopes for only having one zoom level and a difficult to use reticle, personally I’ve always enjoyed the PSO scopes. Whether on an AK or SKS, it’s a comfort pick especially when options are limited. But again, once you get the flea, you’ll be using Vudu and Razor scopes pretty much every raid. And it’s my main issues with the playstyle; the acquisition of the high powered optical. It’s too easy, and it’s been too easy for such a long time. An obvious solution would be to blacklist most optics from the flea, but we all know how that would go down. Another issue I also dislike is that there are about five or six optics people will use for the most part. And it would be nice to incentivize some of the less common but still effective optics in the game, like the three assault scopes; the HAMR, ELCAN, and Bravo scopes.

These have either fixed zoom levels or generally low zoom modes so they can’t be used for every situation but can still be effective even at long distances. When these were the only options in the game way back when, they were the go-to options, obviously. But as we have gotten more reticles available to us, it still boils down to only a handful that people enjoy. A part of me believes locking off the most popular scopes to only the weapons that really suit them (bolt actions and DMRs) might solve the issue, but again it goes against the spirit of Tarkov customization, where anything can go on pretty much anything. I honestly don’t have a good answer for this conundrum; maybe the popular scopes are found in raid only? No purchases, no barters, and certainly no GP coin trades. Again, this would just piss people off at this point, but anything to force players to use something other than the 1-6x LPVO’s in the game would do more good than bad, at least to me.

(What makes it so much more fun)

Tarkov at close range has always felt like it kind of falls apart, given most circumstances. You run into a building, swing a corner and then you bump into another player. It’s startling; you panic because now you are fighting for your life when moments ago you may have felt safe, and it came out of nowhere. There is definitely a place for these kinds of engagements; it can’t all be long range fights. That would just get boring after some time. You need these kinds of surprises because they keep your attention sharp and force you to make good decisions on where you go and how you move about the map. And while sometimes it feels like it boils down to who hits the headshot first, It’s a core component of the loop of fighting in EFT.

But what makes long range stand out so much more is the control, and the game of spotting each other that feels so much more tense. You could be posted up somewhere away from the action, just looking around through a scope and spot someone moving about. You don’t have a clear shot, so you patiently follow their movement only to realize that at some point, they spotted you. And when those sights raise on their end it becomes a matter of milliseconds to determine who is going to get the better of each other. Aim, stamina management, ammo, distance, these become the core factors that decides who wins a long-range gunfight. It explains why so many people run around with an M4 and scope combo; not having range of any kind of most maps just puts you at a severe disadvantage. And while personally I would like to see this cleaned up from BSG, the reality is that range is accessible so people will use it. It’s why I usually run two weapons; one for close range and one for long range. Some weapons that have full or even semi auto can do fine on their own, but bolt actions need a companion weapon to fill in the gaps the sniper has. Whether it’s a sidearm, SMG, shotgun or even another rifle, having two weapons gives you more flexibility in determining how you want to engage with others. And that to me, is so much more fun than running into people at inconvenient times. There’s way more story to tell when you are at a distance; and sharing that with others whether on your team or not, is more interesting at least to me personally.

(Outro)

The ranged game in Tarkov is awesome. It’s not perfect; I mean nothing is, but when looking at all the different ways to experience this game and the mechanics it offers, something about being in a perch and taking out other PMCs from far away scratches an itch I didn’t know I had. The satisfaction curve of positing right, landing the headshot, and then moving to another firing location because that guy has buddies and they will be looking for you, can create some of the most engaging and stressful moments in Tarkov. I have two old videos on this channel that show this off in exemplary fashion; taking on a five-man with the AK-101, and a much older video using a variety of weapons to take out either three or four PMCs. It was a long time ago, but I still love fights like that; long, drawn out and everyone on the edge of their seat until the last man is left standing, and walks out with a backpack full of juicy loot. 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 ranged gameplay in Tarkov, what your preferred style of playing is and be sure to subscribe for more videos about the different ways we all shoot each other in the face from a variety of distances with a variety of weapons. I hope to see you in future ones.