Silent Raids in Tarkov are the Most Stressful

(Intro)

Silence in EFT can be some of the most stressful moments in the game. Many have called Tarkov a horror game, and for good reason. You’re minding your own business, casually going about your raid when out of nowhere, you start taking fire from either an AI or player. Things can go from zero to one hundred so fast in this game; it’s those moments where if you are able to survive and get your bearings, that can really define a raid and create a core memory that’ll last during your time in EFT. But if raids were that high octane all the time, it would quickly become a novelty. It would feel more like a traditional battle royale game instead of an immersive and difficult extraction shooter. You need to find a balance between the fast paced and intense moments, with the slower and more quiet moments in each raid. Leaning too heavily into either side creates problem points in the game that ruins the replay value. Sure, you can have opportunities where each of these moments might appear more often based on numerous outside factors, but what a lot of developers don’t get right is the dance between the two. Luckily, BSG did a fantastic job walking that tightrope in EFT. So, let’s talk about how difficult it can be to find a healthy medium between raids that are jam packed with action, and other raids that are just sightseeing in any given map. When you don’t hear anything going on inside a raid, that’s when you should be the most concerned.

(Audio cues in a raid)

Ignoring how bad audio in general can be within EFT, we can all agree that when it works, it’s one of the most important and critical factors to a successful raid. Being able to figure out what’s going on around you on any given map, and plan your movements accordingly is a skill that will take time to develop. But once you do, noises from particular parts of the map will clue you on what do expect going deeper into the map. There will generally be less surprises on your travels; at least ones that completely catch you off guard. You can’t ever fully rule out people being in weird places or low traffic points on a map. Everyone has a reason for being where they are. But when the map doesn’t have much going on, speaking from personal experiences, that’s when I usually become the most nervous because there isn’t any clear indication that people are in high traffic areas for one reason or another. If I’m on Shoreline and I don’t hear any noise from the resort, that usually means one of two things: either no one is there, or most likely, a squad is there trying to clear it out. Which is honestly scarier than when the resort is popping off and you are going to potentially third party. And this mindset goes for any location on any map. You expect certain places to have activity, and when they don’t it’s almost unsettling, if that makes sense. Sure, it can be chalked up to either a low population server, or people just not interesting in those areas. But then that means the rest of the map is going to be more populated, and you need to really have your guard up when traveling from point to point. Otherwise, that’s when you might get surprised and ambushed by someone you weren’t expecting. This game really does have a way of making you feel uneasy for a majority of your time playing; so many things you need to consider and worry about. All the while we’re trying your best to survive and complete quests. It makes the brain hurt a lot really fast.

(Quiet raids are important too)

While most of us enjoy when raids are loud and rowdy as we get to experience fighting other players more often, it’s important to also appreciate the quieter raids when they do happen. As rare as they can be sometimes, it creates opportunities to get some things accomplished. Questing most of the time unless it requires fighting other PMCs always feels good when you can stack multiple quests on a single map and not see a single other player. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s always appreciated when you can just mind your own business and quest. That doesn’t make it a walk in the park though; these kinds of raids are always the most stressful because again, there’s no obvious tell where people are going to be. And of course, the more quests you try to complete in one raid, the more devastating it will feel should you be slain prematurely. Larger maps this is less of an issue, but I always find myself doing tons of takes looking behind me to make sure that I’m not getting followed. And this is usually when I get dropped from God knows where, by some guy doing shooter born in heaven. But I’d rather have that happen then getting sent back to the stash prematurely. At least in this circumstance, I was able to walk around for a little while. Even if it means having to go and get quest items all over again.

(Striking the right balance)

When it comes to how raids can or should go, it’s all about balance. Granted, we as players only have so much, we can control in regards to how the game plays out. We can choose the map, our gear and how we want to navigate around. But other than that, there are so many more variables out of our control that we just need to adapt and adjust to on the fly. It’s what separates new players from experienced ones. It can be difficult to have that third eye if you will; knowing that this area up ahead is dangerous because you heard some noises. Even if you were able to deduce it was just some scavs, why are they acting up? Are they still aggressive? Where is the person who initially riled them up? You never know when you enter a new building or location; you could be the first person inside or could be fifteen minutes late into a fight between two or more other players. But that’s what makes Tarkov so special; that uncertainty, the hesitation, and the bravery to say screw it and jump headfirst somewhere completely unaware of what’s been going on. I know I’m being a little hyperbolic here, but I swear this is part of EFs core identity. It’s what distinguishes it from other games and other modes that are similar to this. The feeling of loss is ingrained in players so early on, that we want to avoid it as much as possible. And so, we rely on our senses in-game to support us in our endeavors. And while it certainly does suck when those sense fail us, when they are working to the best of their ability, it’s up to the player to figure out what’s going on around them. And when sound isn’t assisting you because the raid is quiet, that’s when I find myself the most on edge. Because you never know what’s around the next corner. And that’s a good thing.

(Outro)

Tarkov is a scary game when it’s quiet. The ambiguity, the tension, the drama; it all works together when the game doesn’t provide one of the most important senses to you. Whether that’s because the raid has a lower amount of players, people aren’t interested in the high traffic locations, or people want to keep a low profile, when you are deprived of sound in this game from outside sources, it makes the hairs on your neck stand on end. You’re always worried someone might be right behind you, and in some cases, they are. But it comes with the territory of playing a game where dying is the worst-case scenario. Gear lost, quest progression reset, and having to have the internal reflection on how you can improve so that death doesn’t happen again. It all works together to create an experience that no other game really replicates. And there’s something, poetically bittersweet about that. That’s how I’d describe the tension in Tarkov’s silence; poetically bittersweet. 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 whether or not Tarkov is scary when raids are quiet, does it do a good job at striking balance between first and quiet raids, and be sure to subscribe for more videos about the games ability to somehow make less audio in a raid more terrifying than if the entire map is lit up like a Christmas tree, I hope to see you in future ones.