Tarkov’s Hardcore Wipe is Brutal; Everyone Should Play it

(Intro)

Tarkov’s hardcore wipe is officially out, and it’s brutal. Like, I didn’t think it would be this challenging. And yet, at the same time, it’s awesome, and everyone who enjoys this game needs to try this wipe. I mentioned this in the initial video going over the fact the wipe would be hardcore, that this is going to completely shake up the formula we’ve all come to know and love. Or hate, depending on who you are. It’s such a different experience knowing how much has changed, and everything else that wasn’t even detailed in the three pictures BSG posted last week. But we’re here now and it’s been a couple of days. So, let’s go over some general thoughts and impressions on this wipe so far, what has been the most fun or exciting, what has created some problem points and whether or not this idea was even worth it in the first place.

(There was SO much more restricted)

The biggest shock to the system initially on the first boot up, was simply how much was altered in the game that wasn’t already touched on or hinted at. For example, we all knew scavs would get messed around with and later Nikita said it himself, but we didn’t have any specifics. Now, when you complete a scav, the cooldown is over an hour long. Which is wild; like, I remember when I started playing it was around half an hour. But sixty plus minutes for a scav? They are not messing around. Insurance is also something that was altered which again, we had a feeling would happen, but now the price is so expensive that you would never realistically use it. And this is with day one gear; I can only imagine the cost with an actual good kit. I bet someone is going to see how high they can get that number up. The secure container has also been largely impacted too. You cannot store any money, ammunition, and most medical supplies in your container. The only thing that still seems to be allowed is stimulants, which in hindsight kind of makes sense; this way it doesn’t make the injector case completely useless, and people can still have healing, bleed, and other sources of keeping themselves in the fight on them. On top of that, many multi-use medications have had their uses lowered. The little CMS kit is down to three and the surv12 kit is down to nine, but the small CMS can be put into your first special slot so you can still always have one. Multi-use painkillers are also down to either five or nine, respectively. Which, considering they can’t go in your container it feels rather moot to use them, but nerfs across the board, so it makes sense. I really do wish we could have money in our container soley for the purpose of offloading items while using the transit points, which is something we will get into briefly here.

(Forced transit isn’t bad)

So far, having to use the transit points to get around hasn’t been that bad. In fact, it’s kind of a breath of fresh air. Now, I understand people have been having issues with crashes and not being able to play the game, and I totally understand the frustrations of not being able to play other maps. I also agree that players spawning on top of each other is a massive issue that needs to be addressed immediately. But other than the technical issues, it makes you entirely rethink how you want to go about your raid. Are you here just for this map, or do you have somewhere else you want to go? It has you asking yourself more questions and coming up with a gameplan before you even enter a raid. And the best part is that since this is Tarkov, that plan can easily go out the window and you can find yourself doing something completely different. Which is part of the charm with a game that has so many elements outside of your control. The load times in between maps haven’t been that bad. So far, I haven’t waited longer than I think four minutes was the longest so far. What does throw me off every time though, is the timer. If it takes you three minutes to load in the first time, and then you play a raid for ten minutes before using a transit, the timer is up to thirteen minutes because it’s considering your raid time. So, if you think about it, the timer can be as how long this one character has been alive, which is kind of cool. But we will be going into more detail about the transit portion of this wipe in a dedicated video because it’s one of the most contentious points of this whole experience.

(No quests at the start, and for a good reason)

Another strange oddity that we weren't really informed on is that for the first day, we had no tasks to complete. For the time being, they simply turned off. So that means no getting your ground zero quests done immediately, no unlocking Jaeger early on. Right now, there is a bit of an argument that there is no good reason to play the game because the primary source of progression isn’t in the game yet. And to that I would simply say, again that’s a good thing. We don’t need people power farming the quests and getting back to where they were a couple days into the wipe. The quests not being around is simply a moment for you to mentally prepare yourself for how much more challenging this wipe is going to be. Things are turned upside down and pretty much everything you know about the game isn’t as it once was. So many little details being changes and altered to make the hardcore experience that much more immersive. Your life now has so much more value than it once did. I’m sure the quests have some changes to them. Perhaps items like the pocket watch will need a survival status to turn them in; something I have genuinely feared for years now. Because any quest item like the pocket watch can be turned in even if you get a run through. It makes other quests like delivery from the past that much easier. But for some reason, I have a feeling a change like that is coming. I also suspect that quest rewards like items and experience are going to be lessened somewhat. Just another way of slowing down the community. Speaking of...

(The community is all over the place right now)

The community is kind of in a frenzy right now. You know, as they normally are with any major changes. I can’t say I necessarily blame them; for years now, it was usually one or at most, two major changes put together for a wipe. But now, the entire game is different. It's not what people are used to; and while some are willing to adapt and adjust to the new demands the game is asking, others aren’t happy. And it’s only been a couple of days. Many are saying this entire experiment has been a huge L and that it’s a waste of time. But the reality is, BSG have done this for a reason. It wasn’t just to be cruel or to spice things up. There is most likely an expectation being set here. A precedent that this is most likely how the game is going to function when 1.0 hits. Maybe not exactly, but it isn’t just going to be choosing where we want to go, having instant access to all the dealers and the primary focus being engaging other players not too long after a reset. The reality of what EFT is becoming is being presented to players with this wipe. And many are not happy. To which I would say, simply try it. If you don’t like it, don’t play it. For many of us, we’ve been at this game for years. A shakeup of this magnitude was necessary. But you can’t please everyone, unfortunately.

(Outro)

Tarkov’s hardcore wipe has been much more difficult than other previous wipe experience. And because it’s so hard, more people that have been put off by the idea of a hardcore wipe should be playing it. Right now, is the best time; it will only get easier as BSG monitors feedback and adjusts the parameters of hardcore accordingly. The map restrictions will get easier; we already have our quests back. And insurance will get cheaper as time goes on. But at the core of this entire experience, is being able to struggle through the early game, acquire the necessary items to survive whether on your scav or PMC, and just enjoy the fact that even though it’s harder, we’re all doing it together. It’s why the idea of opting into hardcore was always so stupid to me; what’s the point if you have a choice. But there is much more to go over as we approach the weekend of the hardcore wipe, which we will be doingas the circumstances dictate. 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 the hardcore wipe, where it succeeded, where it failed for you personally and be sure to subscribe for more videos about all the changes that came with this reset that were either good or bad depending on who you ask. I hope to see you in future ones.