Tarkov’s Quests are Overwhelming - At least to Me

(Intro)

Tarkov has an insane number of quests for the player to complete. Even before the additional main story with all those new requirements to escape were added, the game had over two hundred quests of all different kinds where the player could interact with across all the maps in the game. And for the longest time, the preverbal carrot on the stick that was Tarkov’s progression was completing quests to unlock better gear at the traders. At least now, there is a true endgame to work towards that isn’t just completing everything, getting the Kappa container, or working through the available achievements in the game. Regardless of how you spend your time in EFT, this is very much a personal anecdote, but for years now I have struggled with the sheer volume of quests or tasks; whatever you want to call them and staying focused on any particular one goal. I find myself so overwhelmed sometimes with all the options at my disposal that I end up sitting at the menu, spending way too much time trying to figure out what I want to do, instead of just loading into raids and doing it. Maybe this is just a me thing; maybe there is someone else out there who feels the same way and this video can resonate with them, but if I feel completely overwhelmed by Tarkov’s tasks. Both the side quests we’ve been doing for years, and all the new story missions as well.

(It wasn’t always like this)

I suppose I should start out by saying this is more of a recent feeling I’ve been having. Maybe within the last year or so. Because for a long time, the number of quests in the game was much smaller than what it has ballooned to now. I remember when The Cult – Part 2 was the last Peacekeeper quest for a long time. And how it was insanely hard because the dorms' marked key was so unbelievably rare. On the same level as the second key to unlock Kiba on Interchange. I also remember even further back when quests were timed; yes, you actually had a time limit to complete certain quests, and if you didn’t finish in that allotted time, you would fail the quest and lose reputation with that trader. The game was a different beast in its infancy. But still, as new maps, traders and chunks of the game have been added, so too has the number of quests. And again, this is very much a me problem and not one with the game. Giving the players more to do even if it’s just go to this location on this map and plant some markers, or wi-fi cameras is still good, especially if a map gets some kind of an expansion. A more recent example would be The Blood of War – Part 1 from Ragman. Before Interchange’s expansions, there were three oil trucks you needed to mark all around the perimeter of the mall. Well now, they added a fourth truck west of the entrance, near the new extract. It’s not a new quest, but they didn’t have to update that one and yet they did. It’s not the only quest to receive small changes like this but it’s an example of even with all these different quests across every map, BSG still sometimes will go back and touch up some of the older quests to correlate with new content being added into the game. Things like grenadier going from a dozen kills down to five is also another example of making a quest better because it was so tedious before. But alongside new maps usually having some new things to do on them, one trend we saw a lot of within the last year was the introduction of events and event-related quests that were only around for so long.

(Events = New quests)

There have been over a dozen events in the last year or so that would pop up. Sometimes before a wipe to wrap the game up before it resets, and other times in association with changes added to Tarkov. Probably the best example of this was the long quest line added when Labyrinth was introduced into the game. I never even saw that map with my own two eyes because the quest chain was so long. And here is where my problem comes back; the event quests were only okay. I started the chain, slowly worked through it and then I kind of just stopped right before the halfway point. Partially because the FOMO had kind of already happened, partially because Tarkov players are a different breed of human and will complete new content added to the game within hours and then complain there’s nothing to do. But the rewards other than the achievement saying you did the whole thing were usually only okay. Again, the Labyrinth event is an exception because you got to play on a super-secret new map that at the time, no one expected or had any idea as to how it operated. But then once the event was over, the loot on the map that was insanely valuable got lowered, so it felt like other than to go and experience the map for yourself, the entire point of the map had become rather moot. It also became quickly apparent that the map had, and I think still has major problems with how fast some players can get out of their rooms and set up an ambush against people who take longer. So while it was really interesting and intense the first go around, the novelty wears off fast when you open your locked door, instantly get taken out and then read online that certain rooms can just be completed faster so you’re shit out of luck if you get a slow room. And again, Labyrinth is the exception because so much was added. There are other events that had substantial impacts across the game like the Khorovod quest line where the map was intensely snowy, and you had to go to those towers on fire across the maps and take out a bunch of difficult scavs. And other times the events fall flat on their faces. But in a lot of cases, they came up with new quests which just felt like sinking deeper in an ocean you’re already drowning in, at least for me personally. I’m sure this isn’t much of a problem for a lot of players.

(Why do I feel like this?)

I find it difficult to articulate why I feel this way. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad there are tons of quests to do in EFT. Unlike Arc Raiders, questing is vital to your progression in this game and will only help to give you the essential experience and trader reputation needed to start using better equipment. And at the start, you’re only given a handful of quests on a couple of maps which feels completely manageable. But once you reach about level twenty, you have all your traders at level two and are working through their missions, it can quickly become a bit overwhelming when you look at your quest log and see just how many you need to get done. I almost wish there were more quests like the chemical series of quests where once you complete it you can hand it over to a few different traders; each with their own rewards and penalties should you decline their offer. At least this way, the sheer number of available quests might go down somewhat. Either way, I wouldn’t argue there are too many quests (okay maybe a tiny bit), but I see more of a problem with their delivery to you. Sometimes, completing one quest gives you another one. Cool. And other times, you turn a quest in and then out of nowhere you get five or six at the same time. It’s just kind of like oh okay now I have a ton to do, which again is good; the preverbal carrot on the stick will always be in front of you to chase. I just wish the delivery of new quests given to the player was thought out and paced just a little bit better. Again, this is entirely a me problem; I imagine many players are glad they get quests in bulk because they were about to run out. But like I said at the start, I find myself spending too much time trying to figure out what I want to instead of just having a clear line for me to follow. That line goes all over the place, and I get lost, well metaphorically speaking.

(Outro)

I can’t lie; this was kind of a strange rambly video to make. But it’s something I’ve thought about on more than one occasion. Tarkov has so many quests in the game for players to engage with and complete, but with that comes moments where you might not know which map you want to load into or which quest line you want to complete. At least the main story is a little more straight forward in that regard. Granted, I’ve barely scratched the surface with the main story, so perhaps it does turn into kind of a cluster truck once you get a few chapters into it. But now with 1.0, if you are ever unsure as to what you want to do in Tarkov, the new default answer can be well go and try to work through the main story. Stuck on a quest that’s hard? Take a break and follow the main story. A particular map giving you problems, well your next main story quest is on a different map so try that instead. There are now plenty of moments where you can take a break from bashing your head against one brick wall and go and bang it against a different one. Because in Tarkov, eventually one way or another, that will crack and fall apart. And then once it does, you can keep looking forward and progressing. Until you run into another brick wall, but one problem at a time. 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 Tarkov’s distribution of quests, whether you sometimes feel overwhelmed by how much there is to do in this game and be sure to subscribe for more videos about somewhat random topics that popped into my head that I know someone out there can also relate to. I hope to see you in future ones.