What is Tarkov Still Missing?

(Intro)

Even though we are over two months into the full release of Tarkov, the game isn’t one hundred percent in the eyes of BSG. There is still plenty they want to add, change and improve upon which for a game that was and still technically is in development, it’s an interesting question to ask. In their eyes, the main story was the final piece missing from Tarkov to officially stamp it as 1.0. But even with that past us now, there is plenty that can be done to the game that will only improve it going forward and make existing players happy. Which had me thinking recently, now that the main meat of the game has been added, where else can BSG improve Tarkov to just make it a more enjoyable experience. What else can be added or changed in the game that will be seen as a net positive for a majority of the player base?

(Mechanics that are still needed)

There are still a lot of mechanics that can be added to the game that were either intended but not released or put on the back burner for more important additions. And sadly, that has dragged on for many years now. Luckily, it seems like some of the things people have been asking for years might be coming to the game within the not-so-distant future, whatever that means. But what about the rest? I think the two major ones that we’re still missing are downed states for player characters and the ability to revive or resuscitate those players. And while that sounds cool on paper, does BSG even want things like that in their game? Cause if we use our imaginations for a second, I wonder what it would be like if you were playing with some friends and you found yourself in dorms on Customs. You get into a fight with the scav boss and one of his guards throws a grenade which blows up close to you. Enough to put you on the ground in a downed state but doesn’t do enough damage to kill you outright. Imagine how cool it would be to have your other teammates provide cover while someone runs over and drags you in a downed state around a corner and revives you? Here’s the thing: something like this added into EFT would fundamentally change the entire gameplay loop and pacing of fights in general. It would be a huge deal and I’m sure there are use cases where a mechanic as game changing as downed states would ruin the experience. On top of that, now you have to ask a ton of brand-new questions: for example, do players always go down when they have low health? What happens if they take excessive damage or too much damage too quickly? In my eyes, the best way to handle something like this would be relatively simple. The first question that needs to be answered is can people not in your squad be revived ala, Arc Raiders. If the answer is yes, that opens a can of worms I don’t think BSG could handle. There would be too many circumstances where glitches and the like would manifest. So, for simplicities sake, let’s have the answer be no. You can only revive teammates and that’s it.

Obviously, with this new mechanic would come new medical items designed to revive teammates that are in this downed state. Probably a couple different ones that have different speeds or maybe uses before they run out. I’d imagine the animation for doing this would be very similar to how Battlefield 6 does it, because to me that revive animation where you drag them and then use a stimulant on them works perfectly to show that you’re reviving someone. The other major concern would be are there ways to take out players while avoiding the downed state? And for me, again the answer is simple: if you get headshot and the round that hits you doesn’t have to go through a helmet or any form of protection, you are dead. Simple as that. The head, eyes meme would come around full circle. Because now your face is still the scariest part of the body you need to protect. And also, what about if you play solo? The easiest solution would be if you play solo; you don’t have access to the downed state. Since in this scenario, teammates are the only ones capable of getting you back up, there’s no reason for you to go down as a solo. Which immediately puts solos at a huge disadvantage, but I guess my rebuttal to that would be they already are, so what’s the difference. This game has been missing these two mechanics and it’s been something I think a lot of players would at least be interested in seeing what it looks like within the world of EFT; the amount of coordinated squad play that would emerge if players could have a chance of getting back in the fight would be incredibly interesting and would prolong some exchanges that might otherwise end too quickly. There are a ton of hurdles that would need to be figured out, but on paper, downed players and revives are major mechanics that I would be very interested in seeing at some point. But other than that, picking locks, melee takedowns and full weapon modding while in raid feel like other substantial mechanics that could be introduced now, and people would be excited to see them. But it’s not just mechanics, players still want to see in Tarkov even after 1.0.

(Optimizations/QOL)

Of course, still the elephant in the room after all these years is optimization. We’ve beaten this horse to death, but it’s still worth mentioning. I guarantee you, if we woke up tomorrow and the game’s performance was boosted by like fifty percent, people would be so happy. Now they can play Streets of Tarkov and not have to look at it like a slideshow presentation. Funnily enough, something that was mentioned by BSG as a possible solution for Streets was to divide the map into two separate maps, that way it’s smaller and people don’t have to render the whole thing and therefore would most likely get better frames on both sections. But that never happened with the implementation of 1.0, which is a shame in some ways, but to be honest, one of the things about Streets that I like even at the expense of the map's performance is how large it is. It really feels like a city that has fallen; once teeming with life and people just going about their days has concluded by becoming essentially a battleground between two factions who shouldn’t even be at war with each other. It isn’t the only map that needs attention though; at least with my computer setup, Customs, which once ran beautifully is now a choppy and frame-y mess. At that stems from the most recent expansion the map got, which is cool don’t get me wrong, but I’d be lying if I wouldn’t revert the expansion just so the map runs better. Anything that compromises the playable experience at this point, just isn’t worth it. This game has had moments where across the board it runs well, and other times where it runs like trash. And right now, most maps again, at least from my experience, are solid. Customs and Streets are the big two currently that don’t feel good in general.

And of course, just getting more quality-of-life changes across the game is always appreciated. Things that reduce the number of clicks in the menus, faster loading times both getting in and out of raids and gearing back up that much more manageable. Little things like this go a long way in prolonging people’s desire to jump on and play. Because who honestly wants to keep playing after they spend upwards of twenty minutes building a kit only to lose all of it in the first thirty seconds of a raid. This is something that sadly will take a long time, and will most likely never fully get figured out. But any steps closer to a better performing game with less clicks at this point, I'll take it.

(Locations)

A small anecdote, but with the addition of Terminal, we supposedly have all the maps that BSG wanted to include. But for the longest time, there were at least two additional locations on the main map screen for EFT: suburbs, and town. What these maps would entail, we have no idea. For years there were just there, on the map screen hanging out. But it wasn’t until the final push for 1.0 that they were quietly removed. Which begs the question of are they still planned for release even after 1.0? Will they be included in any potential future DLCs? How would they fit into the narrative that is currently in the game? Interesting questions to ask, and at this point it’s all purely speculation. But another question that matters as rude as it may sound is, does it even matter at this point? Sure, more maps and more content is always a better thing, but just from their names these could’ve been chunks of Streets that kind of hangout on the perimeter of the map. Town just sounds like a smaller Streets which feels kind of moot at this point, and suburbs would most likely be residential areas of Tarkov which does sound interesting. For some reason, when I imagine what suburbs might look like, I think of that one campaign mission from the original Modern Warfare 2, Exodus, where you have the BTR protecting you as you clear the houses and look for the VIP. I could see a level like that working in Tarkov with some other bits scattered throughout the rest of the location. Fighting between different homes and neighborhoods. It could be really cool.

(The rest)

Other than that, there isn’t much else I can think of off the top of my head that could be added to Tarkov. We’ve heard ideas from BSG about some kind of sniper DLC, where they introduce more weapons, tools and even more complex mechanics around bolt-action rifles which could be interesting. Especially as someone who enjoys that playstyle as much as I do. But the big one we still think at some point is going to happen is the scav life DLC. Some kind of expansion to playing as your scav; whether that’s introducing quests for the scav, allowing them more options and freedom with how they work, or some kind of direct involvement with Fence, people love playing as a scav, which I do as well. And seeing some kind of expansion on what is essentially a different game mode is very interesting. Again, we have no idea if this stuff is one hundred percent confirmed, but if any of these were to actually manifest, the scav expansion makes the most sense. It’s already in the game, it can easily be improved upon, and I think it would be the most positively received of pretty much anything else they could add at this point.

(Outro)

Even though Tarkov is technically 1.0, there is still plenty of work to be done by BSG. Mechanics that can still be introduced to spice and shake up the gameplay, potential locations they can add for more variety and quest opportunities and eventual DLCs that can be brought in for those who have stuck around and want to see new stuff from BSG without the pressure of meeting some kind of imaginary 1.0 deadline. Tarkov feels like a complete game now; the main story has a beginning, middle, and end. It feels like a natural progression curve and will certainly take you on a journey if you manage to complete it. But there is still so much left on the table for this game that I hope BSG manages to figure out and introduce before they move on to their next project, whatever that might be. 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 what else Tarkov is missing, what you would like to see added into the game and be sure to subscribe for more videos about the infinite potential that was somewhat squandered by the rushing out of 1.0. I hope to see you in future ones.