What Makes a "Good" Tarkov Player?

If I were to ask you the question, what makes a “good” Tarkov player, you’d probably have a handful of different game qualities pop up in your mind that you’d answer with. Of course, this question and the whole concept is very much subjective. For a game like Tarkov, there is no single right answer. So, pretty much it boils down to what you value as a Tarkov player when you are either in or out of raids. Some people focus and value strictly on their ability to fight AI and other players. Others will want to know how to maximize their potential in raid profits as much as possible. And the rest probably just go with the flow and feel out the raids for what they might be worth. And while I’m very eager to hear what people’s comments on this topic will be, so please leave your thoughts down below and subscribe if you enjoy this topic, personally, I have some of my own values that, individually don’t mean too much, but when combined, come together to show off knowledge, skill, and of course, game enjoyment.

The first and most likely obvious one that everyone initially thought of, is the ability to land your shots. Tarkov is a game where your aim can make the difference between walking out of a raid with 60+kg worth of gear or being sent back to your stash prematurely. It’s one thing to die to another player and not see them because they hit an incredible shot. It’s another thing entirely to turn a corner and see someone and then exchange gunfire. And it’s those moments where your aim needs to be supreme. And for those who feel theirs is lacking, you can always practice offline, use the shooting range and adjust your flicks accordingly or get a feel for recoil on guns with certain builds. And there’s even games outside of Tarkov that might be able to assist, like aim labs. Granted, anything outside of Tarkov won’t have the “feel” of the game, so it may help with only the first shot that comes out of your gun. But hey, if you get good enough in that regard, then who needs to even work on anything after, right? But seriously, aim is important I Tarkov. I sometimes like to downplay the value of a good shot, partially because others harp on it a little too much. But they have a point; being able to land lethal damage against others in tough situations will simply mean you may survive often. And that has a lot of innate value in it. Less times you need to re-kit up and spend money on gear. Which means less money spent on insurance. And the only thing you might need to spend your valuable rubles on is repairing armors and refilling on ammo. Survival streaks feel incredible to have happen when you play. It’s a stride that is unlike a lot of other games. Lots of places talk about “flow state” and while I personally don’t know a ton about it, when you get those kinds of moments in Tarkov, you feel almost invincible, and that confidence means you will play better. Most of the time.

Another angle to the successful Tarkov formula is having the general knowledge of the game in your back pocket. And this goes without saying, but knowing the ammo charts, armor values, what their materials are made of, knowing the quests, the map layouts and extractions; it’s important to have an understanding of all the complexities that BSG wants us to engage with as players of their game. If you’re new, these things won’t come naturally, and it will be difficult and most likely overwhelming at first. Because the game throws a lot of information at you that you need to comprehend. And honestly, it leaves out some of the more important bits, that should just be in the damn game, but maybe one day we’ll get there. Luckily, if you are unfamiliar with certain things, or are like me and need a refresher on maybe an obtuse ammo that never gets used, the Tarkov Wiki has all that information aggregated into a single location. It should be your go-to place should you have any questions about things in the game that are new, or you maybe just forgot. All these elements come together so that when you go into a raid, you have a game plan and can stick to it as much as possible. Now, because we are playing Tarkov, things won’t always go according to plan. You might hear a ton of actions where you need to go and don’t want to get directly involved. Or you may get into a fight you weren’t expecting and come out on top. And now you have all this extra loot you need to consider. Do you take it and leave, or do you risk it and finish whatever it is you started? This is where the final element of being successful in Tarkov kicks in.

Being adaptable in the game is something I feel as though people might sleep on by being able to load into a raid with a gameplan, have said plan go completely out the window, and figure out what to do next while dealing with whatever that raid has to offer, is certainly a skill in its own right. And it’s probably the one you do the most, and don’t even think about. Because you’re subconsciously making all these rapid-fire decisions about where to go, what to loot, killing that scav, but leaving the other alive so that he can call out other players in the area; you watch anyone play this game, even people that pop eighteen stims and then just hold W and you will see so many choices being made, whether they verbalize it or not. It coincides with having the game sense of Tarkov; knowing what weapon is being fired off in the distance, where people spawn, and their initial path might be. Granted, some of these come quicker than others. The spawns can be seen online so you’ll know where they are, but again, it’s knowing player tendencies and where they might go and what they might do. Just knowing the spawns sometimes isn’t enough. If you spawn next to Crackhouse on Customs, you know that someone is most likely over at the old gas station and could either run over to the Chemical part 4 building, or make a beeline towards stronghold, and get eyes on you very quickly. It only takes maybe 15-20 seconds before you’ll start getting shot at. I only know this from personal experience. And it never ends well because I forget how fast people can move around in this game.

Tarkov is a complex game. I know I’ve said this probably a hundred times by now, but it’s worth restating. Being good at Tarkov doesn’t have to mean anything I’ve laid out here to you. This is very much a subjective question. And there really isn’t a wrong answer. You want to be a god at PvP? Go for it. You want to know how to level up the fastest after a wipe? Hey, that’s a good strategy to get a leg up on other players. Or do you want to just become more consistent and proficient at the game? That’s my wish. I always want to try and get better. But nerves, bad decisions, and sometimes just some good Ol’ bad luck can impede that progress. But that doesn’t mean I won’t stop trying to become “good” at this game. It sometimes sucks; it feels like the game is out to get you. You play something so much and so hard, all you do is see the problems with it and get frustrated with it. And it’s in those instances, you may need to take a break and put it aside for a little while. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. In your eyes, what makes a “good” Tarkov player? Please leave your thoughts down in the comment section. And subscribe for more videos about what separates people from consistently surviving their raids in the game. I hope to see you in future ones.