What Works and Doesn’t Work with Woods in Tarkov

(Intro)

Woods has been in EFT for as long as Customs has. It’s a much different flavor when compared to most other maps in the game and provides a much different experience when played on. Most people who have been playing the game for years now, I would take a guess and say they enjoy Woods for a few different reasons. And it wasn’t until December of 2020, that Woods saw a major expansion to the map that provided areas that can get you lost if you don’t know where you’re going. Alongside that, it also has Shturman as the scav boss, as well as the Goons which can rotate around to Woods. For most though, when you think of Woods as a map, and the playstyle that is most appropriate for that map, the most obvious answer is sniping. It's been a quintessential part of Woods’ identity; taking a big rifle with a huge scope on it and seeing what kind of shenanigans you can get into. However, as time has gone on, my own personal enjoyment of the map has somewhat wavered, and I never could pinpoint exactly why. Today, I wanted to discuss Woods as a map, go over the original design, the expansion, what makes it fun, what frustrates people and ask the question: do people still enjoy playing Woods after all these years?

(The map and the expansion)

Woods has always been an interesting map for a lot of people. It fulfills a desire that Tarkov does better than many other shooter games out there: which is sniping. A large, open but densely filled forest area with a variety of high-altitude spots and low brush covered areas. It allows for a large degree of play within the map, but it does focus primarily on long-range exchanges between players and AI. That isn’t to say that using something meant for close quarters is impossible, but you will generally struggle more if you don’t have any way of taking out other players at range. The shape of the original portion of the map was kind of a giant upside down “U” shape. With a lake that covers most of the southern coast. The old version was also hard to get lost in; because surprisingly, the old version of the map was relatively small. The main attraction before was the lumber mill; a central point on the map that had decent loot, a few quest locations and multiple angles of attack from all sides. If you wanted to get into sniper fights, this was usually the best place to do so. It wasn’t the only spot, but at the very least you knew there was a high likelihood of other players skulking around. Then it just came down to who sees who first. But Woods has since been expanded, and a lot has changed because of it.

The expansion blew out the entire northern side of the map. Now, there are ways to go beyond the tall sniper mountain and experience areas that are either densely packed with trees, or more open with a couple lakes to hang around. With two additional villages across the map, both have reasons to be explored, as well as a smaller mill and shed area that was the foundation for sawmill in Arena, may that map rest in peace. But what the Woods expansion ultimately did, was give the map areas that are vast and open without much to do in them. There are pros and cons to these kinds of map additions; on one hand, it gives players more room to explore without feeling like everyone is just on top of each other. Because even though the old version of Woods was sizeable for the time, you could still run into players with seconds of spawning in. It feels harder for those moments to occur on the expanded version, although they can certainly still happen. But what this also causes it a lot of “dead” areas on the map. Places with no points of interest and are essentially just chunks of the map that you need to traverse to get to the next interesting point. Of course, someone could argue that every map has chunks like that, and while there are some others that behave in the same vein, Woods is especially problematic because of its location. It’s hard to make a woodsy area interesting without just adding more trees and things you would find in the wild. Personally, it feels the most egregious around the USEC camp. Between the USEC camp and the ZB-014 extraction, there is basically nothing of interest for you to explore and check out. It’s just roads, powerlines, and some higher elevated areas for surveying. When I need to extract at Outskirts and I spawn by either of the two villages and need to work my way over there, I always dread the second half of that walk because there is nothing interesting to do. It’s probably my only gripe with the expansion of Woods: too much dead space that could either be reevaluated with some points of interest or shortened entirely.

(The problem with Shturman)

The map’s boss, Shturman is interesting on paper, but in execution is lacking. He is supposed to be the truest definition of a sniper. I would also use the term lone wolf, but considering he has followers you will need to deal with, that phrase isn’t apt even though I think he would work better thematically if he was alone. My wishes were that Shturman was a nomadic boss; he roamed around the entire map or at least larger portions of the map and if you stumbled across him, he would fight you. Kind of like how Partizan works, but even he is kind of locked to certain areas on each map he can be encountered. Shturman could’ve been an interesting fight if you were to spot him from far away, and if you took a shot and missed, he would dart out of there, relocated and try to surprise you, turning the exchange into more of a game of cat and mouse. Kind of like that one sniper mission in Call of Duty: World at War. You know the one. But instead, what we have is a boss that sits in the lumber mill the entire time and finds cover when he detects an enemy nearby. Over the years his range of movement has gotten wider; allowing him to run up the hill above the cabins but he is still locked to that general area. Imagine if he was to pop up randomly at the USEC camp, or either of the two villages. It just makes for a much more interesting exchange, albeit much more unpredictable, which is something both the player base and I think BSG would rather not have happen. We already get enough of that with the Goons, and you usually end up dead before you even know it’s them.

(The only real way to play Woods)

Let’s be honest, if you are loading onto Woods, then you most likely have a scope of some kind on your weapon. If you don’t you are severely hemorrhaging your ability to be effective when the going gets tough. And sadly, as much as I can genuinely enjoy the map, the one major caveat is that it’s kind of the only way to play. Maps like Shoreline and Streets have plenty of places where you can fight people up close, lessening the need for a scope at all times. But Woods doesn’t have that luxury. The villages, and maybe the sawmill. Otherwise in between those two points you can easily spot people from far away, but don’t bring a scope and there isn’t much you can do about them. It’s the singular major flaw that Woods has. Well, other than the tons of dead space in between the POIs, but we mentioned that already. But if you do bring a scope, it can be one of the best experiences a player can have in EFT when it comes to fighting people at long range. You know, the range where the game shines the brightest.

(Outro)

Woods is one of the OG maps in Tarkov. And while it has gone through some of the least iterations out of all the others, there is a reason for that. The flow and pacing of the map even before the expansion were solid. The heavier focus on ranged gameplay allowed players the opportunity to practice using a variety of snipers and long-range tactics that other maps at the time and even to this day don’t provide. Patience and understanding where people might be and where they might go really pays dividends on Woods. It's useful elsewhere, but you can excel on this map if you are at the right place at the right time. It’s a great map even post expansion. Granted, there are some spots that feel drawn out and tedious to navigate because of their size, but the rest of the map is nothing but good stuff, which is always appreciated. It’s not my go-to map especially late game, but almost every time I jump back onto Woods, I have a great time. And there is certainly something special about that. 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 Woods as a map, if you enjoy playing it, what part of a wipe you enjoy it the most and be sure to subscribe for more videos about how each map in EFT is distinctly unique from one another, for both good and bad reasons. I hope to see you in future ones.