Entry 1 - 7.2.2024

A couple of wipes ago I dropped EFT. It wasn't a conscious decision, I just grew tired of the same thing every wipe. I think that was my fourth wipe and by that time I had around 1200 hours in the game.

The last wipe I played was by far the furthest I progressed in the game. I had a bitcoin farm with 10 GPUs running 24/7. I was regularly feeding my scav box moonshine for pitiful returns. I had enough money squirreled away to run nearly any kit I desired.

But, even with this progress, I grew tired of my overall lack of progress. I didn't stray far from the comforts of Factory and Woods. Kappa was a practical impossibility. I simply did not have the time to dedicate to achieve this feat. If streamers who play nothing but EFT struggle to get Kappa, what chance did I have with a 9-5?

Along with the Goat wiggle scandal revealing the mass cheating occurring in the game, EFT simply fell by the wayside. I moved on to more enjoyable experiences like Deep Rock Galactic that rewarded me for my time. There are few things I despise more in a game than total disrespect for the player's time. EFT simply told me that Kappa was out of reach for me since I could not dedicate every waking hour to it.

Things changed once PvE released. Once it was announced, I held off purchasing the Unheard edition. I assumed that the mass backlash to Battlestate's handling of the situation would dramatically drop the price of the edition. I'm glad I waited, as it was given to EOD members like me for free. Not before a series of absolute blunders by Battlestate. It was a masterclass on poor PR.

Since the release of PvE, I've put around another 200 hours into my play time. It's been a night and day difference playing PvE. I no longer question if I lack skill or if a cheater magnetized his crosshairs to my dome. I no longer have to worry about waiting 10 minutes in queue, only to be head-eyes'd 10 seconds in raid. The world of Tarkov is mine to explore at my own pace. Playing PvE now makes me wonder if this is how things should have always been.

PvE has exposed me to parts of the game I would have never dreamed of in the usual PvP wipe cycle. I have visited every map. Kappa is a real possibility for me. Overall, PvE Tarkov is great, and I have no intentions of looking back. Arenas is there if I need a PvP fix.

One of the areas I've most enjoyed in my newfound freedom is Labs. I ran labs a total of 1 time in my 4 PvP wipes. It was an absolute disaster. I loaded in with 2 of my comrades, and we huddled like scared rats in a corner. We desperately tried figuring out where the hell we were. Before we had the chance, a juiced-up PMC turned the corner and quickly put all of us out of our misery.

But now? Labs is a treasure trove filled with manageable danger. A recent in-game event spawned tank batteries in Customs, which could be traded for Labs keycards. I grinded the batteries for a week and managed to secure all cards.

I've probably run labs at least 50 times by now. I've pulled out hundreds of injectors, and close to 10 LEDx. The money I've generated from these runs have all but secured my financial stability as I work my way towards Kappa.

I am not immune to greed. In one particular run, I made the foolish decision to hit Red/Violet, then work over to my regular rotation of Green/Black/Blue.

The raid started normal enough. I was in basement making my way over to the northwest end of Labs. I encountered a single raider near sewers. We exchanged a few shots, and I determined this wasn't worth the fight. I ran from the conflict and continued on my way to Red/Violet.

I made my way up to Red/Violet without further conflict. The keycard rooms were disappointing. I grabbed a couple of items and greased a couple of PMCs on my way down and back to the southwest end of Labs.

I worked my way over to the Green/Black/Blue column of the map. To my surprise, I was able to hit everything I intended. But, there was only 2:30 left in raid, and I failed to turn on the cargo elevators. No worry, I had worked my way over to Main Elevators in less time.

I started sprinting my way through basement to get to the elevators. Up to this point, I had never experienced a large mass of raiders in basement. My PMC was gasping for air, but salvation lay ahead.

I made one of my last turns before reaching the power panel, and in a dead sprint I was met out in the open with 5 raiders. My semi-automatic weapon was no match for the head-clicking barrage before me, and my PMC was felled like a rotten oak.

This was also the raid I discovered that insurance returns, well, don't return from Labs. Ever. Cheers to more pain and suffering.

-Eggz

Next Entry --+

Back to Escape From Tarkov Entry List