I've been playing Escape from Tarkov (EFT) for many years now and want to share the top 30 tips and tricks I've learned to help new and experienced players improve their skills. These tips cover general gameplay, inventory management, combat, health/meds, and advice for new players.
EFT has a steep learning curve but is incredibly rewarding once you get the hang of things. The gameplay loop consists of loading into raid sessions to loot, kill AI scavs and players, and extract safely. The following tips aim to help you survive more raids, extract with better loot, improve combat skills, and manage your inventory/traders more efficiently.
Whether you just bought EFT or have hundreds of hours logged, hopefully you pick up something useful here! Let's get into the top 50 tips:
I tested this extensively - if you throw insured items into water, you will not get them back from insurance. Always use caution around water!
Bind one key to "Inspect Weapon" and another to "Fix Malfunction." Hold the inspect key until animation finishes, then release to instantly fix jams.
Pull the pin and hold left click to cook a grenade. You can then sprint around before releasing left click to throw precisely.
Right click meds/ammo in your inventory and hit "Install" or "Reload" without interrupting movement.
If you get stuck matching for 5+ minutes, Alt+F4 to close the game safely without losing gear. Relog to avoid extra load times.
Quickly locate bosses like Killa by throwing flashbangs and listening for unique audible reactions.
If you suspect you heard something, act like it's a confirmed enemy and reposition cautiously. Better safe than sorry!
Unsure if you got a quest kill? Check your quest progress for confirmation before extracting.
Get in the habit of inspecting optics, fire mode, and laser settings when you first spawn.
Map Genie has excellent EFT maps showing extractions, loot spawns, stashes, keys, and more.
Repair guns with weapon repair kits to level up Weapon Maintenance and unlock reload/spread bonuses at higher levels.
Sell weapons and attachments to Mechanic, armor to Ragman, meds to Therapist, etc to level up traders quickly.
Storing cases inside larger cases saves inventory room. I keep all my medical cases and ammo cases neatly stacked.
Weapons under 93% durability can't be sold on flea. Vendors take damaged weapons so sell to them first.
Listing items on the flea market increases your reputation, unlocking more offer slots.
If you're struggling to land kills, shoot legs! Much easier to hit and disables enemy movement.
Ammo is more important than aim in EFT. Look up ammo charts and use the best your trader levels allow.
Pop painkillers first when rushing high-traffic areas so you can keep moving fast if shot.
Laser sights tighten hip fire dispersion - don't be afraid to hit fire, especially on close-medium range AR fights.
Small protection boost not worth limited visibility and slow ADS in my opinion. But can save you from lucky rounds.
Don't forget Augmentin pills provide painkilling effect along with healing limbs.
Alternate using these meds and reset to 1 use before crafting into 7 Propitols for profit.
Bring these into every raid to quickly stop heavy bleeds before they kill you.
Pop an SJ6 and 3BTG for drastically increased sprint and search speed.
Use Mule to carry overweight loot faster but it will inflict small damage over time.
Don't feel compelled to mimic streamer playstyles - figure out what works best for you!
Load into Woods/Shoreline/Interchange and focus on hidden stashes to avoid PvP and make money.
If afraid to run PMC kits, take your Scav weapons and armor into PMC raids to get comfortable.
No need to sprint everywhere if you're still learning maps. Take it slow and disengage from fights you can't win.
Always bring Paracords when going into large maps like Reserve and Woods in case you need to extract.
That wraps up 30 tips and tricks for EFT! Let me know if you have any other useful tips in the discord! These should help new players learn the ropes and give veterans some new strategies to try. EFT has a steep learning curve but it's one of the most intense and rewarding shooters out there once you get the hang of it. Good luck out there in Tarkov!