The newest addition to Escape From Tarkov in patch 12.12 is Lighthouse - and this map is quickly becoming many players' favorite for its varied gameplay experiences. In this comprehensive guide, I'll cover everything you need to know to find success on Lighthouse raids.
Lighthouse features a unique vertical orientation, running north-south instead of the sideways layouts of previous maps. This gives callouts more intuitive directional names, with "north" and "south" actually matching compass directions!
The long map divides into distinct sections from north to south:
In the south, we'll eventually access the Lighthouse island itself - but for now, mystery and an angry sniper await any who cross the bridge! As players explore north, expect action funneling towards the lucrative zones.
On the south end, spawns scatter along the beach and road. These players tend to push north to the Chalets or east to the village, with the beach spawns at a disadvantage. The south edges also allow long sight lines for opportunistic snipers.
In the middle, spawns fan out with good potential access to the Water Treatment Plant or Chalets. The northern four spawns become contested for the treatment plant or can reach the train yard first.
Regardless of spawn, expect movement towards the concentrated loot. Common rotations lead to collisions at the bridges or along the shoreline cottage fields.
Extraction favors PMC extracts in the north and Scavs in the south. Key extracts include:
Around Water Treatment, stick to the rocks to avoid pesky landmines! These dot the southwest approach and have caught many a greedy loot hound.
Nearly all of Lighthouse sees inflated loot quality and density versus other maps. Prioritize searching these high yield areas:
The residential south chalet specifically rivals Labs for stash value, while the garage and marin car keys grant consistent jackpots. With smart play, a few chalet raids can earn you several survival runs worth of gear!
Guarding the Water Treatment plant, Rogue USEC AI offer new challenges and rewards. More accurate than Raiders, they wield devastating mounted guns and grenade launchers.
Their hostility depends on your BEAR or USEC status, but either way bringing the pain earns you labs-style loot. With 8-10 ground level and 2-3 roof Rogues, their gear and backpacks can fill a Tri-Zip to bursting.
Veteran players advise stealthy flanking approaches from the west to clear roof positions. Grenades also help considerably by suppressing or killing the deadly machine gun nests. Once you handle the altitude advantage, move between buildings clearing and looting methodically.
With insane loot density, new AI threats, and plenty of regions left unexplored, Lighthouse currently contends as Tarkov's most dynamic map. The future northern expansion and southern lighthouse also hint at even more replayability soon.
Whether you crave long range firefights, white-knuckle CQB versus Rogues, or just reliability filling your stash, Lighthouse is a must-try. Load up your best kit, study the guides, and see you by the docks, contractors!