Escape from Tarkov

Thank you to Nikita and BSG for showing us how much we can trust you as developers. Your recent actions towards backlash and critisim from the community. Has shown me we are nothing more than ATM to your company. It is finally time for me to Escape from Tarkov. Thank you for showing your true colors.

I played Escape from Tarkov years ago and quit but now it is showing up everywhere on my feed. Something about new pay to win? Even though the premium edition of the games was already $120+ USD. From what I read they are adding a new addition that breaks some laws or something. The subreddit:

I Escaped From Tarkov, I think you should too.

Feels like we're going to get an influx of Tarkov players here soon, so I'm gonna copy-paste a comment I just had to send to someone else on the sub to clear a couple things up:

"This is not Escape From Tarkov. This is Gray Zone Warfare, a different game with different objectives and playstyles being encouraged.

Do you see Bitcoins? Vases? Cats? Lions? Chains? No?

That's because random dopamine-spiking loot everywhere isn't the goal of Gray Zone. It's about completing objectives, usually as a squad or platoon, and trying not to lose whenever you cross swords with competing factions on the map at the same time. They said there won't be a flea market in the Q&A, because they don't want money to be the ultimate measure of success in the game.

There’s vastly, vastly fewer items around the map that you’ll gain anything by bringing back with you. Selling to the vendors is never worth it (sell prices suck/you don’t gain rep that way), and almost all your money is made by completing tasks, not ratting for Bitcoins.

The game is intentionally designed to get away from the constant chest checking, and wants you to spend more time in PvE, PvP, and completing tasks. Part of this is due to the lack of a Scav system, which is where having most of that random sellable loot makes sense.

Instead at the end game it's mostly about one faction hopefully dominating their respective server through tactics and collective operations. Not lone rats creeping around the map with knives opening the same stupid ass chest for the 78th time today. Just pulling on that lever, hoping some sugar water (a GPU) will finally come out THIS time.

Don't get me wrong, I love Tarkov. But once you see the underlying mechanics at work, and see what Gray Zone is doing differently, one game sounds vastly more fun than the other.

Not slot machine fun. Actual fun."

Currently on the official tarkov discord server, people are spamming this copypaste as an angry response to what tarkov did, many streamer also came out against it.

For the context to those who dont play tarkov, tarkov is a seasonal, multiplay extract shooter that has a base price of 59USD, while having different p2w bundle ranging from 79 to 159. The bundle includes extra starter content and inventory space that a normal player would spend weeks to grind for each season, also has exclusive content such as gold gametag. Because tarkov does not have other in-game purchase other than the heavily priced bundle, players were OK with it, and thanks to tarkov's unique gameplay, the game gained a lot of popularity in the past few years, nearly every tarkov gamer that I know of, have purchased 150usd bundle because of the advantages it gives. Tarkov also had nearly no competitor, all similar contenders died one after another, the surviving tarkov competitors that I can think of right now are Chinese copy from Tencent and NetEase, and Call of duty's DMZ mode.

However, tarkov discontinued their most expensive "edge of the darkness" bundle (150USD) a few month ago and today they replaced it with a 250usd "Unheard" bundle. The bundle includes more p2w content such as

• extra pocket slot,

• increased start level of your character skill, increased stash space and even higher starting reputation with traders

• exclusive single-player mode that does not wipe each season

• exclusive hideout zone and even signal transmitter to communicate with other players in-game

• faster insurance pay speed, more sell slot on in-game market, and 50% discount on in-game cash service

• a "unique melee weapon" that is a 7 usd unity store asset flip

• AI will not shoot you beyond 60 meters after reaching max reputation with Fence (a faction in game)

Unlike the 150 p2w version, many of these are completely exclusive and are fairly OP in a such tactical seasonal multiplay shooter game.

Player and streamers are mocking this situation and even Arena Breakout, a Tencent's tarkov copy, came out to mock on the situation, made a tweet says "We will never scam our players unlike some other games! We will soon open our closed beta on Steam", basically a free PR for any Tarkov competitor. Another Czech based tactical shooter that was just recently released, called "GreyZone Warfare" is also mocking the tarkov situation, with a tweet "How many do you think our game cost? 35, 45, 55, 250?"

I’ve never played Tarkov before but I feel like I hate this dude.

Between matches I decided to stop tik tok doom scrolling and practicing guitar exclusively and over the past two months my skill lever has sky rocketed. What kinda stuff do you guys do in the 5 minutes waiting on a match to pop?

Long story short, my brother likes DMZ but hates having people come out of nowhere and killing him. I love the PvP aspect, but I can only do so much when we have a full team on us.

So yeah, is there a game like that that keeps the PvP out unless you knowingly enter the area, like The Division's Dark Zone?

Editing for clarity: First person only, so no Division or the like. Semi realistic mechanics, no bullet sponge enemies, and you can die just as quick. Military or apocalyptic real world scenario, so no zombies or aliens. Resource gathering and quests to run, like EfT, with base building being an optional mechanic.