Escape from Tarkov is now in an odd state. On the one hand, new changes to how gun recoil works, as well as mobility and stamina enhancements, have put the gameplay in one of its best-ever situations. The new Oculus audio technology, on the other hand, has been universally panned by the community for blocking any ability to predict where another person could be based on the noises they produce. Developers described what’s changing in forthcoming hotfixes in a Twitter thread from the game’s official account, and things look good.
5. Reverted the mechanics of quest reward skill calculation as it was before patch 0.13.0.0
6. Fixed the Fence reputation calculation for killing Zryachiy and his guards
7. Various fixes for icons and visibility of loot, ammo, attachments in the trading and stash interfaces— Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) February 10, 2023
The audio enhancements, as well as the frequently known invisibility bug, are two of the biggest ticket items on the way. In a game as difficult as Escape from Tarkov, every advantage counts, and if you can’t determine if footsteps are behind, in front, to the side, or above you because of six feet of concrete, that’s a problem.
The invisibility problem has various reasons, one of which appears to be a server connection issue and the other which is done on purpose via network and game mechanic manipulation. Hopefully, future hotfixes will solve both issues.
While not as obvious an issue for less devoted players, skill advancement has been an irritant, adding to Tarkov’s already enormous grind. Gear visibility adjustments will be welcomed by everybody, especially as more players progress deeper into the more challenging task chains, where they must swiftly discover the most valuable loot.
There are also improvements to DLSS, which has done very little to increase speed since the 0.13 patch. Grouping has also been problematic, and while it works in most circumstances, any simplifying there would be beneficial. Fixes to animations are also welcome, as are adjustments to interactions with Zryachiy, a formidable sniper NPC on the Lighthouse map.
In summary, everything about these impending improvements appears to be favorable. It remains to be seen if they really solve anything, but given Escape from Tarkov’s track record of success, the odds appear excellent.
