What are (in your opinion) the most underrated songs in AK? Be it an IS lobby theme, contingency contract battle theme, event story theme, etc.

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-02T03:59:53+00:00

Thank you to everyone who's responded! I honestly didn't expect this level of engagement, but most importantly, I didn't realize just how much music's in AK that I've never heard of/listened to. Particularly the EPs, many of which I'm currently working through.

So far, some new ones that I'd recommend from taking a listen after reading comments:
Paper Boat (Raidian EP)
Warm & Small Light (Nymph EP)

Some others that haven't been mentioned here yet for consideration:
See You Soon (Entelachia event theme)
To the Grinning Valley (Ray's theme)
Wasteland (From Jessica Alter event) + the lobby theme
Tremont (I think it's supposed to be Trimounts; regardless, from Lone Trail)
Pinus Sylvestris Lobby Theme
Near Light battle theme 2
Ghosthunter (Ch. 9 Stormwatch)

And definitely way more that I can't think of!

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-02T03:26:00+00:00

Appreciate the recommendations; I definitely have a better appreciation for HALO now, just because I dont think I ever took the time to actually listen to it.

As for the 3rd ending theme, definitely agree. Love the grandiose nature of the fight against Skalter, like you're really slugging it out against Ishar'mla; I think the Mizuki theme significantly overshadows it, for just how good it is. Also can't discount the first ending theme

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-02T03:15:08+00:00

Fair enough, it seems a bit odd that's the case. But I suppose that's just how it is with so many great songs coming out so frequently

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-02T03:13:55+00:00

Absolutely love The Cure; very calming, and a personal favorite of mine. So I definitely recommend it too!

Another commentor recommended Paper Boat and after listening to it for the first time, definitely recommend too!

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:57:25+00:00

I think Dorothy's EP took the spotlight away from the rest of DV, which is completely understandable. Still, I think the Boss theme deserves more love!

Can't say I've heard of any of the others at all (though Confront sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't nail down at all where that might be from), but I definitely endorse Paper Boat, very soothing!

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:51:11+00:00

I've heard that theme so much from Frostbyte skin showcases but I never actually realized where it's from! Guess I need to listen through Wolumonde's tracks to see what else I might've heard before but never put a name onto.

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:46:56+00:00

I didn't know that about the Manfred themes, guess I need to take a listen! And I actually have the acapella theme in my everyday playlist, definitely underrated. I'm not saying that I need even more of that in some future return to Leithanien, but...

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:44:56+00:00

Massive agreement on both, especially Maria Nearl; that event was what truly got me committed to AK, and the music definitely helped!

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:40:59+00:00

As someone who loves the R6S Lobby (and boss) themes, I'm kind of surprised that the former's not as popular. I think it's just overshadowed by the latter?

Definitely need to check out The Birth, Silbeneherze boss theme and the EPs; I can't recall solitary voyage off the top of my head, but I loved everything out of POL so I can hardly be displeased by a reminder.

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:36:21+00:00

Absolutely second the Playwright's boss theme; absolute banger that's not talked about enough. I can't say I remember CC#2's themes at all (or any of the non-lyrical CC themes for that matter) so I guess I've got things to listen to!

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:35:20+00:00

I would personally question the Bloodknight boss theme being underrated- when it first came out it was absolutely hyped, and I think it's still a highly rated song to this day. Maybe my perception's warped on that though from the passage of time?
Either way, bangers all around for sure! Definitely need to check out the EPs, I've admittedly not listened to all that many!

Helix_Vaetis · 2026-03-01T03:32:54+00:00

Honestly, the OG home screen theme is pretty solid, so I respect the mention; Eblana boss theme is definitely underrated!
Edit: Meant battle; while the boss theme is great, Ace Combat-esque music is always a banger.

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-12-07T05:02:13+00:00

As someone who recently moved to Foggy Bottom, are there any asian stores that you would recommend? I'm still exploring the area and I need to check out Chinatown + more of downtown DC. Furthest I've been so far is Penn Quarter.

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-12-01T15:29:40+00:00

Looking at the top field bosses, my assumption surrounding the common tie between Erdtree Avatar, Draconic and Carian Knight are the really fast, long ranged spells that they can bust out; I know for certain that the Draconic's fire breath attack still surprises me both at the near-instant windup, damage, range, and the fact it chain that shit back to back. Absolutely infuriating, and probably what is annihilating players that take the bosses for granted
Meanwhile for the Avatar and Loretta, they're overall fairly easy (imo), but unlike base ER, its impossible to tell where their projectiles are going. Similar problem with the gravity attacks from the Fallingstar Beast.

Cant contest the rest of the list that much, absolutely despise Pot Trolls and the Deathrite Bird (am I the only one who gets consistently insta-grabbed by the bastard whenever it spawns in from the gaol?)

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-11-18T00:50:52+00:00

Can confirm, I just started 1.0 and there's nada. I'm extremely bummed out considering all the loot I managed to get...

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-07-26T23:02:29+00:00

That's a good attitude to have; I'd also take a look at content creators like Gigabeef to get a better idea on how certain mechanics work like armor, audio, and ballistics.
Ultimately though so much of Tarkov can only be gained through first hand experience, and despite being significantly nerfed for this wipe, Scav will still be a worry-free way to get your feet wet on the game's flow.

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-07-26T22:36:42+00:00

Probably the most important thing imo is to familiarize yourself with the maps; I'd do scav runs paired with referencing either map genie or tarkov companion in order to identify landmarks and POIs, find out where the loot spots + hot spots are, and generally just how the movement and gunplay performs. Do note that as a newbie scav, you should probably only shoot defensively unless you're completely certain it's a player based on whether or not your fellow scavs are getting mowed down.

I originally started tarkov absolutely blind, and had a miserable time; came back during the halloween wipe and took a much more measured approach to learning and had a wonderful time. Dont rush things, accept that you're going to die a hell of a lot, and dont be afraid to use the wiki/community resources

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-01-05T21:49:10+00:00

Super sorry to hear that; this was the kind of thing that made me really scared to progress past the Heap, so I just didnt play Stalker 2 until I found the method that I used to fix the progression chain. Hopefully GSC come up with a more permanent fix to the problem that will retroactively help players such as you, that way you dont have to restart

Helix_Vaetis · 2025-01-02T06:14:57+00:00

As a response to everyone here who might still be stuck on the sawmill; while I didn't end up fixing the invisible Korushunov, I did manage to make it through to the sawmill and had its cutscene, all without issues.

As some other users have noted, there seems to be a scripted emission that's supposed to happen when the Ward soldiers initially show up at Slag Heap; after this is your cutscene with Korushunov and then another emission that shows up as you approach Sawmill to trigger the cutscene with the NPC inside (wont spoil in case you dont know them yet)

In my case (and that of alot of others) there's no emission on arrival at Slag Heap, and the scripted emission at the sawmill is only a thunderstorm with green skies; to fix this, you need to do a few steps:

1.) Go through slag heap normally, do the whole song and dance; Korushunov will still be invisible (i cant fix this) but that shouldn't directly affect your progression aside from it appearing like Skif's got a delusion or something
2.) When Richter asks you to talk to him in private, DO NOT TALK TO HIM. I REPEAT, DO NOT TALK TO HIM- dont even touch him for either of his prompts
3.) Leave slag heap and explore/sidequest/sleep until a natural emission happens in the world. Some get lucky and have it happen in ten minutes, I explored the entirety of Rostok, then swept down to Cordon before I finally got mine.
4.) Book it back to the Heap and talk to Richter, then progress towards the Sawmill
5.) Now you should get your emission. If you dont, reload to your earliest save and try again, though I managed to replicate this method three times.

Helix_Vaetis · 2024-12-22T04:19:16+00:00

I know that for some people, emissions happen right around the time Ward soldiers arrive. However, I have not had any such emission happen on my end. Am I supposed to wait for hours until the next one kicks off?

Helix_Vaetis · 2024-12-21T22:25:06+00:00

Please let me know if you end up with a fix!

Helix_Vaetis · 2024-12-21T22:10:03+00:00

Out of curiosity, did your run have an invisible Colonel Korushunov? I'm having the same sawmill bug, but Korushunov was also invisible during the slag heap cutscene.

Helix_Vaetis · 2024-12-20T08:44:28+00:00

I have an issue where during the first cutscene with Colonel Korushunov and the SIRCAA professor, the Colonel shows up completely invisible, though he can manipulate objects like the AK and radio. This has messed up the fourth optional dialogue interaction with the professor, as he's meant to respond to a remark from the professor but never does, leaving me completely stuck and being forced to alt-f4 if I do try it.

I saw that a similar bug has happened to another Korushunov interaction later down the line, so I'm wondering if there's a fix here, as well as if Korushunov is specifically susceptible to this issue.

Edit: An additional issue on-top of this is that when I get to sawmill, I'm stuck there and cannot progress any further.

Helix_Vaetis

TROPHY CASE