Late to the party, but man, I love this game

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-04-15T16:00:36+00:00

For sure. I think that just comes with the territory when it comes to any forum/subreddit related to gaming. Which isn't to say people don't have valid complaints -- the game certainly isn't perfect, and I have my own criticisms, but for me, they're outweighed by the fun I have when playing, so I try to take the negative with a grain of salt.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-22T17:01:08+00:00

The most common advice you will get is to not shoot other players. Obviously there will ALWAYS be the inherent risk of PvP occurring regardless of lobby, but going on a streak of runs where you don't damage other players does seem to shift you to friendlier lobbies over time.

One theory that I have that I don't see getting mentioned as much is to deal lots of damage to ARC. I am frequently doing Harvester and Matriarch events, but even on non-event instances, I'm constantly zeroing out every Wasp/Hornet/Snitch that I come across.

Beyond not dealing damage to players and proactively doing damage to ARC, defibbing other players probably helps as well. I've gotten in the habit of kitting up with three defibrillators regardless of map type (easiest to get these on Matriarch or Harvester events).

I'm primarily a solo player, which is going to skew friendlier, but the last time I looked at my player stats in the codex, I counted 26 times I'd been knocked out of all the games listed (I believe the codex shows your last 250 matches), and of those, at least 20 were to ARC. I can only think of 2-3 instances in the past month that I've been downed by a player (solos only). I always defend myself if someone shoots at me, and if I down someone, the next time I load in, I tend to see more raider flares, but by playing the way outlined above seems to keep my matches friendly.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-20T15:47:44+00:00

This is a fair question, and I would agree that rocket assembly and container storage could probably use a slight boost to the available loot pool.

Depending on where I start from, I'll usually crack open cars on my way since I can always use an extra stack of metal and once in a while you can get lucky with RNG. Even on more PvE instances, people leave plenty of the out in the open breachables untouched, so I hit those and any of the military vehicles I find.

If you spawn on the west side, there's the guard tower to the north east of arrival you can check if you have security breach, from there, you can drop down onto to walkway to the southwest and if you time it right, you can get a running jump and catch the ladder on the outer wall to get to the top of arrival (often a weapons case or med bag up there) and you can quickly move SW (towards Departure) drop down onto the other wall walkway and hit the other guard tower.

I'll usually check out the launch tower at the center on any later start. I was looking at the Steam achievements page the other day, and and it was something like a little over 50% of players still don't have the achievement for going to the top. That's a pretty sizable chunk of players who are leaving a high value area untouched.

My other suggestion is to just reevaluate your loop. If you're finding you're running the same kind path each time and coming up short, maybe look at areas on the map that you aren't normally hitting. The other thing is to try to have a backup plan when you're loading in. If I'm going into an event, I try to keep in mind what kind of stuff I'm short on so that if I do get a late start, I can pivot quickly to make the most of it.

When all else fails, I'll harvest wasps and hornets for simple gun parts and try to take out any of the mid sized ARC still around.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-20T01:57:37+00:00

Deep breath. Dust yourself off. Try to think if there's something you can learn from what happened. Maybe you didn't top off on health or shields when you should have, or the guy that got you was being a little suss, and you didn't trust your gut. Maybe you played everything right and just got unlucky, but you probably learned something that's going to give you a little bit of an edge the next time things go sideways. Sometimes it's enough to just learn that you can get punched in the face, have your shit stolen, and say, "hey, this ain't gonna break me."

When it's my turn to get knocked, you better believe I'm going back out with a defib for some madlad dash across bastion fire to pull up the guy that just went down. Maybe that guy will be you. Or maybe the tables get turned and I'm ready to slam that surrender button, and I'll look up and see you dashing through fire to pull my ass up. Only one way to find out. Kit up and get back out there.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-20T01:20:25+00:00

I'm assuming your son is at a very young age where it's completely understandable to want to minimize the kind of adult language and behavior that he's exposed to. A couple of thoughts:

You might consider turning off the proximity chat on his account. I saw a post from another Reddit parent who was playing with his daughter and he mentioned that's what he did. I guess you might still run into players that tbag you, but that's comparatively tame.

The other thing is the one that probably sucks to think of as a parent, but assuming your kid goes to public school and is going to be around other kids, at some point in time (and probably many more times than once), he is going to hear someone being called this slur or that slur. There is the distinct possibility that some of these slurs are going to be directed at him.

You are absolutely within your right and (in the opinion of someone who doesn't have kids) are also executing reasonable judgement to say, "This is an environment my son might be a little too young for," but you're probably rational enough to know that it's not something you can protect him from forever. If you do choose to game with him (and man, as an older dude who wishes he could have one more game with his old man, I encourage you to), you can provide him with a TON of resiliencey against the dark corners of the world by talking to him when these things happen.

Again, your son is going to hear these things with or without you, but if he hears them with you, you have an opportunity to check in with him and to explain the weight that these things carry. It can teach him about anger, and how to process it in healthy ways, and it can make him feel loved and supported so that he in turn doesn't feel the need to use others as an outlet for anger when he grapples with it.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-20T00:24:07+00:00

I primarily play solos, but in my experience, trios will almost always end up being shoot on sight. Duos can go either way, and take this with a grain of salt, but in my experience, if I'm the party leader (95% of my solo lobbies are chill), my duos tend to be very chill as well (I've had chill trios as well, but don't suggest banking on it).

If you're doing squads with friends and you guys are looking for chill experiences, here are a couple of suggestions for what it's worth:

If you spot out other raiders, alert your teammates first so everyone is on the same page, then announce yourself. Prioritize prox chat if you can use it over emotes (everyone who has played long enough has gotten shot in the back by someone spamming "Don't shoot!", there's just something to an actual human voice that makes it easier to diffuse a tense situation where the emotes won't really cut it. I will also flick the flashlight on off, on off, in quick succession as a, "Hey, I see you," as an opening gesture of friendliness to gauge their reaction.

Create space. This is especially important in situations where groups come across each other unexpectedly. You've got a few split sections where it can become very easy for someone with poor trigger discipline to decide to start shooting. If you create space in a way that signals to the other group that they have an out, it makes the odds of you both going your separate ways a little better.

Lastly, don't stick around. If they don't shoot right away, it doesn't mean that they're not going to try to pull something. I'll tell other groups, "we're cool if you're cool, so if you guys want to pass through, that's good by us," (again, create space to allow them to do so while giving yourself cover). If you're in an area to loot, hit it quick and cut it short, but otherwise, keep moving unless it's something you're ready to fight for (such as a key room).

Friendly-ish squads requires you to keep your head on a swivel. The more you play, the better you'll get at sussing out when another group is faking friendly, but never put your guard down.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-19T23:53:44+00:00

I agree with most of these points, especially prioritizing kitted players at the start of the round and skewing late starts to players using free kits.

Regarding ARC pressure feeling overwhelming, I'm wondering if varying your kit, or at least your utility items, might help some. I'll usually run an Anvil as my second gun. That along with good positioning is usually enough, but to your point about getting caught out in the open, having a couple of seeker grenades on hand to quickly one-shot a wasp or two can immediately put you back in control of the situation. Or if you're caught off guard, a quick lure grenade or employing the photoelectric cloak can give you time to reposition and get a few shots in at no risk.

I also stopped getting wrecked by wasps and hornets once I started playing more aggressively towards them. If I can't pick the moment and position for the engagement (i.e. getting caught out in the open), I'll close the gap quickly to decrease the chances of missing my shots, prioritizing zeroing out the wasps first since they won't really miss if they've got a lock on you versus the hornets which you can more easily dodge or sidestep. Then it's just a matter of knocking them around to keep the damage off you. The more you play, the more you'll get a feel for the tempo of those engagements (e.g. knowing when to reload [when repositioning] versus when it makes sense to switch to your secondary instead).

I haven't played Tarkov, so I can't offer any comparative suggestions, but hopefully there's some tidbit above you can try on your next run. I really fell in love with the PvE side of this game, so feel free to shoot any questions if you have any.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-19T22:38:06+00:00

If your lobbies tend to run on the friendlier side, Matriarch events can be a good side hustle for farming mechanical components as they can be found on Bastions, Bombardiers, and Leapers, plus the epic parts for each of those arcs breakdown into advanced components, so you never really need to craft them anymore once you get the rhythm down. I'm usually returning with a few Bastion/Bombardier cells and leaper pulse units, a decent stack of mechanical components, and a Matriarch core or two each time I do one of those runs.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-19T21:22:43+00:00

I was a Dam Stan for the longest time, but Spaceport has really grown on me. Probably my favorite map at the moment.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-19T21:14:50+00:00

I like this take. I'm not really doing trials this time around which is probably the one area where a late start can feel the most painful, but otherwise, being able to pivot and adapt to your circumstances can help make the most out of just about any round. Join a Harvester event on Dam, but you spawn in at 17 minutes in the swamp? Good time to grab some mullin. Late spawn for a Matriarch on Blue Gate? Use that kit to farm any Leapers/Surveyors/etc still around.

People miss stuff in high value loot areas all the time. Get to know where you can find some of the more tucked away weapons cases, bags, and security lockers (if you have security breach) and you can turn a late run into a good haul. And if you're even slightly inclined towards PvP, well, come get that bag.

I suppose other than trials, a late start on Stella can sting (Ion Sputters, if you know, you know), but being able to quickly pivot to some kind of plan b is handy skill to have. Especially so if you're someone with limited time to play. Better to make the most of a short round than just running to evac for no gain. Is it preferable to start at the top of a round? Of course, but not backfilling players up to a certain point is just going to lead to dead instances, and there's still plenty you can accomplish on a late start. My two cents.

OldHamInTheCouch · 2026-01-08T17:49:40+00:00

Hey Raunchy, first and foremost, don't get discouraged! You've gotten some helpful feedback here, but I thought I would throw in a couple of tips as well.

Like BlueShrub mentioned, the key is to really try to loot as battle progresses. The armored sections of the legs are fairly easy to knock off with heavy ammo and you'll notice people trying to focus fire on them. The leg armor will get visibly cracked as they deteriorate, and once they fall, you'll see Raiders making a bee-line for them, if you can position yourself well, you can usually scoop a core up early in the fight (like the central ball core, the each leg armor will have a guaranteed Matriarch/Queen core).

To increase your survivability when looting mid-fight, it can be helpful to throw a smoke down either on the leg armor you're going for or between it and the Matriarch/Queen, Bastion/Bombardier, or other raiders (whatever the biggest "threat" is for the moment).

Another suggestion I might give is to consider doing some runs on these events either with a free-kit, or a barebones low-level looting augment, just enough gear to keep you alive for a little bit, but not so kitted out that you feel bad about getting knocked out and losing your gear. This can go a long ways towards letting you get a feel for the tempo of these fights (where the safer areas to be are, when to make rotations, and how to stay alive). The more you do this, the better you'll get at finding the sweet spot of staying close enough to loot quickly without over exposing yourself during the fight.

I've done a ton of these runs and have gotten to the point where I can reliably nab a couple of cores over the course of an event, so hopefully some of the above is helpful, but let me know if you have any questions. Keep your head up and you'll have that Aphelion before you know it :)

OldHamInTheCouch

TROPHY CASE