Is Tarkov's Cheater Problem Getting Out Of Hand Again? (2024)

Greetings of the day, fellow Tarkovian.

As the war in the Norvinsk Region rages on, Tarkov’d newsletter brings you daily intel to keep you in the fight 👊

In today’s email:

• Is the cheater problem getting out of hand again?

• Veritas opens up about his recent struggles with streaming

• Evasion 6 Qualifying Teams Announced

• Everything you need to make millions of roubles on Woods

But first…

This is an easy choice, slaying out in Tarkov with an N64 controller isn’t something you see every day. Impressive.

That’s right the unpleasant topic of cheating has once again reared it’s ugly head in the Norvinsk Region.

Lots of people are talking about it, some crying, many frustrated.

This current cheater wave likely comes down to the player numbers thinning out mid wipe as people naturally hit to max traders and fade off to play other games for a while.

The people who certainly do not fade off to play other games are the cheaters who are making IRL profits selling various services or items.

Things like carry services and in game item delivery are big money makers and will likely never go away, as long as there is a live in game economy.

You may feel like "aw I’ve not seen many blatant cheaters this wipe” which isn’t uncommon.

But it’s important to remember that cheating comes in many forms including, the more subtle radar hack.

Radar allows people to see where everyone/thing is on the map.

They can avoid combat completely or be ready for combat ahead of time, which in a game like Tarkov, is a colossal advantage.

Imagine knowing who was in a 100m vicinity of you at all times and when someone was about to wander into your line of sight?!

Those types of cheats are often impossible to detect by other players.

Stay calm and don’t buy any carry services or in game wares for IRL money.

It’s these purchases that perpetuate the ongoing black market that gives rise to the brunt of the cheating you will encounter in game.

Other than that remain vigilant and report anything that’s suspicious.

Most importantly, maintain a positive mindset where possible.

Even though the problem persists, the frequency with which you’ll die to a cheater is still fairly low IMHO, labs notwithstanding.

One surefire way to ruin a tarky session is to start looking for cheaters in every death and calling cheater when there’s no real reason too.

EFT is a very brutal and difficult game, we all die… a lot.

Often, you won’t know why or what happened.

A good thing to do is…

Record your sessions and watch back every death.

You’ll find that suss deaths are often not so suss on the replay and easily explainable.

You’ll also learn a lot and get better at the game that way, which is what it’s all about right? 🥰

One of the absolute OGs of the Tarkov scene, Veritas, wrote an open letter today.

I’ll link to it below.

Sufficed to say it’s a sobering insight into some of the challenges that can arise when you put yourself under the spotlight as a video game personality.

I believe streaming any game can be a very hard gig, especially if your full time at it.

But Escape From Tarkov is a different beast.

Not only is it incredibly brutal to play, it’s laden with frustrating bugs, design flaws and overall it can seriously test your mental health.

Now imagine this… Your having your worst day in Tarkov…

Death after death. Dealing with suspected cheaters. Busted scavs. Inventory bugging out.

Salt is inevitable.

Meanwhile, you’re also dealing with a rabble 400 mostly nice people in chat and a small but vocal minority who are intent on needling you and winding you up.

That’s a tough day at the office yet this is what it means to be a Tarkov streamer at least some of the time.

It ain’t as easy as they make it seem.

If you’re someone who lives for schadenfreude and enjoys trolling and deliberately making people feel bad, you might want to reassess your life and figure out where it went wrong 🤷

Check out the full letter here

After an intense week of qualifiers, the teams progressing to the full competition for Evasion Season 6 duos has been announced.

Did any of your favourite streamers make the cut?

Personally I’ve been watching a bit of the UK boys Hayz and Azzey who did brilliantly.

I also caught a bit of Gingy & JayBayBay who were wrecking customs when I watched. Quality gameplay.

The competition proper is sure to provide some great content.

Let me know who you’re pulling for?

You want roubles? You’re in the right place.

When you hear the word “WOODS” what goes through your mind?

Getting one tapped from an unseen sniper?

Getting camped trying to find Jaeger’s letter??

Getting blown up by landmines?!

OK OK, I hear you, if you’re not in the 0.0001% of the player base who LOVE woods, the idea of doing a loot run and making a lot of money there might seem strange to you.

But, the sneaky under the radar fact is that Woods is actually a massive money maker, if you know where to go.

In fact, if you know where to go, to stay out of trouble, you can consistently bank 500k-1m per successful woods run.

Back when they opened the Woods expansion (Dec 2020) they seriously buffed the loot and it has been a great loot map ever since.

Plus, once you start to get really comfy with woods, it’s so much fun.

That’s coming from me someone who never used to like it, understand it and in fact, hated it.

Check out this video from @tweak if you want to know how to get in and out with the goods, OK?

Pogcast Ep 93 With Veritas, JesseKazam & DanExert
@ThatFriendlyGuy interview on @tarducks podcast
Pestily Hardcore run through this wipe picking up some steam: Episode 10
Some sick Veritas highlights for the day

Well that’s about it for today folks!

Thanks for checking out today’s edition, I hope you enjoyed!

If you got here via direct link and enjoyed, don’t forget to subscribe for daily Tarkov goodness in your inbox!

Drop me a reply any time and let me know your thoughts on todays news and your current thoughts on how the game is going.

See you same time tomorrow, for now, P&L!

@nicksofps