Situational Awareness and Map Knowledge

In Escape From Tarkov, every raid is different. Your spawns on the different maps are different. Your opponent’s spawns are different. Many variables could change the outcome of the raid. This guide will teach you the fundamentals of how to use the maps’ spawn points and different locations within the map to your advantage. 

Escape From Tarkov has some of the most detailed and exciting maps for you to fight in. But it would help if you learned the maps to be successful. Some of the maps are huge, taking some time to learn. You can check out my Ultimate New Players Guide.

Spawn Points

At the beginning of each raid, all players are simultaneously deployed to the map on different spawn points. Therefore, it is critical to have an idea of each map’s spawns to provide you with the knowledge to predict where the players are and where they plan to go next. 

Some spawns are incredibly close to each other, and a firefight could break out within the first two minutes into the raid. Without the proper knowledge, it could be a quick way to end the raid.

High Traffic Areas/hotspots

Each map has different hotspots, which are usually filled with action, depending on the objective that you’ve set yourself. You might want to consider heading straight to the hotspots or evading these hotspots to increase your chance of survival. 

Scav Boss

Most maps have Scav Bosses, but they don’t spawn every raid. Instead, they have a percentage rate of their spawn chance. If they do spawn, They could be told apart from players by gunfire, and they usually spray in full auto. Depending on the Map, Scav bosses will have unique weapons of choice that they should have equipped. The most noticeable ones are 

• Reshalla and his guards with AKs on Customs, shooting full auto in hotspots on Customs like New Gas Station, Dorms, or Fortress. 
• Shturman will almost always have an SVDS on him, and his spawn will only be in the Sawmill on Woods. If Shturman engages a player, you can hear his SVDS across the map.
• Killa on Interchange is also very easy to recognize. For example, when Killa engages a player, he often shoots his RPK in long bursts.
• Glukhar and his armored guards sometimes can be hard to tell where he is spawned. Due to the amount of spawn location he has on Reserve. But he does have six guards. They could be told apart from the rapidly thrown grenades or the constant shooting of their AKs.
• Sanitar on Shoreline is possibly one of the hardest to find since he and his guards have a wide range of weapons to choose from and a couple of spawn locations that are far apart. 
• Tagilla on Factory is quite a hit-or-miss situation since he has a unique melee weapon that he could charge to players. However, he could practically not use his gun at all. So, for Tagilla, you will have to look for him actively. 
• Cultists, on the other hand, only have a chance to spawn in night raids. The problem with spotting them is that they usually hide in bushes and not show up in thermals. They almost always have a silenced weapon. It will be hard to know if they have spawned from a distance. 

Putting Your Knowledge Together

It is beneficial to master one map at a time, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to a single map. Sometimes it is great to alternate between different maps. Once you become well versed in a single map, you should have a breakdown of the raid you are about to go. It would be best to start planning on the character menu before loading it into a map. With proper planning, it would go a long way. 

My breakdown before and during a raid, 

1. Identify the map and your objective. Then, depending on the map and objective, I would choose weapons and gear that are best suited. 
2. You should prepare and think about where you spawn during your deployment phase. Once you deploy, you might run into players very soon. For example, suppose you have a spawn location where you are confident that a nearby PMC or PMCs have spawned. In that case, you have to anticipate whether they will attack you or not. There are two outcomes:
   1. You are looking for a fight, 
      1. You have to locate your enemy right away. Then you can either rush straight towards them and attack them before they know you are here. Or what I recommend is to predict their destination and wait for them to come to you. This way, you will have the advantage of choosing where to fight. Furthermore, you usually will have a much better chance at winning the fight if they come towards you.
   2. You are evading the fight,
      1. It would be best if you still tried to locate enemy PMCs and predict their destination and their motives. Once you have done that, you can either,
         1. Leave the area right away and go towards your destination.
         2. Wait until your enemy has left the area. 
3. Suppose you choose to fight and have successfully neutralized your enemies. In that case, you should always expect another squadmate to be present to be camping their squadmates’ body. I would suggest checking any possible spots and quickly looting the body. Also, since you guys have fought and fired many gunshots, you could have attracted more players to check out what is happening. It would be an excellent opportunity for other squads to third-party you. (third-party means when two parties are fighting, a different squad comes in when they are in their weakest spot.) 
4. Once you are done looting, you should consider taking the win, playing safe, and going towards your extract. It is worth it to take the win and reset. 

Additionally, doing any quest or just looting the last item for your hideout could benefit your progression. And progression does not mean PVP every single raid. Sometimes you want to relax and loot at your own pace without any disturbances from your enemies.