Escape from Tarkov’s latest wipe is here, and that means two things. One, hundreds of thousands of players are flocking back to the platform. Two, there are ludicrous amounts of technical issues being experienced across the platform. It’s typical for these super-sized game updates from Battlestate, and traditionally, things tend to calm down within a few days.
However, everyone’s biggest concern at the moment is the new map that was introduced with patch 0.14 – ‘Ground Zero’. It has been described as a simple starter map that’s supposed to facilitate a softer start for new players, but it’s turning out to be a hellhole of an environment that’s causing people to rage uncontrollably.
Skill issue?
Ground Zero Is a Nightmare
Ground Zero is a unique Tarkov map. It has a level limit, and players over LL20 can’t access it – but Scav characters of any level can. However, it’s also the core location where four opening tasks are found, which means every single player in the game must go there to kickstart their task lines and progress through Tarkov’s loose story.
Do you see how the nightmare begins?
It’s a melting pot of chaos, as this small-form map – one of the smallest ever introduced – can house up to 12 ‘PMC’ players. There are spawn-based issues that are seeing teams engage in combat mere steps away from where they entered the map. Not only that, but the dense concentration of players on a map so small but so vital is leading to serious issues with campers sitting in dark corners or behind doors leading to choke points.
There’s a lot of verticality for such a small map, too. There’s an underground level, a surface level, and a second level to almost every building on the map.
For many players, the expectation for Ground Zero was that it would be a small map that accommodates solo players or exclusive groups, fighting against AI enemies and learning the ropes at their own pace. It has turned out to be one of the most PvP-heavy maps in the history of Escape from Tarkov, and players are bleeding kits.
It’ll arguably calm down slightly once players move on and get their quests completed, but it’s a gruelling slog right now.
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