Escape from Tarkov has received a new map for beginners, but even experienced players have trouble surviving on the map.
What kind of map is this?
- With the latest wipe, Escape from Tarkov introduced a new map called “Ground Zero”, which is specifically designed for beginners and is playable only up to level 20.
- Ground Zero is the second smallest map in the game after Factory and is located in the city area of Tarkov.
- On Ground Zero, there is a long road with damaged vehicles and plenty of signs of destruction. Another important aspect of the map is the walkable office buildings that you can find along the roads.
What is the problem with the map? Ground Zero has some weaknesses. These include invisible mines that are placed as map boundaries, but depending on the spawn position, players may not see the warning signs before running into the mines.
For example, some players report on Reddit that they hear the explosions of the mines triggered by some player in every raid.
Additionally, the map is too small for the relatively high number of players. There are a total of 10 to 12 players on the map. As a result, there are often fights early in a raid, and many players die in the first 3-5 minutes – which does not help beginners learn the game.
If you want to extract alive from Ground Zero, you usually need to fight against multiple squads. The stationary guns placed in power positions don’t make it any easier.
The biggest problem, however, is that you can encounter not only beginners on Ground Zero. Due to the wipe, all players are under level 20 and are playing the new map. Moreover, all players have the same starting quests that send you to this map.
Therefore, experienced players are wandering around on a very small beginner map and need to reach the same quest-relevant locations as the beginners.
“An incredibly fun map, but a terrible experience for new players”
What does the community say? Ground Zero is visually well-received by the Escape from Tarkov community, but the problems are a thorn in the side of many players. Particularly, the desire to allow fewer players on the map is often expressed.
However, the fact that all players are doing the same quests and therefore have to play on the map is also heavily criticized.
Here are some opinions from the community:
- TheFluBR via Reddit: “With the start of the wipes and the reorientation of the quests, everyone has to grind Ground Zero to complete the initial quests. This leads to a PvP-heavy map with several choke points. For beginners, it’s always advisable to stay away from PvP.”
- red-Spy_In-The_Base via Reddit: “Actually an incredibly fun map, but at the moment a terrible experience for new players.”
- Nicholas7907 via Reddit: “Ground Zero is not big enough for 10-12 players. I’ve been playing EFT for over 4 years and it has felt good almost every new wipe to start all over again. But with this patch, playing Tarkov and the early quests that force you to visit Ground Zero is just painful.”
- wwaarrddy via Reddit: “It’s a shame that Ground Zero is only a ‘beginner’ map… I really like it. I like the variety of buildings, the aesthetics of the map are really nice. Definitely not beginner-friendly, but I really don’t know how to make that work on a Tarkov map.”
Some players also believe that Battlestate Games may have miscommunicated in their description of the map. Perhaps it is not a map for beginners but the map that is supposed to represent the beginning.
The name Ground Zero also hints at the starting point of the prevailing situation in the city of Tarkov. With a wipe, the chaos begins, and the PMCs appropriately clash with each other at Ground Zero and engage in initial skirmishes, separating the wheat from the chaff.
In contrast to the new map, the new recoil system of the shooter is well-received by EFT players: “The best change in years” – Escape from Tarkov makes drastic changes and players love it
