There are so many parts of this game that seem designed to stop onboarding, no new players allowed.
How is someone supposed to learn the maps? If an external source is almost required to do the most basic things, then it seems like an issue
Same goes for quests, how am I supposed to know what building you’re talking about when there’s no indication on what each one is actually called? Let alone finding a specific corner to put something in.
I also just got a quest that requires you to play arena, that seems unsavoury, you need in order to play this game I have to buy your other game? Really?
It’s tricky, because some of the game is really fun, but it seems like it was made to be impossible to pick up, like an exclusive club for veteran players.
It boggles my mind how they onboard new players, I understand a hardcore experience, I’m a fan of them, but if players are forced to use outside sources to even understand the most fundamental parts of a game, then it might just be bad game design.
I’d never have been able to have accomplish anything without the help of youtube guides. God knows how the first lot of players ever figured anything out when it first dropped.
Those were the dark times....we don't speak about those around here.
Yeah but the game was a lot smaller in scope back then. The knowledge base grew with the game.
Kinda like a boner.
??
I mean, he's not wrong. It got bigger and harder too.
??
Woods.
How? We suffered, we spawned in separate area while grouped up, we wore paca and kiver and used AK series weapons because M4 wasn tin the game yet...we got killed by scavs...really fast...we still havent escaped after 8 yrs
1 tapped from buckshot 900m away from a full sprinting scav doing a quick 90 degree snipe when only your arm is showing behind a tree... Good times
I try to tell people about before the m4 was introduced everyone was running ak’s or pp’s. Hatchet running was really prevalent because people were trying to learn where there quest was.
Used to love being a Hatchling sprinting to marked without a care in the world 😂
Hatchet running was prevalent all the way up until the found in raid and run through changes
it’s just tedious work by going into practice mode maps and finding shit out
pixel-sniffing in offline raids
I personally completed part of batya quest line by myself till the point where you need to find the triangulated signal position on woods, I searched all around the med camp as I thought this was the intended place
We just played and learned. Folks expect everything dumbed down/ handed to them now. There are maps, videos, sherpas, LFG groups now.
Tarkov 🙂
“then it seems like an issue” “how am i supposed to know” “that seems unsavory” “made to be impossible to pick up” “then it might just be bad game design”
yes, welcome to tarkov
Honestly this guy basically figured it out pretty fast
Check out Pestily "the raid" series on youtube. Its a lot of videos but he goes through basically everything you need to know starting from zero. The wiki is a tremendous resource as well. We all started from zero it takes around 300hrs to not be horrible at this game. Either you enjoy learning from failure or this game isnt for you.
Sounds like it isn’t really for me, cant really justify spending that amount of time on a game
Better to stop now then before you get addicted lol
Fair enough it's not for everyone
I’ve been gaming since gaming existed. Tarkov is without exaggeration the game least respectful of your time that I have ever experienced.
That being said; the systems, simulation, ambiance, intensity, have absolutely no peer. There is no game like Tarkov.
After years of playing the combination of both of those statements pushed my friend group and I into PvE. It’s less competitive, sure, but it’s incredibly immersive and fun as a group still (more of an RPG in PvE mode).
the juice is worth the squeeze
Quit while you're ahead then, tarkov is like building a bridge over a moat with countless corpses, it'll feel like shit until you're a few hundred corpses in and suddenly you're over the gap and it clicks. But yeah, this is a game where crossing 1000h played is kinda when you can stop considering yourself new to the game.
Literally just play the game. This sub loves to pat themselves on the back on how super hard this game supposedly is
Sounds like Tarkov isn’t for you then. It takes a lot of time to learn and it isn’t friendly to whiners and complainers and people that feel bad for themselves, it is extremely punishing and unfair and might just not be the game for you.
I'm in the same boat, you need to find a Sherpa to help show you the ropes. Even with one I'm still having trouble learning the maps.
It doesn't help that at least one of the maps online is displayed upside down and that the in game compass works by counterclockwise rather than how most compasses work ( tarkov compass says 90 degrees is west when every compass I've seen has 90 degrees as east
Words can't express how much i hated this way back when they added the compass. It seems like they can't do basic things right or that it's intentionally shit.
The game has issues, but a lot of the nuances that seem wrong are done intentionally. Nikita wants the game to be hard and ball crushing because that’s how life is, especially in Russia.
I kind of respect that he’s kept it this way all this time. He has had every opportunity to make the game cater to mainstream.
Maybe play a few offline raids for some of the more complicated maps (Streets, Labs, Reserve)? If you have the time it doesn't hurt to try to find and explore all the main POIs and extracts and how to navigate to them safely from spawn.
Even the vets learned on external sources, to be fair. Big mountain to climb these days though. The biggest thing is that the bottom 1/3 of the playerbase went to pve Tarkov. Might not be a bad way to learn, then jump into PvP for the first ‘season’ in the summer.
When you say bottom 1/3 it seems derogatory. People need to understand that new players would rather not go against other players with 7+ years headstart of game knowledge, and then you have cheaters. PVE is just a great mode for people to learn the game until they feel at least somewhat caught up to veteran players
They are the bottom. It’s not derogatory. They suck at a video game. Probably because they have more real life priorities.
Saying someone sucks at pvp on a game like tarkov shouldn’t bruise egos.
I wonder what percentage of people that start playing PvE just to learn so they can stand their ground in PvP actually come back and stay in PvP.
I started playing about a year ago (PVP), about 500 hours. I probably won’t make it to terminal or kappa any time soon but I made more progress every wipe and I’m just chipping away at tasks. Hideout is almost all level 3 and honestly life is good in the game. I use guides and maps for sure but I’m learning it all and need maps less and less. I compare it to an FPS souls like to some extent, a game that also never holds your hand. Take your time and just keep playing, imo juice is worth the squeeze and it’s probably my favorite game ever at this point. Nothing has ever compared to the tarkov feeling. (Yes it can be buggy yes there’s cheaters and yes it’s not the most optimized, none of those things have made me feel like the game is to worth playing yet) killing a prestige player every now and then makes it all worth it.
That’s the fun part, there is no new players! It’s the same people collected over the past 8 years with 2k+ hours! This is all they’ve done dozens of times for the better part of a decade
Step 1 is stop trying to have fun, it's not allowed.
Find a group of friends to play with. That helped me the first 500 hours until I felt comfortable to solo.
That is a really long time to commit to a game!
That is still considered new. This game is very deep.
500-ish hours is still considered new for this game. I'm still learning things 5,000 hours deep.
The game is intentionally hard, but the gameplay and rush of actually getting out with a big haul is something you cant really get anywhere else. 500 hours is a huge amount of time but in a game like this where even a slight change in route through a sketchy pvp area or the risk of going into a place with a potential boss spawn and needing to deal with the boss and then the players swarming you or an unlucky shot taken means you need to heal up and get out much sooner than anticipated? Not all that long. Dont get me wrong, the game is horrid for new players and having to pay for pve doesnt really help, but having friends who play is the easiest way to get through the game and start enjoying it, until you get Tarkoved again.
When it used to wipe, you just assumed your first wipe ever would be trash.
On the bright side the game doesn’t wipe so you’ll eventually progress.
I dont think anyone plays this game without the use of external wikis, maps and videos.
That’s my point! You shouldn’t have to use external stuff, I don’t have an second monitor so getting a map up isn’t really an option
It's a Hardcore game this isn't cod. It's meant to be more real like a full sim. Just as in real life you wouldn't know these things if you didn't look it up or go there. You will need to devote about 150 hours to learning maps , loot locations spawns and extracts . This game isn't for everyone I will tell you that but no other game comes even remotely close in gun play and sheer volume of gun modifications.
No second monitor here. Been playing for 6 years 1100 hrs using my phone browser, apps and tablet to help.
However your heart desires is the answer sir
You need a Sherpa. Someone that knows their shit and can show you the ropes. There’s a ton of shit ton to learn in this game and you’ll suck for like the first 2000 hours - but once you’ve figured it out, it’s one of the most nuanced FPS games on the market and it kinda ruins all other FPS games.
Quest wise, use the wiki. You basically need a second monitor with the wiki open. Start making list for quests / hide out items using sticky notes. These lists will help guide you where you need to go / what your objective(s) are for that raid. The wiki has some interactive maps but I personally prefer the map genie ones. They’re slower to update but it generally has more useful information/ways to filter information. Burn your scavs on cooldown to learn maps. Try to focus on a map for a little while so until you kinda figure out the lay of the lands/extracts. You can check the current flea value of any item on sites like tarkov-market. Start learning the ballistics page on the wiki too. Ammo is more important than what weapon you’re using.
I can tell you point blank I would've quit and never looked back early on without a guide. This game has one of the worst onboarding ramps I've ever seen. By 40 hours you're barely competent on like one or two maps. I only play PvE and actually hate it solo. But it's on of my fav co-op games ever. I'm lv 27 now and never queue up solo anymore. Just wait for friends to drop in discord that they're jumping into a raid.
There is a free of charge practice mode in the base game you can use that and the external sources are the means of the modern players. OG players learned by trial and error. It always was like this and frankly if someone can‘t learn the game while just playing and trying and dying then the game isn’t for you.
You learn like anything else…by doing it. The fact it’s not easy, that you have to figure things out to succeed…that’s why people love this game. There’s a reason so many people have loved playing this game for years. You can figure out all the maps by playing them and exploring. It wouldn’t be easy but it’s doable.
That’s why I love this game. Games for me are enjoyable when they are challenging. I get bored so quick when there’s nothing to figure out.
People have figured out the quests without guides. I’ll agree that some of them are extremely hard to figure out without guides. I think they could improve a lot of the quests by providing better hints and make the corresponding objectives make sense. There’s one quest by The Rapist where you have to mark terragroup containers on Customs…but some of the containers you mark aren’t even marked terragroup.
Side note: Nikita did say they’re going to add a comprehensive tutorial for game mechanics. I think that would be good because a lot of them are not super easy to figure out without looking it up.
The fact that it’s basically impossible to do most “find/mark x” quests without the wiki is incredibly poor design and you know it. 2000+ hours here and I sometimes still need the wiki. There’s a big difference between challenging and stupid.
I had the same issue when I first started and I quit. I eventually came back determined to learn it, but a friend of mine basically had it down and he walked me through EVERYTHING. He explained the entire game and mechanics and about the traders, what to sell and who to sell it to and why, and so much more. Without his help, I never would have continued playing. I really enjoy it now with the knowledge he shared. I think some of the new players just need someone to hold their hand for a little bit to get a grasp of the game and its mechanics, because once you get it, it’s so much fun.
Fuck PvP though. PvE is what I prefer and is a lot more enjoyable.
Here we go with another master race tutorial enjoyer
I don’t get it. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. Educate me. Clearly an insult, but it doesn’t bother me. Just curious what you’re referencing.
Me explaining it is not going to help you
I don’t care. Just explain the insult. Won’t change how I think about the game or you as a person, just curious.
lol no
Well that’s a shame. I was looking forward to laughing at myself. Welp, have a good night
Facts
Maps can be learned in offline raids. Quest texts give you general ideas where to look, than you have to search and combine hints. It also makes sense because how does the character magically know where every quest item and location is in other games.
The game's designed as a marathon and also as a "F around and find out". Heard of Minecraft? A few years ago there wasn't the craft book and achievements were also kinda meh, so if it wasn't for it's popularity and therefore a shit ton of videos for it, how would you know how to craft a pickaxe: F around and find out.
The wiki and external maps are just for our impatient baby asses
Minecraft, especially when released, is a single player game. It doesn't have a time restriction and dying for the most part is no big deal. It also doesn't have tasks that need you to find a specific small spot to place something without giving a proper description.
So stop talking out of your ass.
So? Philosophy of Minecraft was try out and find out. Philosophy of Tarkov is try out and find out (and get butt fucked).
What does being singleplayer have to do with it, except it's "easier"?
The tasks and challenges are different but remain on the same philosophy.
Ask your parents to hold your hands.
Or just use the fucking wiki if you don't have any patience, skill, and especially will to explore.
Baby ass players ong
Yes the game design on Tarkov is hard. But not bad just because you don't understand it.
This might come as a surprise, but not EVERYTHING needs to be for EVERYONE, you are not entitled a helping hand. That's what makes it unique.
Achievements mean more when there is struggle. If you don't like that, then just play something else. It's not changing.
That’s just how it is homie
I think I just have the maps on mapgenie or whatever on a second monitor. I removed everything besides extracts and location names, and I've got pretty much everything memorized now besides Labs.
It's supposed to be this way lol.
Offline raids and turn off scams. Explore. Find locations or missions then dive in for real. Dont try to learn the map or objective in a real raid. That or use a guide. Even then, first times on a map are best in offline mode
Practice mode to learn maps, parkours, extractions, and landmarks. With or without enemies to practice with is your choice.
The Wiki for detailed info on every item and task.
That’s just how it works.
We all did consult the Wiki for every fart of info and printed out community maps in A3 to look at while we stumbled around and got shot in the kidney
Welcome to tarkov,enjoy your stay. Badashtaya
Probably intentional. The devs cater to streamers and no-life's. Neither of those player groups give a fuck about new players and in fact often seek to prevent new players from clogging up their gameplay experience.
Just accept that all your hours in other shooters matter less than 5%.
Someone with dog aim will get the kill on you 10/10 times if you don’t know the maps or how to move around.
You have to learn.
Buy game, upgrade pc, watch guides. Try offline mode to learn maps, upgrade pc and get second monitor, put maps on second monitor with a wiki open. Load in raid, dead off spawn, rage. Load in raid, shot by scav while looting. Decide to try Arena, proceed to get the floor wiped with your face for 2 hours. Go to sleep defeated.
Wake up, sort stash, load in raid, kill a juicer and get excited af, go to loot him and forget there is always one more. Die. Stand up and take a walk outside, breathe a bit... and then head back determined.
Welcome to Tarkov.
Other than the quest. People usually learn how to play through their friends. It not i would just wing it and watch a guide on youtube if you really need to.
It’s the barrier that Tarkov created to see if you’re committed enough to playing this video game. You gotta want it
Honestly I also really don’t mind arena, it’s decently okish fun especially with friends and you learn how to use Tarkov weapons and bonus I get to send money and xp over to my PvP account which is sweet for keeping my networth healthy.
I switched to PC gaming AND learned Tarkov as a new PC gamer, it was absolutely brutal, but it does get better. Tarkov doesn’t care how you feel or what you think unfortunately whether your new or die to a game bug, you just gotta get in there and start getting dumped on, fail, fail again, it does get better if you truly enjoy the game. I came in pretty late so I still love the game even when it sucks, I die to some bs I just go right back in lmao. Embrace the suck till it gets better or you simply just may not make it, I got so close so giving up when I first got them game because I didn’t even knew PC key binds well at all besides WASD better yet knowing anything at all about Tarkov and where to go or what to do.. Videos help a ton, hop in the public Tarkov discord, sometimes there is chill people over there that don’t mind to help out.
Yeah its always been really bad for new players. Some morons will try to shout at you for adding anything to make a new player's learning experience more smooth for 'muh hardcore!' While complaining about PVE players in the same breath.
Making the game easier to learn and get up to speed doesn't compromise its difficulty or 'hardcore-ness'. Its not making the game easier. Simply making learning less of an obtuse, tedious task.
There are plenty of in game indicators as to what building is which. The game is made to not need external sources, it's just hard and more time consuming.
The only way to learn the game is to play it, except for quests absolutely always have tarkov wiki up on second monitor.
PVE
It’s a mind game with many elements. This game is for a challenge, if you don’t want that challenge. This game isn’t for you.
You either enjoy the risk & reward. The killing of real players being ultra satisfying or again, this game is not for you.
I tried for several years. Failed. Lost interest each time.
I finally bought a bunch of services and played like end game, then wiped and started once I knew the system. Accounts were banned, bought a new pc and new account and now am level 43. I get the system and I hate the system. But I am invested. Find a different game, this one will never love you.
Idk but literally everyone playing did at some point
What helped me was having friends who were learning as I was. And I was super interested in getting better simply to prove to myself.
everything you said is correct.
Spend a lot of time scaving and using a map to reference things and eventually learn it. If you’re also looking to find people to learn with or people to help play with join the tarkov discord and go to the beginners chat or go into looking for group.
You are not, it plays you. Thats the thing
Not even ingame maps with the extracts marked. IN AN EXTRACTION SHOOTER!!!!!! ^ ^
offline practice raids
quest items will spawn so you can see where they are before going back on live raids
gotta do your homework
the juice is worth the squeeze
Youtube, Tarkov is one of those games, where you have to look up everything on the internet. It is almost impossible to do anything without relying on other sources.
Needing external resources, like a map, isn't an issue. DayZ is another game that takes hours of play just to navigate and have any clue where you are.
The quests give you clues and you go in raid to search for those clues. You can do offline raids for practice.
1.0 brought new quests and areas. Watch how people figured those out and now you know how it was figured out in the past.
You're encountering a steep learning curve. Most games hold your hand during the early phase. Some games kick you out in the cold and let you learn by dying, repeatedly, welcome to Tarkov.
Yeah its hard. It is almost like its designed to deter retention.
Записывай.
We ALL as new players used an external source to learn the maps. It’s not an issue.
We ALL as new players used the wiki for quests and struggled until we understood. Get over it.
You get a free trial for those arena quests. You DO NOT need to compete them to continue playing regular Tarkov without issue.
We were all new players at one time with the same struggles. It’s just part of the game.
Just saying, in my opinion, if you HAVE to rely on external resources, then that is poor game design, I like games that don’t hold your hand, but when things seem purposefully obtuse to make the game “more hardcore” is just a cheap way to make it so. A game should no have such a disregard for your time as a player, and if you are expected to put in hundreds of not thousands of hours to get to a point where you are enjoying the game, then it’s not only disrespectful, but just flat out bad and unappealing to most gamers
nah you just don’t like it and that’s that. Game is largely successful so to sit there and say its core mechanics are bad game design is laughable.
It certainly has good mechanics, there are just a lot of hoops you have to jump through
Of course many people enjoy the game, and that’s good! Having people engage with games anyway they like is always good, I never think playing a game for a long time is a waste, if you are enjoying yourself that’s all that matters. But you cannot honestly say that bsg respects your time as
Gaming in general doesn’t really respect your time. There tons of better things I could be doing with my life. But I choose to game. I’m disrespecting myself
I do think that’s a bigger issue in the industry as a whole, with live service games and battle passes and such. But Tarkov is certainly extreme with its disregard to your time,
I don’t think you’re disrespecting yourself, I don’t think anyone is by gaming, if you are having fun, or are enjoying your engagement, then that is not time wasted!
I’m just saying, a game that expects you to put in hundreds of hours to understand its basics is a lot of time, and to not at least acknowledge that as poor game design is a mistake.
I guess the reason I even care in the first place is that I can see the great parts of this game, the customisation, the gun play and tense battles, I even like the inventory management. But it expects such an unreasonable amount of time from me to fully engage with those mechanics, I suppose I just don’t understand why the devs have made it so purposeful obtuse and difficult to engage with, of course “hardcore” you can not hold my hand, that’s fine, but making me rely on external resources for literally everything? It’s kind of insulting as a player.
There is no quality of life. You can farm bitcoins on your hideout but still can’t take a pda into raid for check on your map or notes. You have to alt+tab.
Man I started like, 7 or 8 years ago? So many mechanics didn't exist yet that learning the game was fairly straightforward, you still needed external resources like maps or quest guides but there so much fewer painful mechanics to deal with. No sniper zones or other weird extracts, no BTR that might suddenly shoot you, no gun failures or manual loading or differentiation with heavy bleeds, no gazillion hitbox areas and armor plates, no insane maps like lighthouse or labs with crazy tweaked AI like when raiders were first added jfc.
Obviously all these features are cool to have and make the gamemuch more interesting but if I had to start over and learn Tarkov from scratch now, yikes.
I can get the frustration but from my perspective (I only play PVE, have about 200 hours in-game so far), your responses to the comments in here seem to shout you don't want to try. It's a hardcore game. Yes it would be easier if it's straightforward but that's not the point of the game.
Personally, I'd say if you are struggling, playing PVE is a really good way to get more comfortable with the base game mechanics and learning the maps. There are also a tremendous amount of resources (the Tarkov Wiki is a blessing for quests/finding specific items as well as Reddit. Plus mapgenie which works well for having an overview of the maps). But those require the additional effort to use them/keeping the maps up on a second monitor.
If you really want to give the game a shot and want to stay in PVP (opposed to learning solo like myself in PVE while watching some occasional tips videos like Pestily's raid series), find a Sherpa to help show you the ropes. But again, it's a hardcore game. It's not COD. It's not Destiny or Borderlands or any other shooter that has all instructions given. You are meant to learn. The mechanics, the maps, the quests, the items, the spawns, etc. That's part of what makes the game what it is and honestly, adds to the dopamine once you finally feel confident in those areas.
But that's my two cents, take with it what you will. Again I'll reiterate, it's a hardcore game. If you want a similar experience to Tarkov but slightly less hardcore, try Arena Breakout: Infinite. Similar mechanics/idea as Tarkov but in an easier to digest and play format that might be more akin to your liking. Plus it's free so no money investment needed initially (only played a dozen or so hours so not sure if real world money is applicable later down the line. If I remember right, I think it was just for cosmetics but I could be wrong).
This is how devs understand hardcore.
you actually gain access to arena for like 3 days when you get the quest though
The biggest hurdle to get over in the game is learning the maps. I have always thought it was stupid/ bad game design to force you to look up maps and learn that way. Truth is people only put up with it because nothing is like tarcov even with all the extract shooters out now. Somehow the devs think giving you no information about anything makes the game "hardcore" when really is just dog shit game design the community had to practically beg for them to even tell you what what your ammunition can do. every time I come back to tarcov im reminded why I always end up putting it down again, There are so many things that could be great about this game if the devs didnt shoot them selves in the foot constantly.
with a mouse and keyboard?. uh effort, if that's to much Call of duty might be for you.
Surely you understand there is quite a lot of disparity between the two, is a hardcore shooter that isn’t impossible to understand too much to ask for?
Yeah, that was uncalled for. That's on me, um just keep pushing forward, learn from your mistakes. Guides help, but like playing and doing are far more important. Don't give up, and ignore the dislike from people like me. Straight up. It's a learning curve but when you get it, it really is fun.
OP just ignore this arrogant fool. You’re right and everybody knows it.
Sad individual.
That could describe half the player base.
Yknow, I tried saying these exact same things once and I got told that if I dislike the game so much I should just quit. And then I didn’t quit, but I hated the game and myself for a really long time while I played it. Eventually, after a long time, I’ve learned most of what this game has to offer.
I agree with everything you’ve said, but the reality is it’s basically an “it is what it is” type of thing. All those veterans were once in the same position you’re in, except maybe some wipe specific changes like inertia, recoil, armor, or hardcore.
If you can get past the bad, there’s a lot of good to look forward to. The grass is absolutely greener on the other side, at least in regard to map and quest knowledge.
Incredibly poor game design. Welcome to Tarkov.
I’ve seen some of the crazy playtimes, it’s just surely you don’t play any other games ?
Once tarkov has its teeth in you you won’t want to play any other games
Ypu gotta realize this game has been out for over 8 years at this point. I got nearly 3k hours, but I started playing in 2017 and played in multiple wipes while completely skipping mutiple wipes. For example I came back for 1.0 release and last time I actually played the game before that was in 2021.
This is one of those wikipedia games. If I'm running Tarkov, then the wiki is also open.
Stay away from the toxic PvE crowd and you will be fine. You are going to be getting clubbed like a baby seal for the first couple thousand hrs it’s called “flavor.”
A couple thousand hours is too long right? I have a job and other games I want to play
Then don’t play it. It’s definitely not for everyone. I’m 45 and work full time in construction. I never even played PvP live service games until 5 years ago. It was always so difficult dealing with getting my ass stomped. Started playing COD and Apex but then somehow got turned on to this god damn Russian digital krokodil and now it’s all I play. The challenge is like no other video game I have ever played. The highest highs the lowest lows. Maybe just stick with it until the light clicks. Or don’t there is always ARC raiders or PAL world or something.
The people with thousands of hours have played for YEARS. The game is about a decade old. Also, plenty of great games have external resources that players heavily relied on to figure anything out. Minecraft, runescape, and elder scrolls for example
Unfortunately, not at all … most people find their confidence somewhere around 1k -2k hrs. You don’t need to learn everything all at once.
Focus on one map at a time and learn it through and through. Learn from each death, take mental notes where you died. Map knowledge is more important than being great at aiming. Do scav runs a lot. Try to get quests done with your PMC. You will fail often and that is part of it. It’s a trial by fire and it’s not for everyone … but when you stick with it there is nothing better, bugs and all. Tarkov has ruined other shooters for me
Try Arc Raiders, maybe this game is not for you
I enjoy arc raiders it’s really good!
I think you just answered your own question. If you're not having a great time with tarkov but you're loving Arc then you have your answer right there. I also think Arc is a great game but once I started playing tarkov (just a few weeks ago) a lot of things in Arc feel pretty meaningless to me, it's like comparing a meal prepared by a chef to a burger from an average fast food place. The loot in Arc just doesn't feel as meaningful imo, and overall Arc for me feels way less rewarding
Learn maps? Scav
Quests? Wiki
Arena? No you don’t have to, just if you want the benefit it provides
Every veteran player was once as new as you. Every one enjoyed the struggle and lots wish they could experience it again for the first time. If you don’t enjoy the struggle or the steep learning curve, play pve or a different game.
One thing that isn’t going to help is complaining and feeling bad for yourself.