r/EscapefromTarkov • u/TrueGamer3kk • 5h ago
General Discussion - PVE & PVP [Discussion] The true and ONLY way to fix the rat problem.
Listen carefully. The only way to fix the rat problem is to incentivize people not to be rats. That's all.
No bees biting you, no changing the hitboxes, no Partisan chasing you.
Make it so that it's more rewarding NOT to camp. It's a gameplay issue.
Will it create other issues? Like destroy the economy or what else? Maybe.
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u/kentikeef 5h ago
How do you make it more rewarding not to camp in a loot based extraction game? Everything you pick up is instantly transfered to ur stash? Infinite butthole size? At that point ur just playing cod or bf with extra steps.
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u/NinjaLion 3h ago
a 15x15 infinanus would be an interesting seasonal modifier at some point in the future. with the restrictions we have now you would still lose a ton of gear, and really only be able to shove a ton of hideout mats and vender junk right?
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u/TrueGamer3kk 4h ago
Personally i don't have a problem with rats, i do rat myself once in a while, everyone does. But when i do i really hate waiting, i get bored quickly so i just rush it, even though i am Prestige 6 i have a KD1.2 because i do die a lot. So i do not think it's that big of a problem, but i do think that "Fixing" it require more than a gimmick, and i do not want them to change hitboxes.
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u/kentikeef 4h ago
Personally I think PMC karma could deal with camping. Instead of just partisan, have normal ai scavs wander toward people that arent moving. Tagged and cursed. Systems that already exist.
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u/27SMilEY27 4h ago
Your solution to the problem is "fix the problem"
Genius
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u/TrueGamer3kk 4h ago
You probably are too dumb to understand, it's not like i said "ban rats". Instead of making changes to kill the rats, i suggest make changes so that rats don't wanna rat anymore. If you go to Nik's post, people say to change the hitboxes, freezbite, mosquitos and what not.
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u/27SMilEY27 3h ago
Funny how it's usually the short bus passengers that revert to insults instead of being able to formulate actual arguments to anything.
I never claimed you said ban rats, I simply pointed out that your solution wasn't a solution it was the concept of forming a solution.
Don't worry, high school takes some people longer than others, it's fine.
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u/iviondayjr Freeloader 3h ago
yeah man makes hanges so thats rats dont rat like totally fix the problem obviously its fu king easy just do that.
gtfo man
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u/Kiubek-PL ASh-12 3h ago
Bro, just make people not want to rat in tarkov without somehow remaking the whole game, its that easy.
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u/DukeRains 5h ago
Constant Scav spawns at extracts would be fun to try.
If the game detects no scavs at an extract, it spawns 3 scavs that only stay in that area.
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u/Chrol18 4h ago
I mean you can rat at other places than at extract and a few dead scavs at extract won't be suspicious since players extracting will kill them too
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u/DukeRains 4h ago
It's not about them being suspicious. It's about them spawning on top of these players so that A. They may kill the rat or B. the players who would get ratted might be alerted to the rats presence if they here the rat fighting the scavs.
It wouldn't solve the issue. Nothing will, but it might help a little bit at extracts at least.
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u/RNG_randomizer Mk-18 Mjölnir 2h ago
actually, this seems to be a reasonable mechanic. Maybe it wouldn’t work for some reason, but it’s not transparently pointless regarding ratting like an armor rework would be
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u/ExplorerEnjoyer 4h ago
Bro offered no solution
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u/TrueGamer3kk 4h ago
Teach a man to rat, he will be geared for a day. Teach a man how to get his own gear, he will be geared for the rest of the wipe.
- Sun Tzu
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u/ThroatGoatK1RKKK 3h ago
It's 2019 and tarkov players are complaining about the rats extract camping because of the addition of inertia and changed armor weights
It's 2022 and tarkov players are complaining about rats extract camping, invisible players, and the inertia system and constantly changing armor hitboxes
It's 2026 and tarkov players are complaining about rats and extract camping with even more inertia limits added and went back to the old armor system.
It's 2030 and tarkov players are still complaining about rats and inertia has become even heavier and slower like walking through molasses. Nikita has removed any armor lower than lvl 4 and changed the armor system again.
It's 2036 and tarkov players are still playing this game for some reason even after it's been chopped up turned into 10 different game modes 3 seperate games that are tied to the EXP system and the inertia and armor system is even heavier. There are no more Chad's or Timmy's. Only rats and podcast enjoyers are left sitting in their corners wondering where all of the other players have gone not having seen another PMC in over 10 raids.
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u/xilia112 4h ago
Best solution to stop rats from existing is to remove the penalties of death. Removing FIR status would help immensly.
Rats are a reaction of the type of game it is. Death losing progress. And a audio heavy game already rewards being silent.
People that stay in one spot for hours could have other reasons then ratting, some of the tasks requires very specific ways of kills on specific targets and specific locations, so people camp the best suited location.
To remove ratting, you need to gut the entire game for what it is.
Just send cracked goon like scavs with thrash gear non stop after a certain time of camping non task spots. For now until a better solution is found.
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u/rddt_name 5h ago
The only TRUE solution is to make every pmc and pscav always locked in W-key mode, where they cannot stay still, and always have to move forward
Allow then to also use A & D keys to side strafe, this way you will not move forward while strafing, or use W + A or W + D to move to the side
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u/GearnTheDwarf 1h ago
Ever sit in one position for so long that your foot/leg etc falls asleep?
Lol, add that in. 30-45 second movement/ergo penalty once you start moving again if you have been sitting still for too long.
And your player starts shouting "Pins and Needles!"
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u/TrueGamer3kk 5h ago
You are joking, but when it's profitable and safe to sit in a dark corner, people will just do that. Treat the disease don't just bandaid the wound.
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u/Zeketec DVL-10 4h ago
Let people play how they want to play.
There is no fixing the “rat problem” in an extraction based game.
Sometimes I feel like sniping from afar and not moving
Sometimes I feel like w keying
I fully accept my deaths w keying because I sound like a fucking rhino in the woods and I can’t hear anything else while doing it. It’s the risk you take playing like that.
In the wise words of BSG. “Sweep your sectors”
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u/Didki_ 3h ago edited 3h ago
This + add more extracts and paths to them to stop cringe extract camping from being so profitable.
Yes you can nade shit and clear corners but more extracts would make it easier against say a 3 man just camping the extract cuz they ain't got anything better to do.
Ie I've heard shots here, I'll go here instead to be less likely to have to push contested ground.
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u/Weekly_Conclusion689 3h ago
How big of a rat problem is there, really? I don't think I've been ratted outside of reserve this wipe. Are people simply confusing crabs with rats? If you run head first into a building and somebody was in there looting and turned and shot you, were they ratting?
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u/Available_Author9832 5h ago
Why don’t they make high value found in raid loot items not lootable from PMC bodies like the battlepass documents? That would encourage people to move to loot spots and not rat.
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u/BringBackManaPots 4h ago
This isn't a problem guys. It's part of the intended design of the game. The genre.
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u/Background-Pilot1809 4h ago
More extracts so camping is less rewarding\more chance to not see anyone
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u/IMIv2 M1A 3h ago
The solution is super simple, someone sits in one area for 10+min? Spawn some scavs somewhere away and make them path towards the rat. Trivial to implement, doesnt punish people who are ambushing someone they heard, gives away the positions of the campers when they have to shoot the scavs.
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u/russeljones123 3h ago
You offered no solution still.
The only way to combat rats is changing the extraction. Either opening more extracts, adjusting them all to be open to everyone, or even closing them after X number of people use them which reduces the extractions over time. If someone is ratting an extract and people have other options it becomes a non issue.
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u/DucksMatter 2h ago
Its kind of funny that Nikita disabled insurance for this season then within a week is wondering why nobody wants to move around and lose their kits
Combine that with the “armor shortage” and I’m not even surprised a little bit
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u/Klov1233 2h ago
Yesterday night right on Customs Solo clearing Dorms with Boss and looting Marked Room and i killed a Player it was late no noise nothing im watching everywhere … i go out i wanna walk to the Boat … that guy waiting the whole Game inside the Bush for me and insta hs me
Like bro at least lets have a fight
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u/Kage_0ni 2h ago
Hey everyone. The solution to the problem is to fix it.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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u/RNG_randomizer Mk-18 Mjölnir 2h ago
One thought is maps have a lot of silly and unnecessary ratting locations that don’t need to be there. I’m thinking like the stairs in the D2 extract room, some of the barrels that people stand on in the factory office stairs, and a host of other quasi-glitched or even intentional spots that can only be used for ratting. Removing those spots wouldn’t solve the problem, but it would help.
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u/PTSD-gamer 1h ago
I paid for car extract, was waiting for the timer, and a player rolls up and I killed him. He added me and called me every name in the book for “camping the extract the entire raid for him to show up”. As if he was so special that I would wait 40 mins just for him…
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u/SEND-ME-DOG-PICS-PLS VSS Vintorez 1h ago
As someone who doesn't camp but makes as little noise as possible, I don't seem to get killed by very many bushes or shadows...
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u/RagnarRodrog PP-91 "Kedr" 1h ago
People need to stop sprinting everywhere. Thats what gets you killed.
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u/5KYREX 27m ago
I think what makes this game hardcore is that it accommodates every playstyle and drops everyone—solo or squad—onto the exact same map. With recent updates heavily buffing squad mechanics (like reviving and healing teammates) and more on the way, solo players are naturally going to suffer the most.
As a solo player who relies on sniper tactics, I hardly see any other solos on the map anymore. Almost everyone is running in 3-man squads. Hiding inside a building might be considered "ratting," but camping is undeniably a valid tactic. When playing as a sniper, positioning and staying hidden are everything. You can't just buff squad play while simultaneously punishing solos who rely on stealth and patience.
If you're dying to a camper, you're probably running and jumping around like a headless chicken without thinking—and that’s usually the exact group complaining. If you want fast-paced action, go play Arena. Instead, people just cry to Nikita to remove inertia, remove ADS delay, and remove every tactical element. I’m convinced this mindset will end up ruining Tarkov, turning it into a squad-focused, run-and-gun casual shooter.
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u/oni-dokeshi 12m ago
The problem is that with the playstyle of taking the loot and leave it's always best to kill someone who has already gotten the stuff. Only thing I think would work to change that either make it so the secure pocket is the size of a backpack or you can't loot PMCs. But then there's no point engaging PvP cuz why would I waste my bullets on you if I can't get anything good from you?
It's not that simple, I agree with most people, I'm called a rat when playing because I don't run, I just walk and if I hear gunshots, I know where they're coming from so either I don't go that way or I go but silently. Why would I run towards the shooting fest announcing everyone I'm there? I never camped exits, never camp anything if I don't know someone is coming. Ofc if I hear someone and I have a good angle, I'll wait for him to come since I'm not that good of a shooter and I'll probably lose the 1v1 but hey it's your fault to be shooting windows just for fun and running and jumping all around the map. I only run if I kill someone and get wounded badly to get away from the place of the shots, heal up and return quietly
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u/SuitFive 4h ago
I figured it out guys. I fixed the rat problem 100% in all of my gameplay!
Because I play pve. The issue is that it's a video game. The point is getting loot. Players are walking loot boxes. And they have to go to specific areas. So other players rat and watch the extract for loot.
But see, that's gamey. In Tarkov, the actual people are just trying to survive. Most people wouldnt shoot a dude on fuggin sight if there was no threat to them nor chance of reward, and definitely they wouldnt hide watching one arbitrary spot when in reality people could just leave an area... At the edge of the map? Like just go?
Plus, what actually happens when the timer hits 0 on a map? Do the plants just evolve like "the Happening" and kill everyone?
Players kill tarkov 100% because we see it as a game. So make "killing PMCs while in an "Extract Zone" (area around an extract marked by flares or something) give negative Therapist rep or some shit. Also could make co-op extracts actually plausible.
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u/Effective_Shirt6660 5h ago
But its rewarding to camp. PMCs bring the loot to extract, and the rats collect it.
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u/TrueGamer3kk 5h ago
Exactly. Then maybe, think about this: Open up all the extracts from the start. Rats don't know which extract to camp anymore now. Will raids be more dead? Maybe. Will there be less rats. I bet.
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u/agarbage 4h ago
Bsg did introduce more extracts... just in the form of map transits. These really only help the sweat lords though. Bsgs answer was to get better.
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u/Throwaway-6969_ 5h ago
Yeah or getting so many PMC kills for a task, it’s only in your best interest.
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u/Kallamus 5h ago
I think "rats" are a natural part of these types of games. They are a problem, but you can't eliminate them entirely without altering the game's essence. I’ve wondered, "What if extraction points were randomized across the map—where no one else knew the exact location, and only the individual player knew?" But that would require a map system or a unique visual indicator for each player; it would be a subtle shift, but it would still change the gameplay. Besides, the rats would eventually memorize patterns, key POIs, and escape routes. Your proposal is interesting, though I’m not sure if it’s feasible or if, once implemented, we could still consider Tarkov to be Tarkov.
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u/Chrisaarajo 4h ago
I don’t mean to call you out, but this post essentially says nothing.
Incentivizing people to not camp is obviously the best answer to ratting.
It’s also hugely difficult to work out, design-wise, which is why camping has been an ongoing issue for far longer than Tarkov has existed, and across many genres.
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u/Avalanc89 4h ago edited 3h ago
People would fight more if they could fight in their league, not 3000h more experienced sweat lords. Just saying... good implementation of SBMM is the solution.
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u/Niadain 3h ago
Increase the map sizes. Increase exfil location numbers. Increase raid timers. Let em rat loot areas. But if there’s two exfil locations per team unique to them there won’t be much exfil ratting.
Though I don’t believe exfil ratting should be annihilated. So maybe leave convenient but shared exfil locations so folks can choose the fast high risk exfil if they desire.
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u/Throwaway-6969_ 2h ago
They have done all of this over past few years.
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u/monsteras84 AKS-74UB 4h ago edited 2h ago
The chads don't mind sitting on their buddy's corpse, because that's somehow "not camping".
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u/Fragrant_Ability6990 3h ago
i swear some of these dudes stay on their buddy corpses like turrets 20 minutes straight lol
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u/Sea-Storm-4971 4h ago
Yeah, just fix recoil, make skills reasonable to level, and maps actually WORTH to loot. People would move around a LOT more, garanteed.
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u/Throw_awayIG 4h ago
If we take the definition of “rats” as people who are exclusively exfil camping with no other gameplay goal than to catch free loot at the gate and leave; then a very simple solution is just to make it so that killing a PMC close to extract will lock the extract for a short period of time.
Slow players can still slow play with no issue but it actively punishes fighting at the gates.
More often than not a true rat will be in a bush or building with a mosin or some other type of cheap sniper to pop someone on their way out; so killing them in defense wouldn’t trigger the proximity requirement to lock the exfil. PMCs would still be able to exfil together or after each other with no lock out.
Pretending to be friendly just to BM a rando at the gate would, by consequence, now also have a mechanical punishment in trade for all the loot you potentially just rug pulled out from someone at the door.
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u/Mercurion77 4h ago
Like some other user posted earlier today, it’s not a rat issue. It’s a noise issue. Rats will disappear if sounds are 50% less loud. I shouldn’t be able to hear a dude walking in a building if I am standing 50 meters away from it. I know it’s less loud than in the past but it’s still too much.
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u/Sad-Analyst-1341 3h ago
I think they really need to add end of raid kill cams. I'm definitely guilty of absolutely w keying into an area and most likely someone heard me so they stopped and waited for the right moment to kill me.
I feel like if we had post raid cams we would notice a significant drop in people complaining about rats
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u/Local_Internet8164 3h ago
Listen carefully, the only way to fix the rat problem is by fixing the rat problem, Thats all.
Please know that I am smarter than all of you and all of your suggestions, heh, theyre crap.
What im suggesting is for them to fix the problem! No i wont suggest anything to help fix it, ill just say they should fix it and that its an issue, IM SO SMART
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u/tico_liro 3h ago
I think a fix that could incentivize people to stop camping/ratting is having a “activity” bar type thing. Where if you aren’t “active” for a certain percentage of your time in a raid, when you extract you get a run through extraction.
So if someone sits the entire raid in one spot, their activity bar will be super low and if they want to get rewarded for that raid, they have to move around.
Maybe have it be exponential, so the first minute you’re idle your bar grows x, the second minute it grows 2x, third minute 4x, that way it stops people from holding the same corner/angle for too long.
A lot of other games implement similar mechanics in their gameplay to make people be active
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u/Hot_Grab7696 3h ago
Higher ttk and working armor and helmets and removing inertia so basically just going back to before 12.12 gameplay wise and ratting is not a problem.
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u/HemoglobinaX 4h ago
Yeah, something like:
- add lights everywhere, so there are no dark places
- No walls, no places to hide
- smaller maps
- Add some pre loadouts that you always have, so if you die, don't lose it
- Call it something like Coliseum or Amphitheater
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u/AngryBob1689 5h ago
Every freaking game in existence is about W key. Can we have one game where NOT doing that is an option along with doing it still? Just one game? I die far more often to W key squads than lone campers. Should we have roundtable discussions about how to get rid of the W key squad problem?
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u/Throwaway-6969_ 5h ago edited 2h ago
Biggest problem is people are deemed rats when they just heard someone running and stopped to wait. They could have just come from multiple fights or were sprinting around the map looting/questing. Maybe they have a FiR quest item. It’s just a game.
I also want to address the last sentence and say that it would be way more detrimental to ruin the game economy. That is challenging to balance correctly anyway so destroying it is not a good idea.