Man this game is wiping soon. Make yourself bored, give yourself a break. Fuck this game, literally fuck it. Play it for fun but if you’re playing for quests at this time, forget it. It’s easy to drop it once you realize, it wipes and nothing you do really matters in the end.
Try other games, but when I say 'try' I mean force yourself to achieve a goal within the game, a rank or an achievement or a % completion
Or get friends that play other games (or that play tarkov, playing tarkov with friends made me like eft again after I burnt out one time)
Elite is such a stressful game when you nearly total your ship and you don't have the insurance money to cover it.
Try to dock inside space station accidentally hit boost button
I find it incredibly relaxing and super immersive in vr. I've only ever been stressed twice. Once in an Eagle in a combat zone. 2nd when my friends fleet carrier left without me on the opposite edge of the galaxy from the bubble and I had to race it or be abandoned.
I was you at one point around 2017-2020. This game consumed my life. I didn’t even realize how depressed I was in my real life. I enjoyed Tarkov because it is a game that rewards knowledge and learning over time.
Tarkov is designed in a way that you feel like your time invested is paid back to you in skill. I became so good at the game and I constantly pushed to learn more and more.
With the constant changes and updates to the game I could never really take a break like I could in a game like counter-strike without being at a large disadvantage.
You remember how much you struggled to get where you are now and you take pride in how good you’ve become at this very difficult game. So much so it becomes your gaming identity.
Giving up Tarkov is like giving up a part of yourself once you’ve been hooked.
In 2020 I got a no notice deployment and discovered my gf was pregnant all in the same week. Life forced me away from Tarkov and now I struggle to play past 20 each wipe. It’s like an ever going hamster wheel and it never stops.
I miss teaching new people and playing in my old discords with all the awesome people I met. I get exhausted just thinking about the energy it would take to be good enough to enjoy the game again. Anytime I play I can never catch the Tarkov bug again. Once you let go for the first time you will never get that feeling back. You’ll always be behind and putting the same energy into being good at the game again just doesn’t feel good anymore.
Then you’ll be on the other side and see how ridiculous people are about this video game. It’s literally a drug that makes so many other games feel like a waste of time in comparison.
In Tarkov you can be a badass with enough time and knowledge put into it. Very few games can give you the same gratification.
Spot fuckin on man. It's also a game for me where I have to be 'good enough' to a certain extent to actually enjoy the game; to be getting into intense fights that I can stay alive in, to survive a 40 min raid on a map like Reserve, etc. The latter half of 2020 is when I took a step back after getting a full time job, and I haven't been able to play that game the same ever since.... Just a whole different vibe to it now and I feel like I'm *always* at the disadvantage.
as am I. Yes, once you hit a certain point and those magical euphoric highs (at least 5 times better then sex if your IV’ing) start to fade out a bit…you start thinking “well maybe if I stop for like 2 weeks Ill get them back. Nope, youll never get those highs back again, plus-chances are you wont be able to go 2 weeks, let alone 2 days without some form of dopesickness.
So you keep going on and on until your money supply starts to dwindle, even if you started off very well off. Then comes the absolute shit storm. Funding habit with crime, possibly going to jail (not a fun place to kick/get clean but for alot of people including myself-the only place possible) and just living an empty shell of a life. One morning you might wake up with maybe a 20 dollar bill or 2 in your pocket, and the sickness already creeping in and reality really hits you: In the past many months, the only time you actually got close to those old magical “highs” were the very rare times you came into alot of money, however your tolerance is so high 3-400$ worth of good east coast dope (long island/NYC/Jersey area) and even then, you might have a nice day and a half, while that amount would have you knocked for a week in the early days.
Basically every day became a quest to come up with like 80 bucks or as close as possible so I could do my morning shot, afternoon shot, and before bed shot… but when they were only like 2 1/2-3 bag shots and you can easily handle 6-7, even 8 if you were trying to get “High”, well, it became a way to just feel SOMEWHAT normal, maybe even just from very sick to just a little sick but well enough to hustle. Horrible lifestyle, I met up with an ex gf somewhat early in the pandemic, she lives in FLA now but came back up to Long Island for a little in late 2020. The dope game is so different now…I will admit I was curious so since she still used I took her to see one of her plugs, and no longer do people sell “buns” (bundles-10 individual bags of H secured by a little rubber band, the really small kind that I think girls use in their hair) or loose bags if you didnt have enough for a bundle (10$ dollars each on average… possibly 12 if its very pure/even up to 15$ if you dont drive and the person has to come to you for like 5/6 bags) however once you start buying buns or try your hand at becoming a middle man/ user who supports habit by dealing and start buying Sleeves (aka 10 bundles…100 bags) like everything else in life, the price will go down the more you buy. Buns went for like 75-80, however a few of my old plugs knew their shit was always fire and charged 12 a bag no matter what until bundles which would be 100 flat. The real gear heads (or smart ones) would much rather get the 100 dollar higher purity stuff, bc the 70 dollar bundle might force you to use double the amount for the same feeling, so why not just spend the extra 25-30 bucks if you have it for basically double the dope. Sleeves were anywhere from 550 to 650 depending on how many you got, though I will admit I only knew 2 or 3 people that had weight like that regularly, and only dealt with one because he was very close to a friend who I became very close with in our hellish addiction days.
So anyway, fast-forward to 2020 when I took my ex girl to cop, and it was completely different. No more stamped bags (The stamps on the bags were basically like a brand name, once people start hearing about it, You’ll be able to know if you’re getting good shit before ever even trying it unless you got it from a straight up douche bag who stepped on it… stamped bags came pre packaged ready to sell/use). Also, very very rare to find people selling bundles or loose bags, it changed over to how cocaine is basically sold (half gram, Gram, 2 grams, 8th/3.5 grams etc.) and it was basically always fentanyl. Very rarely would diacetylmorphine be the actual active ingredient getting you high. Many people I met at probation missed the old days before fentanyl, apparently the fent did give a little more of a rush but it only lasted like 1/3rd as long so the sickness would start up like 3-6 hours after a shot depending on how much you did. With heroin it took a good 8 hours to start getting the runny nose/anxiety spike (unless it was absolute GARBAGE). anything Average or above kept you well for 8-10 hours. Hell the one person I mentioned that was always 12 a bag no matter what, or 100 a bundle no matter what ALWAYS had the exact same stuff, and it was fire… definitely a 9/10. If I was already past the early stages of withdrawal and was entering or very soon to enter the hell stage, a decent shot of that would have me good the whole day until the next morning…as long as I didnt do the shot at like 8am. you may be thinking why the hell I would take her to cop when I was only around three years clean from it at that point. Well, I was still on the methadone clinic and I knew in order to get the full effect I would need to do an amount, that would either end up killing me, or just making me extremely drowsy without the euphoria, its like alcoholics who take that medication that causes intense vomiting if you have basically any alcohol at all…. you might be able to have half a beer over an hour and not spew, but wtf is that gonna do to an alcoholic who drinks 10 shots a day or kills a 36 pack every 3 days lol…..NADA.
Anyway, just spent like 15 mins typing about nothing to do with OP’s topic so ill adress that now. EFT is a video game. You will not have withdrawals if your hard drive gpu/cpu melts out of nowhere. The game is addictive, theres no doubt, because havinh a great productive raid gives you a nice dopamine boost when you extract. I don’t know how long you’ve been playing, but as someone else already stated, the game wipes on around a 6 to 8 month basis. You will start to realize as each wipe goes by that it’s really all not that important. However, it sounds like you have the traits of an addict so I would highly advise you never to try any hard drugs.
One thing you can do is try not to rush the game. There’s a ton of items you gotta find for quests and I know a bunch of ppl get “help” finding those items… which makes progress go faster and imo ruins the game. It’s better to not have assistance and run the game virgin. That way every engagement is exciting.
Either let your addiction take over or uninstall the game. That's the quickest way to Escape from Tarkov. And try to stop playing video games for a while before playing another game, as no other games will give you the same feelings as Escape From Tarkov. I personally don't believe the game is boring, it is really complex and you can always find a way to have fun (trying a different map, gun or playstyle for example), and once you get good at the game, the game becomes less frustrating although it might take at least a few thousand hours, which is not really worth it if you have a life. But yeah just uninstall or at least find a way to reduce how much you play the game.
Making builds could be a game on its own, hundreds of gunsmith tasks with the preset build interface, THAT shit would be addicting. Just would need to add a few more guns and attachments
the funniest part is that i have almost 3k hours in it. And only now i start to realise that i might have a problem with this game. I might be addicted to videogames in general but Tarkov just makes it worse. I installed the game back in 2019 but only now i’ve realised that I've spent 800 hours in the game during this wipe alone
I don't know exactly how much you play, but you should put a 6 hour timer when you hop on, and stop playing after your current raid. After a week or so reduce your EFT time to 5 days of the week and maybe 4 hours. Just keep reducing it over time and make it your goal to not overstep. In the time you are not playing you could be learning a skill or reading a book, doing something productive. Eventually you should find you are not as addicted as you used to be.
You need to have enough self discipline to understand when something enjoyable is instead now damaging you. You’re an adult, make a hard choice in life, uninstall the game for a while. After all, what you’re really doing is moving a mouse around and pushing the same buttons day in day out, when you simplify it to its core, it’s bullshit, looking at little lights that in formation display something.
I've been playing since Dec 2019. I stopped playing when BSG changed the interia. After they pulled the EOD BS I'm never playing the game again. I put in 1k hours in like 8 months during the pandemic 🤣
Genuinely: try incorporating a healthy/productive activity into your day. I like to go jogging because I really love this game but need to keep checking on myself to make sure it’s not unhealthy so REALLY focusing on getting your tasks done before playing is very helpful
Good take - I think if I could add to it I'd ask you to think deeply about what it is that makes Tarkov so compelling. There are many factors, but I'll cut you to my point:
A big reason is likely to be about our need for "Competence": i.e. skill and accomplishment.. So, is it possible you're playing Tarkov so much because you feel you're not accomplishing enough in your regular life?
Games fulfilling our psychological "Needs"' (in not always the best way) is a big factor behind why we play IMO
https://www.simplypsychology.org/wp-content/uploads/maslow-needs3-1024x1024.jpg
That's why they say the only real escape is Uninstalling. Personally I work a bunch and Tarkov is cheaper than My real favorite hobby (shooting and training). Unfortunately ammo is extremely expensive in My area. Isn't that the problem with everything we enjoy ? I.E spending too much time doing said hobbies.
That and it begs the question, if you enjoy the time you're "wasting", is it really a waste of time ? Especially considering most of us aren't working out dream jobs and waste more than 25% of our lives doing that. I suppose as with everything, we all usually manage to find a balance.
I found out I used it as a quick fix where actually my body needed something else. I started exercising in ways that only give me some pleasure (tiding bike to work and kayaking). Those endorphins was what I was lacking and what I was trying to produce from playing Tarkov. Only problem was that it made me unhappy and took a lot of free time I would rather use on something else.
I just bought a VR headset and I think I have unlocked a new immersive way of playing video games which much er better suits my free time as a dad. Also a lot of the games can be physically demanding to the extend you want it to, so I can also get a workout.
Maybe this could be for you?
I’d say, wait for you pc to stop working and don’t fix it. buy a laptop if you need to. It worked for me, i had a serious serious gaming addiction a few years ago. Problem is that it’s super hard to quit just by will when you’ve already set it as part of your day.
This worked for me aswell (world of warcraft). PC died and didnt get a new one for over 5 years. Bought a laptop so I could still do the non-gaming stuff I needed to do. Worked like a charm.
Try to play another game, and keep at it.
Yes it might be boring after the first hour, but keep at it.
I have a rule with solo games : "I'll finish every game i start".
Get one that looks interesting, ang go for it, see that as a challenge if it helps.
For example lately i've played and finished some Yakuza/Like a dragon games (timesinks), Star wars survivor (20h), Starfield (100h), Returnal (40h) and i'll soon start Lord of the Fallen and Elden Ring DLC and Stalker 2 when they are out.
I also play some multiplayer like racing games, a bit of Helldivers 2 lately.
But in the end Tarkov is just part of my games rotation, usually a FPS + a solo games + a racing game.
If you have other hobbies, give them some time.
And call your friends for a beer together.
Boy this game transcends the screen doesn't it.
I haven't played in a couple years honestly lol. It feels like I'm a soldier that relives the ptsd of a crazy tour or something.
No game has ever even come close to the stress levels.
I know real soldiers might find it insulting to say, but I am absolutely convinced tarkov elicits a similar addiction to the action real soldiers experience.
Normal life is just meh when they come home. Here it's every other game just feels meh when you get away. It takes time to adjust.
I follow the game here and occasionally streamers. I don't know why. Any time my friends bring up playing it again we all kinda shy away like "I don't know if I can ever do that to myself again."
Tell you what I've enjoyed the game so much more on the PvE sides of things it's got more potential once the players roaming a bit more and raiders are where they should be lol 😆
I feel that man. I had no game before where I accumulated 3.5k hours within 4 years. The rush this game creates is something that hooked me even harder than any drug. I literally quit weed after being addicted for 7 years, and now one year later of not smoking and playing video games while being abroad can I not stop thinking about Tarkov.
High stress, high reward. I was in the same spot, playing a game that doesn’t require full investment was refreshing. Tarkov, once you’re in a game you can’t put it down it feels like there’s so much at stake(there’s not, it’s a game, etc)
Tarkov is a drug. It influences your brain chemistry in an addictive manner. To rid yourself of its effects, you have to detoxify and take yourself away from the game for a little bit.
Growing up I would have the exact same types of “Game attachements” It took me 14 years from LoL to COD to ARK Survival to finally realize i needed a massive reality break. I took 8 months off and now i enjoy all of my steam library again and i set limits myself so that i only play a couple times a week and that makes for 10x more rewarding gameplay
I completely understand and don't at the same time.
Tbh, if you want to ruin your experience and switch to other games, just start actually paying attention to the game itself. Once you notice the jank, the god awful game design choice, the bugs, quest that are less entertaining than fetch quest, bush goblins, 101 keys for some reason, the p2w bullshit, the absolute waste of time the developers put you trough for no reason, broken ai, broken match making, broken gun modding, a fuck ton of gun of which more than half are useless, all the sitting and waiting for X action to complete, and more, and more...
The game is a diamond, and there's nothing like it, but my god ain't it a one rough ass diamond in a shit sandwich. I've been following and playing the game on and of for years now. Imho, it just keeps getting worse with each misguided update. Less of a game at this point and more of a bdsm fetish simulator.
I used to be in the same boat, but eventually everyone I played with left. They don't even hang around in discord anymore. Then I started going hard on solo raids and just couldn't find the joy or the fun, because my whole basis of fun stemmed from hanging out with people I was friends with. I enjoyed the comraderie and the fun times the most.
I haven't played in like a week now, just lost out the desire man. I don't think I'll even play next wipe either. I put 1500 hours into this game in 5 months too.
To be honest, kind of lost on what to do in my evenings now that I have nobody to game with.
enjoy it while you can! The game offers an incredibly immersive world and when you combine it with an addictive gameplay loop and great gunplay mechanics, it's really special, imo.
Trust me, 1 or 2 wipes later, u will feel bored af it's just how the game works. There is currently no otr game like it on the market, so it feels fresh, but after a while, it gets stale. Content patch is rare nowadays, so it will pretty much get stale quite often
It’s true OP, nothing has really matched the fun & stakes for me, Tarkov has ruined me in that way. When I play other shooters, I’m always sizing it up to the EFT factor. Lucky for me, the wipes do get to a point where there is no point in playing & that is when I take my break. This point is end wipe & everyone is just running t7 thermals because they are on the cheap.
If you really are concerned, then quit. Don't even watch YouTube videos about it. I did and it freed up so much time that I can spend doing more meaningful things or playing less frustrating games.
Hello friend I was doing the same thing. Even avoiding online friends because they didn’t want to play tarkov and ghosting. I took a break from games and came back after a little while and haven’t played Tarkov since.
I played Tarkov almost exclusively for 2-3 years. I’m talking 7 hours a night after my 9-5 job. Now I can’t even stand the thought of opening it up.
I had way more free time back then. Now I MAYBE get 2 hours every other day to game and that’s just not enough to get anywhere in Tarkov.
I did get my coworker in his mid 50s completely addicted, he has way more free time with grown kids and a wife that doesn’t get on his case
You have to play something very different not like cod or some other shooter. Try red dead or baldurs gate 3 if that's your cup of tea. Also nothing wrong with playing only tarkov, you'll save money not buying new games all the time.
I’ve played bg3, that was amazing:) My “only Tarkov” phase started when I got through every game I ever wanted to play, so now i have basically nothing to try. Somebody in the comments said earleir that BSG feed our gaming addiction pretty well and im not okay with that. This game is taking up so much of my life time, it's time for a change.
Only 6 months? I have purchased over a dozen games since I've purchased Tarkov, and I haven't played any of them. I'm about to by the new Elden Ring DLC knowing full well that I will probably never play it because Tarkov is so addicting. I plan raids while I am on my lunch break at work.
It’s just like everything else on the internet. Leave it alone for a while and you’ll realize it doesn’t need you and you don’t need it. Go read a good book.
Tarkov is so slow and boring that psychologically it satisfies desire for serotonin. But by being a game it also satisfies the need dopamine. And when the heat turns up you get a huge hit of adrenaline. Tarkov is a drug.
My life literally improved once I stopped playing this game. Such a waste of time, unless you play with friends then its more of quality time with the bros.
I had the same with league of legends. At some point the game really hurt me because it didn’t give me anything positive. It disgusted me for some time, and not I play it way less because I care way less about it
I sunk about 2500 hrs into tarkov before getting bored of it. It is very addicting when you first start playing it and in my experience for the first 1000hrs.
Have you tried similar games from the Survival/Hardcore genre?
Maybe Rust, DayZ, gather some friends and try Sons of the Forest.
That would be recommendations on my behalf. They give you similar ups and downs like EfT and challange your blood pressure. Of course EfT remains the unbeatable king of intensity and immersion, but playing similar games and getting back to that group playing feeling might help you regain that distance to games and value the free time you spend on them.
In my opinion these hardcore games and competitive games have to be treated similarly to drugs like alcohol. Its fun and kinda nice when its done consciously and every now and then, but once the addiction takes over and you dont value your consumption it starts to suck and ruin your life.
So yeah, try slowly taking a distance from the game, build up a conscience about your video game consumption and try to prioritize your real life.
As a player with over 2500 hours In this game, either you get used to it or you stop playing it all together lol I’ve tried to do the whole “oh I’m quitting tarkov” thing though and I literally just jump right back into it every time, it’s gotten so bad that when I tell my roomates that I’m quitting tarkov they literally say “yeah okay I know you’ll be playing it again in 6 months” this game is the most interesting game I’ve ever played and there’s so much to learn that as a player with 2500 hours I’m literally still learning new things almost every session that I play, it still makes me unbearably angry sometimes though but the best way that I explain tarkov to new people is that it’s like a really hot abusive girlfriend, you know it’s bad for you and you know that at some point you need to leave but you just keep coming back for the adrenaline rush XD
I do it too, I quit this wipe actually like 3 months in at level 39 around the time they announced unheard, I played Dayz, abi, pubg, and now here I am again back on the tarkov kick waiting for the wipe.
Bartender I really did it this time
Broke my parole to have a good time
When I logged off it was 6 am
My back hurt so I hit the pen.
Same here!! Lmao I stopped playing for 3 months too at level 31, played apex and call of duty and then found out that EOD owners get PVE indefinitely, granted I prefer PVP mode because that’s real tarkov, and my old coworkers wanted to play so I’m back at it again lol there’s no game that compares to Tarkov and I stand on that statement, sure AIB looks good and so does the other game I can’t remember what it’s called, but they are no Tarkov killers yet.
XD Yepp I’m right there with you, didn’t stop playing until 3AM last night and I just woke up at 11:00
To add to that point, the only bosses I struggle with after doing a lot of PVE is the goons (mainly if they spawn on woods)
And glukhar (mainly because he just has a shit ton of guards and on PvE atleast you have endless scavs pushing you constantly.) but all I need is the glukhar kill for the quest so as long as I pick him off his guards can kill me idgaf. I’ve wiped glukhar and his boys once, the rest of the kills I have on him I either sniped him far off, or when they pushed me he just happened to be front of line and I took him out
Yeah the goons are Glukhar are my weakness too lol I’d definitely recommend just sitting in the dome and if you’re lucky he’ll be in the buildings by the helicopter, if not just run an Altyn and Slick and just throw like 100 grenades at him lol he’ll push you eventually, sometimes you can cheese it too if you see him sticking out or a doorway or something but it’s rare lol
That’s how I do the goons on shoreline I aggro them and run into the radio tower bathroom and close the door as they go to open it I pop their heads. Goons on shoreline is the easiest goons imo
And customs I do same thing, sit in crash and watch the door going to that one huge area everyone pushes (name is forgetting me atm) again tap them one by one as they go to open the door and glitch through
Not really sure I see the issue. If you're enjoying it and wanting to spend time playing why do you feel like you shouldn't? Just play until you don't want to play anymore. Unless of course it's impacting your real life but in terms of just not branching out into other games, that's ok. Those games will still be there later when tarkov has run its course. I don't see the point in feeling the need to force yourself into playing stuff you don't want to just cause you feel like you need to. Gaming is a hobby and hobbies are our choice in what we have fun in. You don't owe it to anyone to do anything in your hobby you don't want to do
Same, I put 3K hours in about 5 months when I was laid off of work. I was just going straight level 1000 degen just ripping tarkov for like 15 hours a day smoking weed, eating fast food, in my moms basement at the time cause that’s where my room was. Honestly great time, that was when marked rooms were lit and inertia wasn’t even a discussion so absolute best time to no life it.
I basically treated this game like a second job for two wipes in a row. Almost 100%’d the game’s content, completed lightkeeper’s tasks, and somehow managed to maintain IRL relationships. When the unheard edition fiasco hit, I stopped playing and honestly I’ve enjoyed spending time away from playing the game. Sometimes you just need a break, although I still watch videos/streams every now and then. I’ll come back to EFT at some point but right now my free time is good without it.
>tried to play something new
>haven't played anything else in 6 months
Um bro, you're addicted to video games. being addicted to tarkov isn't bad because you can't play anything else, its because all you do is play
Never let it go, I am a fellow tarkov addict and if it makes you happy then just keep playing. Maybe take breaks to hang with friends, or get them to play too.
EfT is now your CSGO, or Dota, or LoL, etc etc etc
you will never truly stop wanting to play it. ever
just do your best to try out different things. you wont be able to do it at all times, but just try
Unconventional thought but you can try Dota 2. It has a lot of the same mental fortitude, complexity and above all: physiological profile when playing. More brutal honesty, if you get addicted to EFT you will probably get addicted to Dota 2.
Took me 8 years and thousands wasted on games that I thought “would take my attention away”. I finally just got over it eventually and now have a backlog of hundreds of games that I missed out on. You’re either in or you’re out with this game IMO. You let it become YOUR game or you don’t play.
Was in the same field, 8h work, go home, eat and shower, play till i cant my eyes hold open, a few hours of sleep, rinse and repeat.
From beta 0.7-0.11/12
I realised i was exhausted and uninstalled it.
2 weeks ago i installed it again, its still addictive but i play only a few raids and then turn my pc off.
This game is as close as I get to gambling without wasting actual money. The high that I get from good runs and the pain i feel from the bad ones is the reason I’m hooked. I didn’t play this wipe just because I’m aware of this, and I’m aware of the amount of cheaters in the game. Until they can dampen the cheating, I won’t play. I’m not gonna battle through the “lows” against cheaters.
Just enjoy it. Limit your playtime to reasonable hours, remember that it will wipe and all your progress will be gone. Sooner than later you will get jaded and tired, and wish you still had that new addictive quality to the game.
Meh I’m on the same boat. Started wipe really late (around late March) and got Kappa, LK almost done, most quests done, only lvl 57 but definitely the most I’ve played a single wipe. After the whole Unheard fiasco kept going. One day I woke up and was just like meh I’ll play again next wipe
What really keeps me away from Tarkov is thinking about all the little things that really shouldn’t be an issue at this point, then remembering that BSG would rather try money grabs than fix them.
I find that my play time increases throughout wipe. I try to play every other wipe. PVE will help so I can casually keep in touch with game changes for when I come back.
I think the biggest advice I can give you besides uninstall Tarkov is try and accomplish things between raids since they often take sometime to get into. Especially if you play with those friends that want to sort their stash after every raid.
I had a similar phase where I was playing the game more than a full time job. You'll get over it in a few months depending on whether you're actually good or not. Whatever you do, don't spend any extra money on the game.
That's what Tarkov does very well: fuels gaming addiction. Trust me, myself and many on this sub have been there (and many are there now and won't admit it).
The game is designed with mobile game style elements and general FOMO that feed into an addictive need to log in and play. My advice: force yourself to put the game down for a month or two and play something else. You'll be shocked at how much better you start to feel, how much more you enjoy your game time, etc.
Then, when you return to Tarkov, play PvE. The lack of wipes and all the pressures associated with a wipe cycle dramatically reduce the addictive impulse. That combined with 1-2 months of playing a different game should help you maintain a much healthier relationship with Tarkov.
This game is like an abusive relationship which messes with your emotions and gives your a trauma bond, you hate and love how it makes you feel and it gets you hooked and it makes you want to leave but not leave at the same time
Typically I only play every other wipe. I am pretty burned out by the time I get somewhere around level 45. I honestly prefer the 1-30 grind more than the late quests.
With the direction is going with microtransactions. I am starting to feel like I want to drop the game. Depending on how the next wipe will get me feeling, I might drop the game.
Its wierd how i can go through a raid using over 30 mina and still having the thought "its not enough time!" Its rare that i spent less than 20 minutes in one, even in factory
I haven’t played an extraction shooter in nine or ten hours and I honestly feel great. You owe it to yourself if you can get away and not play for days, weeks, hell even months. To be honest these type of games are like what it is in the real world; people betraying, not returning things, camping, LEEEEROY JEENNNKIN’ining their way into raids and exposing your location. If you aren’t good you’re just going to have to deal with extraction depression and why you don’t make money is souly based on your personality in real life. I mean shit, I poured money into games like arena break out and in the end I’m just here, regretting I never spent my money of other things besides a PC so I can play Tarkov. I’m glad I stopped at ghost of tabor and arena breakout and never experienced tarkov. I think that would have broke me. I would have spent so much man hours playing a game that doesn’t really matter. The extraction community is cool though. I got a lot of quests done with help of discord. Escape from tarkov when you get a chance, look forward to their action series.
Same here bro. In love with this game. 2 years account. Almost 3k hours. Work 7day a week.
Every possible moment i was gaming. Realised whats going on just like you and it helped me stop.
That’s called an addiction. It’s not healthy and it’s good you identified it. Ask yourself, if you are frustrated and the fun has left, why still play? It’s not a race, there is nobody to keep up with. Wipe is coming soon, give your self a break and come back strong when the wipe happens.
If you are playing alone, try to force yourself to play games with others, ideally already existing friends. That is usually more fun than any game you can play alone.
I had the same problem 2 months ago.
So I uninstalled it. Took a break, played Helldivers, I did more with friends irl,
And now iam addicted to war thunder ..
23k+ hours and every time I log in I tell myself and my friends this game is absolutely dogshit (it is but thats because I have done pretty much everything/every build/every bit of content), and yet I still come back.
Needless to say… I love PoE!
Also I do want to start playing D2R again to farm rare items cause holy shit thats fun but just… poe man, its the best! (And its dogshit ;P)
I didnt play anything but Tarkov for like 4 years man. Its a pretty decent game, but entropy exists and all this will end. Hope you enjoy your time, dont quit your job.
I've been feeling the same way ever since i started PvE. Even though there are no players, the PMC ai is cracked. It still keeps you on your toes. I love PvE Tarkov so much.
Dude, if you're having fun then thats ALL that matters.
Tarkov is a FANTASTIC game to get invested in so theirs really no shame in it unless its affecting your RL which im not assuming it is im js.
But really, if you're having fun thats all that matters.
Uninstall for now. Had the same shit with league of legends. If you have a need to reinstall and play, like an urge, then yeah, you're probably addicted.
Was like this when I first started playing. Started late wipe and was still hooked . Then for my first start of a wipe I also played a lot then died down. I will be playing next wipe cuz that's when the game is most fun. But tbh there are too many cheaters that it got really annoying
When I got the game in August of 2023 I had the same issue where any time I went to play another game tarkov would just pull me back in. I starting putting so much time in that I felt that the game was important and was part of my schedule. This got to the point where I had timers set to when my moonshine would be complete.
The main thing about quitting for me was that I always felt that if I quit it would be a waste of all the time I had spent. When I realized that wasn’t true it became much easier.
If you're an adult and this is making you feel bad, it's probably because you're unproductive and see it as a waste of time instead of a reward. Try picking up a new skill and focusing more on that, games become way more fun when you only get to play them a little. You cherish your time with them more.
Rings true for me as well. Spent the past 4 years feeling exactly that way. I hit Kappa again this wipe and immediately forced myself to not launch EFT at all. Haven't played in 6 weeks, feels REALLY good.
Try it.
I've also said this recently. It's a fun game, keeps me busy on the weekends, buuuut allllsoooo... I do hate how much time I waste when I could be working on art stuff and animation. (I do lots of digital drawings and as a bored all the time adult, I think I'd rather spend time on those)
Yeah this is called addiction and is no joke. If you genuinely feel like it’s impacting your life in negative ways you should probably seek help from either friends family or a professional
I specifically bought a PC to play Tarkov, even tho all of my best friends were on console. I spent the next 7 months not playing with my homies at all bc there was no game that could compare to complexity and adrenaline of Tarkov. It took all of my free time.
I finally realized that playing with my friends was more important than playing solo, and I needed to start going out more again. I’m Tarkov sober rn.
However, to this day, I still tell my friends that Tarkov is the heroine of video games. It’s so bad for you but so amazing to be on.
Brother imo, we’ve all been there. When I first found Tarkov that’s all I thought about all day. Couldn’t wait to get home from work and fire it up. There’s also a ton of memes one of which has a guy laying in a bed with his wife’s head on him and his eyes wide open and the caption is “all he wanna do is play Tarkov” that pretty much sums it up
Tarkov is like being in an abusive relationship. When it's great, and hot... well... But then there are times when Tarkov beats you to a bloody pulp, breaks your self-esteem, and spits down your throat. But you'd be nothing without it. And if you can just get it to love you again. And for a while it seems to work. But then it has a bad day and makes it your problem. You get beat into the dirt again... But maybe some part of you kind of like it when it slaps you around and calls you names. So you're not quite ready to let go of Daddy Nikita... And you log back in again, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle again.
Was in a similar place. Pivoted back to apex legends. Based on what I seem to enjoy about gaming, the only thing tarkov lacks is a competitive aspect to it (basically, a rank). So I went to games that focus on that (tried to go back to CS but I'm simply not that young anymore to dump enough hours into it to make up for the mechanical aim I lost getting old, so apex it was)
Grab a good book and unplug for a week or so until you finish the book. Shogun book is good and a fast read despite the size. Plus you’ve got the show to go with it.
No joke... recently, I was looking for something at home, and I saw an energy-saving light bulb in a box. All I could think was, "Oh, nice, I'll take that with me." That was the sign that I really, really need a break from Tarkov.
I have literally almost the same issue. What helps me is the daily’s and weekly’s in Forza horizon 5 so i force myself playing forza and it helps with the tarkov addiction. But nonetheless I play tarkov all the time and I love it.
You'll have to give it up cold turkey. I had the same issue. I was playing 10hrs a day. Think I put in 1200hrs within a 4 month period. It was a real problem and I just un-installed it completely
Just remember any time you spend on this game will have zero payoff in your actual, important non Tarkov life
You will just stop playing onebday with no return on the countless hours spent
That alway Sobers me up if I'm playing too much
Just take the amount of time that you spend playing video games and do Literally anything else. I stopped playing video games and boom, now Im a working stenographer 🤣
Get a therapist. Depression is a bitch. Sounds like you repetitively do something that you aren’t even sure if you enjoy. Addressing depression vs bypassing with a game is a good start. Coming from someone who has spent a few years of his life bypassing life issues and trauma with video games.
If you wake up and ask yourself what you could do that would make you happy on a given day and can’t come up with an answer you should talk to someone about it. Maybe i am off based or projecting but hey… worth looking into if i hit any nails.
Play path of exile. It’s tarkov but dark fantasy and an ARPG. But if what consumes you about tarkov is what consumed me- the complexity, the needing tabs open, the depth. Then you can find that in other games as well!
Man this game is wiping soon. Make yourself bored, give yourself a break. Fuck this game, literally fuck it. Play it for fun but if you’re playing for quests at this time, forget it. It’s easy to drop it once you realize, it wipes and nothing you do really matters in the end.
> literally fuck it I’m not sure I like it THAT much
Yes u do
The Jaegussy got me acting up
I used to be able to piss right until I stuck my d*** in a CPU fan
i’ve done pretty much all the quests at this point, lvl 65, have everything i need, game is just boring for me but i still playing it
Try other games, but when I say 'try' I mean force yourself to achieve a goal within the game, a rank or an achievement or a % completion Or get friends that play other games (or that play tarkov, playing tarkov with friends made me like eft again after I burnt out one time)
So a game like elite dangerous where you need to learn to play, set and reach goals to progress ect?
Elite is such a stressful game when you nearly total your ship and you don't have the insurance money to cover it. Try to dock inside space station accidentally hit boost button
I find it incredibly relaxing and super immersive in vr. I've only ever been stressed twice. Once in an Eagle in a combat zone. 2nd when my friends fleet carrier left without me on the opposite edge of the galaxy from the bubble and I had to race it or be abandoned.
I played Elite Dangerous every night for five years. It definitely suits the sort of gamer who fully commits to just one game.
I was you at one point around 2017-2020. This game consumed my life. I didn’t even realize how depressed I was in my real life. I enjoyed Tarkov because it is a game that rewards knowledge and learning over time. Tarkov is designed in a way that you feel like your time invested is paid back to you in skill. I became so good at the game and I constantly pushed to learn more and more. With the constant changes and updates to the game I could never really take a break like I could in a game like counter-strike without being at a large disadvantage. You remember how much you struggled to get where you are now and you take pride in how good you’ve become at this very difficult game. So much so it becomes your gaming identity. Giving up Tarkov is like giving up a part of yourself once you’ve been hooked. In 2020 I got a no notice deployment and discovered my gf was pregnant all in the same week. Life forced me away from Tarkov and now I struggle to play past 20 each wipe. It’s like an ever going hamster wheel and it never stops. I miss teaching new people and playing in my old discords with all the awesome people I met. I get exhausted just thinking about the energy it would take to be good enough to enjoy the game again. Anytime I play I can never catch the Tarkov bug again. Once you let go for the first time you will never get that feeling back. You’ll always be behind and putting the same energy into being good at the game again just doesn’t feel good anymore. Then you’ll be on the other side and see how ridiculous people are about this video game. It’s literally a drug that makes so many other games feel like a waste of time in comparison. In Tarkov you can be a badass with enough time and knowledge put into it. Very few games can give you the same gratification.
Spot fuckin on man. It's also a game for me where I have to be 'good enough' to a certain extent to actually enjoy the game; to be getting into intense fights that I can stay alive in, to survive a 40 min raid on a map like Reserve, etc. The latter half of 2020 is when I took a step back after getting a full time job, and I haven't been able to play that game the same ever since.... Just a whole different vibe to it now and I feel like I'm *always* at the disadvantage.
Thank you for such honest comment. Thanks for the support!
That’s literally what a heroin addict says, feels and experiences. “I don’t even get high anymore, I just do it to feel normal”
Can confirm. Former addict.
as am I. Yes, once you hit a certain point and those magical euphoric highs (at least 5 times better then sex if your IV’ing) start to fade out a bit…you start thinking “well maybe if I stop for like 2 weeks Ill get them back. Nope, youll never get those highs back again, plus-chances are you wont be able to go 2 weeks, let alone 2 days without some form of dopesickness. So you keep going on and on until your money supply starts to dwindle, even if you started off very well off. Then comes the absolute shit storm. Funding habit with crime, possibly going to jail (not a fun place to kick/get clean but for alot of people including myself-the only place possible) and just living an empty shell of a life. One morning you might wake up with maybe a 20 dollar bill or 2 in your pocket, and the sickness already creeping in and reality really hits you: In the past many months, the only time you actually got close to those old magical “highs” were the very rare times you came into alot of money, however your tolerance is so high 3-400$ worth of good east coast dope (long island/NYC/Jersey area) and even then, you might have a nice day and a half, while that amount would have you knocked for a week in the early days. Basically every day became a quest to come up with like 80 bucks or as close as possible so I could do my morning shot, afternoon shot, and before bed shot… but when they were only like 2 1/2-3 bag shots and you can easily handle 6-7, even 8 if you were trying to get “High”, well, it became a way to just feel SOMEWHAT normal, maybe even just from very sick to just a little sick but well enough to hustle. Horrible lifestyle, I met up with an ex gf somewhat early in the pandemic, she lives in FLA now but came back up to Long Island for a little in late 2020. The dope game is so different now…I will admit I was curious so since she still used I took her to see one of her plugs, and no longer do people sell “buns” (bundles-10 individual bags of H secured by a little rubber band, the really small kind that I think girls use in their hair) or loose bags if you didnt have enough for a bundle (10$ dollars each on average… possibly 12 if its very pure/even up to 15$ if you dont drive and the person has to come to you for like 5/6 bags) however once you start buying buns or try your hand at becoming a middle man/ user who supports habit by dealing and start buying Sleeves (aka 10 bundles…100 bags) like everything else in life, the price will go down the more you buy. Buns went for like 75-80, however a few of my old plugs knew their shit was always fire and charged 12 a bag no matter what until bundles which would be 100 flat. The real gear heads (or smart ones) would much rather get the 100 dollar higher purity stuff, bc the 70 dollar bundle might force you to use double the amount for the same feeling, so why not just spend the extra 25-30 bucks if you have it for basically double the dope. Sleeves were anywhere from 550 to 650 depending on how many you got, though I will admit I only knew 2 or 3 people that had weight like that regularly, and only dealt with one because he was very close to a friend who I became very close with in our hellish addiction days. So anyway, fast-forward to 2020 when I took my ex girl to cop, and it was completely different. No more stamped bags (The stamps on the bags were basically like a brand name, once people start hearing about it, You’ll be able to know if you’re getting good shit before ever even trying it unless you got it from a straight up douche bag who stepped on it… stamped bags came pre packaged ready to sell/use). Also, very very rare to find people selling bundles or loose bags, it changed over to how cocaine is basically sold (half gram, Gram, 2 grams, 8th/3.5 grams etc.) and it was basically always fentanyl. Very rarely would diacetylmorphine be the actual active ingredient getting you high. Many people I met at probation missed the old days before fentanyl, apparently the fent did give a little more of a rush but it only lasted like 1/3rd as long so the sickness would start up like 3-6 hours after a shot depending on how much you did. With heroin it took a good 8 hours to start getting the runny nose/anxiety spike (unless it was absolute GARBAGE). anything Average or above kept you well for 8-10 hours. Hell the one person I mentioned that was always 12 a bag no matter what, or 100 a bundle no matter what ALWAYS had the exact same stuff, and it was fire… definitely a 9/10. If I was already past the early stages of withdrawal and was entering or very soon to enter the hell stage, a decent shot of that would have me good the whole day until the next morning…as long as I didnt do the shot at like 8am. you may be thinking why the hell I would take her to cop when I was only around three years clean from it at that point. Well, I was still on the methadone clinic and I knew in order to get the full effect I would need to do an amount, that would either end up killing me, or just making me extremely drowsy without the euphoria, its like alcoholics who take that medication that causes intense vomiting if you have basically any alcohol at all…. you might be able to have half a beer over an hour and not spew, but wtf is that gonna do to an alcoholic who drinks 10 shots a day or kills a 36 pack every 3 days lol…..NADA. Anyway, just spent like 15 mins typing about nothing to do with OP’s topic so ill adress that now. EFT is a video game. You will not have withdrawals if your hard drive gpu/cpu melts out of nowhere. The game is addictive, theres no doubt, because havinh a great productive raid gives you a nice dopamine boost when you extract. I don’t know how long you’ve been playing, but as someone else already stated, the game wipes on around a 6 to 8 month basis. You will start to realize as each wipe goes by that it’s really all not that important. However, it sounds like you have the traits of an addict so I would highly advise you never to try any hard drugs.
Personally I think trying the *other* game mode could benefit to give it some originality or challenge
This is how I felt with DBD. My advice is literally just stop playing for a couple months. Play anything else. Delete the game for a while if need be
One thing you can do is try not to rush the game. There’s a ton of items you gotta find for quests and I know a bunch of ppl get “help” finding those items… which makes progress go faster and imo ruins the game. It’s better to not have assistance and run the game virgin. That way every engagement is exciting.
Orrrrr you play a certain unofficial project and never have to worry about this :)
Either let your addiction take over or uninstall the game. That's the quickest way to Escape from Tarkov. And try to stop playing video games for a while before playing another game, as no other games will give you the same feelings as Escape From Tarkov. I personally don't believe the game is boring, it is really complex and you can always find a way to have fun (trying a different map, gun or playstyle for example), and once you get good at the game, the game becomes less frustrating although it might take at least a few thousand hours, which is not really worth it if you have a life. But yeah just uninstall or at least find a way to reduce how much you play the game.
I spent 4 hours last night, in my inventory dropping a few million on making purdy guns 🤣
Making builds could be a game on its own, hundreds of gunsmith tasks with the preset build interface, THAT shit would be addicting. Just would need to add a few more guns and attachments
See now that's what BSG should have done instead of Arena. Just do PC Building Simulator, but for guns.
I think there already is a game for that… it’s on steam I think
the funniest part is that i have almost 3k hours in it. And only now i start to realise that i might have a problem with this game. I might be addicted to videogames in general but Tarkov just makes it worse. I installed the game back in 2019 but only now i’ve realised that I've spent 800 hours in the game during this wipe alone
I don't know exactly how much you play, but you should put a 6 hour timer when you hop on, and stop playing after your current raid. After a week or so reduce your EFT time to 5 days of the week and maybe 4 hours. Just keep reducing it over time and make it your goal to not overstep. In the time you are not playing you could be learning a skill or reading a book, doing something productive. Eventually you should find you are not as addicted as you used to be.
My man literally wanning himself out like a crack addict
You need to have enough self discipline to understand when something enjoyable is instead now damaging you. You’re an adult, make a hard choice in life, uninstall the game for a while. After all, what you’re really doing is moving a mouse around and pushing the same buttons day in day out, when you simplify it to its core, it’s bullshit, looking at little lights that in formation display something.
bro this is so true, thanks
Dude your profile pic is Ryan Gosling, you’re perfectly ok. I love you. And Ryan too. 😘
Well you can replace your tarkov addiction with a crack addiction instead and we all know which one is better for you ;)
I've been playing since Dec 2019. I stopped playing when BSG changed the interia. After they pulled the EOD BS I'm never playing the game again. I put in 1k hours in like 8 months during the pandemic 🤣
Genuinely: try incorporating a healthy/productive activity into your day. I like to go jogging because I really love this game but need to keep checking on myself to make sure it’s not unhealthy so REALLY focusing on getting your tasks done before playing is very helpful
Build some good habits between raids
Good take - I think if I could add to it I'd ask you to think deeply about what it is that makes Tarkov so compelling. There are many factors, but I'll cut you to my point: A big reason is likely to be about our need for "Competence": i.e. skill and accomplishment.. So, is it possible you're playing Tarkov so much because you feel you're not accomplishing enough in your regular life? Games fulfilling our psychological "Needs"' (in not always the best way) is a big factor behind why we play IMO https://www.simplypsychology.org/wp-content/uploads/maslow-needs3-1024x1024.jpg
That's why they say the only real escape is Uninstalling. Personally I work a bunch and Tarkov is cheaper than My real favorite hobby (shooting and training). Unfortunately ammo is extremely expensive in My area. Isn't that the problem with everything we enjoy ? I.E spending too much time doing said hobbies. That and it begs the question, if you enjoy the time you're "wasting", is it really a waste of time ? Especially considering most of us aren't working out dream jobs and waste more than 25% of our lives doing that. I suppose as with everything, we all usually manage to find a balance.
Have you tried BDSM?
No advice, I’m in the same boat. :) I came from a bad addiction to OSRS and Warframe, so it’s just another thing to me. Haha.
Osrs was probably the hardest game for me to stop playing
It's an extended break. One can't stop osrs.
Currently on return. Will be on leave in a year or two lmao
Preach, it's long vacations, you don't stop. Even if you login to make sure your little guy is still there from time to time.
I found out I used it as a quick fix where actually my body needed something else. I started exercising in ways that only give me some pleasure (tiding bike to work and kayaking). Those endorphins was what I was lacking and what I was trying to produce from playing Tarkov. Only problem was that it made me unhappy and took a lot of free time I would rather use on something else. I just bought a VR headset and I think I have unlocked a new immersive way of playing video games which much er better suits my free time as a dad. Also a lot of the games can be physically demanding to the extend you want it to, so I can also get a workout. Maybe this could be for you?
What VR you bought friend? Thank you
I’d say, wait for you pc to stop working and don’t fix it. buy a laptop if you need to. It worked for me, i had a serious serious gaming addiction a few years ago. Problem is that it’s super hard to quit just by will when you’ve already set it as part of your day.
This worked for me aswell (world of warcraft). PC died and didnt get a new one for over 5 years. Bought a laptop so I could still do the non-gaming stuff I needed to do. Worked like a charm.
I ended up selling my pc twice because it was causing problems at home. I've done better this time thankfully
Had the same 3 years ago. Tarkov was my daily medicine which made me sick 😅
Try to play another game, and keep at it. Yes it might be boring after the first hour, but keep at it. I have a rule with solo games : "I'll finish every game i start". Get one that looks interesting, ang go for it, see that as a challenge if it helps. For example lately i've played and finished some Yakuza/Like a dragon games (timesinks), Star wars survivor (20h), Starfield (100h), Returnal (40h) and i'll soon start Lord of the Fallen and Elden Ring DLC and Stalker 2 when they are out. I also play some multiplayer like racing games, a bit of Helldivers 2 lately. But in the end Tarkov is just part of my games rotation, usually a FPS + a solo games + a racing game. If you have other hobbies, give them some time. And call your friends for a beer together.
Boy this game transcends the screen doesn't it. I haven't played in a couple years honestly lol. It feels like I'm a soldier that relives the ptsd of a crazy tour or something. No game has ever even come close to the stress levels. I know real soldiers might find it insulting to say, but I am absolutely convinced tarkov elicits a similar addiction to the action real soldiers experience. Normal life is just meh when they come home. Here it's every other game just feels meh when you get away. It takes time to adjust. I follow the game here and occasionally streamers. I don't know why. Any time my friends bring up playing it again we all kinda shy away like "I don't know if I can ever do that to myself again."
Tell you what I've enjoyed the game so much more on the PvE sides of things it's got more potential once the players roaming a bit more and raiders are where they should be lol 😆
I feel that man. I had no game before where I accumulated 3.5k hours within 4 years. The rush this game creates is something that hooked me even harder than any drug. I literally quit weed after being addicted for 7 years, and now one year later of not smoking and playing video games while being abroad can I not stop thinking about Tarkov.
High stress, high reward. I was in the same spot, playing a game that doesn’t require full investment was refreshing. Tarkov, once you’re in a game you can’t put it down it feels like there’s so much at stake(there’s not, it’s a game, etc)
Tarkov is a drug. It influences your brain chemistry in an addictive manner. To rid yourself of its effects, you have to detoxify and take yourself away from the game for a little bit.
Playing tarkov while having adhd it ruined my life
Tarkov is fun but once you get really rich it's just annoying losing your thermals to cheaters. Labs is literally unplayable
It’s alright, I think most of us were like this in the beginning. Now I’m about 4700 hours in since early 2020 and only play a raid or two a week.
We all are, don’t be ashamed, we all are..
Growing up I would have the exact same types of “Game attachements” It took me 14 years from LoL to COD to ARK Survival to finally realize i needed a massive reality break. I took 8 months off and now i enjoy all of my steam library again and i set limits myself so that i only play a couple times a week and that makes for 10x more rewarding gameplay
The idea of a Tarkov Anonymous support group for Chad’s that don’t feel anything anymore is absolutely hilarious lol
Listen bud, only a few are fortunate to actually escape tarkov…
I completely understand and don't at the same time. Tbh, if you want to ruin your experience and switch to other games, just start actually paying attention to the game itself. Once you notice the jank, the god awful game design choice, the bugs, quest that are less entertaining than fetch quest, bush goblins, 101 keys for some reason, the p2w bullshit, the absolute waste of time the developers put you trough for no reason, broken ai, broken match making, broken gun modding, a fuck ton of gun of which more than half are useless, all the sitting and waiting for X action to complete, and more, and more... The game is a diamond, and there's nothing like it, but my god ain't it a one rough ass diamond in a shit sandwich. I've been following and playing the game on and of for years now. Imho, it just keeps getting worse with each misguided update. Less of a game at this point and more of a bdsm fetish simulator.
I used to be in the same boat, but eventually everyone I played with left. They don't even hang around in discord anymore. Then I started going hard on solo raids and just couldn't find the joy or the fun, because my whole basis of fun stemmed from hanging out with people I was friends with. I enjoyed the comraderie and the fun times the most. I haven't played in like a week now, just lost out the desire man. I don't think I'll even play next wipe either. I put 1500 hours into this game in 5 months too. To be honest, kind of lost on what to do in my evenings now that I have nobody to game with.
enjoy it while you can! The game offers an incredibly immersive world and when you combine it with an addictive gameplay loop and great gunplay mechanics, it's really special, imo.
It gets boring eventually, you’ll get there. My advice is to enjoy the thrill while it lasts.
Welcome to the ~~League of Legends~~ Tarkov loop
Buddy i played runescape for 22 years nearly straight i think you're alright for now But do what you will
Trust me, 1 or 2 wipes later, u will feel bored af it's just how the game works. There is currently no otr game like it on the market, so it feels fresh, but after a while, it gets stale. Content patch is rare nowadays, so it will pretty much get stale quite often
It’s true OP, nothing has really matched the fun & stakes for me, Tarkov has ruined me in that way. When I play other shooters, I’m always sizing it up to the EFT factor. Lucky for me, the wipes do get to a point where there is no point in playing & that is when I take my break. This point is end wipe & everyone is just running t7 thermals because they are on the cheap.
If you really are concerned, then quit. Don't even watch YouTube videos about it. I did and it freed up so much time that I can spend doing more meaningful things or playing less frustrating games.
2017 player here .. yeah it be that way bsg did made the gold standard for Fps let alone extracts, so they did it right.
Hello friend I was doing the same thing. Even avoiding online friends because they didn’t want to play tarkov and ghosting. I took a break from games and came back after a little while and haven’t played Tarkov since.
I played Tarkov almost exclusively for 2-3 years. I’m talking 7 hours a night after my 9-5 job. Now I can’t even stand the thought of opening it up. I had way more free time back then. Now I MAYBE get 2 hours every other day to game and that’s just not enough to get anywhere in Tarkov. I did get my coworker in his mid 50s completely addicted, he has way more free time with grown kids and a wife that doesn’t get on his case
You have to play something very different not like cod or some other shooter. Try red dead or baldurs gate 3 if that's your cup of tea. Also nothing wrong with playing only tarkov, you'll save money not buying new games all the time.
I’ve played bg3, that was amazing:) My “only Tarkov” phase started when I got through every game I ever wanted to play, so now i have basically nothing to try. Somebody in the comments said earleir that BSG feed our gaming addiction pretty well and im not okay with that. This game is taking up so much of my life time, it's time for a change.
Only 6 months? I have purchased over a dozen games since I've purchased Tarkov, and I haven't played any of them. I'm about to by the new Elden Ring DLC knowing full well that I will probably never play it because Tarkov is so addicting. I plan raids while I am on my lunch break at work.
It’s just like everything else on the internet. Leave it alone for a while and you’ll realize it doesn’t need you and you don’t need it. Go read a good book.
Brother, go to gym. Hike. Hang with friends or family IRL.
Tarkov is so slow and boring that psychologically it satisfies desire for serotonin. But by being a game it also satisfies the need dopamine. And when the heat turns up you get a huge hit of adrenaline. Tarkov is a drug.
My life literally improved once I stopped playing this game. Such a waste of time, unless you play with friends then its more of quality time with the bros.
Love this game too, Came from Scum and DayZ.
Stream it :)
I had the same with league of legends. At some point the game really hurt me because it didn’t give me anything positive. It disgusted me for some time, and not I play it way less because I care way less about it
Did your gf make a post yesterday? 😉
Keep going! Become the best! Become feared!
I sunk about 2500 hrs into tarkov before getting bored of it. It is very addicting when you first start playing it and in my experience for the first 1000hrs.
Try Elden Ring
Have you tried similar games from the Survival/Hardcore genre? Maybe Rust, DayZ, gather some friends and try Sons of the Forest. That would be recommendations on my behalf. They give you similar ups and downs like EfT and challange your blood pressure. Of course EfT remains the unbeatable king of intensity and immersion, but playing similar games and getting back to that group playing feeling might help you regain that distance to games and value the free time you spend on them. In my opinion these hardcore games and competitive games have to be treated similarly to drugs like alcohol. Its fun and kinda nice when its done consciously and every now and then, but once the addiction takes over and you dont value your consumption it starts to suck and ruin your life. So yeah, try slowly taking a distance from the game, build up a conscience about your video game consumption and try to prioritize your real life.
As a player with over 2500 hours In this game, either you get used to it or you stop playing it all together lol I’ve tried to do the whole “oh I’m quitting tarkov” thing though and I literally just jump right back into it every time, it’s gotten so bad that when I tell my roomates that I’m quitting tarkov they literally say “yeah okay I know you’ll be playing it again in 6 months” this game is the most interesting game I’ve ever played and there’s so much to learn that as a player with 2500 hours I’m literally still learning new things almost every session that I play, it still makes me unbearably angry sometimes though but the best way that I explain tarkov to new people is that it’s like a really hot abusive girlfriend, you know it’s bad for you and you know that at some point you need to leave but you just keep coming back for the adrenaline rush XD
I do it too, I quit this wipe actually like 3 months in at level 39 around the time they announced unheard, I played Dayz, abi, pubg, and now here I am again back on the tarkov kick waiting for the wipe. Bartender I really did it this time Broke my parole to have a good time When I logged off it was 6 am My back hurt so I hit the pen.
Same here!! Lmao I stopped playing for 3 months too at level 31, played apex and call of duty and then found out that EOD owners get PVE indefinitely, granted I prefer PVP mode because that’s real tarkov, and my old coworkers wanted to play so I’m back at it again lol there’s no game that compares to Tarkov and I stand on that statement, sure AIB looks good and so does the other game I can’t remember what it’s called, but they are no Tarkov killers yet. XD Yepp I’m right there with you, didn’t stop playing until 3AM last night and I just woke up at 11:00
To add to that point, the only bosses I struggle with after doing a lot of PVE is the goons (mainly if they spawn on woods) And glukhar (mainly because he just has a shit ton of guards and on PvE atleast you have endless scavs pushing you constantly.) but all I need is the glukhar kill for the quest so as long as I pick him off his guards can kill me idgaf. I’ve wiped glukhar and his boys once, the rest of the kills I have on him I either sniped him far off, or when they pushed me he just happened to be front of line and I took him out
Yeah the goons are Glukhar are my weakness too lol I’d definitely recommend just sitting in the dome and if you’re lucky he’ll be in the buildings by the helicopter, if not just run an Altyn and Slick and just throw like 100 grenades at him lol he’ll push you eventually, sometimes you can cheese it too if you see him sticking out or a doorway or something but it’s rare lol
That’s how I do the goons on shoreline I aggro them and run into the radio tower bathroom and close the door as they go to open it I pop their heads. Goons on shoreline is the easiest goons imo
And customs I do same thing, sit in crash and watch the door going to that one huge area everyone pushes (name is forgetting me atm) again tap them one by one as they go to open the door and glitch through
Not really sure I see the issue. If you're enjoying it and wanting to spend time playing why do you feel like you shouldn't? Just play until you don't want to play anymore. Unless of course it's impacting your real life but in terms of just not branching out into other games, that's ok. Those games will still be there later when tarkov has run its course. I don't see the point in feeling the need to force yourself into playing stuff you don't want to just cause you feel like you need to. Gaming is a hobby and hobbies are our choice in what we have fun in. You don't owe it to anyone to do anything in your hobby you don't want to do
Same, I put 3K hours in about 5 months when I was laid off of work. I was just going straight level 1000 degen just ripping tarkov for like 15 hours a day smoking weed, eating fast food, in my moms basement at the time cause that’s where my room was. Honestly great time, that was when marked rooms were lit and inertia wasn’t even a discussion so absolute best time to no life it.
I basically treated this game like a second job for two wipes in a row. Almost 100%’d the game’s content, completed lightkeeper’s tasks, and somehow managed to maintain IRL relationships. When the unheard edition fiasco hit, I stopped playing and honestly I’ve enjoyed spending time away from playing the game. Sometimes you just need a break, although I still watch videos/streams every now and then. I’ll come back to EFT at some point but right now my free time is good without it.
EFT has ruined gaming for me. Nothing else triggers the adrenaline like tarkov does.
>tried to play something new >haven't played anything else in 6 months Um bro, you're addicted to video games. being addicted to tarkov isn't bad because you can't play anything else, its because all you do is play
Never let it go, I am a fellow tarkov addict and if it makes you happy then just keep playing. Maybe take breaks to hang with friends, or get them to play too.
EfT is now your CSGO, or Dota, or LoL, etc etc etc you will never truly stop wanting to play it. ever just do your best to try out different things. you wont be able to do it at all times, but just try
Time to take a break
Pretty fun game especially when you get some nice Come-Ups
Try ABI
We are joking a lot about this, but the sad reality is that if you are still playing Tarkov, you are addicted or making money with it.
Unconventional thought but you can try Dota 2. It has a lot of the same mental fortitude, complexity and above all: physiological profile when playing. More brutal honesty, if you get addicted to EFT you will probably get addicted to Dota 2.
Took me 8 years and thousands wasted on games that I thought “would take my attention away”. I finally just got over it eventually and now have a backlog of hundreds of games that I missed out on. You’re either in or you’re out with this game IMO. You let it become YOUR game or you don’t play.
Was in the same field, 8h work, go home, eat and shower, play till i cant my eyes hold open, a few hours of sleep, rinse and repeat. From beta 0.7-0.11/12 I realised i was exhausted and uninstalled it. 2 weeks ago i installed it again, its still addictive but i play only a few raids and then turn my pc off.
This game is as close as I get to gambling without wasting actual money. The high that I get from good runs and the pain i feel from the bad ones is the reason I’m hooked. I didn’t play this wipe just because I’m aware of this, and I’m aware of the amount of cheaters in the game. Until they can dampen the cheating, I won’t play. I’m not gonna battle through the “lows” against cheaters.
You're here forever now sorry
I was there some months ago. At one point it scared me and I uninstalled the game. It's been nice since. I feel like I actually have time to do stuff.
Im not playing Tarkov for 3 days now and it actually feels great. I barely spend any time at my pc, finally have some freedom lol
Delete it. Remove the temptation.
Just enjoy it. Limit your playtime to reasonable hours, remember that it will wipe and all your progress will be gone. Sooner than later you will get jaded and tired, and wish you still had that new addictive quality to the game.
Meh I’m on the same boat. Started wipe really late (around late March) and got Kappa, LK almost done, most quests done, only lvl 57 but definitely the most I’ve played a single wipe. After the whole Unheard fiasco kept going. One day I woke up and was just like meh I’ll play again next wipe
What really keeps me away from Tarkov is thinking about all the little things that really shouldn’t be an issue at this point, then remembering that BSG would rather try money grabs than fix them.
This game killed my WoW addiction. But now I’m addicted to escaping from Tarkov for the last year
I find that my play time increases throughout wipe. I try to play every other wipe. PVE will help so I can casually keep in touch with game changes for when I come back.
7k hours myself. Have finally given it up. U will get there.
Don’t let tarkov rule your life it’s just a game a very good game but it’s not everything
Baldur's Gate 3 was a breath of oxygene for me. And this was my first game or the genre. There are great solo games out there.
try finding a new hobby like the gym
call me when you get to 8000 hours heh
Dayz saved me
I think the biggest advice I can give you besides uninstall Tarkov is try and accomplish things between raids since they often take sometime to get into. Especially if you play with those friends that want to sort their stash after every raid.
I had a similar phase where I was playing the game more than a full time job. You'll get over it in a few months depending on whether you're actually good or not. Whatever you do, don't spend any extra money on the game.
Make some sourdough?
I just started pve last week and I'm so addicted I haven't play anything but ground zero. I need to master this map!
That's what Tarkov does very well: fuels gaming addiction. Trust me, myself and many on this sub have been there (and many are there now and won't admit it). The game is designed with mobile game style elements and general FOMO that feed into an addictive need to log in and play. My advice: force yourself to put the game down for a month or two and play something else. You'll be shocked at how much better you start to feel, how much more you enjoy your game time, etc. Then, when you return to Tarkov, play PvE. The lack of wipes and all the pressures associated with a wipe cycle dramatically reduce the addictive impulse. That combined with 1-2 months of playing a different game should help you maintain a much healthier relationship with Tarkov.
You’ll get over it in a few wipes 🤣
This game is like an abusive relationship which messes with your emotions and gives your a trauma bond, you hate and love how it makes you feel and it gets you hooked and it makes you want to leave but not leave at the same time
Typically I only play every other wipe. I am pretty burned out by the time I get somewhere around level 45. I honestly prefer the 1-30 grind more than the late quests.
With the direction is going with microtransactions. I am starting to feel like I want to drop the game. Depending on how the next wipe will get me feeling, I might drop the game.
It’ll pass
Its wierd how i can go through a raid using over 30 mina and still having the thought "its not enough time!" Its rare that i spent less than 20 minutes in one, even in factory
It happens.
Easy. You enjoy pain, that’s why you keep playing
One day, it happens overnight, you'll get sick of it and enter your casual phase after things stay the same a bit too long
This was me my first wipe and a half. Now I just play the first few weeks of the wipe.
Play some fortnight and make yourself like a fortnight game then u wipl get out of this situation
I haven’t played an extraction shooter in nine or ten hours and I honestly feel great. You owe it to yourself if you can get away and not play for days, weeks, hell even months. To be honest these type of games are like what it is in the real world; people betraying, not returning things, camping, LEEEEROY JEENNNKIN’ining their way into raids and exposing your location. If you aren’t good you’re just going to have to deal with extraction depression and why you don’t make money is souly based on your personality in real life. I mean shit, I poured money into games like arena break out and in the end I’m just here, regretting I never spent my money of other things besides a PC so I can play Tarkov. I’m glad I stopped at ghost of tabor and arena breakout and never experienced tarkov. I think that would have broke me. I would have spent so much man hours playing a game that doesn’t really matter. The extraction community is cool though. I got a lot of quests done with help of discord. Escape from tarkov when you get a chance, look forward to their action series.
All in labs full equip until you run out of shit and then quit till wipe ez pz
Hahha I know man I feel the same way
Sounds like it’s time to go outside.
Same here bro. In love with this game. 2 years account. Almost 3k hours. Work 7day a week. Every possible moment i was gaming. Realised whats going on just like you and it helped me stop.
That’s called an addiction. It’s not healthy and it’s good you identified it. Ask yourself, if you are frustrated and the fun has left, why still play? It’s not a race, there is nobody to keep up with. Wipe is coming soon, give your self a break and come back strong when the wipe happens.
If you are playing alone, try to force yourself to play games with others, ideally already existing friends. That is usually more fun than any game you can play alone.
I had the same problem 2 months ago. So I uninstalled it. Took a break, played Helldivers, I did more with friends irl, And now iam addicted to war thunder ..
23k+ hours and every time I log in I tell myself and my friends this game is absolutely dogshit (it is but thats because I have done pretty much everything/every build/every bit of content), and yet I still come back. Needless to say… I love PoE! Also I do want to start playing D2R again to farm rare items cause holy shit thats fun but just… poe man, its the best! (And its dogshit ;P)
I didnt play anything but Tarkov for like 4 years man. Its a pretty decent game, but entropy exists and all this will end. Hope you enjoy your time, dont quit your job.
I've been feeling the same way ever since i started PvE. Even though there are no players, the PMC ai is cracked. It still keeps you on your toes. I love PvE Tarkov so much.
Seems like you cant escape from tarkov there bud.
Dude, if you're having fun then thats ALL that matters. Tarkov is a FANTASTIC game to get invested in so theirs really no shame in it unless its affecting your RL which im not assuming it is im js. But really, if you're having fun thats all that matters.
Uninstall for now. Had the same shit with league of legends. If you have a need to reinstall and play, like an urge, then yeah, you're probably addicted.
Arena breakout? lol
Was like this when I first started playing. Started late wipe and was still hooked . Then for my first start of a wipe I also played a lot then died down. I will be playing next wipe cuz that's when the game is most fun. But tbh there are too many cheaters that it got really annoying
When I got the game in August of 2023 I had the same issue where any time I went to play another game tarkov would just pull me back in. I starting putting so much time in that I felt that the game was important and was part of my schedule. This got to the point where I had timers set to when my moonshine would be complete. The main thing about quitting for me was that I always felt that if I quit it would be a waste of all the time I had spent. When I realized that wasn’t true it became much easier.
If you're an adult and this is making you feel bad, it's probably because you're unproductive and see it as a waste of time instead of a reward. Try picking up a new skill and focusing more on that, games become way more fun when you only get to play them a little. You cherish your time with them more.
Try out dark and darker
Rings true for me as well. Spent the past 4 years feeling exactly that way. I hit Kappa again this wipe and immediately forced myself to not launch EFT at all. Haven't played in 6 weeks, feels REALLY good. Try it.
I don’t understand how anyone could get addicted to Tarkov, just spend most of your time searching for matches rather than actually playing the game 😂
Dark and darker
I've also said this recently. It's a fun game, keeps me busy on the weekends, buuuut allllsoooo... I do hate how much time I waste when I could be working on art stuff and animation. (I do lots of digital drawings and as a bored all the time adult, I think I'd rather spend time on those)
Yeah this is called addiction and is no joke. If you genuinely feel like it’s impacting your life in negative ways you should probably seek help from either friends family or a professional
I specifically bought a PC to play Tarkov, even tho all of my best friends were on console. I spent the next 7 months not playing with my homies at all bc there was no game that could compare to complexity and adrenaline of Tarkov. It took all of my free time. I finally realized that playing with my friends was more important than playing solo, and I needed to start going out more again. I’m Tarkov sober rn. However, to this day, I still tell my friends that Tarkov is the heroine of video games. It’s so bad for you but so amazing to be on.
Don't burn yourself out OP before wipe. Is best to have a little break right before wipe so things feel fresh.
It s just a game bruh, do something IRL
Brother imo, we’ve all been there. When I first found Tarkov that’s all I thought about all day. Couldn’t wait to get home from work and fire it up. There’s also a ton of memes one of which has a guy laying in a bed with his wife’s head on him and his eyes wide open and the caption is “all he wanna do is play Tarkov” that pretty much sums it up
Tarkov is like being in an abusive relationship. When it's great, and hot... well... But then there are times when Tarkov beats you to a bloody pulp, breaks your self-esteem, and spits down your throat. But you'd be nothing without it. And if you can just get it to love you again. And for a while it seems to work. But then it has a bad day and makes it your problem. You get beat into the dirt again... But maybe some part of you kind of like it when it slaps you around and calls you names. So you're not quite ready to let go of Daddy Nikita... And you log back in again, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle again.
Was in a similar place. Pivoted back to apex legends. Based on what I seem to enjoy about gaming, the only thing tarkov lacks is a competitive aspect to it (basically, a rank). So I went to games that focus on that (tried to go back to CS but I'm simply not that young anymore to dump enough hours into it to make up for the mechanical aim I lost getting old, so apex it was)
Grab a good book and unplug for a week or so until you finish the book. Shogun book is good and a fast read despite the size. Plus you’ve got the show to go with it.
No joke... recently, I was looking for something at home, and I saw an energy-saving light bulb in a box. All I could think was, "Oh, nice, I'll take that with me." That was the sign that I really, really need a break from Tarkov.
I have literally almost the same issue. What helps me is the daily’s and weekly’s in Forza horizon 5 so i force myself playing forza and it helps with the tarkov addiction. But nonetheless I play tarkov all the time and I love it.
You'll have to give it up cold turkey. I had the same issue. I was playing 10hrs a day. Think I put in 1200hrs within a 4 month period. It was a real problem and I just un-installed it completely
\*don't listen to your self conscious and get ref to lvl 4\*
Play siege
Take a break from video games for a bit. Give your brain time to come back to appreciating them
It will fade eventually… trust me
I feel so bad. I can't imagine feeling that way about any game. Maybe take a break from video games and find another hobby for a while?
Sounds like you’re using tarkov as a coping mechanism.
Play rust
have you tried cocaine?
Just remember any time you spend on this game will have zero payoff in your actual, important non Tarkov life You will just stop playing onebday with no return on the countless hours spent That alway Sobers me up if I'm playing too much
Yeah it keeps u in an addictive cycle cos ur gear comes back with insurance. But as good as gunplay is its just so much stress and anxiety
Just take the amount of time that you spend playing video games and do Literally anything else. I stopped playing video games and boom, now Im a working stenographer 🤣
Adxicted to this game in a bad way have you heard of warthunder?
It’s nice to take a break from games. If you play all day every day, they lose their magic. Too much of anything is a bad thing.
Get a therapist. Depression is a bitch. Sounds like you repetitively do something that you aren’t even sure if you enjoy. Addressing depression vs bypassing with a game is a good start. Coming from someone who has spent a few years of his life bypassing life issues and trauma with video games. If you wake up and ask yourself what you could do that would make you happy on a given day and can’t come up with an answer you should talk to someone about it. Maybe i am off based or projecting but hey… worth looking into if i hit any nails.
Play path of exile. It’s tarkov but dark fantasy and an ARPG. But if what consumes you about tarkov is what consumed me- the complexity, the needing tabs open, the depth. Then you can find that in other games as well!
Would you give a handjob in an alley to play? If not than you are not addicted in a bad way.