Good day, dear bush campers and exfil area connaisseurs! Did you just hear the disturbing “minus-karma” sound, slightly inspired by the Metro 2033 series? Well, I have some bad news for you then. We have a new silent assassin wandering around in this Tarkov Wipe 0.15, placing tripwires, and shooting with the precision of Lighthouse Rogues. He’s coming for YOU! Ladies and gentlemen, please say “hi” to our new in-game boss Parmesan.
Partisan is his real name, which means guerilla warrior or resistance fighter in Russian. Partisans were known for their area knowledge, which they utilized to lure enemies into deadly traps and ambushes. And this is exactly what the new boss will do if he spawns in your raid: he’ll approach silently, prepare a lot of traps, and make you walk into those deadly grenades.
Factory 2.0
Ok, enough of Parmesan. Let’s discuss this new and hopefully exciting wipe! Summer wipes are usually known for their limited amount of novelties. Instead, BSG usually tries to focus on bug fixing and technical improvements. The current Tarkov wipe 0.15 is a great exception, in my opinion. For instance, we now have an entirely new Factory map. In contrast to the old version, the new map comes with dynamic time and a (tiny) outdoor area. The underground is way more complex than before but a bit too dark. So make sure to bring a flashlight if you want to spend your time down there. Several new quests invite you to explore new points of interest, such as the crashed helicopter. Unfortunately, “Delivery from the Past” still exists 😉
New Hideout Features in Tarkov Wipe 0.15
Apart from Factory rework, the biggest changes are the addition of map-to-map travel (we will discuss that in our next article) and some new hideout installations. For instance, you now have a mannequin (“gear rack”) in the gym area, which can be used to hold armor and other equipment. In my opinion, it’s a bit strange that the rack is not close to the weapon stand, but those are minor details.
There is also a new gambling opportunity, namely the Cultist Circle. This new area is located behind the security door, which reflects the idea of cultists coming in and doing some creepy stuff in your circle. The functionality of the circle is easy to explain but hard to predict: You donate (“sacrifice”) up to five items and get one or more items in return. The gambling is not entirely random, however. According to BSG, the more you donate in terms of the item value, the higher the probability of getting something useful (e.g., a quest or hideout item). There are some neat details, as well: Gifting a figurine will likely result in obtaining the respective boss item. For instance, sacrificing little Tagilla will reward you with his helmet.
Gear, Gear, Gear
BSG wouldn’t be BSG if this Tarkov wipe 0.15 came without additions to the armory compartment. The arguably best addition is the rework of zoom optics. All scopes that support variable, “smooth” zooming in real life behave similarly in Tarkov now. Holding down the Alt key and using the mouse wheel while scoped in allows you to transition smoothly between your current scope’s minimum and maximum zoom capabilities. Simply speaking, many high-magnification scopes are finally usable because you are not bound to the maximum zoom. This improvement also means that scopes overall will be cheaper on the flea market simply because more scopes are viable now (more supply).
The next new feature on the list is the bipods and the ability to mount weapons in front of you. The advantage of a mounted gun is lower recoil and almost no stamina drain. It sounds nice on paper, but I haven’t seen many people using it so far. The main reason is that mounting is almost always bugged or not activatable, so it’s usually not worth the time.
Similarly to bipods, the tripwire feature is relatively underused at the moment. Many of us were afraid of tripwires being too strong (especially on maps like Woods), but the reality is that players don’t really want to bother with setting up such static traps as it’s way easier to shoot the target… However, I believe the community will discover certain choke points (Relax Room?) where trapping is worthwhile.
Although the Tarkov wipe 0.15 came with several new guns (such as Deagle), the most interesting one is, in my opinion, the UZI. Not because it’s a very strong gun, but because it’s available right at the start of the game. Most new weapons added by BSG are unlocked quite late, and we already have many viable alternatives for mid- and end-wipe. Early-wipe, however, always felt quite limited in terms of weapon choice. Hence, having one more option early on is a good thing.
The basic UZI model can be purchased from Peacekeeper level 1 for 250 dollars, which is comparable to other Western SMGs but slightly more expensive than the PP-19. The muzzle velocity and MOA (gun’s precision) are among the best in the SMG category, so you can easily tap Scavs on Ground Zero from a distance. The only drawback is the rather lackluster rate of fire (600 RPM). In other words, an MPX is still more potent in a CQB situation. Note, however, that there is also a UZI Pro at Peacekeeper level 2, which comes with amazing 1075 RPM but worse MOA. Oh, and another positive side effect: buying UZIs from Peacekeeper helps you generate the required turnaround for leveling this trader! (Psst, we have some fancy UZI builds on discord)
Regarding builds and variety, you basically have three important areas: muzzle, scope, and stock. As for the muzzle, you can opt for the suppressed version. In this case, I’d recommend using the Mechanic barter on level 1. The barter requires one inseq wrench, which costs only 30 K on the flea. Fun fact: if you sell the bartered gun to Mechanic, he will pay you 45 K, so you can even make some profit using this barter. The next part you can easily adjust is the scope. Having a built-in rail system allows you to mount all the Western scopes, such as the Walther MRS (Skier level 1). The iron sights on the UZI are trash, so literally anything will be a worthy improvement. Lastly, you can modify the stock and even mount rifle-oriented parts (MOE etc.) using some adapters. This is more for the looks and less for significant improvements, as the UZI already comes with excellent stats out of the box. As for the mags, the 25-rounders will probably be enough early on. If you play with the UZI Pro, consider something with a larger capacity.
That’s it for today’s short Tarkov wipe 0.15 recap! Next time, we’ll discuss the map-to-map travel feature in detail, so make sure you bookmark this page and follow me on socials!
-your kraynd