‘Escape from Tarkov’’s newest event focuses on melee combat

A new Escape from Tarkov pre-wipe event is focusing on melee combat, rewarding players for taking part in melee fights as well as melee weapons being buffed to make the quest more achievable.

Around every six months, Battlestate Games wipes players’ Escape from Tarkov progress meaning all inventories, quest progress, vendor reputation and levels are erased and all players begin again on an even playing field. In the time period leading up to these wipes, players experience several pre-wipe events, which so far have included PvP incentives and a massively increased market value for dog tags.

Now though, a tweet from Battlestate Games has been posted which shows a manual with the caption “The most complete reference guide.” The title text above has been translated by fans of the game to read, “Martial arts (hand fighting) based on Spetsnaz and KGB systems.” Spetsnaz is a Russian term referring to the country’s special forces, whilst the KGB was the main security agency for the Soviet Union throughout the latter half of the 1900s.

#EscapefromTarkov pic.twitter.com/poheAfW49w

— Battlestate Games (@bstategames) December 20, 2022

Players have reported increased melee damage in the game and a quest with a message that reads, “Well well, you’re just in time, so listen up. Some morons out there found a secret book, from the KGB days, they say it’s some kind of advanced close combat method, a secret one. Personally, I think it’s all bullshit. Go to the Factory and check it out, will ya?”

The message from Skier sends players to the Factory, where they are tasked with scoring a melee kill on Tagilla as well as killing 15 PMCs with a melee weapon. This rewards the Miller Bros. Blades M-2 Tactical Sword and Red Rebel ice pick as well as +2 reputation with vendors Jaeger, Ragman, Skier, Mechanic, Peacekeeper and Therapist.

Whilst there’s no confirmed date for the reset as yet, NME has put together a helpful guide to the pre-wipe event and when fans can expect the wipe to happen.

In other news, classic shooter Star Wars: Dark Forces is now playable in 4K thanks to a massive overhaul from fan project, The Force Engine.