Overcoming gear fear.

September 3, 2018

So for a while now I was paranoid about losing my valuable gear. My best rifles, pistols, etc. Gear fear is what people call it. But I was also running out of space in my stash so I couldn't hold anymore. When it gets to that you're either left having to sell stuff you *might* not need or just toughen up and try a raid.

I didn't have any real reason to sell anything as I had a big stack of cash already so I just said hell with it. Try a raid as a PMC.

I spawned in at interchange and began the raid. Still paranoid about losing I took it slow, always looking over my shoulder and stopping brief distances to listen for noise. Just to avoid firefights if I could. It was here I realized this is what makes you lose nine times out of ten. Your mind is focused on saving your gear, not survival. That's the whole point of you bringing your gear with you. Why bother keeping anything if you're never going to use it? Just letting it collect dust in your stash. If you're letting it do that. You already lost it.

Dying and losing in Tarkov is inevitable. Your luck is going to run out sooner or later. So with that mind, why not go out fighting?

Once you overcome gear fear and focus on your combat skills. Your skill and potential for surviving really starts to shine. You'll even survive scraps that you didn't think was possible. Feeling like a total badass mercenary. All because you did something as simple as shifting your focus and accepting the possibility of death. Maybe overcoming your fight, flight, freeze instincts to a certain extent.

Having experiences like this to me is what really makes Tarkov shine. It's a flawed product of course. But not many hardcore survival games ever gave me an experience like this.

September 3, 2018

I've avoided gear fear by being unable to rank up and acquire anything remotely attractive. The side effect of this however is the game is no fun. We call this the "new player experience" and it ducking sucks lol.

3.9k · September 3, 2018

@WarHawk0901

I can not agree with you more here, sir.

Thank you for this post, I hope that our players that are still having the gear fear will read it and that their mindset will change, because even if you think it will work for you, it just blocks your potential and takes your possible rewards away from you.

Thank you once again, sir!

September 3, 2018

gear fear exists cus the game is quite broken at this stage and there is no point coming into a raid where you are just goin to lose the good stuff to BS... hopefully new patch will allow some players to finally come in with their gud shtuff.

September 3, 2018

47 minutes ago, kubaryz said:

gear fear exists cus the game is quite broken at this stage and there is no point coming into a raid where you are just goin to lose the good stuff to BS... hopefully new patch will allow some players to finally come in with their gud shtuff.

This have absolutely no sense.

Seems a oportunity to freely post a discontent which is out of topic as already exist many topics and opinions about current game state, nothing to do with this topic.

@WarHawk0901 congrats! now is when you will start enjoying the game, and the your skill progression will rise = Tons of fun

Same here, no other game has made me feel like tarkov ever, and this overcome of the gear fear makes u feel sooooo damn badass good

September 4, 2018

6 hours ago, TheDoctor82 said:

I've avoided gear fear by being unable to rank up and acquire anything remotely attractive. The side effect of this however is the game is no fun. We call this the "new player experience" and it ducking sucks lol.

Lol, I know the feeling all too well. It's especially present when you first start out and you see the nice little care package of starting equipment in your stash. All those nicely polished rifles and pistols. Be a real shame to lose all of it. But no matter where run, you can't hide forever. Ya gotta step out into the seemingly apocalyptic battlefield of Tarkov sooner or later. Whatever happens, be it you walk away clean from a raid. Or barely able to walk without morphine. It's a story for you to tell on the road of escape.

See you on the battlefield good sir.

September 4, 2018

5 hours ago, kubaryz said:

gear fear exists cus the game is quite broken at this stage and there is no point coming into a raid where you are just goin to lose the good stuff to BS... hopefully new patch will allow some players to finally come in with their gud shtuff.

Aye. I've had the misfortune of losing gear to technical issues. It's a frustrating loss, but one that will hopefully end or be very rare in due time.

September 4, 2018

I am currently having the "Gear Fear" Mindset

I feel like sometime the game can be really punishing when you die so as a result I have lots of nice gears and fully custom guns sitting in my inventory taking the dust.

I feel like I have been trapped to think this way and I still cannot force myself playing differently.

I usually try to change and think like i don't care losing my stuff then when I die I go back to my old ways of not using expensive or rare items anymore.

What annoys me it's that I'm fully aware of it but it's like I don't have the balls to overcome this fear of losing items I feel like a Hoarder HAHA !

Edited September 4, 2018 by Romain6082

September 4, 2018

6 minutes ago, Romain6082 said:

I am currently having the "Gear Fear" Mindset

I feel like sometime the game can be really punishing when you die so as a result I have lots of nice gears and fully custom guns sitting in my inventory taking the dust.

I feel like I have been trapped to think this way and I still cannot force myself playing differently.

I usually try to change and think like i don't care losing my stuff then when I die I go back to my old ways of not using expensive or rare items anymore.

What annoys me it's that I'm fully aware of it but it's like I don't have the balls to overcome this fear of losing items I feel like a Hoarder HAHA !

I know how it is man. Especially when you have a nice starter package in your stash. Not knowing what these guns are capable off and what to do, etc.

I wore some of my best gear to a raid once. Seemed like I was doing okay at the time. Till a player threw a frag grenade at my feet in a dark underground parking lot. Dead instantly lol. The loss was frustrating, but it was one I walked into. I stood still for too long in cover and made myself an open target to be flushed out with grenades.

I believe overcoming gear fear is this delicate combination of familiarity with self preservation. The more familiar you are with your equipment (like how the ballistics work on the gun you pefer, ammo types you use, attachments, etc) the more confidence you gain. But on the other hand, you don't want to give yourself the delusion you're untouchable. Oh man, when you start to think like that. This game loves to prove you wrong in so many ways, heh.

September 4, 2018

ITS MY PRECIOUS...

I am so in gear fear mode right now..lmao

September 4, 2018

12 hours ago, WarHawk0901 said:

Dying and losing in Tarkov is inevitable.

This comment here is key, once people realise and the penny drops they start enjoying the game and playing how its meant to be played.

I lost my "gear fear" long ago, now i have times where i can have a load of gear, do a few raids and loose it all then have to resort to scav/hatchet runs lol ..... Rinse and repeat!

I remember when i 1st started playing EfT i didn't want to go into raids with my PMC because of the weapons and gear i had, i was afraid to loose it.