Leveling fast is key to almost any game with RPG elements, and the best of them have optimal questing and progression paths. In Escape from Tarkov, completing Tasks is the best route to endgame readiness, so here’s the best way to complete them easily.
How to Complete Tasks Easily in Escape from Tarkov
There are several ways to make Tasks easier in Tarkov. I say “easier” in relative terms. Nothing about this game is truly easy if you’re new. Even the smallest maps are huge and overwhelming. If you aren’t familiar with their layouts, finding items and locations can be daunting. However, following these steps will take some of the sting out of the process:
- Raid at nighttime during off hours. Nighttime raids are historically less populated with players. If you play during the day or late at night on a weekday, you’ll also likely encounter less human resistance. You’ll still need to deal with Scavs, the AI enemies scattered around, but you can usually avoid them. Scavs don’t often come in large enough numbers. However, if you don’t know where a Scav is, don’t try to fight it. They’ll kill you. Ask me how I know.
- Pick a single server. Select which servers Tarkov will choose from in the Battlestate Games launcher. Click the Change Server button over the main Play button in the bottom left. Then, pick one server close to where you live and stick to it. Fewer servers mean fewer potential enemies.
- Avoid combat at all costs. Fighting other players, or AI, is the worst way to complete Tasks. If you must fight, use every advantage: cover, grenades, teammates, anything. There’s no shame in running for your life. Task items will disappear from your inventory if you die with them in a raid, so stay alive by any means necessary.
- Do multiple tasks at once. Try to gather as many Task completion items and objectives as you can and then extract. If you feel threatened, don’t hesitate to leave early, of course.
- Use your Scav to find Task items. The more you use your Scav, the more money you can make essentially for free. You’ll save time, and you’ll also continue learning maps at a much lower risk to yourself.
The Best Tasks to Complete First in Escape from Tarkov
Early on, you’ll only have access to a few Tasks, specifically Debut from Prapor and Shortage from Therapist. When you reach level 2, you’ll also gain access to the Introduction Task from Mechanic. Start with the Introduction Task, as it unlocks Jaeger as a Trader, and you can buy MP-133 Shotguns from him to complete Debut.
Tasking starts to pick up at levels 5-7. At that point, you’ll start getting quests in large numbers for specific maps, as well as a smattering of other maps. The first map you’ll spend time doing Tasks on is Customs, primarily working with Prapor, Therapist, and Skier.
Best Customs Tasks to Do First Escape from Tarkov
Customs’ line of Tasks extends a bit into the midgame of Escape from Tarkov, but the majority is at lower levels. If you start playing a month or more after a wipe occurs (when the whole game resets alongside a major update), you’ll go up against other players with much better gear. They’ll also look primarily to PvP and hunt the AI boss enemies. New or low-level players are a tasty snack.
Once on Customs, I recommend doing the following Tasks as they become available at the exclusion of others.
Prapor:
- Checking
- Delivery from the Past
- BP Depot
- Bad Rep Evidence
- Shaking up the Teller (should you reach Loyalty 2 with him)
Therapist:
- Operation Aquarius – Parts 1 and 2
- Pharmacist
Skier:
- The Extortionist
- Golden Swag
- Golden Swag (provided you can find the two Secure Flash Drives for the What’s on the Flash Drive Task quickly)
- Chemical – Parts 1 and 2
For both Therapist and Skier, you’ll need to complete other item collection Tasks to unlock their Customs ones. Supplier sees you providing Salewa first aid kits, which I recommend hunting as a Scav on the Streets of Tarkov map. The same applies to the three Gas Analyzers you’ll need for her Sanitary Standards Parts 1 and 2 Tasks. It’s also the case for Morphine Injectors you need for the Painkiller Task. Go to the medical areas in the Lexos dealership and Bear camp southwest of the map. Just note that as a high-traffic loot area, Lexos, the camp, and almost everything in the west will have competition.
Best Out-Of-Customs Tasks to Do in Escape from Tarkov
I also recommend doing the following out-of-Customs Tasks when you unlock them:
- Postman Pat from Prapor and Therpist. You’re going into Factory, but this is a quick get-in and get-out situation.
- Friend from the West from Skier. You’ll need to complete this quest to unlock Peacemaker’s line.
- You’ve Got Mail from Prapor. Your first possible PMC foray into Streets of Tarkov. Beware that the Post Office is a high-value loot area, so you may see enemies there even at night.
- Population Census from Therapist. Another Streets Task that I recommend doing the same raid as — but after acquiring the item for — You’ve Got Mail. The Census document is nearby but in a slightly less high-traffic area.
Best Shoreline Tasks to Do First in Escape from Tarkov
You get access to Reserve Tasks before Shoreline, but those are a trap. The safest and most consistent extraction points on Reserve require an item that regularly costs 3-4 million rubles and a paracord. The only other good option is a Sewer Manhole, but you can’t have a backpack to use it. Your other choices to extract on Reserve are a slow-to-leave armored train and an underground bunker notorious for being camped.
Shoreline should be the next map you focus on. For the first few Tasks there, I highly recommend steering well clear of the health resort during the day — or at least waiting until half the map timer has wound down. The resort is a hotbed of PvP thanks to its generous medical items spawns. I’m still a bit terrified of the place myself.
Stick to the outer limits of Shoreline until you absolutely must go into the resort, and once you’re in, complete your talk and get out. I’ve ordered the tasks based on the best order, as Shoreline is a more open-ended map than Customs.
- Fishing Gear from Peacekeeper. I always start here on Shoreline just to get it out of the way.
- Health Care Privacy from Therapist – Part 1 and 2 (you’ll need a mildly expensive key for part 2, and it’s in the resort)
- Signal from Mechanic – Parts 1, 2, and 3 from Mechanic (you’ll be going in and out of the resort a couple of times here, but not to any super high-traffic areas).
- Colleagues from Therapist – Parts 1 and 2 (you’ll need mildly expensive keys for part 2, but if you wait long enough, the doors they open in the village and resort are likely to be open).
- Scrap Metal, Eagle Eye, Humanitarian Supplies, The Cult Part 1, and Spa Tour Parts 1 through 4, all from Peacekeeper.
If a quest demands you supply the Trader with a specific item, try to get it on your Scav first. You could also prioritize the Courtesy Visit Task from Jaeger, provided you’ve decided to do any of his Tasks on Woods. It’s an easy in-and-out job, having you explore a few buildings in the flooded village in Shoreline’s northwest.
Complete all these Tasks in roughly the listed order, and you’ll easily be at or a bit beyond level 15 in Escape from Tarkov. Then, you’ll unlock the Flea Market, a collection of higher-demand Tasks. For more Tarkov info, check out our guides on how to use the weapon stand, unjam guns, and more on the way in our guides hub for the game.
