Lighthouse in Tarkov: How is it?

Lighthouse has been out for some time now. As the newest map added to Tarkov, how does it fair to the other maps? How does it feel to play as a PMC and a scav? Is it worth playing at all? The design itself is awesome. Especially when you take a look at the map’s layout. It makes so much sense; it feels good to move and navigate around this coastal town with shales, sunken villages, and a water treatment plant that’s not accessible under traditional circumstances. That being said, right out the gate, the spawns are... rough. At least as a PMC. And here I was thinking Interchange was awful. Because the map is longer and closer to the shape of a rectangle, rather than something like a square, spawns are usually on either the east or west sides of the map. Next to each other.... with varying levels of elevation. Yeah, you can kind of see where this is going. It leads to very quick back to stash situations, compounded if you spawn on the coast line. While certainly a very somber and peaceful scene, the shore has points of interest. And the most notable, the actual lighthouse itself, is not currently accessible to us. Which, we knew going into this wipe. When it will become open for us to explore and finally see our first real, in-game trader, we don’t know. I would expect this year, but let’s not be too optimistic, shall we?

Coming back to Lighthouse, it’s definitely the most unique map we have on offer currently. It feels the most out of place, but in a good way. I think that boils down to, again, the actual layout of the map when you look at it from a birds-eye view. On the East you have huge mountains impeding any progress towards technically Shoreline (even though there is technically an extract that leads you into Shoreline). And on the west, the coast; simple, serene water that allows you to navigate either south towards the lighthouse, or north towards the treatment plant and.... the rouges.

Alright, the rouges are a whole can of worms. A lot of discussion has been going on since day one about how their AI works and whether or not it’s intelligent or stupid; broken or easily manipulatable. From my own personal experiences, and this is coming primarily from scav runs and the occasional PMC run, the rouges are absolutely broken and busted. But to be honest, I don’t see a timeline where they are balanced, and not just farmable. Oh wait, they already are, because certain angles and spots exist where if you peak them correctly, you are in no danger of getting shot at. So, people have been using that to their advantage to not only farm the loot off the rogues, the surrounding area as well. At least their loot if pretty fair. Level 4 armor most of the time, decently kitted guns, but most of the time, not the best ammo. Because they already have suck godlike aim, giving them something like 55a1 would make them beyond broken. So, thank God BSG had the foresight to not give them all best in slot ammo. Because loot on Lighthouse, although being nerfed already, is still really strong. Bitcoins, folders, military tech; there’s a ton of high value stuff on the map. Both inside and outside the treatment plant.

Overall, the map is really interesting. All the new quests they have added at least give us a reason to go there, especially now that lot of gear is locked behind those quests. Some scopes, weapons, armor; they all are locked behind completing them; even just barters for gear are not available at traders when you level them up anymore. Which sucks, but at the same time creates incentive to go and get those tasks done. For example, the CPC level 5 armored rig is now locked behind a task. Not on Lighthouse mind you, but this was a change that hit every map. So, it’s worth mentioning here. The map is an incredible scav map; whether you just want some loot, or risk it fighting the rogues, it reminds me of when Reserve first came out. The map had a metric shit ton of loot on it, and you could fight raiders. And this was even before D-2 and the underground was a thing. I suspect Lighthouse will tell a similar story to reserve in that regard. And now combined with voip, people are really willing to work together to take them down. Or, at the very least, use the friendly extract for some free karma and loot. All the new quests on the map are interesting, and since there are, I think 20+ of them, gives you a solid reason for going to that map in the first place. Despite it being hellaciously toxic within the first minute of a raid. The map is a very nice addition, and is going to get really interesting once the actual lighthouse is opened. Who knows what that trader will have for supplies. I imagine it will be very powerful, but only time will tell.