Visor Mechanics Need an Update in Tarkov

Now that we’ve gotten huge recoil changes in Tarkov, and the armor has also seen tons of changes to how its systems work, I think it’s time to tackle another mechanic in the game that has largely been overlooked for some time now. To be fair, this mechanic in particular seems rather limited in use than if we were to compare it to years prior. And what I'm talking about is the ability to wear a face shield down and aim down your weapon at the same time. Nobody has really considered this in recent times because face shields are rather difficult to acquire. And this is talking about full covering face shields, not eye protection ones. Those probably don’t need to get adjusted at all. But Fast MT shields, and especially Altyn shields; these two are the major contenders for why this change might feel necessary. But at the same time, while it might hurt these helmets even more than they already are, at the same time, it also allows BSG to add some new kit into the game that would be extremely interesting to see, and could allow these powerful items that have been basically locked off for good to make a proper return to form. So, let’s go over why face shields have been kind of removed from the game (at least the good ones), talk about what could be introduced to work with them, and how all of this could bring Altyns back into the game. So, if this sounds like an interesting conversation be sure to leave your thoughts down below at the end of the video and subscribe for more topics like this one in the future.

Why are face shields so strong? Probably the first thing we should go over. But to put it simply, they allow you to eat lethal face shots should you get lucky and have a round ricochet off it.

Obviously, the higher level of protection on the face shield, the more rounds it can save you from. Both in terms of quantity as well as quality. For years back in the day, when all the face shields were much easier to obtain in the game, people were more inclined to run them because of accessibility as well as poor ammo options that made them quite powerful. People didn’t fall over in one or two bullets, so having the protection to tank even a face shot was something many people sought after. Things have changed, of course, especially recently. All the ammo and armor changes that have come to the game make protection in general a hot button topic. But it feels as though face shields have long since been almost removed from the game. Not literally of course, in fact the helmets needed to run many face shields are still sold by vendors. Looking at Ragman, he still barters and sells many face shields that people would want to run, but that begs the question of why it also feels as though people don’t run them anymore. I’m not counting Tagilla’s helmet because while it’s technically a face cover, it isn’t something that can be toggled on and off. Just your normal shields that get attached to helmets. I find in my raids that people opt not to run face shields anymore. You still get the rare Zsh helmet with shield or the new KIASS Tor-2 helmet with its respective shield, but for the most part, the days of nothing but Fast MTs with Shield or full Altyn are kind of gone. Regardless, face shields are less prevalent than they have been in a long time. Are there are some ways of bringing them back to vendors and making them popular again. But if we do that, they will need to go through an overhaul that many won’t like and would probably argue goes against the whole point of them. However it’s a sacrifice that sounds just, if you hear me out.

The biggest way to balance face shields properly, is to make it so that while you have the face shield down covering you, the player is unable to aim down their weapon, because the face shield will not give you enough clearance to see the sight picture you have on it. Again, people immediately probably ask, "well what’s the point then”? And the answer is keeping you alive. A face shield is a powerful piece of kit to bring into a raid, and the fact that someone hitting a nasty shot and you not dying because you have coverage there, is strong in its own right. In reality, you should only have that sucker down if you are in a high traffic area with cover, where there is going to be a fight. Somewhere like dorms make the most sense but having down whilst walking around randomly on Shoreline. Yeah, there’s a chance someone shoots at you, and it tanks a bullet because that’s just how Tarkov is, but the smudges on the screen, the constant breathing in your ear; it can be kind of an eyesore to deal with. But in general, making it so that weapons can’t be aimed down with a face shield down adds a whole new dynamic to the mechanic. Your next question is okay, is there a way we can aim with a face shield down? And the answer is yes. With a new piece of kit for weapons.

There are certain buttstocks that exist that are very low profile, which allow a user of the weapon to aim down with a face shield and have it be no issue. I think the proper term for them is called a drop stock. Here is a picture of one for the MCX. But with how low the arm of the stock droops down, it allows so much clearance of the face shield. And to balance this in terms of stats on the butt stock, it could be an ergonomics-based stock with little to no recoil reduction. This is where we get to the nitty gritty of how to balance stuff like this. The MCX probably isn’t the only weapon with a drop stock, so other weapons could have something like this introduced into the game. But that brings up another issue, which is not every weapon in the game is going to have something like a drop stock to allow that weapon to be aimed with a face shield. And to be honest, I don’t have a good answer to that. Other than weapons that can be folded are also allowed to aim with a shield down. Recoil may be hampered because of it, but that’s the tradeoff of having face protection. But something like say an AUG or an AK-74N with a fixed stock, I don’t know. I guess in this hypothetical don’t use those weapons if you want to both run a face shield and aim while wearing it. The reason why these ergo focused stocks would work is because now generally, most weapons can forgo some percent decrease in their recoil stat because guns are easier to handle for the most part. But in general, I would be very interested to see what the game would be like with face shields being much more accessible than they currently are; even making them the easiest to acquire in the game's history. Just to see how people play with them being unable to aim down sights traditionally unless their weapon has a drop stock or a folded one.

Visors and aiming down while wearing one is an old ass Tarkov mechanic. And like many things in the game, this should also see some new and interesting updates to give this piece of kit more use than it currently is getting. Whether or not their use would increase or decrease with changes like this one being implemented, I can’t say for sure. People would definitely be more inclined to give it a try and see how it feels. But again, Tarkov has recently been about give and take. And face protection is something that with the exception of visibility, has largely had no downsides to gameplay. But now, if you couldn’t aim with a visor down, people would have to play around them much differently than in the past, and I think that’s where my curiosity lies the most. Just seeing what people do with them. I’m sure people would quickly figure out what’s the best or how to best run the visors, but that comes with time, and people would spend more of theirs making the conscious choice of whether or not they want to run one in the first place. It’s a weird idea as a whole, but many people who play Tarkov have advocated for this to be implemented. So, I’m just echoing what they have said in the past. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are about this idea of no aiming with a visor down, some hurdles it could run into and be sure to subscribe for more ideas that might end up becoming hot takes down the line. I hope to see you in future ones.