Best Escape from Tarkov Maps for Beginners

Escape from Tarkov has taken the gaming community by storm. With the extreme survival shooter growing in popularity by the day. Throughout the game, you will be tasked with making your way through a variety of dangerous locations filled with other players and AI bots (or Scavs) while also completing quests, finding loot, and demolishing anybody who gets in your way.

That being said, a large majority of the maps require some expertise and are not fit if you’ve just started to play the game. So, in the following section, we’ve laid out some of the best Escape from Tarkov maps for beginners.

Best Escape from Tarkov Maps for Beginners

#3 – Shoreline

Let’s begin with the map that’s best for avoiding conflict, Shoreline. As a huge map with just a few villages and buildings, there’s tons of open space for you to learn the ins and outs of the game. While there are some areas of the map that can lead to some pretty bloody battles. Shoreline is so big that you can get away with just sticking to long-distance shooting and looting around the edges of the map.

You will be able to find some decent loot in some of the more remote areas. However, some of the best spots to loot and focus on learning the game if you’re a beginner are;

• Power Plant (south of the resort)
• Resort (in the middle of the map)
• Scav Island (south of the gas station)
• Village (on the west side of the map)
• Weather Station (east of the power plant)

Most players will gravitate towards the resort when they first spawn. This is because it holds some of the best loot and the best battles in the game. However, the power plant is a good location to find some easy loot. While Scav Island is home to a few loot crates but is mostly used for practicing your Scav fights. The weather station is a solid destination because it will provide you with a good layout of the map. And the village can offer plenty of cover as you go about your looting. Regardless, it’s a good starting point for beginners.

#2 – Interchange

This one’s a little hit or miss, with some players claiming it’s too difficult for beginners while others argue the sheer amount of loot you can acquire is well worth the challenge. Nevertheless, it’s still widely regarded as one of the best Escape from Tarkov maps for beginners due to its simple spawn-to-extract cycle and how accessible the loot is.

As previously noted, where you spawn versus the extraction point is incredibly straightforward. The perimeter of the map consists of some parking lots and the power station. Although the most important location on the map (and the one that takes up the most space) is the Ultra Mall. Which is split into five parts;

• Oli (hardware store)
• Idea (furniture store)
• Goshan (grocery store)
• The Shopping Mall (two stories made up of multiple stores)
• The Parking Garage (underground lot)

Once you’ve grown accustomed to the map and all of its components, then you can start to raid the Ultra Mall for its valuable loot. As a beginner, you should start at Oli and Idea before moving on to the shopping mall. This is where all of the more skilled players will flock to immediately. You can always try to find loot in the surrounding areas (like the power station), but most of the valuable loot is in the mall (like Kiba, Techlight, and Emercom).  

#1 – Customs

Sliding into our number one spot as the best Escape from Tarkov map for beginners is Customs. Not only is the map incredibly simple to navigate, with a basic rectangular layout and linear path to victory. Since you will either spawn on the east or west side of the map, your extraction point will be on the opposite end. But a few alternative extracts pop up along the way, which will make things even easier for you.

Another reason why this is the best map for beginners is because there are so many different ways to play it. You can play it safe and stick to the exterior borders of the map, moving inside only so often to grab loot. Or dart right down the middle and engage in some epic battles. That being said, some of the best places to find loot on the map are;

• Customs Office (on the west side of the map)
• Dorms (in the center of the map)
• Old Gas Station (on the southeast side of the map)
• Sub Station (on the east side of the map)

If you’re starting on the east side of the map, then I would suggest heading straight for the substation. Here you will find some weapons crates and duffel bags. It will also give you a solid view of the old gas station and the dorms. So, you can make your next move accordingly. If you begin on the west side of the map, then you should head for the customs office. Which will be in a giant red warehouse just before you cross the bridge. Here you will find a safe, some computers and a few jackets.

Dorms is where all of the skilled players will go because of the quality loot you can find. Though, I’d wait until you become more familiar with the game before you head in this direction.  

That’s everything you need to know about the best Escape from Tarkov maps for beginners. If you found this information useful, don’t forget to check out our guides section for more breakdowns of other popular gaming titles.