Although it’s been over a week since Lighthouse launched in Escape From Tarkov, the community is still far from finding its feet on the new map. Unlike maps like Interchange and Customs, where the community have spent years pinpointing the best – and most efficient – places to loot, Lighthouse hasn’t been out long enough to reach that point just yet.
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Combined with confusion over extract locations and a new type of enemy, this all adds up to make Lighthouse a very dangerous map for unprepared players. Accidentally wandering into the wrong area, or failing to find the right extract, is a speedy recipe for death on Lighthouse – and when you consider how many other confused players are roaming around the new map, disaster is never far away.
That’s why it’s crucial to go into Lighthouse with as much preparation as possible – something we’re more than happy to help with. Knowing where every Lighthouse extract is can save your life, whereas knowing where to avoid can be just as valuable. Whether you’re looking to pull through raids safely on your own or you want to be the squad mate others are relying on, take a look at our tips below to get yourself ready for Lighthouse.
Learn the Lighthouse extracts
It goes without saying that if you’re looking to head into Lighthouse for loot, you’ll need to know your way back out. What’s the point in finding all that gear if you can’t get it out? To avoid failing to extract – or getting distracted in-raid while blindly trying to find a way out – make sure you know where your nearest extract is located. While you’re still learning the loot spots, spawns and extracts, it’s always worth keeping a map of Lighthouse open and ready to help navigate. We recommend the above map, which Jindouz – the creator – has helpfully provided. To better see all the details of Lighthouse, right click the map and open the image in a new tab.
Luckily, Lighthouse is fairly generous with the high amount of extracts it includes. Depending on where you spawn, there are plenty of exits to use – however some of these require items to access. The Road To Military Base V-ex requires a payment of 5000 Rubles per player to use, while the Mountain Pass extract needs players to bring paracord, Red Rebel ice pick, and no armour vest equipped. The armoured train arrives between 23 and 28 minutes into each raid and will stay for around seven minutes before departing. Finally, the Side Tunnel extract requires a PMC and Scav co-operate to leave the map together.
Beware of the Water Treatment Plant
If you’ve already played Lighthouse, you might be aware that the Water Treatment Plant is occupied by a dangerous new faction of NPC enemies. Called Rogues, this AI is similar to Reserve’s faction of raiders and will pose a much more significant threat than regular Scavs found elsewhere.
For BEAR players – or anyone travelling with a BEAR player – this can pose a particularly dangerous issue, as Rogues will shoot anyone belonging to this faction on sight. Due to the danger in fighting these soldiers, it’s recommended that BEAR players take a wide berth around the Water Treatment Plant if they’re not geared up and prepared to pick off the Rogues.
Any USEC players will have a slightly better time around the area, as Rogues will give them several warnings before opening fire. While this still isn’t ideal, it gives USEC players a chance to remove themselves from the situation – or at least not have to worry about being mowed down by AI if they stray too close to the Plant.
Learn to avoid the landmines
Like several other maps in Escape From Tarkov, Lighthouse is littered perilously with land mines. These are located on the northern side of the map, past the river that divides Lighthouse in two parts. Almost all of the mined areas are surrounding – and even inside – the Water Treatment Plant, however there are also several strips of landmines in the mountain paths to the east, south of the Road To Military Base extract. If you’re still unfamiliar with the northern side of Lighthouse, make sure to keep an eye on a map for places marked by landmines. If you’re under fire and don’t have time to keep checking a map, a general rule of thumb is that if you stick to the main roads, you’ll not hit any mines.
Stay vigilant at the Southern Road extract
Extract camping is unfortunately nothing new in Escape From Tarkov, but some extracts are more dangerous than others. The Southern Road extract on Lighthouse is one such place. Due to open road leading up to it and the sloping mountains to the north, approaching the Southern Road extract can leave a PMC feeling like a sitting duck. Even when your path to safety feels close, don’t drop your guard. Remain vigilant – watch for movement above and ahead of you, try and zig-zag up the road, and plan out your nearest route to cover in case shots start flying. Whenever possible, try to stick toward the northern side of the approach to the extract – you’ll be more likely to hear extract campers if they rustle in a bush, and any snipers waiting in the trees will have a harder time firing at a closer target.
Don’t go to the Lighthouse itself just yet
I know, blasphemy – the map is literally called Lighthouse, and you’re being told to avoid it? It’s admittedly a very tempting target to go loot, especially since Battlestate Games COO Nikita Buyanov previously said it would house an exclusive in-game trader. Well, disregard that: the developer has recently clarified that this iteration of Lighthouse is not the complete version of the map, and certain things – such as the trader – aren’t even in the game yet. Right now, the only thing to be found at Lighthouse is a quick death – the approach is guarded by a highly accurate AI sniper that will quickly put an end to your raid. In short, there’s no reason to go to the Lighthouse just yet – though that’s sure to change in the future.
Cross the map at a slower pace – for now
In maps like Interchange, where getting to a hotspot first can mean the different between a graphics card and a capacitor, speed is everything. In Lighthouse, that approach is more likely to get you killed. Right now, you can’t account for where other (probably lost) PMCs will turn up, where players will prioritise for loot, or even which direction players will go after spawning in. Lighthouse is a new map, and players are excited to explore it – but this makes the community unpredictable, and therefore dangerous. Lower your chances of being surprised by a random PMC by bringing in a decent headset and moving through Lighthouse a little slower than you normally would in other maps. In a map where players are still running around like headless chickens, it pays to be the one in control. Don’t sprint around corners, keep your ears open for movement, and don’t drop your guard in the seemingly quieter areas of the map.
There you have it – with those six tips, you should be kitted out for more success in Lighthouse. If you find yourself dying a little too much, don’t be discouraged: completely learning a map takes a lot of time, and as we’ve said above, Lighthouse is far more dangerous than most maps right now. If you find yourself getting frustrated, take a break and run some raids in a map you’re more familiar with – sometimes, all you need is a bit of a break before jumping in anew.
If you’re wondering what else was added alongside Lighthouse, check out the Escape From Tarkov 12.12 patch notes.
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