After months of anticipation, Battlestate Games have officially introduced their later character wipe, with players’ progress reset by the developers with the release of the 0.12.6.7456 patch on Thursday, May 28.
Like most multiplayer games, Escape From Tarkov players can spend hours and hours improving their characters and weapons, searching through sprawling maps and taking down enemies to scavenge for loot that can give you an upper hand against other players.
What sets Tarkov apart from other titles is the use of wipes to remove progression, weapons, and the advantage that some are able to gain, leveling the playing field and forcing everyone to start from scratch, and after months of speculation and anticipation, Battlestate Games have finally wiped their game for the first time since April 2019.
Back in February, Battlestate Games confirmed that they would be wiping the game once again in 2020, originally informing players that it would take place in the summer of 2020, but providing no firm timeline for it. Finally, after weeks of fans speculating as to when it would be, the developers confirmed that it would take place on May 28, and used the introduction of the 0.12.6.7456 patch to perform the action.
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This wipe will see players have their reveals reduced and returned to the lowest level, Trader Rep brought down to zero, and stashes which hold weapons and items cleared, so everyone jumps back into the game at the starting position. Battlestate uses the wipe as a way to avoid technical issues after a major update, but can also act as a way to balance the game, and often brings major excitement to the game as players flood back to start scavenging again.
Battlestate Games confirmed that while most character progression will be removed, it won’t be affecting any saved weapon presets or examined items in players’ handbooks, so there is no need to remake any preset guns when the game returns after downtime.
The 0.12.6.7456 patch also introduced a captcha system to the Flea Market in an attempt to clamp down on suspicious trades and actions through the in-game store, while changes have been made to the game’s AI to allow Scavs to cooperate together in groups, rather than attacking as lone wolves.