The patch notes for Escape From Tarkov update 0.14.9.1 have been released and they make some massive changes to the armor system that has been irritating players for months.
While not the main focus of the patch, the armor changes are easily the most impactful when it comes to the game. In the last wipe the armor system was totally reworked, adding plates to some rigs and making each armor protect only the areas it covered rather than the entire body. While this was initially seen as a good change that increased the realism in Tarkov, quickly players found it was more annoying to be shot in the armpit with no protection than to deal with a little bit of gamification.
In the patch notes for 14.9.1 it has been revealed that armor of the same type will now protect the same areas, including the armpit. The front back and side colliders for all armor have been made bigger to offer more protection to the body and hopefully stop you from taking direct shots to the thorax despite having armor on.
We’ll have to wait for the servers to come back online to see how well this has been implemented, but on paper at least it seems to be a positive change that should make Tarkov less frustrating.
Elsewhere in the patch notes loot crates have been added to Escape From Tarkov, but don’t worry as they appear to be free to earn with no monetization options. Completing quests in Escape From Tarkov Arena will unlock loot crates for you to use in the main Tarkov game. Once you unlock them in Arena you can claim them from the workbench in your hideout.
There are four types of crate; the equipment crate that will give you armor and wearable items, the weapon crate that will give you weapons, attachments, grenades and ammo, the supply crates that will give food, meds and crafting items and finally the valuable crate that will give you valuables, keys and even key cards.
It seems that this is an actually worthwhile implementation of loot crates, and with seemingly no option to buy them outright this is a surprisingly well throughout way of doing them. Considering how many microtransactions Battlestate Games has added in recent months, this is a nice surprise.
Rounding out the patch are a few new perks for Edge of Darkness and Unheard Edition owners. Both groups will get a 30% reduction in insurance return time, and a unique PMC dog tag design for each group. Then Unheard Edition owners will also get the highly anticipated Cultist Jacket clothing item.
