The most recent Escape From Tarkov wipe has now been out for a few days and the dust is starting to settle on all the new changes it brought with it. But there’s one change that has massively improved the game for me, and that is the rework of the customs map.
It’s fair to say the launch of the most recent Tarkov wipe has been mixed, with a lot of technical issues that have taken some time to be fixed, and a controversial change to the flea market that some players are finding difficult to manage. However, one change that has been unanimously praised is the rework to the customs map in Tarkov, which was already considered to be pretty good.
While a lot of the map in Tarkov are in need of some kind of change, with Interchange and it’s garbage extracts being top of my list, customs was one that didn’t feel too bad. There were some areas that felt very similar, and a couple of buildings that were blocked off, but nothing too egregious, so much so that it was my favourite map in Tarkov. So reworking it was going to be a risk, considering how well loved it was.
But, the new version of customs is even better than the old one. It hasn’t really changed anything that made the old map great, just throwing in a few new textures and visuals here and there, and it has headed a few new areas to explore.
Initially, it looked like only one or two of the warehouses in the industrial area around the middle of the map would be opened up and become explorable, but it turns out that almost all of them have been, meaning almost every building you see on customs is now fully explorable. That has added a ton of extra play space, as well as looting opportunities, to a map that already felt quite large and varied.
But it’s not just the extra space that makes this remake great, it’s also the extra movement opportunities on the south of the map that this has opened up. Now, instead of having the options of running down the main road or through old gas, you now have more opportunities to move from one side to the other, and a lot more spaces to hide if you run into trouble. As someone who tends to avoid combat after a while, it makes sneaking around and just getting loot or completing tasks way easier, which is never a bad thing.
There are a couple of areas I’m not sold on. I still think dorms could do with a bit of a rework to make it less cramped and the wood area behind new gas still seems pretty pointless, and will be even more so when Santa’s sleigh disappears, but those are fairly minor issues in what is easily the best map in Tarkov.
The Escape From Tarkov devs could have easily messed this up with the customs map rework, but instead they have made it even better, and so far this wipe it has been effectively the only map I’ve played outside of having to do quests on others. I just hope interchange is up next for a rework before launch.
