Escape From Tarkov Wipe Hardcore: All You Need To Know

Escape From Tarkov's Wipe, Hardcore edition, went live on July 9th. According to Battlestate Games' roadmap, this is the final wipe before the game is fully released in its 1.0 state.

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It is also Tarkov's first Hardcore wipe, being played with considerably different rules than usual. Here is all you need to know about the final EFT Wipe before full release.

Escape From Tarkov Wipe: Hardcore Edition

The Hardcore wipe kicked off on July 9th, 2025. Since there will be no more wipes before full release, this one can last a maximum of six months, if 1.0 comes out in December. There's no information regarding specific release dates other than it is coming in 2025.

Described by BSG as an "extra challenging wipe", this update comes with a lot of changes. Here are the most important ones:

• Hideout Upgrades Require More Items.
• Items For Hideout Upgrades Do Not Need To Be Found In Raid Anymore.
• Ammo crafts in the Hideout have been reduced.
• Spawn chance of rare loot also reduced.
• Flea Market is disabled.

Image Via Battlestate Games.

• Only three locations are available from the map: Ground Zero, Factory, Customs. All others can only be accessible via transit.
• Ammo, currencies, and most meds cannot be stored in the secure container.
• Traders have less meds, weapons, ammo, and armor.
• Items are sold for less to traders, while they've made their stock more expensive across the board.
• All bosses have a 100% spawn chance.
• Experience gained from kills is nerfed, and the XP penalty for dying is higher.
• Experience modifier for a survival has been buffed.
• AI difficulty has been buffed.

At the time of writing this, it isn't clear for how long these changes will remain in place. BSG has said that "all restrictions (...) will be wave-like: as players progress, we have planned sets of changes that will affect gameplay, including the gradual opening of locations on the location selection screen."

Some restrictions might be lifted entirely, or adjusted slightly according to how the wipe progresses.

No Tasks And Traders Locked To Level One

Image Via Battlestate Games.

Two examples of these wave-like changes also include extremely impactful measures that aren't even listed above, because they were not announced by BSG prior to Escape From Tarkov's Hardcore Wipe.

As of July 10th, there are no tasks available in Tarkov outside of Dailies and Weeklies. This means that players can only level up through kills, loots, and survives. It also means that Ref and Jaeger cannot be unlocked, for now.

All traders have a requirement of lvl 80 to reach level 2, which means that all players are locked to level 1 traders for the time being. This, in turn, also locks Hideout progression, since higher level traders are required for later upgrades.

BSG seem to be attempting to slow progression to a crawl at the start of this Escape From Tarkov Wipe, hard-capping how much players can work towards later objectives.

For now, you should focus on upgrading your hideout, hoarding items for upgrades that you can't unlock yet, while also hoarding quest items for when tasks eventually become available.

If you manage to grind towards level 5, you can then accelerate your leveling until level 15, when you'll unlock weekly quests. With both of these tasks unlocked, you can get a good leveling rhythm, but you'll still be locked to level 1 traders, which considerably hampers progression.

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