The Wipe

For newcomers to Escape from Tarkov, "The Wipe" is an almost mythological term and event. For veterans, it's a moment awaited with the hope and anticipation reserved for a prophet or a liberator. Let’s explore how it works and what its impact is on the game experience.

In the EFT player community, "The Wipe" refers to the periodic reset of all game accounts, resetting every player back to level 1 and erasing everything accumulated—money, loot, gear, and quest progress. Only achievements and a few other elements (such as cosmetic items purchased with real money on the official BSG website) remain unaffected.

In EFT, however, the wipe isn't just that. The word "wipe" also refers to the entire period between one reset and the next. For example, players refer to "mid-wipe" to indicate a point midway between one wipe and the next.

Consequences of The Wipe

With everyone starting from scratch:

1. There’s no initial equipment disparity (although experienced players, who know the maps well and die less often, will gear up much faster).
   

2. Everyone has to start with the first quests, making the quest zones crowded. This can be fun with more frequent fights, but it can also be frustrating when dying repeatedly makes completing quests difficult. Some players even camp these areas, knowing people are bound to visit for quests.
   

3. Ground Zero is the map for players up to level 20, typically filled with newer, less experienced players. Right after the wipe, though, many experienced players are also here, making the map much more dangerous. Keep that in mind.
   

4. At the beginning of the wipe, having better gear makes the biggest difference, as it’s harder (or impossible) to buy from Traders, since everyone has low reputation with them, and rare to find on the Flea Market, as most who find it keep it for themselves.
   

5. Flea Market prices will fluctuate since everyone will need early items to upgrade their hideout, while items that will become the most expensive midway through the wipe are initially less in demand and, therefore, cheaper. If you have some spare cash, investing in items that will have greater value later (e.g., water filters, GPUs) could be wise.

   
   
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The Cycle of the Wipe

The periodic Wipe in EFT creates a sort of life cycle that repeats itself almost identically each time, except for possible changes introduced by patches.

Players all start at level 1, triggering a race to level up as quickly as possible and acquire better equipment, gaining advantages over others.

At the start of the wipe, there are also more players, with numbers dropping later as many reach certain goals and then wait for the next wipe to start fresh, joining in once again the race to level up quickly and gear up as fast as possible.

Some ultra-competitive players even take time off work or hunker down for days to build an advantage over others—or simply to relish the satisfaction of "finishing" the game sooner.

The "wipe cycle" impacts all aspects of the game. I've already mentioned changes in Flea Market prices and the fact that players are initially concentrated on completing the same quests, creating more chaos in early quest zones, which can be either exciting or frustrating.

The game economy is influenced by the current stage of the wipe, as well as which maps are most frequented. Over time, players gradually spread out across various maps depending on their goals and playstyle.

Of course, as some participate in this race, others, due to lack of time or a different playstyle, approach it more leisurely. I know because I am one of them. Our goal isn’t to "finish the game" but to "live it", experience it fully, embracing the immersive, exploratory, and survival aspects of the game.

Will Wipes Always Be Part of EFT?

Clearly, the wipe isn’t exclusive to EFT. It’s often associated with the test phases (beta or alpha) of online games, where developers reset accounts upon updates or changes, forcing everyone to start from scratch to identify potential bugs, prevent any accumulated advantages from previous versions, and avoid issues that may arise from using old database versions with new game updates.

This was also the origin of wipes in EFT, but due to the long development period and the game’s inherent mechanics, it’s become integral.

Nikita, the head of BSG and creator of EFT, has repeatedly stated that wipes will continue even after the official release.

The goal is to keep EFT engaging and challenging for competitive players.

By resetting everything, all players are forced to start from zero, with limited funds and basic gear, resuming the race to level up and gain an advantage.

Fortunately, Nikita has also said that in the final release, each player will have access to multiple game profiles:

• One with periodic wipes

• One that never resets (but may allow manual wiping)

• A PVE profile without wipes (with the option to wipe manually)

  
  

Given my limited playtime and my playstile, I’m pleased about the option for a wipe-free mode, though we’ll have to see how it integrates into version 1.0. According to Nikita, the final version of EFT will differ somewhat from the current one, partly due to the implementation of story quests.

All current quests should be considered "side quests," while the main story quests behind EFT remain unseen and won’t be accessible until version 1.0.

What's your take on the Wipe? Are you a completionist racing to the top, or do you prefer to take things slow and savor the journey? Share your strategies, frustrations, and favorite Wipe moments in the comments below.

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