How to level up fast in Escape From Tarkov Patch 13.5

A solid trigger finger, accuracy, and map awareness will only get you so far in the unforgiving landscape of Tarkov. As a low-level player, you’ll miss out on some of Escape From Tarkov’s best resources, including the Flea Market. In this guide, I’ll show you how to level up fast in Escape From Tarkov Patch 13.5. I’ll also share a few clever ways to earn EXP and explain why your level is so important.

How to level up fast in Escape From Tarkov Patch 13.5

For most players, the first big milestone of each Wipe is unlocking the Flea Market. This feature allows players to buy items from each other in a marketplace and offers a vast array of equipment you may not find at the Traders. Most ‘Meta’ gear is unavailable in the Flea Market, but it’s still a valuable resource and is open to everyone upon reaching Level 15. Trader Loyalty Levels (LL) are locked behind player level as well, so it’s essential to gather as much EXP as you can.

Here are the best ways to gather tons of EXP in Escape from Tarkov:

Completing Quests

Some Quests are daunting for new players, but they remain one of the best sources of EXP in the game. The introductory quests like ‘Debut’ from Prapor or ‘Shortage’ from Therapist offer a disappointing amount of EXP but quests like ‘The Tarkov Shooter – Part 1’ provide a whopping 12300 EXP. Jaeger’s ‘The Survivalist’s Path’ quests don’t offer a ton of EXP individually, but most of them are quite simple. 

If you don’t know the Woods map, I strongly recommend learning it through offline Raids, as many early-game Quests send you there. ‘Friend From The West’ from Skier tasks you with killing PMCs and collecting their Dog Tags. If you’re a little nervous in PVP, this won’t happen right away, but there’s 10,000 EXP up for grabs if you do it. Factory is a decent map to find PVP quickly.

Image by PC Invasion

Looting

Even as a passive player, you’re always gaining EXP if you’re opening containers and collecting loot. It’s not uncommon to earn almost 800+ EXP per Raid if you’re vigilant, and you may find valuable gear for your hideout.

Survive your Raids

One of the best pieces of advice I was given as a new player is, The game is called ‘Escape from Tarkov,’ not ‘Kill everyone in Tarkov.’ You get a small bonus to your EXP for surviving a Raid, but you also get a multiplier on everything you did on the map. If you extract from a long Raid, even if it was uneventful, you can walk out with thousands of EXP. 

If survival is an issue, you can hide for the first 10-20 mins of a Raid and wait for player traffic to die down. You’ll still have Scavs to worry about, but it should be easier. Escape from Tarkov is a brutal game, so expect your Survival Rate to be low when you’re new.

Headshots are key

Headshots are the quickest way to defeat AI Scavs in Escape from Tarkov. Many players don’t know that Headshot kills also give quite a hefty EXP bonus. AI Scavs are scary and have incredible aim if they target you, so fighting them isn’t always a good idea. If your hand is forced, and you can land those headshots, always go for them. 

If you’re in combat with a player, a Headshot would be nice but don’t jeopardize the entire raid to do it.

And there you have it; even if you’re uncomfortable in combat, plenty of ways exist to gain a solid stream of EXP. If you’re new to the game and are yet to unravel the mysteries of Scav Karma, check out our guide.