Best Escape From Tarkov Quest Order For Early Wipe

Best Escape From Tarkov Quest Order For Early Wipe
Images via Battlestate Games

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

1st Jul 2022 17:28

If you're wanting to maximise your time, then knowing the best Escape From Tarkov quest order is key. At the start of every cycle in Escape From Tarkov, rushing your early game quests is one of the best ways to get the upper hand on your opponents. However, knowing the route to take can be a bit tricky, so make sure to keep reading our Escape From Tarkov quest order guide below.

The main reason the Escape From Tarkov quest order is important is that it allows you to get to the higher trader levels in the lowest amount of time possible after each Escape From Tarkov wipe. This gives you access to armour, guns, and ammo that is significantly better than those still stuck in the early stages, and can make PvP encounters trivial if you are good enough mechanically.

Furthermore, a lot of quests can be stacked in single raids, so taking a route that fully optimises this can save you a lot of time. Knowing which items you need to be on the lookout for before you get each quest is a must too, as that can avoid difficult hurdles that will block your progress. If you're looking for even more help in the early wipe stages though, don't miss our Escape From Tarkov new wipe tips guide.

Escape From Tarkov Quest Order

Best Escape From Tarkov Quest Order For Early Wipe
Click to enlarge

Introduction

  • Mechanic
  • Level Two

While it might seem a bit silly to say that a quest that requires you to level up is the first quest you should do, but it is thankfully simpler than that. The first thing you should do at the start of every wipe is examine every item at each of the traders. Luckily, after doing this you should level up due to the EXP gain from examining items, and thus the Escape From Tarkov Introduction quest will be available. Just head to the Escape From Tarkov Woods map and pick up the letter to gain access to Jager and complete your first quest.

Debut

  • Prapor
  • Level One

The other main reason why you'll want to do Introduction first is to make Debut significantly easier. Getting access to Jager means that you can buy the MP-133 shotguns required for this quest, skipping the potentially time consuming need to search for them in raid. The only other part is killing five scavs on the Escape From Tarkov Customs map, which can be done in one raid if you're lucky.

Shortage

  • Therapist
  • Level One

The Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest isn't technically a task that you must do before you do any others, but it is a very good one to be aware of as early as possible as it can be a consistent blocker. Stopping off at common Salewa spawn points in your Customs and Woods raids can complete this quest early for you, but otherwise your best option is to craft them through the Medstation at level one.

Checking

  • Prapor
  • Level Two

Once you've completed Debut, you'll want to head back to Customs to complete the Escape From Tarkov Checking quest. This will be very hotly contested in the early wipe, but doing it at night is a good option, as essentially no one will be running night-vision at this point in the wipe.

Acquaintance

  • Jager
  • No level requirement

Much like Shortage, the Escape From Tarkov Acquaintance quest is one to keep an eye out for while you're making your way through other quests. It should be farmed for if not done after a while - and this can be done easily on either Woods or Interchange - but it is not necessarily a must complete at this specific point.

Delivery From The Past

  • Prapor
  • Level Five

You will need to somehow get a hold of the Tarcone director's key to complete the Escape From Tarkov Delivery from the Past quest, but you might be able to barter for it with Therapist if you've been raiding rations for the Acquaintance quest. You should also be at level five by this point through the quest rewards, and raid experience too.

Operation Aquarius - Part One And Two

  • Therapist
  • Level Six

For the most optimised quest route, you'll want to make sure to complete at least the first of these two quests before gaining any rep with Skier. The first part makes you lose 0.01 Skier rep, but the second thankfully does not, so that can just be completed passively as you play Customs in the coming raids.

Supplier

  • Skier
  • Level Five

This quest is one that you should be able to get through fairly quickly with some directed focus. It does require two found in raid items, but they can both be farmed fairly easily on Factory. You could double up your time on Factory from Delivery from the Past, but that is a rather risky endeavour. 

Escape From Tarkov Quest Order Woods
Click to enlarge

The Survivalist Path - Thrifty

  • Jager
  • No level requirement

The next four quests in this order act as a trifecta of sorts, and they all can technically be completed in the same raid if you're really good, or two if you can search out your scav kills well. If you do manage to do it all in the one raid, extracting in either bunker last is a great option too.

Search Mission

  • Prapor
  • Level Five

This is probably a better use of your second raid for these four quests, as it can be quite the trek to the back of Woods and you might not have enough time. Like the other Prapor quest in this set, Search Mission doesn't lead to any other quests, so it technically isn't blocking anything, but it is a great way to boost your EXP.

Shootout Picnic

  • Prapor
  • Level Three

This quest requires you to take down fifteen scavs on Woods, which you should do handily across the course of this collection of Woods tasks. It can technically be done in a single raid, but trying to do that on top of all the other quests will likely leave you with no time on the clock. Scav house is a great spot for farming the pesky NPCs though.

The Survivalist Path - Unprotected But Dangerous

In conjunction with Shootout Picnic, all you need to do for this quest is just pop off your armour any time you see a scav, then whack it back on after killing them. You could even go in without any armour, but that is a bit risky if you're needing to do so many quests at once. You can also stack this with Shortage by heading to the Military Camp too, as both scavs and Salewas are found there.

Sanitary Standards - Part One And Part Two

  • Therapist
  • Level Four/Level Eight

It makes sense to group these two quests into the one action here, as they are essentially the same but with different quantities. There's not really any point in 'completing' part one until you have all three Gas Analysers on hand, but it is a very good idea to keep an eye out for them around, and definitely store them in your stash until you have three.

Painkiller

  • Therapist
  • Level Eight

The same goes for the Escape From Tarkov Painkiller quest, as it requires you to get your hands on some Morphine. The best way to be prepared for this though, is to loot the Military Camp on Woods while either doing the Woods set earlier or searching for Salewas.

Escape From Tarkov Quest Order Customs
Click to enlarge

BP Depot

  • Prapor
  • Level Five

The Escape From Tarkov BP Depot quest works really well when completed with the quest that follows. You will inevitably pass by or near the spots for both quests on your journey, so you might as well complete them in the same raid to save time. If you focus primarily on BP Depot though it will save you time, as you don't need to extract for that.

The Extortionist

  • Skier
  • Level Seven

You do need to extract to complete the Escape From Tarkov The Extortionist quest however, but you will find yourself near at least two tankers on your way to do that, so it makes for a great combo.

What's On The Flash Drive?

  • Skier
  • Level Eight

The Escape From Tarkov What's on the Flash Drive quest is probably the most infamous early game blocker in the entire game. Flash Drives have no real reliable spawn, and this can technically hold up some of the mid-game quests if you really can't find them. Make this a priority whenever you have the time in a raid and learn where your Flash Drive spots are.

Bad Rep Evidence

  • Prapor
  • Level Six

Another Customs quest, this one will be technically the last you'll need to gain the rep for Prapor LL2. It does leave you at 0.19, which is 0.01 short of the requirement, but you should be able to pick that up with a daily challenge task along the way.

Golden Swag

  • Skier
  • Level Eight

After you've managed to get our hands on the Flash Drives, you'll be able to continue with your Skier quests to get his rep up. With this one you can also top up your Operation Aquarius Part Two scav kills if you've not got them already.

Chemical - Part One

  • Skier
  • Level Ten

The Escape From Tarkov Chemical Part 1 quest is the last Skier quest you'll need to get to LL2. It should be able to be completed fairly easily if you know where you're going, but a connecting quest can be quite handy too.

Polikhim Hobo

  • Prapor
  • No level requirement

Once you accept the Chemical Part One quest, this task will appear from Prapor. If you've not managed to complete any daily tasks to get that last 0.01 needed for Prapor LL2, this is an excellent way to do it, as it only requires scav kills on Customs which can be achieved fairly passively. It also gives you the info you need to complete the prior quest, if you don't want to look it up.

Gunsmith - Part One, Two, And Three

  • Mechanic
  • Level Two/Eleven/Twelve

There's no real rush to complete these unless you need the EXP, but they're pretty good to do in one go, and once you have access to the Escape From Tarkov flea market. You could also complete Part Four if some of the items in the other Mechanic quests are giving you bother, but that can be quite a bit more expensive.

Farming Part One/Signal - Part One

  • Mechanic
  • Level 12

You can choose to go for either of these two quests, but these can be the last pair that give you enough rep for Mechanic LL2 if you happen to catch a daily task along the way. They're fairly easy location based quests, so shouldn't pose too much of an issue.

Friend From The West - Part One

  • Skier
  • Level Nine

You might be able to do this one when you're completing Farming Part One, but if you're just aiming for LL2 for all the traders it is technically not required. What it is essential for is continuing the quest progression in Escape From Tarkov, as it opens up Peacekeepers quests for you to complete.

That rounds off the early game Escape From Tarkov quest order list for you to complete. There are a couple of quests that have been left off the list - mainly Stirrup, as it can make getting to LL2 on some traders more challenging if you don't have the rep bonus from some of the higher editions of the game. 

Furthermore, Jager is a bit more long winded in terms of getting to LL2, but just keep going at The Survivalist Path quests and you will get there soon. You can stack them fairly early on too as they have no level requirement, and that can very well be a good strategy.

After this Escape From Tarkov quest order, you should have LL2 on all of the traders (depending on money spent), meaning you'll have a potentially huge leg up on your fellow PMCs. If you're looking for a great way to use that leg up, why not check out our Escape From Tarkov best guns list to make the choice easier.

Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.

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