Escape From Tarkov Queue Times: Patch 12.12.30 Long Queue Times Explained

The new update has unfortunately brought with it some very long Escape From Tarkov queue times that can be frustrating to deal with. Updates in Escape From Tarkov usually bring back lots of players to the game, but it is a bit more complicated with how this affects the time you spend waiting to get into a game. So, for all the information you’ll need about the Escape From Tarkov queue times, make sure to carry on reading.

• Get fully up to date in game with the Escape From Tarkov 12.12.30 patch notes.

Escape From Tarkov Queue Times Explained

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The most obvious reason why the Escape From Tarkov queue times are long at the start of a new Escape From Tarkov wipe is that the servers are struggling to handle the overwhelming amount of players relative to the norm.

Each new wipe brings both a lot of new players to the game, but also a huge amount of returning players who might have trailed off before the end of the last wipe. With this, there is suddenly an insane amount of people attempting to play the game, and the servers are unable to sustain this demand.

You might think that more players would mean faster queue times, but this is only true up to a certain threshold. Yes, of course, the more players that are searching the faster it should theoretically be able to find players to put you into a game, but the servers are not able to sustain the amount of games that need to be created, therefore you are required to wait longer amounts of time for games to become available. 

Some players have hypothesised that the recent change of the Escape From Tarkov Debut quest to be scav skills across every map, expanded from just the Escape From Tarkov Customs map, should help alleviate pressure on the severs, but this unfortunately is not true. 

• Stuck on some early wipe quests? Don't miss our Escape From Tarkov Checking quest guide to up your Prapor rep.

While it will help you get into raids quicker in the early wipe as players are less incentivised to play on Customs (and therefore spread out across every map), the servers for the game are not map specific, and fewer players loading into Customs specifically has no effect on how hard the server has to work.

So, hopefully that explains why the Escape From Tarkov queue times are so long, and why they are likely to get better imminently as the amount of players returns to a more normal level. This is likely to occur every single time there is a wipe, so it is something experienced players have unfortunately had to get used to. However, why not use the long wait times to have a read of our Escape From Tarkov new wipe tips, and get the upper hand on your fellow PMCs.