For this hardcore shooter, Phil finally doesn’t need to pore over wikis or Excel spreadsheets. And that feels good!
After a few hours in the closed beta of Arena Breakout: Infinite it’s still too early to draw any real conclusions about the new extraction shooter.
But one thing I can already say with certainty: This shooter is a lot more beginner-friendly than Escape from Tarkov, without sacrificing its hardcore mechanics!
Here are five key points to explain how Arena Breakout: Infinite kept me hooked from the very first minute, whereas I was already starting to give up on Tarkov.
Table of Contents
1. A strong tutorial
I honestly didn’t expect a tutorial in the beta, but Arena Breakout: Infinite already introduces me as a new player very carefully to its mechanics without making me feel like I’m not being taken seriously.
A few dialogs (in English) show me the menus, the most important items and help me step by step with equipping for the first raid:
So that I don’t accidentally go into my first raid with empty magazines for my rifle or without a wound dressing, the game even checks my inventory at the start and spits out a warning accordingly. Instead of overwhelming me with tons of mechanics, new items, merchants and quest givers are only unlocked bit by bit
Escape from Tarkov should have taken a leaf out of my book years ago! Because while Tarkov throws me into its complex world without comment and calls after me “See for yourself how you get on “, Arena Breakout: Infinite welcomes me with open arms. A building block for a growing community that should not be underestimated!
2. icons above allies
Yeah, it’s not 100% realistic of course, but I love the fact that I know where my team is at all times in Arena Breakout: Infinite
It not only significantly reduces the number of friendly fire accidents, but also allows for much better interaction with strangers via matchmaking.
Tactical action as a squad is just so much easier when I can tell friend from foe at a glance! Tarkov may have its reasons for continuing to do without such a convenience feature, but I’m convinced that fun has to come before forced realism
3. compass for callouts
The compass in Arena Breakout: Infinite is in a similar vein. In Tarkov, I often have to make announcements to teammates that sound something like this: “Enemy behind the car, to the left of your position. No, the red one. The one at the back, by the lane. No, too far!”
Luckily, Arena Breakout: Infinite takes the liberty of incorporating a compass with a degree indicator, as is common in CoD Warzone or PUBG, for example.
This is what it looks like in motion in the game:
Precise callouts become child’s play: “Enemy on 220.” And that’s it! This makes for a smooth process and you immediately feel much more efficient as a squad. Nevertheless, I don’t see it as an arcade mechanic at all. Arena Breakout: Infinite is still miles away from red dots on a minimap
If you still don’t find it authentic, you can simply switch the function off – and the same goes for almost every other part of the HUD. Hardcore fanatics can therefore also play with reduced or no screen displays at all
4. map
Yay, I can open a map of the game world at the touch of a button and not spend the first few hours wandering hopelessly lost across fields, through alleyways and buildings that mean absolutely nothing to me!
In order to have any chance of finding your way around Tarkov as a beginner, you still almost inevitably need a second monitor. The fan wiki, an overview map and Excel tables that explain how and where to complete a mission objective are open on it. Caustic
Arena Breakout: Infinite, on the other hand, immediately provides me with everything I need to successfully complete my mission: Where am I, what do I have to do, where is the next extraction point And I can even set markers for my team. The path to success is not artificially blocked and I finally don’t need to study a dozen YouTube fan guides beforehand. And that feels right
5th weapon transfer
When a teammate dies in Arena Breakout: Infinite, I can loot their body and collect important items such as quest items or their weapons. If I then make it off the map alive, all his items are automatically transported back to his inventory by me.
What an elegant solution: friends become indirect insurance and a delivery service for lost equipment! This not only promotes communication and team play, but also puts a stop to real money trading with stolen in-game goods.
Why someone hasn’t come up with a feature like this before is beyond me. In Tarkov, I still have to enter a new raid and drop items manually so that my teammate can get them back – a tedious, dangerous and cumbersome procedure.
As you can see, Arena Breakout is breaking down barriers that have stood in the way of Tarkov beginners for years. And in this respect, the beta shows at least one thing very clearly: this is a home for everyone for whom hardcore and comfort are not contradictory
