What is EFT like? Should I get EFT?

>What is the gameplay like?
   The best I can tell you here is to watch raw gameplay of players who seem mediocre so that you can get an idea of what it's like for an average player. You can also check out some of the bigger streamers on Twitch. Just keep in mind that they're experienced players and are generally above-average or very good at the game. You'll also start off with much worse gear than they're using and have to work your way up toward the good shit.

If you don't feel so inclined, I'll attempt to give you a (probably poor) description of it:

   The point of the game is more or less the firefights (which are PvPvE with other players and armed AI). You spend a bunch of time working to get better gear by going into raids (game sessions) to scavenge the maps, kill & loot enemies, and complete tasks for the traders to unlock their higher levels with better items to sell you. You have a menu-based stash that you'll use to store weapons, gear, meds, money, quest items, etc. You'll build it up as you play and use it as well as the in-game traders to gear up before going into a raid. Building your stash and upgrading your traders is a grindy process that only gets more grindy the worse you are. Ultimately though, you're working on getting this better gear so you can give yourself better chances in firefights (Also to sate your need to gear-queer and masturbate over virtual firearms). When the game is working properly (see major issues), the firefights are very intense and rewarding (whoever dies loses the gear they brought in, and whoever survives gets to take it). A lot of different playstyles are valid (camping, flanking/outmaneuvering, run & gunning, etc.), although this may change a little as the game progresses and gameplay slows down. Overall, the game is very unforgiving, has a really steep learning curve, and doesn't hold your hand. But if you want a tense FPS where player skill and intelligent play are rewarded, the gunplay feels fantastic, and you never really know if there's gonna be another player around that next corner, this game might be for you. It also helps if you enjoy looting.



>Can I play solo? Can I play in a group?
   Yes, and yes. There isn't a separate queue for groups and solo players, and the max group size is 5. I play solo, and it's getting harder as the game develops further, but it's still perfectly valid. Playing solo does make it harder to be a new player, but group play has its own challenges as there's no floating name telling you that someone is a friendly. Group play is very reliant on good comms and situational awareness so you can distinguish friend from foe.



>Is this a BR?
No



>Is this game like Stalker/DayZ Mod
   No and no. Aspects of it can be similar to them, but overall, there isn't a good comparison to make between this game and another because the gameplay is very different from anything else on the market. DayZ Mod would probably be the closest comparison I could think of, but they're still very different from one another (Tarkov has no zombies, no vehicles, no building, a menu-based stash, more action, smaller maps, and other stuff I'm not thinking of right now). For what it's worth, a lot of people who like Tarkov are/were fans of these two games. The gamemode (raids) in EFT is pretty similar to how matches work in Hunt: Showdown though.



>Is this game a scam
   All evidence points to the contrary. Based on what he's said in interviews as well as his general involvement with the community, the COO/lead developer seems very passionate about the game and interested in creating his dream game. He even made the soundtrack for the game himself.



>What are the major pros of the game?
-Best gun porn and weapon customization of any game hands-down
-Amazing firefights when things are working properly
-It feels very rewarding when you do well and come out on top in a firefight
-Good players will do well and poor players will do poorly. There isn't any handholding or RNG that'll mitigate the influence of player skill.
-Constant tension



>What are the major issues with the game?
-Unfinished (obviously)
-Unoptimized (Very CPU heavy; you basically need 16gb of RAM, although some say 8gb + memory cleaner is workable)
-Bad netcode (substantially improved recently with patch .8, but it's still worse than pretty much every other FPS game)
-Desync (has improved a fuck-ton since beta started, but it can still ruin the occasional raid)
-Slow development time
-Bugs
-Balancing problems with ammo and armors
-Some of the tasks(quests) that you need to progress and level up your traders are shitty.
**If you don't want to put up with bugs, bad netcode, lag, occasional spikes in cheaters, and bad optimization, I suggest you wait and check in on the game every now and then instead.**

>What are the cheaters like in it?
BSG finally added BattleEye anti-cheat to the game in game version 0.11, and since then there haven't seemed to be nearly as many cheaters. Obviously though, they still exist as every game will have them.

>Is this game P2W
Not really. It looks much worse on paper than it really is.
-The starting gear that the more expensive packages get doesn't really make a difference because you lose whatever gear you brought in
 when you die, and having good gear isn't gonna make a bad player good.
-The stash size differences are substantial but don't directly affect gameplay. I've played both the cheapest and most expensive
 versions, and I'll admit that the cheap version's stash size is sufferring, but the biggest stash size mostly lets you horde items
 better, which doesn't affect the actual gameplay.
-The secure container is the only actual remotely P2W feature because items place into your secure container are not lost on death. The
 Gamma container (3x3 inventory cells) that EOD gets is the biggest container in the game, and standard edition only starts with a
 (2x2). The bigger containers let you keep more shit safe, which can let you make money a little bit faster than people with smaller
 containers. People who don't buy EOD or one of the more expensive game editions still have the ability to upgrade their secure
 containers by playing the game. You can get a 2x3 and a 2x4 container over time, but it takes a while to get to the point where
 those are available to you.
Ultimately though, the bigger container won't make bad players less bad. If you git good, you'll do well. If you're shit, you'll get shit on. If you're decent, you'll get by. REGARDLESS OF THE EDITION YOU PURCHASE.



>I want to get the game. What edition should I get?
   Standard, standard, standard. It's rough, but spending money on the middle editions is a waste of money long-term since their main benefits are the larger stash sizes, and that's something that the devs have repeatedly said will be upgradeable in the future. Additionally, if you get the game on standard, decide you love the game, and want to upgrade later, you can just pay the difference between what you paid for standard and the edition you want to buy, so it's always best to start with standard, even if you want to spend money on the temporary convenience of stash size.