8 Tips For Leveling Up Quickly In Escape From Tarkov: Arena (2024)

Escape From Tarkov: Arena uses a linear progression system similar to what you might've seen in a game like World of Tanks. You pick a preset (equivalent of a tank), and after getting enough EXP playing with it, you'll unlock one or two more in the same class.

The thing is, in Arena, you are not matched based on your preset tier but exclusively based on your Arena Rating. This means that getting to a stronger preset early will give you a massive competitive advantage against your opposition, especially in the first couple of ranks.

8 Heal Yourself As Much As You Can

Heal Often, Too

See Also

Escape from Tarkov: How to Level Up FastHow To Level Up Fast In Escape From Tarkov: Best XP Farming Tips

Just like in Escape From Tarkov, healing gives you experience points. It is not much, mind you, especially because you won't have the time or opportunity to heal as much as you would in a Tarkov raid, but it adds up.

Some easy rules of thumb to follow are:

• Always heal bleeds, especially heavy ones. They're fast to heal, often need to be healed quickly, and will give you some EXP.
• If you have a numbers advantage and are in a safe spot, use all your healing items.
• Do not heal if it's going to get you killed or lose you the round.

7 Loot Bodies

As Long As It's Safe To Do So

Looting bodies gives similar EXP to healing but can also bring some other benefits. Just as in Escape From Tarkov, you can take everything your opponents had on them and use it yourself. And, unlike EFT, everything comes pre-searched, so you can do it much quicker.

If you are in a safe spot, check all bodies around you, equip any items that are upgrades, and take as many small items as you can. Everything you loot gives you a tiny amount of EXP, which adds up with time.

6 Learn The Spawn Of Items

It Gives You EXP And Some Good Loot

All maps in Escape From Tarkov: Arena have what is called loose-loot. That is, loot on the ground or on top of something instead of inside any kind of container. These can be healing items or weapons, depending on the map.

You should memorize these spawns and get them as often as you can. They're almost always in safe positions close to your spawn point, and not only do they give you decent EXP, but some maps like Sawmill and Air Pit have excellent weapons just lying around.

5 Take The Objective

In The Teamfight Game-Mode

People really enjoy running-and-gunning in Arena. Whether they're veteran Tarkov players who were looking for a quick PVP fix or people more familiar with other shooters, most players just want to kill people. And we get it, it's fun!

But if your goal is leveling up quickly, it pays to be patient and play the objective most of the time. Focus on controlling the center of the map and, consequently, the objective points, and you can get some easy round wins without risking getting one-tapped while turning a corner.

4 Kills And Assists

Combat EXP Can Be Massive

Escape From Tarkov: Arena actually gives you what it calls "combat EXP." This is impacted by how many kills and assists you get in a game. It can go upwards of 1,000 EXP if you get enough kills, which will really speed up your leveling.

Try to stay as active and impactful as you can, but don't run carelessly as if you're playing Call of Duty. You can die from one bullet from any weapon in this game, and you won't get any combat EXP while you're dead.

3 Focus On One Preset

Make Your Choice As Early As You Can

Although you also get EXP for your PMC (your character) when you play Arena, this is, at least for now, useless. The only EXP that really matters is the one you get in your preset trees, which will let you unlock progressively stronger loadouts.

You only get EXP for the preset you are playing, and as you progress to the higher tiers, they get exponentially harder to get. Get one or two games with any preset that seems cool to you, but focus on one as soon as you can, or you'll quickly fall behind the curve.

2 Play Teamfight Only

Shootout Is Just Not Worth It

Arena came out with two available game-modes: Shootout and Teamfight. The first is a mini-tournament between 2v2 or 3v3 teams, which is a very interesting concept but, unfortunately, a very inefficient way of getting EXP.

You get a lot fewer opponents to kill, which gives you less combat EXP. You also do not get enough EXP unless you win the entire tournament, which is often harder and takes longer than winning a Teamfight game. Play it if you want to have fun, but if your goal is leveling up quickly, stick to Teamfight.

1 Win

Really, Sherlock?

We know it is incredibly obvious and that you are probably always trying to win, but the sheer difference in EXP between a win and a loss is so massive that this has to be highlighted. A 4-5 loss with a good performance can get you maybe a bit above 4000 EXP, while a victory where you did pretty much nothing gets you at least 6500 EXP.

The main lesson from this is that even all other tips combined do not make up for how much EXP winning gives you. Focus on winning above all else, even at the cost of your individual performance or KDA, if you want to level up quickly.