A cryptic video signaled the start of a new event in Escape from Tarkov that involves the game's cultists. In this guide, we will show you what the event entails, including the clear requirements and the rewards.

A post from the Escape from Tarkov Twitter account came out earlier today. The post had no text apart from the #EscapefromTarkov hashtag. It instead had a short video. The video depicted a TV in a dark room, with candles beside and on top of it. The TV itself shows various flashing symbols in quick succession, before spending a few seconds on a circle. This circle with writing along its edge is something that players of the game should already be familiar with. After all, they're related to Escape from Tarkov's cultists.

As soon as the video was uploaded, players discovered that there was a new quest waiting for them in-game from Mechanic. The quest, titled “Failed setup, had the following description:

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Well, hello there. Come in, there's something I need you to do.
An unpleasant situation has arisen. As you know, my little hobby is in demand among the remaining residents of this great city. But here's the trouble, one of the rifles I assembled fell into the wrong hands and ended up in the hands of those who draw their circles around town. Scavs found it in one of the circles and accused me of supplying the creeps with weapons. I don't need that kind of complaint. Do the job, cut through the ranks of these artists. And I'll make sure to find a decent reward. And another thing, try not to harm Scavs. Enough trouble with them as it is.

After accepting the quest, the player must then “Eliminate the group responsible for the marked circles.” In other words, the player must kill Cultists for this event, 30 of them to be exact. Additionally, the quest description stated that the player must not harm Scavs, or Scavengers, as they are doing this mission. Doing so will fail the mission, and the player must start from the beginning.

After finishing the quest, players will receive 0.15 reputation with Mechanic, as well as unlock the following items for purchase at Mechanic LL1:

Players who want to take part in this event can head on over to the following locations to get their Cultist kills. Remember that Cultists only spawn between 22:00 and 7:00:

  • Factory (Night)
    • A Cultist priest with two warriors
    • Can be found anywhere
  • Customs
    • A Cultist priest with four warriors
    • Can be found in the area between Warehouse 17 and the Repair Shop
  • Woods:
    • A Cultist Priest with four warriors
    • Can be found near their ritual places.
      • West of Sawmill
      • Northern Village
  • Shoreline
    • A Cultist Priest with three warriors
    • Can be found near the following locations:
      • West of the river between Power Station and Gas Station
      • North-East of Swamp Village
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Players should take care when doing this quest for three reasons. The first is that much like the player, other players/PMCs will likely be doing this event as well. That means that if the player is too slow, other PMCs might get the kill before them. This also means that players might end up fighting said PMCs. The second reason is that, like the PMCs the player will face, the Cultists themselves have good equipment. This includes kitted-out sub-machine guns, assault rifles, and more. The upside of this is that should players manage to kill both PMCs and Cultists, they can exit the raid with a lot of good loot.

The last things players should be careful of are the Scavs that spawn in the maps. As the player cannot harm any of them, they will need to make sure that they are firing at only PMCs and Cultists. This is going to be especially hard at night, when players will have to rely on flashlights or night-vision goggles to see. It might not be easy to discern Scavs from PMCs or Cultists at a glance.

Should the player be able to clear this Escape From Tarkov event, however, then they will be able to secure a constant supply of the game's under-barrel grenade launchers. The grenade launchers were first introduced in Escape from Tarkov in patch 0.13, and normally required a large amount of money or items to get them from the Flea Market or from trade. Thanks to this event and quest, players will now be able to easily get them. They will likely still be expensive but should be cheaper than usual.

That's all for our guide on the Escape from Tarkov Cultist event that is now ongoing. Check out our gaming news articles for the latest in gaming news.