Battlestate Games has detailed another major change coming in Escape from Tarkov's 1.1.0.0 update: a full rework of the side task system. It's part of a broader accessibility push, arriving alongside confirmation that the same patch will make the notoriously brutal early game significantly easier for newcomers. And it lands as part of something historic for the game, its first-ever seasonal update, headlined by the Kord Breach season, scheduled for before the end of July 2026. The current live build is still 1.0.6.5, running the Blackout event on The Lab.
How the New System Works
The core change dismantles Tarkov's rigid quest-chain structure. Currently, most side tasks unlock in strict sequences, where each new task only appears once you've finished the previous one. Under 1.1.0.0, the vast majority of tasks abandon that model and tie directly to trader Loyalty Levels (LL) instead.
The new flow works like this:
- At LL1 with a trader, you get a set of basic tasks
- Completing several of them advances you to LL2
- Each new Loyalty Level unlocks a fresh batch of increasingly challenging tasks
Crucially, most trade offers will also unlock immediately upon reaching a new LL, rather than being gated behind a specific quest. Battlestate gave concrete examples: the Tri-Zip backpack will unlock at Ragman LL3, and the DevTac Ronin helmet at Mechanic LL2. The goal, in the studio's words, is to make progression "less linear and less dependent on specific tasks," giving players more routes to useful gear.
Rewards Shift Toward Cash
A significant tuning change accompanies the rework. Task rewards are moving heavily toward cold, hard roubles, rather than the current mix that leans on barter items and equipment. That's a meaningful quality-of-life improvement, since it means fewer situational items cluttering your stash and more flexible currency to spend as you like.
Not Everything Changes
Some tasks will remain exceptions and continue to unlock in traditional chains regardless of trader LL. These are the tasks tied to especially rare trade offers or crafts, and there's a nice addition here: the key rewards from such chains will be displayed the moment you accept the first task, so you can see upfront exactly what you're grinding toward.
The Kappa Connection
This all ties into another major shift in the same patch, since the task rework forced Battlestate to overhaul the Collector task, the final wall before the coveted Kappa secure container. Rather than grinding out a huge checklist of Kappa-required quests across the traders, the new requirements are reaching LL4 with all traders, Fence reputation 3, character level 40, and a short list of key remaining quests such as "A Shooter Born in Heaven." One important warning for veterans: the old "Kappa Path" achievement will become permanently unobtainable once Season 1 begins, so anyone close to their first Kappa should finish it before the update goes live.
The response has been predictably mixed. Supporters welcome the freedom, with one player noting it's "so much better" to "let players do the tasks they naturally gravitate towards," and a 10,000-hour veteran calling it a clear win since they skip most tasks after hitting LL4 anyway.
More:Tarkov's Roadmap Brings Its First Season and a Lighthouse Rework
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