Marauders is a tactical first-person multiplayer loot-based shooter set in a gritty diesel-punk world. Set in an alternative 1990s where The Great War never ended, Earth has undergone a massive industrialized area, pushing the planet to its limits. Space mercenaries, also known as Marauders, fly their rustbucket ships through the desolate regions of space, fighting over the scraps spawned from war.
Marauders share many similarities with other looter shooter games, giving it the descriptive tagline, “Escape from Tarkov in space.” Both games share many mirrored gameplay mechanics but are set with different pacing, thematic setting, and complexity.
Why is Marauders the New Escape from Tarkov in Space?
Like Escape from Tarkov, you can work solo or in a squad with up to three players to fly your ship into hostile battlegrounds, hunt for loot, craft gear and new weapons, and salvage anything you can to ensure your survival. Marauders features the same gameplay cycle as Escape from Tarkov, yet it provides a bunch of new spins or changes that make it more accessible for both casuals and hardcore veterans of the genre.
First, every time you enter a raid, you spawn in a spaceship that’s provided for free called the Rustbucket. The Rustbucket is a simple small ship that has one turret strapped to the top of the vessel. You can engage in space combat by firing at other players or AI ships, or you can escape into the compound located at the map’s center. Your ship can be repaired if damaged, or you can exit with an escape pod and board enemy ships to engage in close-quarters combat for the control of their ship and loot.
Every match will spawn you and other players into a random map with various loot options, enemy difficulty, and locations for quests. If you rush into one of the hanger doors in the compound, you will enter a docking bay.
You can enter the compound through one of many airlocks. They are located and specified through varying numbers and letters presented at the top of the door above the bay. This is your extract, and you must return to your ship to leave the raid unless you escape using a pod or steal another player’s ship.
Related Article: Everything You Need to Know about Armor and Helmets in Marauders
A Few Notable Comparisons between Games
This is where the similarities begin to blur into the “Escape from Tarkov in Space” mentality. Combat is similar, with player characters having a stamina bar, the ability to lean and peer around corners, and your max health can be whittled down over time from too much running or damage. However, Marauders has a more simplistic approach, making this looter shooter more casual.
Your health isn’t split into sections; taking a few bullets to the chest won’t make you start to cough and drop your stamina; you will simply lose health. Eating doesn’t replenish energy or thirst; instead, food is used to restore your stamina bar while also replenishing a small amount of health.
Another comparison is the Traders. Unlike Tarkov, where you can access all traders at any time, Marauders has Traders cycle out every 15 minutes, making their wares limited but having no impact on selling. You can raise your reputation with the Traders with Contracts, which gives another Tarkov in Space comparison. Bounties offer ways to increase reputation with the different traders, but there is a limit to how many you can complete in a day.
For example, one of the many Contracts you can acquire involves finding a small ore at the bottom of the Asteroid Mine that you must obtain and extract within your inventory to complete the quest. Daily contracts in Marauders will recycle back into your quest log, making these hotspots for objectives quite dangerous, unlike retrieving Prapor’s bronze pocket watch after the first month of a Tarkov wipe.
What Makes Marauders More Casual Friendly than Escape from Tarkov?
While it is justifiable on many occasions to call Marauders the new Escape from Tarkov in Space, in some ways, Marauders’ features are very different. One of the main differences between both games is the amount of downtime and waiting. In Marauders, you don’t spawn on the outskirts of the raid. Your spaceship is just a few seconds away from coming into contact with enemy vessels. When you extract or die, there is no waiting for your PMC to respawn or heal. You unload your loot, sell, and get back out there.
Most of the quests are still a bit difficult to find the locations required to complete them, but slowly the community is finding the most optimal ways to complete them. Completing Zero to Hero quests in Marauders is the primary way to progress. It requires you to complete assignments similar to how Bounties work. The Zero to Hero quest line is also your main way to progress. By completing this quest line, you unlock more high-tier crafting recipes and cosmetics.
Reloading is a Bit More Arcade-Like Compared to Escape from Tarkov
Gunplay is still tactical but is also more simplistic. Reloading and ammunition are more akin to the Call of Duty series, where you can reload your weapon so long as you have the right ammo in your bag or pocket. There are no magazines or wasting ammunition by prematurely reloading. You will also find players and AI enemies in Marauders running a lot more than Tarkov since there is less of a downside when there’s no food requirement.
Marauders Provides a Baseline Setup When You are Out of Funds
Another change that makes “Escape from Tarkov in Space” much easier to recover from is the small starting kit in your spaceship. If you have been on a losing streak lately, and you don’t have any equipment or weapons to bring into a raid, your spaceship provides one free small kit when you enter the raid. Every raid, your ship will have a Lugar, some 9mm ammo, and a basic vest, so you can always gain something from nothing.
Will Marauders have Wipes like Tarkov?
While there is no official confirmation as of yet, since the game is still in early access, there is a likelihood of having a total wipe happen before the official 1.0 launch. However, “Space Tarkov” will have a prestige system.
You can prestige in Marauders at level 40, despite the levels going beyond 40, and prestiging doesn’t reset your reputation with traders or cosmetics, but it does reset your Zero to Hero questline.
Marauders is Much More than Escape from Tarkov in Space
That’s our short explanation explaining what each game shares, thus creating the similarity of “Escape from Tarkov in Space,” but the game offers so much more. The roster of old-school weaponry gives a familiar feeling, but throwing players into this gritty diesel-punk world makes Marauders feel fresh and has a lot of potential. It’s not just another extraction game like Escape from Tarkov. It’s a terrific spin on the genre with a lot to offer.
If you are looking for more Marauders content or are interested enough to give the game a try, check out our beginner’s guide to Marauders.
And, if you are coming into the extraction looter genre from Marauders and haven’t yet played Escape from Tarkov or any other great games like Marauders, feel free to check out our list of related games. We’re sure that as a Marauders fan, you’ll find a new favorite amongst the top choices.
Good Hunting, Marauders!
