Woods is one of the most versatile maps in Escape from Tarkov, boasting many POIs that host a wide variety of combat styles and various ways to move around. The map can be overwhelming for even more experienced players due to the presence of mines, invisible snipers, and the difficulty of navigating it.
If you know what you’re doing, trips to the Woods map in Escape from Tarkov can be extremely rewarding. This guide will show you the locations with the best loot, when to visit them, and some of the risks associated with each location.
1. Sunken Village/Abandoned Village – A Dangerous Woods Map Location for Great Escape from Tarkov Loot
Risk: High/Very High
This is the most underrated place on the entire Woods map by Tarkov players. It has 11 rare loot spawns with a potential for golden skulls, rollers, bitcoins, lions, and more.
Not to mention fuel, ammo, loose loot spawns, and toolboxes; this place is a consistent money-maker. You can make up to a million rubles just by visiting this single location if you get lucky. Even if luck isn’t on your side, it still has decent loot that you can collect before moving on to another spot.
If you spawn near the Sunken Village, looting the church can be risky, so make sure to be careful. There are three PMC spawns near the Sunken Village in total; learning where they are will give you a huge advantage in knowing where the enemy is most likely to be.
Scavs also spawn in this place, and it can be a bit tricky to spot them due to the high grass near the marked circle. In Tarkov right now, Scavs can see through the foliage, making fights unfair. We recommend that you loot quickly and move from cover to cover, minimizing your exposure.
Even if you manage to deal with them, this is a highly contested area, and the Scavs can reveal your position to other players looking to loot Sunken Village.
At night, this Woods map location becomes even more dangerous for Escape from Tarkov players. This is because it has two different cultist spawns. Cultists usually have really good items on them, making the place even more rewarding. We recommend avoiding this area altogether at night unless you have thermal sights and night vision.
Make sure to incorporate this place into your Scav runs, as items such as Prokill medallions, skulls, and bitcoins can be easily missed even when the place has been looted.
2. USEC Camp
Risk: High
The loot at USEC Camp mostly consists of weapons, armor, ammo, and rare meds. There are plenty of weapon cases and a modded M4 in the blue truck. USEC camp is also notable for having plentiful attachment spawns, which can make you a lot of money if you know which ones to take.
One thing USEC Camp is known for is the mines, which players frequently encounter. Be sure to avoid the west side of the USEC camp altogether. Because of mines, do not approach the area from the west at all and try to stay within the camp.
Scavs do not spawn here. However, this place is one of the most contested places on Escape from Tarkov’s Woods map. If you are playing as a Scav and possess either the Scav bunker or the Scav bridge extraction, you can visit this place when no one is there and have the potential to acquire some good loot that people may have overlooked.
Overall, USEC camp is an excellent place with a lot of loot, but it does have somewhat of a learning curve in terms of how one should PVP there. If you plan to go to the USEC camp on the Woods map, we recommend bringing a close-range weapon, such as an assault rifle or an SMG.
3. Old Sawmill – A Great, But Overscavenged Woods Map Location in Escape from Tarkov
Risk: Medium/High
Old Sawmill is a bit of a mixed bag regarding its danger. On one hand, it’s right next to the extraction, and many players visit it. On the other hand, sometimes this place is empty, allowing you to grab all the items for yourself.
In our experience, this place is the most dangerous at the beginning and 15-20 minutes into the raid. It has approximately 4-5 possible spawns near it, and people intending to extract go here, making this place contested at certain points in the raid.
There can still be PMCs lurking even after player Scavs go here often, so always be on the lookout. The good part is that there is plenty of cover, so even if people engage you, there is always an opportunity to fight back or retreat and reposition.
Old Sawmill has pretty good loot, too, and what sets it apart from other POIs is the fact that you can loot the entire Sawmill relatively quickly. There are weapon crates, hidden stashes, M4 spawns, and most notably, toolboxes and tech boxes.
The warehouse in the sawmill is a great place to loot early on for DIY items such as tools, electronics, and building materials that you need for your hideout.
Overall, this is a good place in the Escape from Tarkov Woods map to look at both the beginning and the end of a raid. Keeping an eye out, checking your corners, and not staying in the open will help maximize your chances of survival.
4. New Sawmill
Risk: Very High
The new Sawmill is the place to go if you want PVP. It is the most dangerous place on Escape from Tarkov’s Woods map. Yet, it is also potentially the most rewarding. Aside from being situated close to the middle of the map, there are a few quests that need to be undertaken at the Sawmill.
One of those quests requires you to kill the Scav boss, Shturman, that spawns there 25 times. Shturman and his goons have a chance to spawn high-tier loot on them. Be careful, though. Shturman has a lot of health and can potentially spawn with high-pen ammo, making him deadly.
The new sawmill has a wide variety of loot, mostly related to high-value and rare items and weapons.
Be sure to loot the warehouses and the woodshed, as they have loose loot spawns and plenty of weapon boxes. Next to the woodshed, there is a 5×2 weapon box on the back of the pickup truck and a potential Labs Violet keycard spawn.
Look out for the cabins to the north of the Sawmill; they have plenty of jackets, weapon boxes, and moonshine spawns. If you have the Shturman key, don’t forget to loot the “Shturman stash” in the middle of the Sawmill, as it has a high chance of spawning rare loot.
Overall, while there is potential for amazing loot, there is a large amount of risk from other players, the Scav boss, and the loot itself. This cannot make up for all the risk factors, which is why it’s at number four of our best Woods map locations in Escape from Tarkov for loot.
5. F.O.B./Military Camp
Risk: High
This place is the best if you need any kind of meds on the Woods Escape from Tarkov map. F.O.B. is rich in med bags, supply crates, loose loot, rare med spawns, and even some weapons and ammo. The caveat with this location is that, even though it has a lot of spawns, the loot is pretty mediocre.
Medical loot is usually not that rare, except for some stims, LEDXs, and ophthalmoscopes. Everything else is just okay. Depending on how contested the place is, you need a good reason to come here.
One other thing is that the area around F.O.B. is mostly flat plains, which means it is difficult to escape if one gets caught in an unfavorable position, making some fights awkward.
In conclusion, if you spawn nearby when playing Escape from Tarkov and need medical supplies on the Woods map, it can be a good spot for an early wipe. This place is pretty good for getting salewas, other meds, and medical loot. Later on, however, it becomes a contested place with ok loot, ranking pretty low on the list.
6. Village/Scav Town
Risk: Medium/High
The Village is a good place to go if you need Scav kills in Woods, especially at night time. They spawn throughout the raid and are usually outside on the road or in the yards. The loot there is nothing special. There are a few toolboxes, food and drinks, jackets, a lot of loose loot, and a few treasure spawns.
There are 2-3 PMC spawns near the Village, so if you spawn nearby, prepare for PVP. The reason this place is so low on the list is because of how awkward it is and how risky it can be to fight other players in the Village.
Houses are very easy to camp in, but Scavs can be tough to deal with. Furthermore, if you are in one of the houses, your steps make a lot of noise and people can come from almost anywhere.
Not only will the Scavs alert everyone to your position, but they can also spot you through the bushes in the middle of the Village. If you want to loot the entire area, you need to either cross the street, which is risky, or go around, wasting precious time.
If you make the village the last location you visit in your Woods map raid, you can exit with a car extraction for around 5,000 roubles, granting you a quick exit and plenty of scav karma.
Related Article: The 7 Best Locations on the Customs Map in Tarkov
7. Scav Bunker/Bridge Overlook
Risk: Low or Very High
The Scav Bunker is the worst location on the Woods map in Escape from Tarkov for a few reasons. Firstly, it is always looted if you arrive later. Secondly, it is positioned in an awkward place on the map, where both main extractions are really far away, making this place only good if you spawn near it.
The loot is not that bad for the Woods map. However, other than a few valuables and weapon boxes, it is mediocre, and there is just not much of it. Basically, whoever gets there first gets the best loot.
Scavs spawn here, but they are easier to fight than in areas such as Village or New Sawmill. The problem is that The Goons also have a small chance of spawning here, making Scav Bunker a very dangerous area to be in.
Wrapping up our Guide to the Best Locations for Loot on the Woods Map in Escape from Tarkov
Woods is a great map to learn and play on in Escape from Tarkov. Although some locations are generally better than others, it is not set in stone. It entirely depends on your playstyle, what you want to do, and where people are on the map. However, these are generally the best areas to grab some great loot on when playing on the Woods map in Escape from Tarkov, from our experience.
If you enjoyed this guide, be sure to check out some of our other articles, such as how to overcome solo anxiety in Escape from Tarkov.
