Shortage Therapist quest guide in Escape From Tarkov

The Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest from Therapist is one that you can very easily get stuck on if you don’t know what you’re doing. Quests in Escape From Tarkov are usually split between going somewhere or collecting something, and often collecting is a lot harder if you don’t know where to find the specific item. So, if you’re doing the Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest and on the hunt for Salewas, then look no further than our guide below for all the information and locations you’ll need to get the task completed.

Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest details

The Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest is the first task you’ll get from the Therapist, it requires you to find three Salewa first aid kits in the raid and hand them over to the trader.

The reason this quest can be a real pain consists of a number of different reasons. Firstly, Salewa kits have a relatively low drop rate in raids, they only have specific spawn points, and every other player playing at the start of each Escape From Tarkov wipe will be going for them too. Combine these three reasons and you will be lucky to even see a Salewa in a raid if you are just casually playing, let alone find three, but with this guide, you’ll have all the locations you’ll need to complete it quickly.

As a reward for completing the quest, you will be entitled to the following:

• 15,000 Roubles
• Four Analgin painkillers
• Four Immobilising splints
• Four AI-2 medkits
• 2000 EXP
• An increase of 0.03 to your Therapist rep

In a sense, the Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest isn’t blocking you from doing any immediate further Therapist tasks, as the next three are all similar collection requests that you can find out about in our Escape From Tarkov quest order guide, but it is really good to get a head start and increase your EXP.

How to find Salewa in Escape From Tarkov

The main three maps that you will find Escape From Tarkov Salewa kits on are Customs, Woods, and Interchange. They can also be found on Shoreline, and Reserve is a very good option, but these are not ideal in the early wipe, especially if you are an inexperienced player.

Furthermore, they can be crafted in the Medstation at level one, and that counts as found in a raid thankfully. You will also need the generator, and enough fuel to power through the making of the kits, however, so bear that in mind. The following items are required for the Salewa craft:

• Two Analgin painkillers
• Two Aseptic bandages
• One CALOK-B hemostatic applicator
• Two Esmarch tourniquet

You should be able to find these items in the areas you’ll be scouring for Salewas anyway, so it is a good way to recycle loot and make the most of each raid. 

There does exist a barter for the Salewa kits at Therapist LL1, where you only need to hand over one PAID AntiRoach spray to get your hands on the first aid kit. However, this does not count as found in the raid, so will not increase the found counter, or be able to be handed over to Therapist. What a tease.

Furthermore, any Salewa kits that you loot from dead PMCs or scavs will not count either, unless they have been found in that specific raid by the players. If you spawn as a scav with one in your inventory, that does thankfully count though.

One last thing to watch out for is that any Salewa you put in your secure container will lose its found in raid status if you happen to die in that raid. It will count towards the find tracker for the Shortage quest, but you won’t be able to hand it over to the Therapist.

Customs 

You’re likely to be on the Escape From Tarkov Customs map a lot in the early game doing quests, so it can be a great opportunity to pick up some Salewa kits too. The main area you’ll want to search is the construction site, specifically inside Fortress and Crack House. You can also find Salewas in the back of the ambulance at New Gas Station, but that is a bit more unreliable.

Woods

The Escape From Tarkov Woods map is probably one of the stronger options if you want to get this quest done quickly. Not only does it have a very reliable spawn location, but, like Customs, you can also get a lot of the early quests done here too. Inside the Military Camp by the RUAF extract, you will find a multitude of different medical spawns. 

The most common Salewa spot is on the tables inside the tent on the right, but they can be found in any of the multiple medical bags dotted around, or on the shelves/tables by the containers at the back.

Interchange

Interchange is a bit of a tricky one, as it sits between the ease of Customs and Woods and the danger of the following two maps. If you want a low-risk Salewa run, the ambulances on the motorway outside the mall are where you’ll want to head, but if you’re willing to risk it then there are two more spots to check. Mantis and the pharmacy opposite Techlight are great medical spawn locations, but they will be very highly contested, so you might not make it out of there alive.

Reserve

Reserve very much follows in the footsteps of the high danger spots on Interchange, so it is up to you to decide whether to take the risk or not. The first floor of White Bishop and the second floor of Black Pawn are the spots you’ll want to hit, but just make sure to watch out for any incoming danger.

Shoreline

Wrapping up the Salewa location list is Shoreline, and it is probably the place that is worth visiting the least. There are lots of medical bags and cases in the resort, but it is such a high traffic area with so many well geared players that it is not really worth it unless you’re planning to go there already.

So, that wraps up our guide on the Escape From Tarkov Shortage quest from Therapist, including all the Escape From Tarkov Salewa locations you’ll need to complete the tricky task. If Prapor’s tasks are causing you to be bothered too, why not have a read of our Escape From Tarkov Checking quest guide to get you through that?