Escape from Tarkov's New Beginning quest is the single task that stands between you and a Prestige level — and it's one of the most misunderstood quests in Season 1. It's not a long questline; it's a short, brutal checklist gated behind a mountain of prerequisites, and half the players who qualify can't even see it in their quest log.
Quick answer: New Beginning (Prestige 1) is handed out by Ragman once you hit the Prestige 1 gate (around level 55, Collector complete, specific Hideout/skill levels, and roughly 2,000,000 roubles in your stash). Its objectives are: eliminate 50 Scavs, survive and extract from The Lab once, and hand over one PMC, one Scav, one Boss, and one Trader figurine. For Prestige 1 the figurines do not need to be Found in Raid — you can buy them off the flea. Completing it resets your account to a fresh Prestige character while keeping a small set of permanent bonuses.
Below is every objective in order, the exact rewards, where to farm figurines fast, and the #1 reason the quest "won't appear" even when you meet the requirements.
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What is the New Beginning quest in Tarkov?
New Beginning is the Prestige quest. There is one version per Prestige tier — New Beginning (Prestige 1), (Prestige 2), (Prestige 3), and so on — each given by Ragman, and each one is the final action that actually wipes your account into the next Prestige. You do not click a "Prestige" button; you complete New Beginning and the reset fires.
Prestige is Tarkov's permanent-progression layer: when you prestige you lose your level, stash, hideout and quest progress (back to a fresh start), but you keep a handful of permanent perks — a cosmetic Prestige marker, a small set of carried-over bonuses, and bragging rights that are visible to everyone you meet in raid. It's end-game flex, not a shortcut, so the quest that triggers it is deliberately demanding.
If you're still weighing whether the reset is worth it at all, read our full breakdown first: Tarkov Prestige: Requirements, What You Keep & Is It Worth It. This guide assumes you've already decided to pull the trigger and just need the questline itself.
Prestige 1 requirements: why you can't start New Beginning yet
This is where most players get stuck. New Beginning (Prestige 1) does not appear the moment you hit a kill count — it only unlocks once you've cleared the full Prestige 1 gate. Per the official Escape from Tarkov wiki, the Prestige 1 entry bar is roughly:
- Character level 55
- The Collector quest completed (the Kappa container capstone — which itself needs Loyalty Level 4 with seven traders)
- Specific Hideout stations upgraded — Intelligence Center Level 2, Security Level 3, and Rest Space Level 3
- Certain skills raised to required levels
- Roughly 2,000,000 roubles sitting in your stash
Only when all of those are satisfied does Ragman offer you New Beginning. That's the catch behind the common "I'm level 55 and it still won't show up" complaint — level alone is never enough. You almost certainly have a Hideout tier, a skill threshold, or the Collector hand-in still outstanding.
One note on the "level 25" myth. Some third-party guides list Prestige 1 as unlocking "around level 25." That number is misleading — the quest objectives can be done early in theory, but the gate that makes Ragman hand you the task is the level-55 + Collector + Hideout/skill package above. Treat level 55 and a finished Collector as the real floor.
If grinding Collector and 2M roubles is exactly the wall you're trying to climb, a Tarkov Quest & Kappa Boost clears the Collector capstone and the prerequisite chain for you so New Beginning actually appears.
New Beginning (Prestige 1) objectives in order
Once Ragman offers the quest, the task list is short — three things:
- Eliminate 50 Scavs. Any location, any time. This is pure farming: run a high-Scav-density map (Factory, Ground Zero, Customs) and clear AI. PMC or player-Scav kills don't count — these must be AI Scavs.
- Survive and extract from The Lab (once). A single successful Labs run. You need a Labs access keycard to enter, and you must make it to an extract alive — dying or disconnecting doesn't count.
- Hand over four figurines — one of each type:
- Any PMC figurine
- Any Scav figurine
- Any Boss figurine
- Any Trader figurine
For Prestige 1, these figurines do not require the Found-in-Raid tag, so you can simply buy any you're missing on the flea market. (This is the key difference from Prestige 2 and up — see the FAQ.)
Do the 50 Scavs and the figurine hand-ins first; they're trivial. Save The Lab run for when you have a spare keycard, since that's the only objective with real risk and cost attached.
Where to find New Beginning figurines fast
Even though Prestige 1 lets you buy figurines off the flea, players farming them in raid (or prepping for Prestige 2, where they must be FiR) consistently report the same best spots:
- Labs keycard rooms and valuable-item spawns — figurines show up often alongside other rare loot.
- Streets of Tarkov: Concordia apartments (including the Concordia 64 room) and marked rooms.
- Relax rooms across maps (Streets, Reserve) — a reliable high-value spawn.
- Customs Dorms Champions Room (behind the Dorm Overseer key) — small space, strong figurine hit-rate.
- The Cultist Circle: if you roll a 6-hour craft timer, the Cultist Circle can return figurines directly — one of the fastest ways to backfill the last one or two you're missing.
Figurines can spawn on most valuable loot points, so if you're already running Labs and marked rooms for roubles, you'll usually find enough passively. For a dedicated hunt, Labs keycard rooms plus a 6-hour Cultist Circle is the quickest combo.
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New Beginning (Prestige 1) rewards
Clearing the quest is what actually triggers your Prestige reset. The direct hand-in rewards per the official wiki are:
| Reward | Value |
|---|---|
| EXP | +10,000 |
| Ragman reputation | +0.01 |
| Roubles | 100,000 (105,000 with the Intelligence Center) |
| Account | Resets to a fresh Prestige 1 character |
The rouble payout is almost a formality — the real "reward" is the Prestige status and the permanent carry-over bonuses that come with the reset. You go back to a wiped stash and level 1, so make sure you've spent or stashed what matters before you turn the quest in.
Prestige 1 vs Prestige 2: what changes in New Beginning
New Beginning scales up every tier. The jump from Prestige 1 to Prestige 2 is the one that catches people out:
| Objective | Prestige 1 | Prestige 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kill requirement | 50 Scavs | 10 PMC operatives |
| Labs survive & extract | Yes | Yes |
| Figurines | 1 of each type (flea OK) | 2 of each type, Found in Raid only |
| Story prerequisites | Collector + gate | Must also finish Tour and Falling Skies |
| Level gate | ~55 (Prestige 1 gate) | Higher, plus Prestige 1 first |
The critical change: Prestige 2 figurines must be Found in Raid — you cannot buy them on the flea. Start collecting and holding FiR figurines before you turn in Prestige 1 if you plan to climb, because once you reset you'll be building that collection from scratch.
FAQ
Why won't the New Beginning quest show up even though I meet the requirements? The most common cause isn't a missing requirement at all — it's a UI refresh bug. If you crossed the unlock threshold (hit level 55, finished Collector, etc.) while sitting in the main menu, the new level-gated quest often won't populate until your profile refreshes. The fix: restart the game, or ready up for a raid and instantly cancel the search — either forces a profile refresh and the quest from Ragman appears. If it still doesn't show, double-check you've completed Collector and hit every Hideout, skill and rouble sub-requirement, since level 55 alone is never enough.
Do the figurines need to be Found in Raid for Prestige 1? No. For Prestige 1 you can buy any PMC, Scav, Boss or Trader figurine on the flea market and hand it in — the Found-in-Raid tag is not required. That changes at Prestige 2, where you need two of each type and all must be Found in Raid.
What level do you need to Prestige in Tarkov? The Prestige 1 gate sits around level 55, but level is only one piece. You also need the Collector quest done, set Hideout station tiers, specific skill levels, and roughly 2,000,000 roubles in your stash before Ragman offers New Beginning. Ignore guides that quote "level 25" — that's not the real unlock in Season 1.
Where is the fastest place to farm the figurines? Labs keycard rooms and valuable-loot spawns, Concordia and marked rooms on Streets, Relax rooms, and the Customs Champions Room (Dorm Overseer key). The single fastest backfill is a 6-hour Cultist Circle timer, which can return figurines directly.
What do you keep after prestiging? You lose your level, stash, Hideout and quest progress, but keep your permanent Prestige marker and the tier's carry-over bonuses. See the full list in our Tarkov Prestige guide.
Is New Beginning worth doing solo? The 50 Scav kills and figurine hand-ins are easy solo. The only real hurdle is surviving a Labs run, which demands a keycard and decent gear. If the prerequisite grind (Collector, 2M roubles, Hideout tiers) is the blocker rather than the quest itself, that's exactly what a quest & Kappa boost exists to solve.
New Beginning is short on paper and long in practice — the quest is three objectives, but the gate in front of it is the entire mid-to-late game. Clear Collector, bank your 2M roubles, line up a Labs keycard, and keep a spare set of figurines ready, and the actual Prestige reset takes an evening. And if the quest still refuses to appear after you've ticked every box: restart the game. It's not broken — it's just Tarkov.
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