Advice for a new player?

[MadPaddyJack 10]

Hello, all!

I am brand new to Arma 2 (just bought it last week) and was wondering if anyone had any (preferably) friendly advice to give to a complete newbie.

I've been playing first person shooters since they came into existance, and when I researched this game with its focus on realism and military simulation, I knew I had to play it.

I suppose my main question is, how do I get the most out of this game, both single and multiplayer? The scope (not to mention the learning curve) of it seems HUGE, and the list of mods, add-ons, and multiplayer options is pretty daunting. Can someone give me some words of wisdom?

Thanks!

[Noraf 0]

best advice(s ) must be :

have patience, the learningcure IS enormous...

See if you find a friendly groop of people to play with, and use voice coms

[Inkompetent 0]

Welcome to the undying game!

To answer your questions:

1) Patience

2) Don't bother with addons until you've learned what you want from the game, or at least find a mission that looks cool but that requires a certain addon

3) Try out the in-game editor. It is a good way to set up simple training scenarios and learn weapons and vehicles

4) For multiplayer, look around for an open community that can help you discover the game. There's everything from small, casual groups to large, hardcore milsim-groups and TvT (team versus team) leagues. People generally don't mind teaching, as long as the student is open for learning :)

5) Check out the User Missions forum section for some additional single palyer fun. www.armaholic.com is a lovely place to find downloads of all possible kinds as well.

[pooroldspike 129]

First rule for newcomers-

BIG IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER!

Sure, some people like big missions full of a zillion units, but others (including me) like smaller faster-moving missions.

Heck you can even play auto-generated one-man Armory Missions, just you alone against the bad guys, great fun.

Personally I like to set up small games in the editor (they can only take 10 minutes to create), just a single squad like this ready to rock n' roll under my command against the enemy-

PS- Second rule:- DON'T RUSH INTO EXPANSIONS AND MODS AND ADDONS!

Get comfortable with the vanilla (ie straight out of the box) game first, but you can patch it to the latest version, (currently AA2 1.8 and OA 1.57)

I play almost-vanilla Comb Ops 1.57, the only thing I've added is a 'Summerpack' mod to turn Chernarus lush green instead of default autumn colours, and at the moment I've no plans to add anything else.

Edited March 22, 2011 by PoorOldSpike

[SPC.Spets 21]

also, dont focus too much on bugs and glitches, you know they are there, everybody knows that. If you pay too much attention to that you are going to turn into a hater and come to this forum full of rant like some guys flying around here

Critisism is good, trolling not

[metalcraze 290]

For singleplayer get Operation Flashpoint with Resistance expansion

BIS SP campaigns got only worse with each next game

[Inkompetent 0]

For singleplayer get Operation Flashpoint with Resistance expansion

BIS SP campaigns got only worse with each next game

Well, the BAF campaign was really good! And the OA one wasn't too shabby either ^^

[Joe98 92]

To the newby:

Start with Boot Camp. Don’t do everything. Just do;

Soldier’s movement / stance

Shooting

Driving

Commanding a vehicle

Then open the Armoury. Over a few weeks use;

almost every weapon

almost every vehicle

and play through all the missions that you are given.

If some game action does not seem to work, go back and practise in Boot Camp.

Also, in the Armoury, play with almost every individual character. You cannot always tell which weapon the character will have before selecting it.

Note the rabbit character does not have a weapon or a map. :)

After wards go to “My Missionsâ€. There are 2 types. Play the type where you can select the troops.

Begin with a 2 man squad. That’s you and your number 2.

Attack a one-man enemy position. Get used to giving orders to your number 2.

Then create a 3 man squad and give orders to both of your men. Attack a 1 or 2 man enemy position.

Then create a 5 man squad. Set 2 and 3 as team red and 4 and 5 as team blue. Attack a 2 or 3 man enemy position. Practise giving orders to team red and team blue instead of to individual soldiers.

Write out all the different orders by hand to make it easier.

And that’s where I am up to!

It is in the top 2 most enjoyable wargames I have ever had!

-

[Posta 10]

In the main menu:

Multiplayer

Create new (or similar)

Switch to LAN

Find the mission 05: Superpowers

Disable some of the AI

Play and learn

CTI is pretty easy to learn and you can take towns at your own pace.

OR

Jump into MP and choose CTI in the filter thingy.

[walker 0]

Hi all

Start here:

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA_II_Hints_and_Tips

Kind Regards walker

[MadPaddyJack 10]

Thanks for the advice, everyone...I look forward to getting hours (probably subtracted from my sleep schedule) of enjoyment out of this game. :)

[Joe98 92]

CTI is pretty easy to learn and you can take towns at your own pace.

What is "CTI" ?

-

[Inkompetent 0]

What is "CTI" ?

-

Capture The Island. A collective word for game types where two or more team contest about map dominance, each team having at least one base where the players can buy vehicles, weapons, and maybe even AI soldiers to help them win. Capturing nodes on the map (usually cities and towns) increases your team's steady income to buy said things for.

[The Hebrew Hammer 10]

Being a relatively new player myself I'll offer my advice:

Get familiar with the controls, because they are complex. Learn how to use weapon systems and vehicles by messing around in the editor. Then learn the basics of the editor such as setting units, grouping them, the characteristics of grouped units, how to set waypoints, etc. With that you can create basic scenarios to play, where you can learn how to command AI teammates.

From there I got into learning how to implement addons such as weapons, sounds, effects, scripts, islands, etc. All of which can be used to enhance your gameplay experience. I'd download ACE first actually just to get used to dealing with wind while shooting.

[flattermann 12]

If you like the CTI idea, try our crCTI Proman:

http://www.angryinsects.com/content/download :) On the bottom of the page is an English crCTI manual.

Proman CTI does not work at 100% if not run on a dedicated server, but you're always welcome at our Angry Insects server ;) The Lite version works offline though. PM me if you want to try out a "Lite" map, i'll be happy to send you one.

A CTI is a fun way to try out the majority of ArmA2 gear and vehicles and get to know the island(s).

About ACE, i'd suggest to stay away from it for a while, it increases the difficulty and the learning curve dramatically, it makes an already complex game even more complex. You definitely should get ACE - at a later date, after you familiarized yourself with vanilla ArmA2.

Edited March 23, 2011 by Flattermann

[Joe98 92]

Also, after playing in the Armoury for a while, read the manual for the second time. There are some tips there that are not obvious on the first reading.

After you have had the game for 2 months read the manual for the third time!

-

[pooroldspike 129]

More advice for new players:- go here and rummage through this juicy bundle of illustrated threads-

FEW GOOD MEN- http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/forumdisplay.php?123-Armed-Assault-II

[CarlGustaffa 4]

In multiplayer, observe other players. Try to stick as glue to one player and be his fighting buddy, cover where he is not etc, and learn his moves and behaviors.

[wipman 1]

Hi, my advice:

A) Patience.

B) Caution.

You could begin by playing the campaign with lower dificulty settings, then the missions in a harder dificulty; if you are not sure of how certain weapon or thing works... try in the editor until you get familiarized with it; you don't need to master it, just familiarize, and over all... get familiarized with the keybinds, what they do, where you can get the best (as ground troop) of it and as important as this... where and when to don't use it.

Things like: Is better to shoot an Anti-Tank Missile or RPG to the tracks of the tank for disable it, or to other critical points, shoot at the wheels of cars with small arms and use MGs or HMGs for wheeled APCs/IFVs; always hold your breath between shots. And... always shoot in Single Shot at targets beyond 50m; try to be always near a hard cover in combat and on patrol, don't run too much and always look arround in detail.

If you combine all this with the patience and caution you'll have it easyer. In MP if you don't know something, ask before screw it; and try to never shoot a friendly, if he don't shoots at you before... . Let's C ya

[Marauder8 10]

Being seen by the enemy is usually not a good thing. The less you move, and the lower you are, the better chance of hitting the enemy you will have. Try not to stand up or be crouched too much, it could lead to death or injury. If enemy armour shows up and you have no AT weaponry, then either run away from it, or start sneaking around.

If you are sneaking at night, never stay at a peak of a hill or mountain, it will create a silhouette making you easier to spot.