ArmA2, how do I even play?

[KnightFandragon 10]

Ok, so ive had ArmA2 for awhile, my dad and I rolled around in an Abrams awhile back on some random MP servers but havent done much with the game since.

Ive recently reinstalled it and been running the armory challenges and so far this game seems to be a bit ridiculous. To me, its like playing any other shooter vs Hacking aim botters. The AI is this omnipotent super god who just insta-snipes me as soon as I do anything, from ranges where I cannot even render them on the screen. Ive watched them through Binocs from over 300m away and I go to move up and bang, dead...the most shots ive ever heard before being dead was like 4.

I realize this game isnt CoD of BF or any of those, crawling is useful and mandatory, but the next issue comes that the AI seems to see me no issue in the grass but I cant see out through the grass. So Proning is the only way to sorta survive but I cant shoot while proned. Then I crouch to scan and shoot and bang, dead.

Meanwhile, the soldier seems to hold his gun and move like hes decrepit and drunk. Also, how is bullet drop in this game? I aim and single or 2-3 burst my M240 at range but never seem to hit anything. I put them on the tip of the front sight post, I aim slightly above it but between the horrid sensitivity, the aim bot of the AI and odd recoil of the weapon, makes hitting stuff kinda hard at range. 900m/s is the armory on the M240, 915 for the M249, but whats that equate to in game? little lead? lotta lead? no lead?

The Sensitivity in this game is very odd as well. Is there a way to turn off the mouse acceleration thing it seems to have? I have settings to lowest sensitivity and it seems off but if I put them to like 4 clicks up its to fast. How do i get it to simply scroll like pretty much any other shooter ive played? Or is that just an ArmA thing? The over all feel of the controls in this game seem choppy, like the game is always in a state of lagging and it moves as such, but its not lag. I have the game on medium settings and it plays overall not bad but the sensitivity and stuff I cant come to a level where it feels right.

Also, Optics, how do I get some on the weapons? I see some of them have them built on, ive used the Basic training weapon with the Aimpoint red dot and another with a 4x ACOG, I see the Mk48 Mod 0 has a scope on it...but does the M240 ever get one? And how many challenge points does the M249 take? Ive got over 1000 so far. Seem to be unlocking everything but the SAW.

Finally, is there an M60 in this game in any form?

I want to like this game but it seems kinda impossible to even survive 5 seconds once near combat. So far I kinda find this game annoying and a bit excessive on the AI Aimbotting. Sure, shoot and kill me, but 300m, pop, dead? seems a bit much.

[PelicanDynasty 10]

Hey, welcome to the forums. :cool:/

The biggest thing I can recommend is to practice up your game. Try downloading Flashpoint: Chernaurus and Flashpoint: Utes, it is sort of like a battle setup wizard, and you can practice with squads, all sorts of weapons and vehicles and you can respawn. Aiming is very different from a conventional shooter. Try and look where your shots are landing, and keep in mind your sights are zeroed for an average range, so if you are really close you will need to aim below them. I would say play on difficulty 2 out of 4, although make some changes to it(such as not showing yourself on the map). Hills are your biggest advantage, always take the high ground. And yes, the enemy is not effected by grass, but they are effected by bushes and trees and I think shade(don't quote me on that one). So lying down in a bush far away can be good, but try not to engage if you are outnumbered by more than a few people, or they will get you first. Lastly, pick your targets wisely. Machinegunners are a huge threat so take them out first, and you are much more likely to survive. Once you get in the hang of things you will be killing from even further than 300m.

This is coming from an average at best player, just keep trying because this series is fantastic. Good luck!

[Tacti-Cool 10]

Yes there is a M60

[zulu1 145]

I know how you feel, when I first tried to play A2/OA I thought it was impossible. It was with the video card and monitor that I had at the time. When I finally got a suitable card (gtx650ti) and a hi-def monitor I could start seeing the distant enemy. SuperAI with x-ray vision goes back to Operation Flashpoint. There are AI and other enhancements that improves things.

The Flashpoint missions for A2 are good for learning game tactics and a lot of fun.

[Mirek 166]

Its just matter of practice. I was really upset with the game at the beginning, but after some time i got used to it and started winning. By the time i realized that AI is superstupid and it is super eazy to win against it if you use tactics.

-Download instal and use ACE (it makes the game harder from start, but after u get used to it u will realize that it makes the game much more intuitive and much more fun)

- Dont atack head on.

- Use solid cover. (stone walls, rocks, armor wrecks)

- move from cover to cover (Get to cover check the surroundings, move to next cover check again move to the next cover...................)

- Keep on moving.

- Use your ears. many times i survived only because i heard footsteps of the flanking enemy before they saw me.

- Try to allways atack from higher possition than your enemy is. Atack downhill.

- practice your Aim

- keep turning your head (dont focus on one direction too long. enemy might flank you and kill you from behind)

- Allways do a proper recon, and make sure that you know possitions and numbers of the enemy befor you shoot.

- Avoid open fields (it is better to take the longer way trough the forrest where enemy doesnt see you, than shortcut trough the field where youl get killed)

[-Gews- 1]

Also, how is bullet drop in this game? I aim and single or 2-3 burst my M240 at range but never seem to hit anything. I put them on the tip of the front sight post, I aim slightly above it but between the horrid sensitivity, the aim bot of the AI and odd recoil of the weapon, makes hitting stuff kinda hard at range.

Trajectory zeroed at 300m

200m = +0.2m

300m = ZERO

400m = -0.4m

600m = -2.0m

800m = -5.0m

900m/s is the armory on the M240, 915 for the M249, but whats that equate to in game? little lead? lotta lead? no lead?

Target running at 5.5 m/s

200m = 1.3m

400m = 3m

600m = 5m

[desertjedi 3]

I hear you Knight. I've been away from Arma II for a couple of years. The only shooters I've played in that time are games like Vegas 2. When I picked up Arma 2 last weekend, it was like my character was fat, slow and suffering from an alcoholic buzz. The first thing I did was to set "Head Bob" to zero - that's a must. I played a solo domination map against AI at night. I did so bad that I almost starting laughing. But I finally started using tactics and acting like a soldier would in real life and started getting a MUCH better kill/death ratio.

The thing about Arma is that it's the only shooter (I think) where an attempt at realism is made by noticeably messing with the control of your reticule and the control of your body. With A2, I was having trouble lining up shots. With Vegas 2, I was like a Spec Ops God! It can be quite aggravating but what would Arma be if you had the instantaneous and perfect gunsight and body control of most other games? Not only would it not be Arma, but it wouldn't be much anything special. My ability to shoot tangoes running laterally to me even at short-medium range was pretty terrible but then again, so would it be in real life - even with some training. In other games, you can pick off any visible AI almost instantly. And that gets boring. But on the other hand, when I ran out of ammo and sat there helpless, I watched a tango drop to his knee, line up his shot on me and slowly and methodically shoot me. And my thought was that he is just as slow as I am to get a good shot off. And that scenario represents real life way more than a game like Vegas 2 - which I can say after playing for years, is a bit cartoonish in comparison.

Arma is all about thinking and acting like a real soldier. Yeah, I'd love for some of the character transitions to be faster (there's mods for that) but I understand why things are as they are. Most of us here have found a way to play and enjoy Arma 2 with all the frustrations you've encountered. Hope you stick with it using the forums for help and find what makes Arma different from all the other shooters.