This game is too hard :(

[glocks999 0]

Just bought the game, was hyped for over a month, i regret it.Tried singleplayer, enemies spot me everytime i sneak up from a distance, they one shot me, i hide behind rocks or a tree, they one shot me. When they are out in the open, not even hiding i and steadily shooting at them, but either none of the bullets hit or they have too much health. Tried multiplayer, joining random servers not knowing what to do in any server, i just get kicked. 

 

What do i do?

[ineptaphid 6413]

Enemies are one hitting you in Sp?What difficulty settings are you on?

[glocks999 0]

Enemies are one hitting you in Sp?What difficulty settings are you on?

normal 

[mistyronin 1181]

normal 

If it's too difficult for you, then switch the difficulty level to "Recruit" and the AI level to "Novice".

[ineptaphid 6413]

Well I have 1600hrs in Arma and I still play on novice....

[six_ten 208]

Just bought the game, was hyped for over a month, i regret it.Tried singleplayer, enemies spot me everytime i sneak up from a distance, they one shot me, i hide behind rocks or a tree, they one shot me. When they are out in the open, not even hiding i and steadily shooting at them, but either none of the bullets hit or they have too much health. Tried multiplayer, joining random servers not knowing what to do in any server, i just get kicked. 

 

What do i do?

 

Practice, practice, practice.

 

They probably aren't shooting you through trees, so learn to use cover.  Sneak through valleys, use buildings to hide yourself.  Don't steadily shoot at them:  if you miss your second shot, move and pop up somewhere else to shoot.

[glocks999 0]

Practice, practice, practice.

 

They probably aren't shooting you through trees, so learn to use cover.  Sneak through valleys, use buildings to hide yourself.  Don't steadily shoot at them:  if you miss your second shot, move and pop up somewhere else to shoot.

How many bullets does it take to kill an enemy on average?

[mistyronin 1181]

How many bullets does it take to kill an enemy on average?

It depends on what calibre, distance, etc. 

Usually one 5.56mm NATO to the head without helmet or to where the helmet doesn't cover, or one to the unprotected chest at short-mid distance. 

Ballistic protection gear, bullet-proof vests, helmets, etc. can save a unit for a couple shots (depending on what class of armor).

Make sure you are not shooting at their weapon (they are thick and will protect them, as if it was a wall), aim for the body.

Also check that you have set the proper distance in the iron sight or read properly the scope reticle. In this game, the ballistic parabola (aka arrow path in the image below) is simulated. 

In this game the most important thing is to TAKE COVER if you wanna keep your soldier alive. AKA memorise all possible hard covers when you go from A to B (stones, buildings, ruins, whatever) so if someone shots you, you can get to cover fast. Also think what's the best approach towards an enemy before actually attacking it (usually from high positions but without standing-out in the horizon, that's specially important against humans).

If you play against humans also remember to "read the light", aka check where the light sources come from, to avoid standing-out in front of a backlight. In that situations is also important to understand your surroundings, and see how can you imitate better with the environment that surrounds you (when choosing camos, standing in the shadows instead of in the light, etc.). Also be aware of your shadow, as it can help other enemies to see where you are, even if you are completely hidden. 

And if even doing all that, they kill you, that's how war is... death is a common soldier's fate.

[twisted 128]

first - the usual advice. use cover, etc, etc.

 

but also the AI accuracy is too damn high. that's been tested in dev branch and is a fact. its inhuman. anything over aiaccuracy 0.32 is super human. around0.3 is extreme as well.

 

personally i created a very simple addon that lower ai accuracy to human levels (to less than 0.3). Not any great shakes as an add-on nor advanced. What it mostly does is check if ai accuracy is over 0.3 and if it is then assigns a lower random value modified by rank. Makes them miss more essentially but you will still die a lot. but it feels a lot less like headshotted at 500m in an instant.

 

it is here. just uploaded it in steam workshop. Requires CBA3.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=619834340

 

maybe it'll be useful.

 

But best solution is for BIS to relook at key parts of the AI (how easily they see other units (cover, distance), their base accuracy (too high, wounds do not affect accuracy) and firing abilities) and make the player controls more fluid. I really like the game but the unit movement and firing do feel too robotic still, which when combined with seemingly super human AI and it can seem be a pretty hard game to get into. Worth it though. Top game.

[andersson 285]

I been playing this game since 2001 and I can understand you. For some reason many of the original mission made by BI is imho strangely difficult, and the default AI settings are known to be too hard.

 

You can change the AI settings, just have a look around this forum and you will find out how.

 

I also recommend to start to play around in the editor. It's a very powerful tool and with just some basic you can quickly create different scenarios to practice and learn from.

Place yourself as player, place 1-2 AIs somewhere and try to kill them. Make the AI walk around and do the same. Put in a friendly group and an enemy group. Pop in some vehicles. Soon you will get better and understand more what you need to do, and before you know it a decade and a half has passed by........

[mistyronin 1181]

I been playing this game since 2001 and I can understand you. For some reason many of the original mission made by BI is imho strangely difficult, and the default AI settings are known to be too hard.

That reminds me of... 

How the BI dev that created most of the missions, was killed over and over while playing them in a live stream  :P

IMHO it's not too hard, and if a mission seems to be impossible, just unlock the unlimited saves and do a small part, then save, and so on. 

[roberthammer 582]

Only the AI cheats with Terminator vision and instant headshots

[andersson 285]

That reminds me of... 

How the BI dev that created most of the missions, was killed over and over while playing them in a live stream  :P

IMHO it's not too hard, and if a mission seems to be impossible, just unlock the unlimited saves and do a small part, then save, and so on. 

LOL!

 

Personally I prefer to experience a mission, not try to beat it. 

[St. Jimmy 272]

How many bullets does it take to kill an enemy on average?

OPFOR fatigues give crazy amount of protection. Usually two grenades under their feet or minimum three shots with a rifle. You and your team mates don't usually have that much protection.

[roberthammer 582]

OPFOR fatigues give crazy amount of protection. Usually two grenades under their feet or minimum three shots with a rifle. You and your team mates don't usually have that much protection.

Or just Aim for the head - one shot dead

[major_barnes1987 33]

You just have to get used the way ArmA works and the controls.So practice will be your best friend here.And you need to remember a few things like use cover and concealment whenever possible.Use rocks,bushes,houses,walls,fences, use the environment to your advantage.Secondly remember that the ground is your second home,you gotta love the ground cause you'll spent most of your time in prone.

And there's 3 basic rules when i play games witch always works.

Know the place,practice on the island,go for a ride,check the place.If you know the place you know the best way to apprach the enemy.

Know the enemy,predict his moves if you know the place you know what i mean.Set ambushes in the right places.

Know yourself and what your specialties are.What kind of warfare are you best at?

That's it i hope it helps. :)

[St. Jimmy 272]

Or just Aim for the head - one shot dead

Maybe 25-75m away I could consider. I'm not that good with the mouse.

 

Btw one tip for the glocks999. You can try to use iron sights. I prefer them over the collimator sights if that's the only sight you get. I also play under 0.3 AI accuracy.

[glocks999 0]

Thank you for the tips everyone

[ineptaphid 6413]

first - the usual advice. use cover, etc, etc.

 

but also the AI accuracy is too damn high. that's been tested in dev branch and is a fact. its inhuman. anything over aiaccuracy 0.32 is super human. around0.3 is extreme as well.

 

personally i created a very simple addon that lower ai accuracy to human levels (to less than 0.3). Not any great shakes as an add-on nor advanced. What it mostly does is check if ai accuracy is over 0.3 and if it is then assigns a lower random value modified by rank. Makes them miss more essentially but you will still die a lot. but it feels a lot less like headshotted at 500m in an instant.

 

it is here. just uploaded it in steam workshop. Requires CBA3.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=619834340

 

 

I've never been totally clear on the AI skill settings-if I use the custom skill sliders in game,what amounts would I use to get somewhere between novice and normal? I was thinking Skill: 22 Accuracy 25-but that seems too high. Is their a table anywhere that shows what the amounts are for the default skill levels?

[Greenfist 1863]

I've never been totally clear on the AI skill settings-if I use the custom skill sliders in game,what amounts would I use to get somewhere between novice and normal? I was thinking Skill: 22 Accuracy 25-but that seems too high. Is their a table anywhere that shows what the amounts are for the default skill levels?

0.36 is pretty much right between novice and normal.

For example, a unit with default base skill (slider in the middle) results in accuracy 0.550 with Normal, and 0.425 with Novice. Custom skill slider at 0.36 is 0.478 accuracy.

[Rydygier 1317]

I used to play with 0.35 skill and 0.2 precision (customized "Regular"). Seems OK for me without any scripted AI skill reductors or messing with skill bars in editor (BTW anyway I fight mostly against spawned AI), which means, I die rare enough to avoid rage, while AI is still challenging (but beatable). Everyone has own optimum depending on reflex, experience (I do not play much) etc. I guess. BTW technically should be possible to make a script, that will automatically and dynamically adapt AI skills basing on player's performance in time. But IMHO it's kinda against immersion. 

 

From the other hand, AI certainly could/should act more human-like. 

[froggyluv 2136]

 As posted here: https://forums.bistudio.com/topic/150499-ai-discussion-dev-branch/?p=2973483

 

 even with the Ai skill slide slid all the way to the left -essentially "zero" those skills are too high and need to be totally recalibrated., I spend rainMan like time studying these and there is just very little to no tangible difference between 0.2 Accuracy (novice/zero) and 1 (expert). That means a lowly crewman can hang against a Recon Sharpshooter- there is little difference minus the weapon. That is why we hear so much about getting sniped @400 by an AK. The sad part is its entirely fixable but just not addressed.

 

 the other problems are the too fast spotting and recognition by AI (haven't tested the subSKills here enough) and lack of caring or realistic animation when wounded. Hit an enemy in chest he flinches and headshots you.

 

Personally I love the AI overall, but am puzzled why they dont just sit a few real soldiers down against the AI for an afternoon, get their feedback on what did/didn't feel real and start calibrating.

[Rydygier 1317]

Yes, when I checked last time (a year ago?) most of the difference in precision was hiding between 0 and 0.1, above that starts to be hard to notice and shows up only in the massive statistical tests of many tries, something, like square root function, or even more flat. The problem is poor calibration if so, not so serious thing, just one need to know, he should operate with small differences on very small values if want to see distinctive change. 

[twisted 128]

 As posted here: https://forums.bistudio.com/topic/150499-ai-discussion-dev-branch/?p=2973483

 

 even with the Ai skill slide slid all the way to the left -essentially "zero" those skills are too high and need to be totally recalibrated., I spend rainMan like time studying these and there is just very little to no tangible difference between 0.2 Accuracy (novice/zero) and 1 (expert). That means a lowly crewman can hang against a Recon Sharpshooter- there is little difference minus the weapon. That is why we hear so much about getting sniped @400 by an AK. The sad part is its entirely fixable but just not addressed.

 

 the other problems are the too fast spotting and recognition by AI (haven't tested the subSKills here enough) and lack of caring or realistic animation when wounded. Hit an enemy in chest he flinches and headshots you.

 

Personally I love the AI overall, but am puzzled why they dont just sit a few real soldiers down against the AI for an afternoon, get their feedback on what did/didn't feel real and start calibrating.

 

this, so much. These arent trivial things either for a FPS experience like arma 3 should be. they are essentials that would make the game react far more beleivably.

[dragon01 902]

If nothing else works, you can try the devbranch. I found that setting AI to "normal" and disabling all aids gives a stunningly realistic experience. I play on devbranch now (mostly due to learning to use Eden editor), so I don't know how the main is, but they did improve AI by a lot from what it used to be at one point. In particular, it gets suppressed now, meaning that if you fire a few shots at them, even if you miss, this can be enough to make them move and their accuracy to drop. 

 

Of course, this is not your regular FPS, this isn't even Ghost Recon (though if you played that one, some stuff does carry over). ArmA is an actual simulator, it has, at times, more in common with airsoft matches than with most FPSes out there. Most actual military manuals apply there. Other than that? Practice. ArmA has tons of tools to help you with that. Check out "VR Training" in particular, also the Bootcamp campaign can be great help (certainly a better start than jumping straight into The East Wind).