Help for someone new to Arma games

[DaddyFatSax 0]

Hi

 

Like the title says i'm totally new to Arma games, I have years of Battlefield gaming under my belt but I noticed quickly that Arma 3 was different.

First off I have tried looking around on google and other forums but I was unable to find anything to answer the questions I have about this game so i'm hoping the community is able to do that.

Is there a detailed guide that could really explain how this game works and how to do different stuff? By stuff I mean game mechanics, loadouts etc.

I played through the prologue and yeah it was pretty different from battlefield, I figured I would go and try one round of multiplayer to see how that is but I got stuck with a message telling me to do a halo jump but I couldn't really figure out how to do that and there wasn't any information on the screen on what had to be done.

Also how do I change my loadout or equip different weapons? I have seen a few youtube videos where people are showing them changing their loadout but they don't show how to get to the loadout and I looked everywhere in the game but I couldn't find anything regarding loadout which was kind of a bummer as I really like playing marksman but I was just stuck with a basic rifle with no way of changing to a sniper rifle.

Tbh I could have made a looooong list of things I'm wondering about but that would make this post long so i'm hoping somebody out there knows of a guide or a video that can explain things for me, the game seems pretty cool with all the teamwork and tactical gameplay so I would love to properly learn how this game is played so I don't go in and possibly ruin the game experience for others because I don't know how to play the game.

[Rich_R 1087]

Welcome to the community!

 

The Armaverse is a very cool place, great players and an incredible game. The best way to earn your Arma stripes is really to get stuck in. Here are my top five tips

 

1. Play through the tutorials. I haven't fully played through the Arma 3 versions, but I went through each of those found in Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead and learned a lot of the keys and game mechanics

2. Join good servers. As long as you don't do anything stupid (like try to fly a chopper before you know how) everyone is really helpful. They'll talk you through the nuances and gameplay. If you can find a small group to team up with on any particular server, all the better.

3. Watch videos, with a blend of narcissism and helpfulness, Arma players make a ton of tutorial videos on operating vehicles and so on. Search google using 'Arma 3 tutorial (insert subject matter here)', BI Wikis are hit or miss, but worth a look. Of course dig out the manual found in the game's folder which includes a handy dandy key guide.

4. Jump in the editor and place objects to play with them. The real strength of Arma 3 is the sandbox and incredible 3D editor. Again, you may need to refer to videos or wiki pages, but it is an amazing way to learn about the game and have fun doing it. Want to take on a swarm of enemy tanks with an endless supply of AT. Easily done. Want to be an unber sniper? Done.

5 Consider joining a group. The past groups I've managed had great training programs that will walk you through not only the keys and gameplay mechanics, but tactics that work well in the game.

 

Welcome to an incredible gaming world!

[joostsidy 685]

- Editor is great like Rich says. You can even put down only a player and try out the stances, or shoot at empty windows, just to compare firing modes, scopes and weapons.

- Look at the control options and see what action what button does. Some of them you might not understand what they do so you might want to try them out.

[Undeceived 392]

22 hours ago, DaddyFatSax said:

Is there a detailed guide 

 

Beside the tips given there's also the ingame field manual that could also be useful. You can access it via the main menu or in the pause menu when pressing ESC in  missions.

[nodunit 397]

Hi and welcome to your latest addiction!  (It is, you just don't know it yet).

To give a few of the basics, equipment is changed by pressing the I key (Inventory), when near a weapons crate or dead body, you can take their weapons and kit, or drop some of your own to decrease your loadout weight.
Different weapons can be equipped by using the 1-3 keys with 1 being the rifle, 2 the handgun, and 3 whatever launcher you are carrying.  Press G to throw grenades, and use the F key to change firing modes, and use the / key on your numpad to switch between optics should you have a rifle with two sets (one scope and one redpoint for example.)

Weaponry is based on class or pre-assigned loadout unless you find another weapon through your mission, if you would like to check out the various weapons then you can do so via the tutorial tab and clicking "Virtual Arsenal", which will also give you the weapons stats and when "tried" will produce trails from the bullets to show you their trajectory and so on. 


To help break you in to understanding mechanics I highly recommend checking out these videos alongside playing the tutorials, start from the bottom up as Jets are at the top and the basics of infantry are at the start (bottom)

Whatever you do, don't try and rush into understanding all of these at once, there is a LOT to learn, from stances, fatigue, weapon handling, penetration values, bullet drop, weapon resting, and so on. 
Ultimately the best way to learn is to just play around, don't take it too seriously, it's a learning experience and what better way to do so then to get hands on. 

[dragon01 902]

Also, play SP missions. At the very least, the "Bootcamp" campaign, then the showcases of whatever is of interest to you. They cover pretty much everything you need to know about mechanics. Note, the "Fixed Wings" showcase might change soon, since jets are currently in a state of flux. Most other things aren't going to change, though.

 

Another thing to check out is the "VR Training" under "Learn". It covers a lot of advanced concepts such as weapon resting, fatigue, inertia, recoil management and stances in great detail. I don't know how accurate it currently is for vehicles and missile launchers (the targeting system recently got a major overhaul), but infantry stuff should be OK.

[drdetroit 77]

To add to the good advice given; there is a Arma 3 manual, quite large manual actually, in the games directory.  Check that out for some useful info.

 

You could also play the SP campaign.  By the time you're done with that you'll know most of the commands, explosive placement and detonation, commanding your AI squad, stances, way points, inventory, ect.  

 

A lot of good dynamic campaigns to move on to as well in the Steam Workshop to keep you busy if not doing any MP work.  Tons of addons, mods, AI tweaks, missions...about anything you can think of is already in the Workshop to enhance the game well beyond the vanilla release.

 

Good luck and happy hunting!

DrDetroit

[SpeckIV 0]

There is plenty of base game content with hundreds (even thousands) of missions to play. If you ever get bored of the base game, I'm sure you will find something on the steam workshop or armaholic that will interest you even more! Welcome to the Arma community! 

[Christenson HHD 3]

Join a Milsim Unit!

[Varis 34]

On 7/1/2017 at 4:07 AM, drdetroit said:

To add to the good advice given; there is a Arma 3 manual, quite large manual actually, in the games directory.  Check that out for some useful info.

 

Funny that online on Steam there is just a very basic (pre-)manual.

 

Is there BTW an easy way to find your install folder? (For the record I'm using 3 Steam folders too.)

[St. Jimmy 272]

9 hours ago, Varis said:

 

Funny that online on Steam there is just a very basic (pre-)manual.

 

Is there BTW an easy way to find your install folder? (For the record I'm using 3 Steam folders too.)

In Steam right click the game -> properties -> local files -> browse local files

 

It's also good to make a shortcut to .cfg and .rpt files.

.rpt and some other logs can be found from C:\Users\Your_PC_Username\AppData\Local\Arma 3

Though many games use the same place so\AppData\Local\ is a good shortcut.

.cfg and profile files can be found from C:\Users\Your_PC_Username\My Documents\Arma 3

 

Shortcuts of those two can come very handy.

[EDcase 87]

On top of all that good info its important to remember / realise that ARMA is a true sandbox game.

This means that any mission (server game) can have its own rules and ways of doing things as well as limits on weapons available etc.

 

Most options (like HALO and armoury) are mouse menu options that come up in certain areas of a base for example.

Rearming is generally an option that comes up in certain areas but could also be spawn options.

 

I would suggest to play all the single player missions to get fully comfortable with controls / keys.

Don't be afraid to edit the key bindings if you wish. Its time consuming but worth making it really familiar.

 

ARMA has a steep learning curve as you've discovered but that also makes it more rewarding and keeps it interesting so stick to it and you'll soon get past the frustration to the full enjoyment.