which addons do you feel are essential?

[andromedagalaxe 10]

Newbie here playing vanilla Arma 2. I did a search and didn't come up with any solid advice.

I'm looking for suggestions for the best addons for core gameplay. I don't think I need any new forces or weapons yet as I'm still exploring core gameplay.

1. I wanted to add JTD fire and smoke - looks awesome.

2. Still not sure about ACE, as some people think it adds as many problems as it solves. Plus I think it removes some features I like.

So which is essential to get the best experience?

Will adding several addons affect performance greatly?

[HyperU2 11]

Trial and error for the most part. I find myself using fire and smoke and SOW mostly. Both have their pluses and minuses though. I love ACE for the toys but I don't like most of the actual gameplay.

[Aeneas2020 10]

anything i make! lol joking

you def wanna get the CAA1 stuff and the CBA stuff.

Other than that i can recommend warfx and jtd fire and smoke both are awesome.

[SgtMjr 10]

My list;

ACE2

Chammy's Sound Mod or Hi Fi sound mod (both are good)

War FX

WarFX tracers

Zeus AI

The benefits of ACE2 outweigh the bugs by a wide margin IMHO. The sound mods are amazing. WarFX/ Tracers are not only very pretty but are useful in that bullet hit dust markings aid in aim correction at long range and who doesn't like cool tracer effects:cool:)?

Given the choice I'd play on a Zeus AI server over regular AI any day. The harder the better I say. OOHRAH!

[dmarkwick 261]

IMO, as good as ACE2 is, it's more about locking down gameplay than it is expanding it. There's a lot of goodies in it to be sure, perhaps enough to make it a must-have, but you have to make your own mind up about it's desirability. The great thing about it though, is that it's free :) and doesn't cost you anything to try it out.

Speaking personally, I go for the behavioral addons, the ones that change how units act or react. I like VFAI, SLX, Zeus, stuff like that. Some mixing & matching might be necessary though to prevent odd or erratic behavior between addons.

And, when DAC3 comes out, you'll be wanting that for sure :)

[CharlieMike24 0]

Addons aren't essential... and they are very much a personal preference.

For me, I like experimenting with the editor. Often a small BLUFOR /OPFOR engagement - usually in a small town. Here, AI enhancements make all the difference. I use GL4 and Zeus. This combination gives some degree of realism to the vapid vanilla AI. Enemy AI will now try to garrison buildings and on contact take cover, suppress and use flanking manouevers. They can call for artillery and re-inforcements. It can make the whole situation much more challenging :)

For vehicles and aircraft, I think Mandos Missile mod is superb. I also use ACE2.

Come to think of it ...maybe addons are essential...

[gulag 10]

Chammy's Sound Mod

SLX Mod

Zeus AI

WarFx

JTD (all)

TRSM

These are my favorites, but it depends on what addon uses each mission.

[Blade89 10]

I use:

Chammy's Sound Mod

ZEUS A.I.

Tango Romeo's Sound Mod Pack

ACE 2

I suggest all 4 of these. Hope this helps. :)

[LJF 0]

ACE2

Chammy's Sound Mod

Mando Missile

Ace makes everything better, Chammy's makes weapons sound like weapons and Mando Missile adds in all those "cool new gadgets" you expect to come with a piece of modern hardware like the Apache or KA-52.

But those are just the essentials, my ArmA2 folder is 22.6gb :)

[AnimalMother92 10]

ACE2/ACEX (benefits outweigh the costs and there are so many new toys)

CSM2/HiFi (both really good soundmods but I'd give a slight edge to CSM2 for weapon sounds at least)

WarFX (especially once 1.4 comes out it just makes everything look cooler)

ZeusAI (properly setup it really improves the gameplay)

Isla Duala/Podagorsk (best user made maps out there imo)

But take your time to browse around armaholic and you will definitely find something that you like. :)

[SwiftyBoy 0]

Off the top of my head

GL4

VFAI

ZeusAI

JTD Fire n Smoke

JTD Clear Horizons

JTD Fog thing

Loads of different British units

UK Weapons

WarFX

Armed Civilians

Chammy's Sound Mod

Morrigan Nude Mod... oh sorry, that's Dragon Age...

I'm actually running tons more than that but if I was to lose the lot in a lightning strike, the above are the ones I'd mourn the loss of.

[Master gamawa 0]

Minimal Crosshair.

JDT Fire Smoke (and birds) addon

WarFX particles and tracers

Nuff said. The rest is fluff.