Useful Tips from the Arma2 Manual

[Bakst 98]

Greetings, fellow survivors! I'm new to Arma2 and bought the game because I wanted to play DayZ (like so many of you). I'm so glad I did, because I love the vanilla game just as much as I love DayZ. In fact, Arma/DayZ has rekindled my interest in the fps genre!

Anyway getting to the point of this post, I feel that ArmA has a pretty steep learning curve, and I often found myself alt-tabbing to the instruction manual (steam/pdf) during the SP campaigns. I ended up more or less reading the whole thing, and I wanted to share some of of the general info it contains because I find it useful for DayZ survival.

By the way, this is not meant to be a complete how-to beginner's guide, but just a few excerpts from the manual that I thought might be useful. I'm not including default key mappings or basic game mechanics, but you can get the full manual at http://cdn.steampowe...A2OA_manual.pdf and http://cdn.steampowe...2_Manual_US.pdf (I'm quoting from the latter, not OA). Here goes the copy & paste fest:

Combat: Don't be fooled by the fact that ArmA 2 looks like other first person shooters. Forget some of the tactics you might use in other games and try to think and behave as in real life combat, where the cost for every single mistake is often extremely high, where every bullet can kill.

Leaning: Close combat is often the most dangerous part of an infantryman's fighting career and he'll want to use every tool at his disposal to accomplish his mission and survive it. Leaning is one such tool. By leaning around the corner of an object you can peak around it, fire your weapon and still keep most of your body covered. Default keys are Q to lean left and E to lean right. You can also lock into the lean position with slower movement speed to be ready to peak around the nearest corner by double tapping Q and E.

Swimming: As a soldier you have been trained to swim in order to save yourself from drowning. You may not be fast and it's possible you will lose some of your equipment after some time in the water, but at least you can handle getting back to shore after you've parachuted into the ocean.

So when you sometimes lose your pack in the water, it's not a bug but actually a deliberate design in the original game! I was surprised to find that out.

Ammo: Ammunition in ArmA 2 has a set ballistic trajectory, so learn at what distance each weapon's sights are leveled.

Optics/Ironsights leveling on distance:

50m > MP5, pistols

100m > AK74UN, M4/M16 with Aimpoint, ACOG sights or suppressor

120m-400m > M4SPR

150m > Grenadelauncher ironsights (M4 with ACOG 200m)

200m > SVD, KSVK, AK74PSO

300m > AK74, AK74GL, AK74U, M16A2, M16GL, M16A4, M16A4GL, all G36, machineguns

500m > M107

Targeting/Firing: As in real life, your weapon is never fully stabilized. The amount of motion depends on your stamina and posture. Going prone or crouching always allows you to shoot more accurately, and also limits your weapon’s recoil effects. Your character’s stamina is reflected by the intensity of his breathing and also health status. ArmA 2 simulates weapon ballistics, which means bullets will take time to reach their target, and are also affected by gravity. Remember this when firing at targets over a long distance, and in particular when firing at moving targets.

Combat Tactics -- Get Down: Lay prone whenever possible. It reduces your silhouette and the target it represents, plus it steadies your aim. If you can’t lie down, try to crouch. Don't get caught with the horizon or open sky behind you; it makes your silhouette easy to recognize and target.

Look Around: Scan the area to your front as well as sides, rear and above - avoid tunnel vision. The main reason flanking is so effective is because of tunnel vision. Sun and other bright lights can adversely affect your eyesight, so be prepared that attacking enemies with the sun behind them poses a significant disadvantage to you. You can look around while moving by holding Alt'and moving the mouse simultaneously.

Take Cover: Reload only behind full cover. Don't get so suppressed that you can't peek out of cover. The enemy might walk up and shoot you. Use cover and concealment whenever possible, when running or taking cover. The enemy can't see you coming if there is a tree between the two of you. A bush is concealment, not cover, since bullets can and will go through bushes. The same can apply for certain other materials, for example a wooden wall is not good cover either.

Combat Movement: When moving under fire, zig-zag randomly. This gives the enemy less opportunity to target you. Don't stray in front of a buddy or you might get shot in the back. Keep moving. It forces the enemy to look for you and try to predict what you are up to. When stopping, do so behind partial or full cover. If you stay stationary too long, the enemy is going to send someone to flank you.

Confuse the Enemy: Try not to be predictable when moving from cover to cover - all the enemy has to do is aim and wait for you to run into his sights. When firing from behind cover, change firing positions/places to keep the enemy from predicting where you will appear next. Use smoke to conceal your movement.

Well that's about it. Some of this stuff is only indirectly relevant in DayZ -- for example, there's much more stealth involved in DayZ, and your priorities are entirely different than on the battlefield -- but on the whole I think it's a pretty good set of tips for beginning players like myself, and I hope some of you also find it useful :)

Edited July 28, 2012 by abxt

[Torti 1]

Thanks, most of it i allready knew but there were some interesting points. Please take my beans sir.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Torti

[Boyos (DayZ) 15]

I always find it funny, when snipers don't move from there spot after taking shots. Don't be stupid and stand there or lay there esp if you miss your shot and shoot 2-3 times, somone you didnt see knows where you are now and gonna get you.

[Bakst 98]

the sight leveling stats are pretty useful to know, and i was also surprised that losing shit in the water is part of the game design. otherwise, this stuff is pretty basic, but maybe useful to a few noobs :)

[tyhboom 10]

Cheers! Good information, especially for those who skip over ARMA II.

I'll add some non-official tips a la Murphy

"You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note."

"The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: when they're ready, when you're not."

"Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing"

And one of my favorites...

"Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you."

[Bakst 98]

lol :) my fav is the one that goes, "Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing." So true :)

Btw, when I said that a few noobs might profit from the info, I was speaking from 1st-hand experience hehe. Although I've currently survived for well over 2 hrs on the coast (in & around Elektro). A lot can happen in 2 hrs...