Arma 3 Get Tactical
I'd like to take a few moments here to explain how this guide came to be, who will benefit from it, what my intent in making it was, and various other relevant things. First, as a bit of an attention-getter, here's a preview trailer I created in April for ArmA: Combat Operations.Next up, a few words from Marek Španěl, CEO of Bohemia Interactive, about this guide. This article made the rounds at Bohemia Interactive prior to its release, and I was fortunate enough to get a few words from the head man himself regarding it. 'In our debut PC title Operation Flashpoint and now after a few years in ArmA, we tried to deliver a complex tactical experience, and this guide provides the best summary and advice how to play it in such manner and not only as just another first person shooter. We focused very much on many aspects of simulation that may not be obvious instantly and it's great to see this explanatory and informative resource. This guide also does great job in staying in the boundaries of tactical computer gaming and does not try just to repeat excerpts of real world field manuals which are not always so valuable in the realm of tactical gaming.
It is definitelly the most comprehensive overview of various aspects of the simulation provided in ArmA published to date and we at Bohemia Interactive are delighted to see it published just in time for the imminent US release of ArmA.' Marek Španěl, CEO of Bohemia InteractiveWelcome to the Shack Tactical 'Armed Assault: Combat Operations' Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Guide'My intent in writing this was to provide a comprehensive tactical virtual warfighting guide that would both serve as doctrine for the Shack Tactical group as well as act as a general tactical resource for other groups to learn from and adapt as they see fit. While this was written with Armed Assault (aka 'ArmA: Combat Operations' in the US) in mind, many elements are relevant and applicable to other tactical games.Weighing in at over 60,000 words, there is no question that this is a large guide. I understand that it may not be feasible to go through the whole thing in one sitting, so if necessary, bookmark it and go through it at your leisure.
Situational awareness on the individual level is an important skill to posess. 'Situational Awareness' is simply the act of being alert to what is happening around you, and using your knowledge of the battlefield's state to make tactical decisions and judgment calls.Proper 'SA' reduces the chances of being surprised, wounded, killed, or even of having a friendly-fire incident. It is an important skill to hone, and familiarity with what to look for can be a big help for the less-experienced players.TrackIROne of the major changes for situational awareness that ArmA brings is the introduction of native support for NaturalPoint's TrackIR head-tracking device. I won't waste too many words describing how it works - if you're interested, you can watch the video I've embedded here. It shows off the TrackIR4 used in ArmA - there's another video I made of helo flight with the TrackIR4 + TrackClip Pro.What I will say is that the TrackIR has the potential to vastly increase a player's situational awareness. Not only is it a godsend in aircraft, but it also has a very positive effect on ground vehicles and infantry.
Being able to move in one direction while looking in another is something that we take for granted in reality, and in almost all games it is a very real limitation. Flashpoint allowed for us to look around via 'freelook', but, alas, it was not as useful as it could have been due to there being no easy way to control it and your body at the same time.ArmA's TrackIR support fixes all of that.
It's one of the features I was most anticipating, and having played extensively with it by now, I have to say that it's well worth the investment.If you're interested in picking one up, I have a promotional deal with them that will net you. I highly recommend looking into these - they do amazing things for both immersion and situational awareness.What To Stay Aware Of And Look ForThere are many things that a player must stay aware of and be on the lookout for during the course of a mission.
I have broken these down into several groups.General Situational Awareness. Where are friendly forces located? Knowing this will help you to pick which areas to spend your time observing, and will help to prevent friendly fire. Where is the enemy at relative to you?
What are the likely positions they will be occupying? What can you do to minimize your exposure to the enemy?. Where is the nearest medic? In a mod like ACE that models bleeding, knowing where the medic is and being able to get to him quickly can mean the difference between life and death.Prior to combat, scan the following.
Bases of trees. Tree trunks are the most prolific cover available in the great outdoors, and many enemy ambushes will involve soldiers using trees as cover and concealment.
Shrubs and bushes, particularly on the edges. Shooting through a bush or from within one isn't always that easy. You'll often find people firing around the right side of a bush, which means from your perspective they will be on the left edge of the bush. Rooftops near any protrusions (ie stairwells).
Protruding stairwells, air vents, etc can be used as cover for anyone using a roof as a firing position. The edges of windows. You'll hopefully spot anyone blatantly standing in a window, so that means that you should focus your attention on scanning the edges to ensure that noone is 'tucked-in' to the window.
Knocked-down trees, bushes, fences, etc. If the enemy has vehicles they may accidentally run down trees, bushes, orother obstacles and give away where they've been. The enemy may also knock down trees and then use them as concealment.In combat, look for. Muzzle flashes (particularly at night), muzzle smoke. You may not always see the precise outline of an enemy, but that big puff of smoke and dust (in the day) or flash of flame (at night or in low light situations) that keeps popping up from the same location over and over again, coinciding with bullets landing nearby, can act as a great indicator to where the enemy is located.
Tracers (follow them back and voila, enemy!). Tracers are brilliant neon signs that say 'I'm firing from over here!' These are the most visible signs of the enemy, and the easiest to trace back to the shooter's origin.
Note that in mods like ACE, not all weapons will fire tracer rounds. Smoke. If the enemy fires an RPG or similar, you'll be able to pick out their position by the large volume of smoke produced by the launch. You may also see the enemy using smokescreens to mask their movement - typically, a cloud of smoke created in such a fashion is a giant 'SHOOT ME' sign, since it's most likely being used to conceal the enemy's movement.
Dead enemies. This is particularly useful if contact was made with the enemy by another element, or by CAS/artillery. Dead enemy soldiers can give you an idea of where the enemy was, what they were (i.e. Special forces, normal troops, etc) and even where they may still be.After combat, whether the enemy has fled or has been defeated, or after coming upon the scene of dead enemies. Watch for satchel charges or other explosives that could have been set on a timer or may be command-detonated. If you see any, immediately announce it to your element leader and vacate the area.
Satchel charges can be hidden in grass and can be very hard to pick out. Keep good interval when clearing enemy bodies to avoid a hidden satchel causing multiple casualties. If possible, avoid sending more than one or two people to check out enemy bodies to begin with.
Check what weapon systems have been left behind if the enemy retreated. If they abandoned valuable weapons like RPGs, anti-aircraft missiles, machineguns, crew-served weapons, etc, they are probably disorganized and should be pursued if tactically feasible. Check for any stray blood trails. If there isn't a body at either end of the blood trail, the odds are high that someone survived and snuck away. Stay on the alert in this case.Other Situational Awareness Tips Check the Map FrequentlyThe map is used by our group to mark enemy contacts, and thanks to our platoon structure and how it is displayed in-game, the positions of friendly squads and fireteams can also be seen on the map. Ensure that you check it frequently to keep up-to-date on suspected enemy positions as well as friendly positions.Note also that enemy infantry spotted within your group will show up on the map, but that other groups will not necessarily see them.
If you spot an enemy and locate it on your map, ensure that you place an 'ei' marker over it (in 'Side' mode) so that the entire platoon can see the position.Avoid Tunnel VisionIn addition to everything else, remember that you must strive at all times not to fall into a state of 'tunnel vision'. This occurs when a player gets so fixated on a specific target or object/area that they neglect to stay aware of the 'big picture'. Remember that for every enemy you see, there are probably three or four (or more) others that you do not. Fixating on a single enemy at the expense of everything else is likely to get you flanked and killed.
Stay alert and aware and you will greatly increase your odds of survival.Peripheral Vision IndicatorsArmA implements a system to try to simulate the fact that real people have a much wider field of view than you typically get in a game. To this end, BIS has implemented 'Peripheral Vision Indicators' (or PVIs) that show up on the edge of the screen when units are in your peripheral vision but are not showing up in your rendered vision. The PVIs take the form of small, semi-transparent dots on the edge of the screen corresponding to the direction of the person/vehicle represented by said PVI.
A red dot is an enemy, a green one is a friend, and a grey one is typically a neutral or empty vehicle.PVIs will not show up when using anything that obscures your field of view, such as the nightvision goggles or magnified rifle scopes.Friend or Foe IdentificationBeing able to visually differentiate between friends and foes is a critical skill to have. Someone who cannot tell the difference is a danger to their entire team.There are several guidelines that can be followed to help prevent friendly fire incidents. Think before you pull the trigger.Ifit looks like a friend, has a friendly weapon, isn't shooting at you, but seems like it's in an enemy area.
It may be a friend. If in doubt, don't fire. Ask a teammate or your team leader to check out a suspected enemy if necessary. People with optics (ie ACOG rifle scopes, binoculars, etc) can be great help in ID'ing potential enemies. Stay alert as to where friendly forces are located, and communicate your location to others when necessary. The colors of tracers and the sounds of the weapons being used can help to ID the enemy, but bear in mind that over the course of a mission friendly forces may acquire enemy weapons and thus it becomes less and less accurate as a mission progresses. Also, intelligent enemies may acquire friendly weapons from casualties and use them in the hopes that they will sow confusion amongst their enemies.Basic Personnel IdentificationThese illustrations should help for basic identification of US (top) and North Sahrani (bottom) personnel.South Sahrani troops are decked out in desert camo and are pretty easy to distinguish from their US and North Sahrani counterparts.Basic Vehicle IdentificationHere are some assorted US/South Sahrani (aka 'BLUFOR') and North Sahrani (aka 'REDFOR') vehicles.
You will be shot eventually. When that time comes, there are a few important things to remember, and the more knowledge you have, the more likely that you'll survive to fight on.Wound EffectsFirst I'll cover the symptoms of wounds in both 'vanilla' ArmA and ACE.ArmA Wound EffectsIn un-modded ArmA, being wounded has two side-effects, depending on the severity and location of the wound. You will almost always find your aim to be very jittery and unstable, with the amount varying somewhat based upon how badly you've been hit. In addition to that, if you're hit in the legs, you will find yourself unable to move while standing, instead being forced to crawl or briefly job before being forced back to the ground.
This is relatively easy to deal with, since there's no risk of progressively declining health. In this situation, simply call for a medic when possible and get yourself patched up. Medical attention will cause both of the wound effects to go away.ACE Wound EffectsThe fun begins when you play a mod like Advanced Combat Environment, which sports a much-improved player damage system.
In ACE, you will notice several additional effects:.When hit, you may lose control of your character for a moment or two, depending on the power of the round. The impact may spin you a bit as well. You may be knocked to the ground by the impact and shock of being hit, depending again on the power of the round. You may briefly white-out from the shock of the wound.
You may begin to bleed from the wound. It may be a light, slow bleed or a heavy, fast bleed. You will hear a heartbeat that intensifies as you get closer to death. You will also leave a blood trail. You will begin to black out if heavily wounded. These blackouts will increase in duration and frequency if your wound goes untended.
You will die if you are not treated and are bleeding. The speed of death will vary depending on how heavy the bleeding.As you can see, being wounded in ACE can be a much more serious and urgent affair. Since we will be primarily playing ACE, the 'reaction to being wounded' text will be based upon it.Note that there will be several additional features in ACE that will concern how wounds work, how they must be treated, et cetera.
Since ACE is not yet out, it's impossible to write definitely on such topics, so I'll leave those for the future. All future additions will be tracked on the 'Revisions' page at the end of this article, so feel free to come back and check it every few weeks for further content.I'm hit! What do I do?It is important that players are familiar with what is required of them if they get wounded. Being shot and confused as to what happens next can easily lead to you being shot again, bleeding to death, or generally meeting some kind of unpleasant fate. These guidelines generally apply to ACE (like the bleeding, blacking out, etc), but can be used in 'vanilla' ArmA where appropriate.If you are shot. Do a quick diagnosis.
Are you still combat effective? If yes, fight. If not, proceed to the next step.
Arma 3 Get Tactical 3
If you get wounded, have a white-out, are knocked to the ground by the impact, and can hear your heart pounding in your ears, you're combat ineffective and need to seek treatment. Move to cover or concealment and off the 'front line'. This will both protect you from further fire and make it easier for the medic to treat you without being shot himself. Call out that you are wounded over the radio or with local in-game Voice-Over-IP (VOIP). Ensure that you state your name so that the medic knows who to look for. If necessary, mark your position on the map so that the medic can more easily find you. Coordinate with the medic if necessary.
He may want you to move in a specific direction or meet him halfway. Full diagnosis. How bad is it? If you're bleeding, try to identify how severe the wound is and how urgently you'll need treatment.
Heavy bleeding combined with frequent black outs will require immediate medical assistance, whereas light bleeding may give you a bit more time to get yourself treated. If you think you are critical and need urgent care, state so via voice. Example voice call: 'This is Dslyecxi, I'm hit bad, pulling back for a medic.
Marking as 'dsl medic' on map. (brief pause). Use bandages if the situation warrants. If you are lightly bleeding and have bandages, ensure that you are in cover or concealment and attempt to use them to address your wound. They may or may not work, depending on the severity of it, and it may take a few tries to stop the bleeding.
Once you have stopped the bleeding, you'll be stabilized, but the 'aim waver' and leg-loss (if hit in the legs) will persist until you can find an actual medic to heal at. Once you are in good condition, move back to your fireteam and resume combat.Man down!This is a placeholder section that I anticipate adding in the future once we have had time to familiarize ourselves with the Advanced Combat Environment mod for Arma. This section will cover our standard procedures for dealing with a casualty. This will not be a major gameplay element until ACE, so for now it will stay empty. Check the 'Revisions & Additions' section in the future, once ACE has been out for a bit, and you're sure to see an update about this.For now, the only thing to remember is that if a person is killed, it needs to be reported to their element leader.
Thus, if your buddy goes down and is KIA, let your fireteam leader know that they're dead.Further ReadingMore reading on Medics, their responsibilities, and how players should act to best help them can be found in. Every ShackTac member is a basic rifleman first and foremost. You may plan to fly, or drive tanks, or act as a medic, but at the end of the day you need to know how to proficiently handle the most basic tool of the infantryman, the rifle, because there will come a time when it will be the only thing you have to save your virtual life or the virtual life of a teammate.Tanks can get disabled. Helos can crash. Mortar teams can find themselves subject to close attack. Ditto with artillery crews.
When it's down to the wire and every shot counts, don't be the one to let your teammates down with your shoddy marksmanship.Rifle Basics Bullet Drop & Sight Picture/Center-Mass HoldsIt is important that every player master the basic rifleman skills, and to that end, be sure that you understand how to compensate for bullet drop at long range, and that you know what a proper sight picture is.When it comes to sight pictures, you want your front sight tip to cut the target in half, and you always, always, always want to aim center-mass. Center-of-mass holds with the M16A2, M4 w/Aimpoint, and M249Center-mass 'holds' will allow you to reliably hit standing targets out to 300-400 meters. The smaller the target, the more likely that you'll have to apply offset aim techniques to get your rounds to hit.
This is simply aiming over your target if you're shooting low, or to the side if the round is landing beside it.Weapon SightsIronsights - Ironsighted weapons are the most common you will encounter. The ironsights tend to obscure a portion of your view when aiming with them, which is their primary drawback. Remember that if your front sight tip is not centered in the rear sight aperture, the bullet impact will be off in the direction that the FST (front sight tip) is relative to the rear sight aperture.Reflex Sights (non-magnified) - Reflex optics like the Aimpoint CompM2 and EOTech HWS are designed to be faster and more accurate in your average combat engagement than the equivalent ironsight would be. While ArmA does not model all of the things that make this true in reality, it does model the increased visible area one receives when using a reflex optic. Thanks to there being no front/rear sight to obscure the area around the target, reflex sights can be quickly adjusted to account for the fall of the bullet (due to the impact being clearly visible through them).
Reflex optics tend to be zeroed for around 300 meters, and one must simply place the dot or reticule over the target and fire. Reflex optics are superb for MOUT and CQB.An Aimpoint sightScopes (Magnified Optics) - Scopes come in a variety of magnification powers. Some are high-powered, like those found on sniper rifles, whereas others like the ACOG provide a significant zoom but still allow for a nice field-of-view.
Some have adjustable zoom (i.e. Sniper rifles), others are fixed-zoom (i.e. Scopes are great for mid- and long-range work but become more of a hindrance than a help once you get to closer ranges.The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG)Leading a Moving TargetLeading a moving target is something that's going to take time and practice to get the hang of, but all effort invested in it will pay off in spades the first time you hit a distant, running target with your first shot. At ranges out to around 300 yards you typically only need to lead the target by a few body widths, depending on the speed they're moving relative to you. If a target is coming directly towards or away from you, no lead is required. If they're moving at an angle to you, less lead is required. If they're sprinting perpendicular to you, you'll need to use a great deal of lead at extended ranges, and will be best off with massing fire with other friendly units to take the enemy down.When it comes to gunning in a vehicle (such as a helo door gunner), remember that you need to lead targets based upon the direction the vehicle is moving.
If you have to to traverse your weapon to the left to continue to track a target, lead the target to the left. If you have to traverse right to track, lead to the right.Sight/Bore Offset & BallisticsOne other thing to remember is that the origin of the bullet will be from the actual weapon muzzle, and not the center of the screen as in some games.
Because of this, you have to keep in mind that your weapon sights are a few inches above the rifle bore.