ArmA3 guide for new players

[PZ]

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=26945

[Binnatics]

This is a very complete guide. I wouldn't know what to add because it speaks for itself. It tells you all about the environment, the inventory, the weapons, movements, squad commanding, vehicles, even on the game editor. etc.
The only thing it doesn't give much info about is the campaign itself. From what I've learnt so far it's good to be aware of some simple things.

1. Start the game on easy or regular the first time. I accidentally (sort of) put the AI difficulty to expert and that spoiled a lot of fun. It's better to make the game playable so you can fool around a bit with its possibilities than to go for the full blow and get disappointed by numerous deaths. Also make sure to enable unlimited saving. It gets annoying if you have to walk 200 meters crouched each time you try a different way to take out an enemy and get killed, believe me
You can adjust the difficulty levels and some more options concerning game behaviour at any given time during the game.

2. In between each story mission you will be brought back to your base or hideout. In the hideout you can re-equip at the armoury, do some target training, listen to fellow soldiers to hear novelties of the surrounding area and get side missions attached to your map, and you can 'go on patrol'. Going on patrol is a way to enter free roaming mode and will put you on a predefined spot on your map, somewhere around your base. It can be on a road or in the woods. It can be equipped with a squad back, an offroad including a 3 men crew, or alone on foot. Your choice. This is the way to go to side mission. Side missions always have a relatively simple task and always give you something in return; most of the time it gives you supplies. You won't find excellent sniper rifles and scopes by just playing mission after mission. Most supply mission in the main story result in a failure of some sort, so if you want that coll stuff, do side mission. They are great fun!

3. Once you are on a mission you will not be allowed to go back to the base and re-equip your gear. The base is considered a mission on its own and once you start a story mission / task you will complete the 'base sequence'. Once a mission or base-sequence is completed, you can replay it, but all your efforts won't be saved. And if you go back to a completed base-sequence you will not be allowed to access going on patrol and doing any side quests. So returning to them is basically useless, unless you want to listen to the mission briefing again. Bit the briefing will be available as text during the mission by pressing "J".
So make sure you choose you weapons wisely. I once went on a large mission with only 3 20rnd mags for my rifle. I had to leave it half-ways and had to go searching for a proper replacement looting enemy corpses ;D

4. About the AI: If you plan to have the AI steer a vehicle, make sure it's a heavy army truck type vehicle. They are really bad drivers, and expect any obstacle to just disappear after a few bumps. They also may ram YOU off the road, which will kill you. AI can also act weird when you want to send them over to precise locations, like the first floor of a building, or a spot right behind a small cover. It might be a better idea to let them choose their position roughly themselves, because when they act on their own, they tend to do the right thing. Just tell them to be 'aware' or 'stealthy' or to 'hold fire' and then suddenly 'engage'. AI also gets stuck sometimes when exiting a vehicle. When you order them to move to a specific location they will keep trying for a short while and then let you know; "no can do".

Right now, I have nothing more to add. The guide is very complete. Some small questions remain unanswered, like the meaning of little details in the hud, but it's enough to get started. But don't read too much before starting; the game itself will make you want to know all those details, and then you know what you are looking for and what you want to know. Besides; in the pause menu there's a feature called 'field manual' in which you can find a lot of info and hints. During the campaign you will be given hints as well, shown with an exclamation mark and recalled by pressing "H".

And if you have questions feel free to ask :) I am far from expert on the game, and have only experience with half the campaign so far, but I'd love to share my experience with you ^-^

[Art Blade]

 :-X :)

[PZ]

Very nice, BinnZ! +1 for the detailed guide that I know I will be using!  :-X