Arma 3 Best Single Player Scenarios
- Hello all, I'm a complete beginner to Arma III and so far I love it. I would, however, like to know if you can recommend any single player scenarios that are good for a noob to get his feet wet. I'd like to make sure I'm entirely proficient in single player before I even think about going online. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
- Even after almost 7 years since its launch, Arma 3 is still getting better and better. The game has just received a brand new single-player campaign or a scenario as the devs call it. This campaign comes as a free bonus content. If you already own the Arma 3 Apex expansion, you’ll be able to download this new update right now and jump right in.
Bohemia Interactive’s Arma 3 brings the open-world military tactics experience to the gamers. There’s already a lot to explore in the game including the vast islands of Altis and Stratis, water environments, and the terrain of war. But its always the more the merrier. Gamers are always on a hunt to find and install Arma 3 mods. If you are just like me and always on a search of something new to revamp your gaming experience, here’s a list of best Arma 3 mods available.
These mods will surely tweak the game environment for you and enhance your gaming experience. You can use them to improve graphics, add new items & weapons, and unlock some new features. It is fairly easy to download and install the mods, but for these mods to function properly, they need to be compatible with the game itself. Hence, a word of advice before heading to installing and playing mods versions is to copy & paste your original files to some other location, just in case. So if the mods are not compatible and your game crashes, you can simply reinstall the game from your copied folder. That’s all for the boring part, let’s begin with the fascinating list of best Arma 3 mods available and how to install them.
What Are The Best Arma 3 Mods Available
The main draw is definately multiplayer, but Arma is a worthy single player experience too there's plenty of people who play nothing but SP. There is a full fledged single player campaign, with open world / semi free roam mode hub areas in between story missions.
Iron Front in Arma 3 AIO Lite
This Arma 3 mod is a version of the Iron Front game. It brings the flavor of the World War II arena and new weapons to the game. The mod features five different sizeable maps to explore. It also has WWII themed equipment and tanks. One thing that is missing in this mod is the single-player missions, which were a part of Iron Front but not included in the free “Lite” mod version.
Faces of War
Similar to many others, Faces of War is one of the Arma 3 mods that attempts to bring the historic World War II to the game. It tries to get more accurate content from the war by adding more uniforms, weapons, equipment, and vehicles. This mod is also useful and required to play other WWII mods for Arma 3.
ALiVE
ALiVE is a dynamic world mod for Arma 3, where players can create there own landscapes for various missions. This module also works well with several other add-on mods giving you flexibility. It supports easy editor modules to make it simple for you to create different scenarios. ALiVE has various resizeable maps and a Virtual AI system that allows simulation of land, sea, and air forces. It completely resembles the traditional strategy-based military games, wherein your strategy is what makes the difference between victory and loss. This mod also allows you to keep a track of all the different scenarios that you have created and played with its web services integration to Arma 3.
Wasteland
This is one of the Arma 3 mods that allow players to respawn as many times as they want it. The respawn ability turn Altis into a never-ending battle royale ground for you. It allows players to bring in their own customizations and extensions to the game.
DAYZ
If you love killing brainless zombies, this is the mod for you. DAYZ Arma 3 mod spawns zombies on the islands and you can take them on in single-player combat or multiplayer mode. Look after your health while playing this mission as there are possibilities of dying because of freezing, starving, or getting infected by zombie attacks. You will also have to monitor the movements of other players in multiplayer modes. Players can kill or help each other to survive, hence you will always have to be alert.
ACE 3
ACE 3 short for Advanced Combat Environment 3 is an entirely open-source and free to play mod. The mod provides various customization options, allowing players to tweak the game as they want. Some of the many features of ACE 3 includes 3D interaction system, carrying & dragging new weapons & vehicles, and magazine repacking. It also offers an improved medical system and consistent network synced weather. It purely enhances your gaming experience by fixing some interactive system glitches in Arma 3.
Aftermath
Aftermath Arma 3 mod adds a post-apocalyptic theme to the game. This mod adds many things to the game. Firstly it adds new factions with each having different unit types such as engineers, medics, and more. Next, it also adds to the collection of weapons and equipment. There are a few firearms and energy weapons, and it also has throwable weapons. Aftermath also includes new maps, props, vehicles, and faces.
MGS1
This mod is an official remake of the Metal Gear Solid game, hence the name MGS1. The mod adds a lot to the costume and looks of the Arma 3 characters. MGS1 mod includes eyepatch, head bag, prisoner uniform, solid snake sneaking suit, and much more appearance changes.
ADR-97 Weapon Pack
This is an official mod created by Bohemia. ADR-97 Weapon Pack extends and adds to the collection of ADR-97 submachine gun. There are more variants and more etiquettes available for the gun.
Malden 2035
Malden 2035 DLC keeps the original terrain featured in the first version but adds a lot of creativity in terms of the environment and combat techniques. The surroundings in Malden 2035 includes vineyards, colored buildings, and yarns. It also brings a new multiplayer mode named combat patrol.
How to Install Arma 3 Mods 2020
You can download both types of mods, developed by Bohemia and user-created ones. Official mods that are approved by Bohemia can be downloaded on Steam. Here are the steps to do that.
- Open the Arma 3 workshop on Steam and go to mods tag
- Search for the mod you are looking for and click on the + icon to subscribe
- Launch the game from Steam itself (mods will be downloaded and loaded automatically)
- Play the game with installed mods.
You can also download and install user-developed Arma 3 mods. To do that first download the mods and then follow the below steps.
- Open the Arma 3 workshop on Steam and go to mods tag
- Head on to the local mods tab
- Select the folder of the mod
- The mod will be now available in the mods tag on Steam
You can also install mods directly from your PC. Just add the mods folder in Arma 3 folder and then you can enable it within the game. Just go to options -> Expansions and you will find the available mods.
That is the list of best Arma 3 mods and how to install them on your PC. You can also find mods for other games such as Red Dead Redemption and Death Stranding.
ArmA 3 came out in 2014, and people have steadily trickled into the game since then. Frankly, it’s a scary thing to get involved in, because it’s such a free-form sandbox with so many possibilities. While there are many ways to own Arma, and myriad additional bits to bolt onto the game once you do, we'll run through all the DLC available so that anyone who's not sure where to start can find their feet.
One thing to note is that with each piece of major DLC Bohemia Interactive has launched, there’s been a concurrent platform update that benefits all players, whether they buy the new stuff or not. I’m a big fan of that, as it means even if you don't pick up all the DLC below, you're still benefiting from a few years' worth of free content updates.
What is the best ArmA 3 DLC?
First off, here's our list of top individual Arma 3 DLCs, ordered from most essential to least:
- Apex
- Karts
- Tanks
- Laws of War
- Marksmen
ArmA 3: Apex
Price: $34.99, or $59.99 as the 'Apex Edition'
Highlights:
- Completely new landmass, Tanoa, with a gorgeous jungle biome
- The best Arma single-player campaign bar none, plus tons of new weapons, vehicles, and gear
- The basis for all the best mods
Is it worth it?
I’ll be upfront: You absolutely need Apex if you’re going to play Arma in any serious way. It’s a big ask - an expensive piece of DLC on top of an already expensive game, but Apex is now considered the “baseline” Arma 3 experience and you’ll need it if you want to participate in many of the best mods available for the game. But add to that the glut of new content that it comes with, including a really interesting and intense - and fun! - single-player campaign, and the price tag actually starts to make sense. If you’re new to Arma 3, you’re going to want to buy the Apex edition, period.
Apex is gigantic and transformative, and if you’re going to play Arma for any serious length of time you’re going to need it. If you buy no other DLC, buy this. You can think of it as the 2017 version of the 2014 military sim.
As of April 2020, purchasing this expansion also gets you a brand new story scenario title ArmA 3: Old Man.
Arma 3: Jets
Price: $11.99
Highlights:
- Three new jets
- A fighter showcase
- Better drones
Free Single Player Games Online
Is it worth it?
For a game that’s so hyper-focused on infantry, it’s a bit weird to have jet fighter pack available at all. Arma’s Jets DLC is actually kind of good, but it’s of questionable value if you’re into either infantry operations, which the game is good at, or air superiority, which it isn’t. This DLC won’t satisfy grogs wanting the BRRRAAAPPP of the A-10 Warthog, and for flyboys it’s going to come off as incredibly shallow. But the DLC did come with a platform-wide update that provides a better flight model, so you automatically get some of the benefits for free.
Arma 3: Helicopters
Price: $11.99
Highlights:
- Provides a needed level of realism to Arma’s infantry ops by modeling utility chopper chores
- Actually fun to fly non-combat missions
Is it worth it?
Air assault soldiers don’t just zipline out of Blackhawks, they’re also trained on sling-load operations. These are crucial infantry operations in unfriendly terrain, and helicopters like the CH-47 “Chinook” are the warhorses of modern warfare. I haven’t had a great time with Arma’s rotary-wing options, but the addition of Huron and Tau are quite exciting.
I’ll point out here that I’ve had a fairly awful time trying to get my HOTAS setup working in Arma, either with the fixed- or rotary-wing vehicles. If you’re into that level of nerdery, as I am, be prepared for a fight. You’ll have to spend a lot of time tuning your setup to work with both jets and helicopters, and Arma really doesn’t make it any easier.
ArmA 3: Karts
Price: $1.99
Highlights:
- Go-Karts
Is it worth it?
It’s two dollars and lets you race around in go-karts. Is it good? No. Is it fun? Yes. Absolutely worth it.
Arma 3: Marksmen
Price: $11.99
Highlights:
- Five medium-range sniper rifles that actually require you to use rifle marksmanship
- Two new light machine guns
Is it worth it?
Arma’s commitment to realism makes its sniper pack pretty appealing, even if it’s a tad expensive. It doesn’t just add shooting; you also can act as a laser designator for guided munitions. This one’s definitely not essential, but if you’re into long-range engagements it’s worth your time.
Arma 3: Laws of War
Price: $11.99
Highlights:
- A new campaign that actually wrestles with the idea of being a soldier in a human rights environment
- A suddenly much more real environment to operate in
Is it worth it?
Laws of War doesn’t always work, but it’s a gut-punch for those of use who have been playing Arma for decades. Think of it as a Telltale-esque diversion and a chance to hear an interesting side of the story that’s not often told. Definitely worthwhile if you’re into the single-player Arma 3 experience.
Arma 3: Tac-Ops Mission Pack
Price: $5.99
Highlights:
- Three mini-campaigns for single-player aficionados
- The AI is still awful
This is purely a handful of single-player missions, and my experience with them was severely limited by Arma’s godawful AI. Don’t feel bad about skipping this one - the new missions aren’t anything to write home about and are more than compensated for by the game’s modding community. Read our Laws of War review for more.
Arma 3: Tanks
Price: $11.99
Highlights:
- Three new armored vehicles
- A fun series of single-player missions
Is it worth it?
Arma 3 Best Single Player Scenarios Nba
The new campaign is nothing to write home about, and it’s riddled with contradictory orders, but blasting around in the new T-140 Angara is an undeniable hoot. The Tanks campaign is designed to create spectacle moments, but it’s equally frustrating in its execution. This pack is a tough sell because it doesn’t add anything essential, but the new hardware is admittedly fun.
Arma 3: Contact
Price: $27.99
Highlights:
- A creative & engaging narrative that feels like it could be an X-Files episode.
- A couple of interesting new gadgets to play with.
- A new map - Livonia.
Is it worth it?
It's not that this expansion isn't 'worth it', but it's a very niche sell. The singleplayer campaign is pretty decent, with a worth-while pay-off (although it can get a bit repetitive in places). The new toys the campaign lets you play with are cool and interesting, but ultimately very little of the content Contact introduces is applicable to the wider war simulation. The new map is interesting, for sure and the expansion does come with some additional MP scenarios. Contact is mainly about the solo campaign and the factions, gear etc... that come with it, and little of it can be used outside of this setting. To finish off, it's quite a pricey pack as well.
If you like the idea of a more bespoke and creative single-player campaign, then there's definitely something to be said for Contact, but be mindful of what you're buying. We'd also suggest to wait until it goes on sale.
ArmA 3 Editions & Bundles
So, all this said: Which Arma should you buy, if you’re interested? You can buy the $39.99 base version, which is frequently on sale. But if you haven’t ever touched Arma 3 before, what you really need to buy is the Apex Edition, which retails for an eye-watering $69.99. This includes the base game, the Apex expansion, as well as all the DLCs included in the 'DLC Bundle 1' package, discussed below.
As I said above, though, Apex is the “modern” version of Arma 3, and buying it after the fact will run you $34.99. Buying it all together is a savings of five dollars in the end, but since you will absolutely need Apex, going the piecemeal route means spending money that’s simply not worth spending. If you already own the base version, you really need the Apex add-on. Yes, it sucks to have what many consider essential components to a game locked behind another premium purchase, but if you’re an Arma player, it’s more than worth it. Think of Arma as a model train diorama you’ve been keeping in your basement for fourteen years. Apex is the engine upgrade you need to keep things running around the track.
The DLC Bundle 1 includes the Helicopters, Karts, and Marksmen DLCs, and on its own costs $19.99. The inclusion of the helicopters pack makes this DLC worthwhile if you don't already have all those DLCs, in my book. But keep in mind DLC Bundle 2 retails at $29, far beyond your initial Arma 3 price point.
DLC Bundle 2 is currently the better option in terms of value for money, though. It includes Jets, Tanks, the Laws of War and Tac Ops packs all for $24.99. All of this is meatier content than what’s included in Bundle 1, but it comes at a premium price point. As opposed to its cheaper brother, however, the majority of the content included is worth your time, my own gripes aside.
For newcomers, Arma 3’s base edition will absolutely give you a good idea of whether it’s a game you want to spend a lot of time with, and that’s going to determine how much of this DLC is worth your money.
But without spending a penny, you’re automatically getting Malden and Zeus. Malden is a massive map that re-engineers everything from Operation Flashpoint and drops it into the game, while Zeus provides new weird ways to play Arma 3 in multiplayer.
What are your thoughts on ArmA 3 and its DLC? Would you want to see more or would you rather have ArmA 4 at this point?