Manual – ArmA: Armed Assault
User Profiles
When first entering the user profile menu, you are given the option to select a different profile, edit an existing profile ('Edit'), delete an existing profile ('Delete') or create a completely new one ('New').
Controls
Various types of key presses are recognized by the game: single tap, double tap and hold. This document refers to default controls, please note that you can view and configure controls freely in Options - Controls at any time in the game (see Controls below).
Character Controls
| Move Mouse Left/Right | Turn Left/Right |
| Move Mouse Up/Down | Look Up/Down |
|
Fire |
 (Hold)
|
Zoom/Hold Breath/Lock Target |
|
|
Iron Sight (Optics)/ Normal View Toggle |
|
Perform Default Action / Show Action Menu |
|
Select Previous/Next Action |
| W | Forward |
| 2x W | Sprint (until you release W) |
| A | Strafe Left |
| D | Strafe Right |
| S | Back |
| ⇧ Shift | Temporary Switch Walk / Run |
| 2x ⇧ Shift | Toggle Walk / Run |
| Z | Prone |
| X | Crouch |
| C | Stand |
| R | Reload Weapon |
| F | Change Weapon/Weapon Mode |
| Q | Lean Left (2xQ Lock Lean Left) |
| E | Lean Left (2xE Lock Lean Right) |
| LAlt | Free Look Switch (2x LAlt to toggle Free Look) |
| 🔒CapsLock | Voice Over Net |
| ↹ Tab | Next Target |
| Space (Hold) | Quick Command |
| 2x Space | Toggle Commanding Mode |
| G | Gear Screen |
| B | Binoculars (If Available) |
| K | Compass |
| NUM + | Zoom In |
| NUM - | Zoom Out |
| NUM Enter ↵ | Toggle 1st/3rd Person View |
| F1..F12 | Select Subordinate Unit |
| 1..0 | Select Radio Command |
Ground Vehicle Controls
It is very similar to characters.
| W | Forward |
| E | Fast Forward |
| A/D or Mouse Left/Right | Turn Left/Right |
| S | Brake/Reverse |
| ⇧ Shift | Turbo |
Aircraft Controls
| Move Mouse Left/Right | Default Turn (Yaw or Rudder Left/Right, based on current speed) |
| Move Mouse Up/Down | Nose Up/Down |
| Q | Helicopter Increase Height |
| Z | Helicopter Decrease Height |
| A | Helicopter Bank (Yaw) Left |
| D | Helicopter Bank (Yaw) Right |
| X | Rudder Left |
| C | Rudder Right |
| W | Tilt Down (Forward) |
| S | Tilt Up (Backward) |
| 2x \ | Activate/Deactivate auto-hovering |
Joystick/Driving Wheel
Compatible Joysticks and/or driving wheels can be used with Armed Assault for optimum control and enjoyment. Armed Assault supports only one stick at the time, it automatically selects the controller with the most buttons. Joystick Sensivity Adjusting
TrackIR
Armed Assault is one of the premier first-person shooters to fully support Naturalpoint's TrackIR system. For more information on TrackIR, please visit Naturalpoint's website at http://www.naturalpoint.com/.
Settings/Options
Video Options
Standard Video Options
- Resolution - select the optimal screen resolution for your system. Generally a higher resolutions means you will see a sharper image, but it can negatively affect your framerate.
- Aspect ratio - toggle between normal (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) aspect ratios.
- Refresh - choose the best refresh rate for your screen.
- Brightness - use the slider to vary the overall brightness.
- Gamma correction - controls the overall brightness of the image you see.
- Visibility - this is the visible distance in meters.
- Quality preference - select quality settings preset (note that this influence or other options in this dialogue)
- Default - restore your settings to their defaults.
- Advanced - show more advanced options
Advanced Video Options
- Terrain Detail - the higher the terrain detail, the more subdivisions each square can have. This results in smoother and more natural terrain.
- Objects detail - sets the overall quality of object models, so with a lower setting you may see lower Levels of Detail for objects.
- Texture detail - the overall quality of textures in the game. A lower setting may cause more blurry textures.
- Shading detail - affects all of the special shading techniques used in the game.
- Postprocessing - some special effects like the Depth of Field.
- Shadow detail - detailed shadows can make a scene come alive, but also demand a lot from your hardware. If you experience performance issues, try lowering this option.
- Anisotropic filtering - a method of enhancing the quality of textures on surfaces that are far away and on a small angle to the camera.
- Antialiasing - this technique tries to minimize aliasing (jagged edges) caused by showing high-resolution content at lower resolutions.
- Blood - turn in-game blood on or off.
Audio Options
Effects - the volume of general sound effects, like weapon reports, explosions and engine noises. Radio - the volume of radio chatter. Music - the volume of the in-game music.
Hardware Acceleration - toggle hardware accelerated sounds on and off (recommended to turn it off unless you know your audio card handles full hardware acceleration under OpenAL). EAX - advanced audio effects
Difficulty
Two difficulty modes are available within Armed Assault, namely Cadet and Veteran. The difficulty menu allows you to fine-tune most of their settings.
In the list of settings there are three columns: the setting description, toggle for Cadet and toggle for Veteran.
If a setting is red and 'Disabled', you cannot change it. All the other settings can be enabled or disabled to match your personal preferences.
Below the settings list you are able to set the difficulty of the AI units, both on your side and the enemy's side. This affects how smart the AI units are in general, how fast they aim and how accurate they fire at their target.
Finally it is possible to toggle subtitles for general voice acting and radio messages on or off.
Controls
Controls options allows very detailed configuration of all aspects related to controls.
In the main controls options dialog, you can see list of all available actions. You can also filter types of actions displayed by combo box.
To manage control configuration of an action, select it from the list and click by left mouse button. A configuration dialog will be displayed.
It also is very flexible and powerful.
Few tips:
- if an input is overloaded (use for more than one action), it is marked red. To find other use of the input double click on it in the controls dialog
- various key combinations are supported: hold first switch key and tap the additional action key
- double tap keys are supported: simply quickly double tap a key in the configuration dialog
Multiplayer
Session Browser
Your first stop on the way to play Armed Assault's multiplayer modes is the session browser. Pressing 'Play', followed by 'Multiplayer' will take you there. From here you can choose to join an existing session or host a new one yourself, on either LAN or the Internet.
Address
By default your browser is set to look for games on the Internet. If you want to change this, press 'Address: Internet' once. You will now search your sessions on the LAN and you can press this button again to switch back. When looking for LAN sessions, you may also need to change the network port that is used, which can be done by pressing the default 'Port: 2303' button once.
Sorting
Filters at the top of the session list allow you to sort the sessions using a different property. Clicking any of these, for example 'Host', will sort the sessions by this property in ascending order. Pressing it again will sort them in descending order instead. From left to right, the columns show:
- Whether the session is password protected or not
- Host name
- Mission currently playing
- Amount of players currently in the session / maximum amount of players for this session
- Quality of your connection to this host
Filtering
Sometimes you can be overwhelmed by the long list of sessions available and it may be hard picking a good one. This is where you can use the 'Filter' settings to ease your search. In this menu there is a list of properties to filter by:
- Host - description of the host
- Max. ping - maximum ping (ms) to hosts
- Min. players - minimum amount of players already in this session
- Max. players - maximum amount of players in the session
- Full servers - toggle to show or hide sessions that are full
- Mission - description of the mission name
- Passworded servers - toggle to show or hide password protected servers
Refreshing
The 'Refresh' button empties your session list and starts gathering new information about available sessions.
Passwords
To the lower-left of the browser the game displays the password you are using (no password is entered by default). If you do enter a password here and then start a new hosting session, the session will be protected by this password. A player wishing to join a protected session needs to enter the correct password before joining.
Joining a Game
There are two ways of joining an existing session; you can pick a session listed in the browser or you can manually enter a host's address. To join a session from the browser, double-click your left mouse on a session or press 'Join' with a session selected. If you would like to join a specific host, press 'Remote' and enter the host's address plus port number. If the host has password protected the session, you need to enter this password in the main session browser before you join.
Choosing a role
After you have joined, you will enter the 'Multiplayer setup' lobby. This screen shows mission details, available roles for all sides and a player pool. Upon joining, the game automatically selects an available role for you. If you would rather choose another role, do so by dragging your name from the player pool to a different role with the left mouse button. Alternatively you can left-click the role you want to switch to. Note: sometimes the host of the session will choose a role for you. If this has been done, you can no longer change your role yourself. Your best bet is to ask the host nicely. When you are ready to go, press 'OK' and the rest of the players will be notified.
Hosting a Game
To host a new session you can press 'New' or double-click 'Host session' from the session browser. You will now be asked to select an already created mission on any of the islands or to create a new one with the editor or wizard. Having done this, you find yourself in the 'Multiplayer setup' lobby, where you can assign player roles and change host settings. Players showing up red in the player pool have not yet been assigned a role. Those with a yellow name have picked a role, but did not yet confirm they are ready and players who ready to start are green. Pressing 'OK' launches the session.
Dividing roles
Entering the lobby, you will have been automatically placed in an available role of the mission. You can very easily change this by dragging your name from the player pool to another role with the left mouse button. You can also just left-click the role you want to switch to.
The host of a session has the power to impose roles on players. You assign these roles by dragging players from the player pool. This player cannot change his or her role any longer.
Kicking a Player
A situation could arise where you need to kick a certain player. You do this by clicking on the player in the player pool once and pressing 'Kick Off'.
Mission Settings
Some missions allow the host to alter the mission settings. Examples are the amount of kills that are needed to win the scenario, or the maximum amount of time the mission will last. Mission designers are free to create new mission settings and they will all be displayed under the player roles.
Host Settings
- 'Disable/Enable all AI players' - toggling this setting will empty all roles on all sides that are currently filled by AI players, or it will fill all empty roles with AI players.
- 'Lock/Unlock server' - by locking the session, you can prevent any more players from joining the game.
Communication
A multiplayer game can get a lot more fun and tactical when you can communicate with the other players. Armed Assault offers players several tools to do this without needing to use external applications.
Channels
The game uses several different communication channels to make sure you don't get overwhelmed.
- 'Global channel' - every single player in a session can hear each other using the global channel.
- 'Side channel' - only players on the same side can hear you in this channel.
- 'Group channel' - all members of your squad are on this channel.
- 'Vehicle channel' - everyone on your vehicle's intercom can use this channel.
- 'Direct communication' - no radio is used here, so only players within voice range will receive these messages.
To switch to another channel press either '.' (colon) or ',' (comma).
Text Chat
One method of communicating is sending and receiving text messages. To start typing a message, press '/' (forward slash). Now you will see the message box in which you can type you message and send it by hitting Enter ↵.
While typing a message you need to use 'Up' and 'Down' to change channels, instead of the normal , (comma) and . (full stop).
Voice Chat
Another method is voice chat and this is generally much faster, because you can keep playing while you are talking to other players. With your microphone connected and on, press and hold 'Caps Lock' to commence broadcasting.
Map Markers
Pointing out enemy forces, plotting routes or assigning artillery targets are a couple of the things you can do with map markers. By double-clicking anywhere on the map you start placing a map marker on that location. This marker is visible to everyone in the selected chat channel.
While placing a map marker you can enter text to go with your marker. The ↑ and ↓ arrow keys will select another type of marker. If you also press and hold the ⇧ Shift key when pressing ← and →, this changes the marker's color. Enter ↵ finalizes the marker and places it on the map. A marker can be deleted by hovering your mouse cursor over it and pressing Del.
General Gameplay Information
Mission Briefing
The briefing screen is displayed before the start of most missions and it contains important information regarding the objectives of your mission. Some locations in the briefing text have been underlined and clicking these will take you to the corresponding location on the map. The map notepad has several other tabs next to the main briefing text:
- 'Notes' - extended background notes and information for the mission.
- 'Group' - a list of all members of your squad. As the squad leader you can also access each member's 'Gear' section from here.
Gear
The gear screen lets you organise your gear and the gear of your subordinates. It is how you pick up items you find in the environment or drop items onto the ground.
In the top-left corner of the gear screen there is a list of all objects around you that you can interact with. These can be members of your squad, ammunition crates, dead bodies, etc. Selecting any of these objects shows you the items they hold.
The 'Available items' list below this shows all items that are nearby in the environment. These items can be placed in an inventory by dragging it to one of the objects in the list above. Pressing 'Take' will place the item directly into your own inventory.
You can get more information on a certain item by clicking on its picture. With an item selected you are also able to 'Drop' it to the ground.
Map
In the Cadet difficulty mode, your position will be displayed on the map. A higher difficulty setting will require you to scan your environment for landmarks such as buildings, trees, and landscape contours, in order to determine your location on the map. Note: you should use the map to read the terrain around you, enabling you to use it to your advantage when engaging or evading the enemy. Very often you will have a tactical advantage when you attack an enemy force from an elevated position, such as a hill.
The map is divided into grid sectors, with latitude (vertical lines) indicated alphabetically and longitude (horizontal lines) numerically. Zooming in on the map will increase the accuracy scale by dividing the map into smaller sub-grids. Mission briefings and radio communications often refer to certain grid coordinates, so it is a good idea to train using this tool. Some missions also provide you with a GPS indicator, which allows you to read out your grid position on the map.
Combat
Movement
Combat Postures
Armed Assault features three distinct combat postures, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. It is up to you to determine the most suitable one for each situation. Going prone on the ground will give the enemy only a very small target to fire at and your aim will be much steadier, but you will be significantly slower when moving. Standing allows you to run and sprint from cover to cover, but you expose your full body to the enemy and your aim will be less steady. Crouching takes a little bit of both.
Movement Speed
Another choice you have whilst moving is how fast you want to go. Sometimes it may be prudent to very carefully patrol an area and you will want to walk slowly. Not only does this give you time to scan the environment for enemies, but you also avoid tiring which affects your aim amongst other things. Running is faster than walking and the game's default movement speed. It nicely balances speed and the impact on your stamina. There are situations where even running is not speedy enough, such as when you're running away from an armed grenade. This is when you can use sprinting. Be aware though that sprinting a long distance tires you very easily, which in turn affects your aim.
Raising and Lowering Weapons
Instead of always walking around with your weapon raised, you may choose to lower it. You can do this by either toggling it to lower or pressing and holding the default control.
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 a corner of an object you can peak around it, fire your weapon and still keep most of your body covered.
Swimming
As a soldier you have been trained to swim in order to save yourself from drowning. You may not be fast and it is possible you will lose some of your equipment, but at least you can handle getting back to shore after you've parachuted into the ocean.
Views
Armed Assault allows you to view your controlled character or vehicle in the following ways:
1st Person View
This is the default view mode, which lets you view the game from your character’s perspective. It is the most realistic and immersive mode, and is ideal for controlling characters on foot.
3rd Person View
Gives a greater view of your surroundings, and is particularly useful when controlling vehicles. Using the Veteran difficulty setting, 3rd person view is disabled. Cadet mode does allow you to toggle between 1st and 3rd person view by pressing 'Numpad Enter'.
Weapon View
All weapons in Armed Assault have realistic scope and iron-sight views, which can be used to accurately engage targets at a range of distances. The default method of switching to this view is to double-click the right mouse button. Amunition in Armed Assault has set balistic trajectory, so learn on what distance are each weapons sights 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
Orientation
To make sure you have full situational awareness at all times, the following options are available to you:
Compass and Clock Direction Indicator
When communicating in a squad, two different methods are used to indicate direction. The first method is based on a standard compass and uses a 360 degree system to indicate direction; 000 = North, 090 = East, 180 = South, and 270 = West. Use the numbers on the outer ring of your compass to get an exact reading. This method is often used when issuing a movement order. The second format is based on the clock system, where 12 O'clock is directly in front of someone, and 6 O'clock is behind them. Keep in mind that these directions are relative to the person reporting them. In Cadet mode, a small clock is displayed as soon as someone indicates a relative direction. This clock indicates the path that is being followed, making it easier for you to find their proposed direction. This method is most commonly used to indicate the direction of a target or object.
Used to indicate your current direction or the direction of an object or enemy contact. It is especially effective if used in combination with the map view. Vehicles with a target radar on board display your compass heading at the top of the screen. Note: the Cadet mode will also display a yellow line on your compass, indicating the direction of your current waypoint.
Peripheral Vision
To support your orientation and situational awareness, Armed Assault features peripheral vision indicators. These are small dots indicating the direction of known enemies, as well as friendly or neutral objects. These dots appear to the edge of your screen, indicating the general direction of objects in-range, outside of your current view angle.
GPS
Some missions provide you with a GPS device in your map view. This device displays the exact grid reference of your current position, so you can cross-reference it with your map.
Targeting and Firing
As in real life, your weapon is never fully stabilised. The amount of motion depends on your stamina and posture. Going prone 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. Armed Assault 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 range, and in particular when firing at moving targets.
If you want to get the most out of your aiming, try concentration mode. In this mode you hold your breath and focus your attention on one particular area for an accurate hit.
Action Menu
The Action Menu automatically appears when a new action becomes available, listing the specific action and the appropriate button to activate it.
Taking Command
There are multiple methods of commanding troops at your disposal. Every of them can be handy in certain situations and may well suit different playing styles.
Quick Command
Hold 'Spacebar' to activate the Quick Command system.
Your cursor will now change to command mode and is context sensitive, which means its functionality and appearance changes depending on what you point at with the cursor.
You select any particular unit by clicking the left mouse button on it (hold 'Shift' and click if you want to select the entire team this unit belongs to). You can also use the mouse wheel to select a unit in the Unit select menu that's displayed in the top left corner of the screen. By default you will have everybody selected. Simply scroll in the unit selection menu to select a particular unit (or units part of team or in a vehicle) or click by mouse wheel on more positions in the list to have them all selected.
You can also order your subordinates using the command cursor (unless it is pointing on your squad member):
- To move somewhere by clicking on any position on the terrain
- To engage a target by clicking on the target (RMB reveals target, LMB orders engage, so subordinate can leave formation)
- To mount a vehicle by clicking on the vehicle
- To watch in a direction or on a unit, vehicle or object if you click while holding left 'Alt'
- To hold fire by clicking anywhere while holding Control
After you release 'Spacebar', all units are deselected and you return to normal mode.
Command Menu
There are multiple options to switch to command mode:
Whenever you switch to a command mode
- Hold Space
- Press any F1..F12 key
- Switch to Tactical View (see below)
Communications in Armed Assault are done through the Command Menu. This menu can be accessed by any time by pressing a number for a command on the main level of the Command Menu.
Note: You may have some communications options available in the commanding menu even as a single or subordinate unit.
You navigate in the Command Menu by scrolling by mouse wheel up and down and select an item by pressing it.
Alternatively, you can also use keyboard shortcuts (numbers for commands and F- keys for unit selection) to quickly navigate.
Example: If you have a subordinated unit 2, pressing F2 1 1 will issue command "Return to Formation".
When operating in an AI controlled squad, there's often no need to use these report functions all the time. However, when playing multiplayer with people who might not speak English, these simple commands can be used as an effective form of communication during a mission.
- 'Where Are You?' - Requests the current position of your team leader.
- 'Done' - Confirms you understood the last order.
- 'Fail' - Informs your team leader you are unable to execute the last order.
- 'Repeat' - Requests your team leader to repeat the last order.
- 'Radio' - Some missions allow you to send specific messages to other squads using the radio.
Teams
There are 5 different color groups, to which you can assign your units for quick selection.
In some missions units may already be preassigned to teams, but as a commander you can also assign units to a team at any point whilst you're playing.
- Select the units that should become a team and select 'Assign' ('9') from the commanding menu. Now assign the units to a particular team color (the white team is used for any unassigned units).
To select the entire team (alternatively, if you already have the entire team selected, you can deselect them using the same method):
- Hold ⇧ Shift and click by mouse using Commanding Cursor on any team member.
- Hold ⇧ Shift and press the F1..F12 key of any team member.
- In Quick Command menu scroll by mouse wheel on team and click by mouse wheel on the team you want to command.
Movement
Formations
When a number of troops are moving there are standard formations they will follow as instructed by the commanding officer, the formations vary both in how far apart the soldiers are spread as well as in the manner that the soldiers are aligned. The possible formations are:
- 'Column'
- 'Staggered Column'
- 'Wedge'
- 'Echelon Left'
- 'Echelon Right'
- 'Vee'
- 'Line'
- 'Compact Column'
- 'Delta'
Experience will teach the commander which formation is best for which circumstance, but a couple of things to remember are:
- When travelling quickly on foot from one location to another a staggered column can result in soldiers to the rear losing sight with the rest of the squad.
- A squad using a tightly packed formation can be decimated if an enemy grenade lands in their midst.
As a rule you should spread out when at risk of enemy contact and stay fairly close together when quickly travelling on foot.
By ordering Move - Advance, Move - Flank*, Move - Stay Back you can offset selected squad members aprox 50m from main formation.
Attacking
There is a range of command menu options which give you control over the Rules of Engagement of your subordinates.
- 'Open fire' - by default your squad members are using this mode and it means that if they have a target, they are allowed to fire their weapon at it.
- 'Hold fire' - when ordered to hold fire, a subordinate may target something, but not fire at it.
- 'Fire' - this command will specifically tell the subordinate to fire its weapon.
- 'Engage at will' - when units have been set to engage at will, they will not only target enemies, but also engage them. They may move away from the formation and go to a better vantage point.
- 'Disengage' - the subordinate is told to no longer engage its target and move back to the formation.
Tactical View
NUM . switches between normal view and tactical view. In tactical view you see your nearby area from above and you can use all commanding techniques available in normal commanding view to command troops. The tactical view allows the commander to zoom the camera out to show a greater detail of the world around them, this allows for a more strategic real time commanding of troops.
Note: In order to be able to switch to tactical view, 3rd person view should not be disabled in your difficulty settings.
Comanding in Tanks
- Only commander of tank can assign Lights on/off or Turning out actions.
- If the commander is not present, gunner is in command.
- Tank commander has machinegun mounted on his turret. RMB assigns target, LMB fires from commanders machinegun.
- Alt + Ctrl command toggles cease/open fire. Open fire is set as default, so gunner shoots instantly on any given target, even a friendly.
- Commander can use arrows to order movement direction.
- Mouse, Space Bar and command menu are than used for more complex commands.
- Space + over a place calls Move to
- Alt + Space + calls Watch at
- Space + over an object calls select target
- Space + then orders fire.
- Space +
- Commander can order gunner to switch main weapon by pressing Space+F.
- Commander of a single tank can command gunner to change cannon amunition by switching main weapon to cannon and than selecting the gunner with F2 key and calling Action "reload to HE/SABOT" from command menu.
- Commander of subordinate tank (does not have commanding menu) can switch ammo type by holding Space bar, selecting main gun and than from action menu in lower right corner switch ammo type with middle mouse.
Support Units
Support can be divided into three categories:
Medical Support
When injured, you can inform the rest of your team using the Command Menu option 'Status' > 'Injured'. To receive treatment you can walk over to a medic, ambulance or field hospital, and select 'Heal at ...' from the Action Menu. If you are unable to move, or can’t find a medic, you can call out for one using the Command Menu option 'Call support' > 'Medic!'. If you are the subordinate in a squad, your commander can also send a medic to your position.
- As a comander, assign medic to injured squadmember by selecting the injured and calling radio Action - Heal at medic
- If you are injured commander, select medic from your squad and order him to come close to you. When medic gets close you will get action Heal in your action menu.
Ammo Resupply
High-tech weaponry is worthless without the proper ammunition, and an extended firefight can drain your ammo in seconds. Tanks and helicopter gunships can head back to base to replenish their ordinance, but an infantry squad has to be much more cautious about their rate of ammo consumption. Getting bogged down in stalemate engagements, and over-extending a mission’s duration, should be prevented at all costs. If absolutely necessary, it is possible to pick up weapons and magazines from fallen friendly or enemy troops. You can do this by walking up to a corpse, and using the action menu to pick up any of the weapons or magazines.
Vehicle Support
Due to their size and tactical importance, vehicles are far from immune on the battlefield. As well as damage sustained vehicle crews also have to monitor their fuel consumption, and should therefore refuel where possible. However, their ability to quickly break away from enemy contact often allows vehicles to receive support out of range of direct enemy fire. The ammo, repair, and fuel trucks that provide this support, are vital to the success of any combined arms operation. Move your vehicle close to any of these support units, and select the appropriate action, to either repair, rearm, or refuel your vehicle.
Combat Tactics
When on a battlefield, one of the most important aspects isn't simply the thought of killing the enemy, but rather preventing the enemy from killing you. Think before you act. Here’s a list of some good tactics that could you help survive on the battlefield, and beat your enemy.
Get Down
- Lie 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.
Stop to Fire
- You cannot fire while sprinting in the game at all. You may do so while walking but for higher accuracy it is always better to stop and even better to crouch or go prone.
- Your aim is less accurate if you are breathing heavily after running. Wait to calm down first for more accurate aim and note that you may also want to hold your breath for a few seconds.
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.
- Due to HDR simulation the sun and other bright lights can adversely affect your eyesight, so avoid attacking enemies with the sun behind them else you will be at a significant disadvantage.
Note: You can look around while moving by holding Alt and moving the mouse simultaneously. Also, in some difficulty settings in Armed Assault there are subtle color dots at the edges of your screen indicating there is something nearby. This simulates your real world situational awareness.
Take Cover
- Reload only behind full cover.
- Don't get so suppressed 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 and for example a wooden wall really 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.