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ArmA Appreciation Post

First Contact

Back when I was a wee child, playing free games and downloading viruses on my hand me down computer, I initially found Arma 2 Free which was the stripped down version of Arma 2.

I have vague memories of joining public games, running around and looking for enemies and not finding any. Though not being fluent in English yet, running around confused wasn't anything new. I also recall playing Chernarus Life and actually figuring out how to make money, though don't think I actually did any roleplay.

My experience with Arma 2 Free wasn't long nor eventful, but the possibilities of the large maps and sandbox tools set the seed in my brain that would get me to buy Arma 3.

Getting my footing

Being a young insecure teen, I rarely used my mic while playing. My few friends who played Arma played mostly Altis Life, but I never really got into it. I tried playing public lobbies, but vanilla Arma is like white bread.

A lot of potential and a base for great things, but poor on its own.

I only started to slightly regularly play Arma 3 when me and my friend found procedurally generated scenarios. We would play around with long range sniping and generally not taking it too seriously.

It was first when we found more extensive mods like Antistasi that we would actually play a lot of Arma. I must have a good 500 hours invested across Antistasi, Overthrow and Vindicta.

This was also around the time a friend of my friend started his own milsim group, which I also joined. It was a very casual affair, and I think it only lasted about three months before we got bored of it. However this opened my eyes to another version of Arma.

My first proper Unit

I was coincidentally just old enough to join most units (15+), I looked through the steam forum looking for another group to play with and found one which looked good. It was based on 1 Para, and was led by two brits. It was a very serious unit, with mandatory training for new recruits and even more mandatory trainings if you wanted a specialized role.

However, I personally don't oppose this. It is a large relief to know that the person carrying our AT is actually capable of using it, along with all of its features, or knowing that our machine gunner knows how to conserve ammo while laying effective suppressing fire. Hell just knowing that our new recruits have learned to shoot slowly, conserving their ammo since they are a part of a squad that is engaging the exact same enemy.

I slowly made a minor name for myself as one of the originals. I had gotten most of the certifications I wanted and had a decent reputation as a reliable player, always showing up on operations and never breaking discipline.

Leadership

I eventually got the courage to sign up as a fire team lead. Say goodbye to Pvt. M. Smith, and say hello to LCpl. M. Smith. Still being a insecure teenager it was quite scary, but having a good squad leader made it endurable. I would say I handled the role quite well, allowing my fire team to focus on fulfilling their tasks, while I managed the larger situation.

I had a good time, and having that responsibility made me a more confident person in real life. As time went on I eventually dabbled in squad leading, though I must admit it was a bit outside of my capabilities. Having a good platoon leader is what made it work. Eventually I landed as a Platoon Signaler, handling communication between the platoon leader, the squad leaders and fire support elements.

All good things must come to an end

The unit eventually stagnated. We rarely got new recruits, and they very rarely stayed. However the roughly 20 people who routinely played were having a good time, however the unit leader (one of the brits) had higher ambitions. One evening he sent a @everyone stating that the unit would transform from 1 Para to a Halo unit (yes, the game. No, no one wanted this). Virtually everyone left immediately and we started a new unit.

We were all jaded by the complete ownership abuse, and this new unit had very strong democratic leadership. There was a five man council that was voted in, and they handled the rules and leadership of the unit. It was voted to run the unit as a PMC unit, to allow us to run more varied kit. The training requirements were also removed completely, turning the unit a lot more casual. However since most of us came from the previous unit we still tended to work quite seriously.

This new unit lasted about two years, but the stagnation could not be stopped. This was early 2023, and Arma 3 was now nearing its tenth birthday. Due to subduing interest from the players and no new blood, the unit hibernated, and I largely stopped playing Arma.

Reforged

I immediately bought Arma Reforger on release, as I had amassed nearly 2000 hours in Arma 3. However that game was... let's just leave it as rough on release. However I didn't go full doomer, since I remembered that Arma 3 was also very rough on release. I kept an eye on the updates, the slowly stabilising netcode, the improved stability, and early June this year (2025) I decided to find a new unit.

It took a bit of searching, since Reforger is not as popular as Arma 3 was, especially in the PvE unit scene. I only had a couple of requirements

I luckily managed to avoid it, but people having power fantasies in Arma units is a pandemic problem. People giving themselves high ranks and forcing people to call them sir is nothing new, and the first couple of units I looked at had some alarming rules. The first unit I looked at for example had a system where the more people you recruited, the higher rank you could get. If you invited 50 people, then you were elegible to become a General of the Army (OF-10)... In a Arma Unit...

I eventually found a good bunch of guys, playing as the 4th Infantry division. And finally getting to play Arma again, especially in Reforger is amazing. After every operation I walk away from the computer with a smile. The banter, the cooperation, the seriousness, the "Big War Feels". It's the exact same feeling that Arma 3 gave me, in a lot more refined package.

Further Reading