INTRODUCTION
Back in April, we released a blogpost detailing how new players could expand their Arma 3 experience with mods. After ten years, Arma 3 has been a major platform for mod developers and content creators, and over 140,000 mods have been uploaded to the Steam Workshop. This could be a daunting amount for our new recruits to search through - so to help, we compiled a list of longstanding mods we believe greatly enhance and expand the sandbox for limitless hours of immersive mil-sim action.
We decided to expand on that initial blogpost with a series of themed entries that focus on different types of mods. Written for both new and veteran players alike, these blogposts will hopefully showcase not only mods that you have heard of and have used, but maybe some hidden gems that will give you some new content to try out. The first article in this extended series focused on weapon mods
Now that you are armed with a massive arsenal of weapons, you will need to be dressed and equipped with the appropriate combat gear for your missions. Therefore, this second blog entry focuses on equipment mods.
The mods featured below are purely equipment (uniforms and gear) mods. In our last article, CUP, CFP, RHS, 3CB Factions, Project OPFOR, Aegis, ACRE2, and TFAR all featured pieces of gear and equipment as part of their overall package. There are many other mods that include equipment as an element of their content - but they will not be featured here.
This list isn't exhaustive or comprehensive, and we may very well have missed a favorite mod of yours. Even still, what has been curated here will add an exceptional amount of variety to your Virtual Arsenal.
USP GEAR & UNIFORMS
For those who want to have the latest in high-speed, low-drag drip used by some of the world's most elite Special Operations Forces (SOF), look no further than the USP suite of mods.
USP Gear & Uniforms is available as an All-in-One package, or as separate downloads (which will require running USP - Core):
- USP Gear - NVG
- USP Gear - Facewear
- USP Gear - Backpacks
- USP Gear - Accessories
- USP - Patches & Insignias
- USP Gear - Uniforms
With USP, you will have a wide variety of high-quality and authentic renditions of real-world uniforms, backpacks, vests, helmets, NVGs, and much more. You can pair USP with Tier One Weapons (featured in our previous article) to turn Arma 3 into the ultimate Operator Simulator.
You can learn more about USP by visiting their website.
AMPLE CAMO PACK
For those looking for an extremely varied and international suite of uniforms and gear for their gameplay sessions, the Ample Camo Pack may have what you are looking for. Featuring original assets and re-textures of Arma 3 base game content, the Ample Camo Pack adds 101 different camouflage variants from around the world to 154 different pieces of gear - totaling 15,554 unique pieces of gear.
For those who feel that this is too large of a selection, an Ample Camo Pack Lite exists as well, lowering the number to 10,403 pieces of gear - not that this isn't an incredible level of variety in and of itself.
Luckily, though, the Ample Camo Pack is modular, with each camo set contained in its own PBO. This allows you to pick and choose which ones you want to use. The only essential PBO is "acp_main."
MOE PILOT GEAR SUITE
Are you an Arma 3 aviator? Moe Pilot Gear Suite has everything you need to look really cool while flying military helicopters and jets. Moe Pilot Gear Suite adds flight helmets and suits used by US and other Western forces in generic blank variants and textures based on real-world US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine squadrons. If you wish to make your own helmet and flight suit textures, you can use Photoshop templates available here.
Features include:
- Equipment modeled after their real counterparts
- Gear comes with distinct weights and capacities
- ACE3 compatibility
- Working G-suit
- Helmets muffle sound
- Raise/Lower helmet visor option with ACE self-interaction
- Hand Gestures through ACE self-interaction
- FIR AWS HMD compatibility
- Custom animation for lowering and raising the visor
SERVICE & SUPPLY
Looking for Cold War equipment? With Service & Supply and Service & Supply: New Wave, you will have a large selection of authentic and highly detailed US military equipment from the 1960s to 1990s - including uniforms, backpacks, headgear, vests, and webbing. Pair this with weapons from the Free World Armoury and content from Arma 3 Creator DLC: S.O.G. Prairie Fire or Arma 3 Creator DLC: Global Mobilization - Cold War Germany to make the Cold War go hot in your Arma 3 sessions.
Service & Supply: New Wave also has its own soundtrack:
QUEEN AND COUNTRY
For those interested in even more historical content, the Queen and Country is a mod that aims to depict as accurately as possible the uniforms and equipment used by the British Armed Forces during the Iraq War (Operation TELIC) through the years of the "Forever War" in Afghanistan (Operation Herrick). A wide variety of real-world issued uniforms, vests, webbing, headgear, and more are featured in this mod, with development still ongoing.
You can learn more about Queen and Country by joining their Discord server.
EODS+ 2.0
EODS+ 2.0 is a mod that aims to improve the role of the combat engineer in Arma 3. It brings new IED types with remote functionality, a Talon Mark II EOD Robot, a Metal Detector, a Thor III RCIED Jammer, and an Anti-personnel obstacle breaching system (APOBS).
EODS+ 2.0's features include:
- Functional RCIEDs (Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device)
- Functional Cellphone to interact and detonate the RCIEDs
- Functional Editors modules to give the AI the ability to detonate IEDs, to set a hidden/buried IED, and the possibility to create a Daisy Chain from the editor itself.
- Functional UI to interact with the IEDs. The players can interact with the IEDs by many forms: arming the IEDs, burying the IEDs, defusing the IEDs, and more.
- Talon Mark II EOD Robot with animations and IED interactions.
- THOR III Jammer with a removable antenna.
BREACH
Do you love making a memorable entrance? With the Breach Mod, you can enter buildings in style. This mod adds several different types of breaching methods - from charges to shotgun slugs and even the use of your feet. The mod also adds the ability to lock/unlock and lockpick doors.
Breach features:
- Breaching Charges (Popper, Stick, Frame - Bigger charge has a better chance against stronger doors)
- Breaching with Firearms (Configured to use Slugs from RHS by default)
- Breaching with Melee (Kicking, Axe, Etc)
- Lock Picking (Lock Pick Kit, Paperclips)
- Door Interactions with ACE Menu (Locking/Unlocking)
If loaded alongside the Melee Mod, you can breach doors using melee weapons or kicking.
KAT - NOTEBOOK
Is the pen mightier than the sword? Sometimes on the battlefield, it is. KAT - Notebook adds one of the most important pieces of gear for team leaders, radio operators, and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) - allowing them to effectively call for fire, request a MEDEVAC, or just make mission-relevant notes.
With this notebook in your inventory, you will have the following:
- 9-Liner CAS Page
- 9-Liner MEDEVAC Page
- 3 Transmit Indirect Fire Page
- Extra blank "notes" pages
As an RTO or JTAC, the CAS and MEDEVAC pages allow you to input relevant callsigns and information within the templates, enabling you to make support calls properly and efficiently in the field. Having these reference materials, even if you are experienced, is valuable.
Now, obviously, you could (and a lot of players do) have a notepad and pen on your desk - but having this functionality available to you in-game is definitely handy.
The mod also adds high-vis panels in different colors that allow JTACs to mark their position or a landing site for aircraft. These can be stored in your inventory and placed via ACE interaction.
You can learn more about KAT - Notebook by joining their Discord Server, or viewing the mod's GitHub page.
CONCLUSION
Though the mods featured above are far from an exhaustive or comprehensive list, we feel they are an excellent starting point for any player, new or old, wishing to expand their uniform and gear selection in the Virtual Arsenal. We encourage you to look through the over 6,300 equipment mods on the Steam Workshop - there might well be an equipment mod you have previously overlooked waiting to become a new favorite of yours.
If you feel there are any equipment mods that you feel we missed out on and should have included in this list, contact Arma Community Manager LeClair on X,Discord, or our forums. You can also let him know of any suggestions you have for future articles on aircraft, vehicle, faction, terrain, function, and total conversion mods.
Thank you for reading!
For more information about Arma 3, please visit www.arma3.com. To keep track of all the latest news, be sure to follow @ArmaPlatform on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Steam.