INTRODUCTION
At the beginning of the year, we released a blogpost detailing how new players could expand their Arma 3 experience with mods. For over 11 years, Arma 3 has been a major platform for mod developers and content creators, and over 150,000 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 milsim 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, while thesecond focused on equipment, the third on aircraft, the fourth on land vehicles, a fifth on boats and ships, and a sixth on factions.
Now we take you around the world and drop you into a myriad of biomes and climates with some standout terrain mods!
CUP Terrains was previously featured in our initial article, and is an excellent starting point for Arma 3 terrain mods. CUP Terrains - Core is also a widely used mod dependency for a variety of community made terrains.
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 Arma 3 experience.
KUNDUZ, AFGHANISTAN
Kunduz, Afghanistan by James2464 was released in 2015, and since then it has become the most popular terrain on the Arma 3 Steam Workshop. Kunduz was a staple of milsim and realism units and regularly rotated in as "deployment" location, especially from 2015-2017. James2464's goal was to create a detailed real-world Afghani green-zone to help represent real-world campaigns and missions undertaken in similar areas against the Taliban.
This 25km2terrain took over a year for James2464 to complete, and features three phase wall destruction, secret bunkers, and four hidden tunnel systems.
You can learn more about the terrain by visiting its Bohemia Interactive Forums thread.
RHSPKL (PREI KHAMAOCH LUONG)
Situated right on the borders between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, Prei Khmaoch Luong is another incredibly popular community-made terrain.
Major settlements are clustered around the river, which is a major method of transport in the region, and locals live almost entirely from fishing and rice farms. There are many fortified military locations around the terrain, from hilltop firebases, to hidden guerrilla camps deep in the jungle. There are no paved roads or urban settlements.
RHSPKL is suitable for most kinds of jungle operations, but was primarily designed by bludclot as a close range infantry combat playground with an incredible level of detail.
SA'HATRA
Sa'hatra by jujurat is a 64km2 terrain featuring a small river, dense date palm forests, mountainous zones, agricultural areas, and a large city intersected by a highway. A semi-fictional landscape inspired by real-world data, Sa'hatra is a mixture of Middle Eastern terrain and architecture, heavily inspired by Iraq circa 2003.
Released in 2023, Sa'hatra has become a modern classic in the Arma community, having skyrocketed to a slot among the top ten Arma 3 terrain mods on the Steam Workshop, with over 112,644 total unique subscribers. Be sure to check it out if you haven't yet!
TAUNUS
Taunus is easily one of the most detailed Arma 3 terrains available on the Steam Workshop. Featuring over five million placed objects, this 400km2 marvel recreates a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. Taunus features a number of farms, villages, towns, and large scale urban areas - complete with custom structures and objects. Two major airports are also featured, with their own unique structures and designs. Taunus was designed with X-Cam, an in-game 3D object placement tool designed for terrain builders and mission makers.
You can learn more about Taunus by visiting the terrain's BI Forum thread.
LINGOR
IceBreakr has produced some of the most iconic community terrains available for the Arma series. Nearly every Arma 3 player likely has memories of many an operation conductedon an IceBreakr terrain.
While we could have picked Isla Abramia, Isla Duala, Island Panthera, Fapovo Island, Yulakia, or any other IceBreakr terrain for this article, we have decided to go with Lingor.
Originally made for Arma 2, Lingor ("The Hunting Ground") is one of the most played terrains in the Arma community. A fictional country somewhere near the Equator, Lingor has a lush, green environment with dense jungles, scenic waterways, and settlements ranging from rural to urban in scope. Over five months were spent on research for the creation of Lingor, with inspiration drawn from countries such as Venezuela and Colombia.
Also included is Dingor, a desert version of Lingor.
RUHA
Temppa is another community terrain maker with a series of highly varied and popular Arma 3 releases that we had to pick from.
Ruha is a beautifully detailed map based on a real-world location in Finland, and despite using real heightmap and satmap data, it has been heavily modified for better gameplay.
Be sure to check out Temppa's other terrains - especially Anizay, Cham, Kujari, Pulau, and Vinjesvingen.
MUTAMBARA
Mutambara is a fictional province in the Zambezi Region, bordering Botswana, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Mutambara consists of small villages, towns, and slums with one main river. The river is dried up for the majority of the year, contributing to famine in the region. Agriculture is non-existent other than what can be harvested from the palms and areas around the dried riverbed.
Mutambara was conceived by swurvin for operations inspired by the South African Border War and Rhodesian Bush War - pairing well with the Spearpoint Alpha mod.
GLOBAL OPS TERRAINS
Global Operations Terrains aims to bring an assortment of new terrains to Arma 3 that allow players to experience a wide variety of environments in one pack. There is a focus on small but detailed terrains, aiming for variety over scale.
The pack also includes custom assets, adding new buildings, trees, and other structures to the game.
This project is still a work in progress, but you can expect future updates which may include new terrains, expansions to current terrains, and new assets.
Currently, there are three different terrains in the Global Operations Terrains pack:
Fjord - As the arctic melts, the fortunes laying under the ice have led to a dramatic increase of militarization in the High North. With NATO distracted in confrontation with CSAT, Russian Spetsnaz units have launched daring raids into northern Norway, targeting key energy infrastructure.
Farabad - Focused around the capital city of Al-Jatar, Farabad is located along the Persian Gulf coast. This semi-mountainous region is rich in natural resources and is home to many mines and oil fields. However, these resources have left instability and conflict in the region for decades.
Isla Pera - This tropical island paradise off the coast of South America used to be a prime destination for tourists, with long sandy beaches, palm trees, and crystal blue waters. But since the closing down and abandonment of the main resort, the islands have become a hotbed for cartels and illegal logging.
AUSTRALIA
Although scaled down considerably from the real-world country, the Australia terrain by (the appropriately named) Auss is massive, coming in at 1,600km2. Featuring renditions of major cities and other well-known locations from all around 'Straya, there are also some more obscure locations, like the mysterious Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG) depicted.
The terrain hasn't been updated since 2017 and may not be fully compatible with Arma 3's current build, but we still feel it is worth downloading and opening up in the Eden Editor to see the scale that is possible in Arma 3.
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 Arma 3 experience. We encourage you to look through the hundreds of terrain mods on the Steam Workshop - there might well be one you have previously overlooked waiting to become a new favorite of yours.
If you feel there are any terrain mods that 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 gameplay 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, YouTube, and Steam.