EXPANDING YOUR ARMA 3 EXPERIENCE WITH MODS - WEAPONS | News | Arma 3

INTRODUCTION

A few weeks ago, 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 have decided to expand on that initial blogpost with a series of themed entries that focus on different types of mods. These blogposts, written for both new and veteran players alike, 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.

This first entry in this extended series focuses on weapon mods. This feels like a logical place to begin, since Bohemia Interactive itself released an "official" weapon mod with the ADR-97 (which is now part of the base game as of Update 1.86), and weapons are some of the easiest, most immediate, and tangible ways to fundamentally alter your gameplay experience.

After all, the name "Arma" literally translates to "weapon."

The mods featured below are purely weapon and weapon accessory (scopes and attachments) mods. In our last article, CUP, RHS, 3CB Factions, and Aegis all featured weapons as part of their overall package. There are many other mods that include weapons as an element of their content - but they will not be featured here; instead, they might appear in future blogposts focusing on Faction and Total Conversion mods.

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.

NIARMS

There is no better place to start discussing Arma 3 weapon mods than NIArms. Created by community developer and legend Toadie, the NIArms adds an incredible amount of high detail weapons, accessories, and magazines to the game. This series of mods consists of 25separate packs themed by specific real-world weapon families and their iconic, historic variants:

As long as you have NiArms Core installed, you can download and any combination of the above mods and use them on your next mission. If you want to have the entire suite of NiArms installed, an All-in-One version is also available. With all of NiArms installed, you will have a staggering arsenal of around 449 weapon variants, 97 accessories, and 202 magazine types at your fingertips.

You can learn more about NIArms and future updates on its GitHub page, followingToadie's X account, or visiting Toadie's Patreon page.

TIER ONE WEAPONS

If you still want even more weapons in Arma 3 after looking through the NIArms suite, and if have an interest in emulating the highest of speed Special Operations Forces (SOF) units in some hardcore mil-sim operations, then the Tier One Weapons Pack by Fingolfin is for you. This pack adds a large selection of contemporary weapons, attachments, and magazines used not only by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) units, but other modern SOF units - primarily those aligned with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

With this pack, you will be able to deck out a weapons platform just like an elite warfighter and operate at a level that would make Captain Miller and the rest of the Combat Technology Research Group (CTRG) jealous. This includes some of the latest real-world carbines, rifles, marksman rifles, and light machine guns and attachments.

Tier One Weapons uses the RHS framework, and thus requires RHS: United States Armed Forces as a dependency. You can learn more about the mod by visiting the Tier One Weapons Pack BI Forums thread.

SPS WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

Continuing with the special operations theme, SPS Weapons and SPS Equipment add a wide variety of weapons and accessories employed by United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) units today. Some of which, like the AXMC Sniper Rifle, Light Assault Machine Gun (LAMG), and Light Weight Assault Machine Gun (LW-AMG), are rarely available in any other Arma 3 mod. The aesthetics of these three weapons are quite similar to the MX series of modular weapons, which were designed by CMMG for Arma 3.

You can download arid and temperate texture packs for SPS Weapons on the Steam Workshop. A vanilla version that does not require ACE3 as a dependency is also available. A newer SPS Weapons V2, with revised versions of specific weapons, is also out, and still receiving updates.

THE FREE WORLD ARMOURY

For those looking for Cold War era armament and to run missions set in mid to late 20th Century, look no further than The Free World Armoury. This mod was a project to help cover as many gaps in the Cold War arsenal as possible, and designed to be used both alongside existing Cold War mods, and as a dependency for any Cold War specific faction mods. The authors believe FWA pairs well with Arma 3 Creator DLC: Global Mobilization - Cold War Germany, and the Service & Supply (S & S) mod.

FWA's content comes from a range of sources - scratch built, commissioned, or licensed from existing stock sources - and all of them have received special treatment of vertex-tweaking, new textures, dynamic sounds, and unique functionality to create a cohesive set of weapons that will add greatly to your Arma experience.

the Free World Armoury includes the following:

2 Inch Mortar
AA52
AR10 family
AR15 family
AR18 family
BAR
BM-59 family
Hi Power pistol
M1919 family
CAR15 family
M2 8.4 cm Recoilless Rifle
No 4 family
FAL family
FN-49
FN Mag
FN Model D family
K98
M1 carbine
M1 Garand
M14
M1903
M21
M3A1 Greasegun
M60
M67 90mm Recoilless Rifle
M72A1 LAW
MAS 49
MAS 49/56
MAT 49
MG42/59
Mini 14
NATO 22mm Rifle grenades of various varieties
SG510 and Rifle Grenades
Thompson family

You can learn more about FWA and the team behind the mod by joining their Discord Server. Be aware, though, that development on FWA has ended and the mod is considered to be finished, with the team moving onto Arma Reforger and Enfusion Engine mod projects.

PROJECT INFINITE

The Project Infinite weapons pack doesn't have centralized theme like some of the other mods featured in this article - but it does have is a collection of fairly unique weapons and attachments not seen often in other Arma 3 mods. Of particular note is the Single Action Army revolver for all you aspiring gunslingers wanting to be seen as "pretty good," as well as a series of shotguns - a fairly rare weapon type in the Arma series.

Project Infinite All-in-One includes:

3 Long-range scopes
2 Red dot sight
4 Suppressors
1 Silencer
1 Muzzle brake
1 Shell holder
2 Bipods
Single Action Army Revolver
L-35 Pistol
R1 Enhanced Pistol
Model 97 Shotgun
SPR220 Shotgun
SPR220 Sawed-off Shotgun
RK 95 Assualt Rifle
RK 95R Assualt Rifle
Falkor Petra Assualt Rifle
TRG-42 Sniper Rifle
TRG-42F Sniper Rifle
MK.I Sniper Rifle
MK.I No.4 Sniper Rifle
MK.I Carbine

SPECIALIST MILITARY ARMS

One of the oldest weapons mods on the list, and yet still one of the most popular available on the Steam Workshop, Specialist Military Arms adds weapons from a multitude of manufacturers from around the globe into Arma 3.

SMA features 185 high quality weapons with custom audio; 29 optics, including animated 3x magnifiers, with togglable reticle options; and fitted attachments like suppressors, flash hiders, some of the first animated and functioning grip pods, and functional laser light combos. All of these features are detailed in an included showcase mission.

SMA released all the way back in 2014, and has not been updated since 2016, therefore it could cause some compatability issues with the current version of Arma 3. A number of the weapons in the pack also appear in some of the mods featured earlier in this blogpost, but with its handful of unique weapons and enduring popularity, it has earned its spot on this list in 2024.

You can learn more by visiting SMA's BI Forums thread.

CONCLUSION

Though the mods featured above are far from an exhaustive or comprehensive list, we feel that they are an excellent starting point for any player, new or old, wishing to stockpile a formidable list of weapons, attachments, and ammunition types to their Virtual Arsenal. We encourage you to look through the over 3,000 weapon mods on the Steam Workshop - there might well be a weapons mod you have previously overlooked waiting to become a new favorite of yours.

If you feel there are any weapons 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 aircraft, vehicle, faction, terrain, equipment, function, and total conversion mods.

Thank you for reading!

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