basic rifle - Kieranator/BadArma GitHub Wiki
##Beyond Left Clicking Once you're familiar with the controls, there are some things that may not be immediately apparent. Some are apparent but worth a mention:
###Well this's My Safety, sir. Firing accidentally, or negligent discharge, is bad. The best way to prevent negligent discharge - caused by bumping the mouse button, twitching, misclicking - is to keep your index finger on the scroll wheel until you're ready to fire.
###Reloading and Ammo No rounds are lost when performing a tactical reload in Arma. Don't hesitate to tactically reload when needed, always load a full magazine before clearing a building. Reloading does two things:
- If current magazine is empty, delete it. If it's not empty, put it in your inventory.
- Load the fullest magazine in your inventory.
You'll see those partial mags again if you run out of full ones. If team members are down to 3 mags, it's time to redistribute ammo or head towards resupply. Looting enemies is normally a last resort.
###Tracers Tracers give great feedback to shooters, be aware that they burn out after 500-700m. It's common to see tracers for the last 3-5 rounds in a standard magazine, while leaders might have tracer-only mags to direct fire. Standard machinegun belts are likely to contain tracers, expect one tracer every 3-5 rounds.
###Bore Line and Zeroing Bullets issue from the muzzle of your firearm, not the center of your screen or your sight line.
The muzzle is usually below your sight line, so objects in front of you might block your bullets even if you can see the target through your sights. Arma 3's crosshair can help you determine if your muzzle is clear of nearby objects. Also note that at short range your shots will hit below your point of aim.
While there are exceptions, normally your bullets intersect your sight line at 2 points. The farthest intersection is your actual zeroed distance. When you change zeroing, you are adjusting your sight line to intersect the bullet trajectory closer or farther away.
For common assault rifles, the bullet will only rise above your sight line by a very small height. If in range, your bullets' trajectory is flat enough that you can just aim for center of mass. Shooting people in the head tends to kill them really hard, depending on the revive system, but outside of CQC you're better off aiming center of mass, maximizing your chance to hit.
###ADS and Left Shouldering Looking through sights or optics in Arma moves your view, not your gun. Use this to minimize exposure when peeking around cover, aim down sights and position yourself from that view.
What if you need to peek around the left side of cover? With your rifle on your right shoulder, your muzzle is blocked unless you fully expose yourself, both while taking cover and clearing.
When you use ctrl-left leaning, you transition your weapon to your left shoulder. While moving you will stop leaning, but your weapon will stay left shouldered. Take advantage of this in urban environments with many corners to clear.
###What A3's reactive crosshair actually means In many games, an expanded crosshair means you will hit randomly within the crosshair's area. Not in Arma 3. The crosshair will show you how far from the center your bore may point, or is currently pointing.
In some cases, you are guaranteed to hit on the outer circle. Even if your bore is pointing somewhere in between, be cognizant that centering the target in your crosshair can still result in complete misses. The worst case is rare, but can be decisively fatal and is avoided by managing stamina, aiming down sights, and using appropriate weapons for CQC. The reticle is best used for determining muzzle clearance and point blank spraying, not aiming at range when fatigued.