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« Friendly forces are pinned down in Girna.
Mission Description
»


Death Valley is the fourth mission of ArmA 3's The East Wind campaign.

Quotation[]

« In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
José Narosky, Si Todos los Tiempos (1977)
»

Overview[]

The player controls U.S. Army infantryman Corporal Ben Kerry. Bravo squad has been pinned down by the AAF at the village of Girna and require immediate support. Alpha must break through AAF lines to relieve the beleaguered squad before they are overrun.

Kerry's role/class:

  • Infantry / Grenadier

Default loadout:*

Loadout options:**

  • Pool of weapons and equipment stockpiled at Maxwell's Armoury

(*) This is the default loadout assuming that the player has not customised or collected different items from the previous mission and/or has chosen the Armoury's recommendation.
(**) Any weapons, ammo, gear and/or backpacks salvaged from previous missions will carry on to this mission and can be equipped through the briefing equipment menu.

Objectives[]

Primary[]

  • (1) Move to the Staging point
  • (2) Divert
  • (3) Assault Girna
  • (4) Deploy UAV
  • (5) Eliminate Spotters
  • (6) Retreat

Optional[]

  • (7) Defend the Doc

Mandatory[]

  • Kerry must survive
  • Bravo must not be annihilated
  • Avoid collateral damage/friendly fire
  • Remain within the combat area

Walkthrough[]

Primary 1: Move to the Staging point[]

Follow your squad leader through the valley while he continues talking to the point man scouting further up ahead.

Primary 2: Divert[]

Eventually, you will hear a burst of gunfire and he will fail to reply on the radio. Continue moving towards the point man's location and you will soon encounter a small AAF patrol. You can sit behind the nearby rocks and lay down hell as they are in the valley heavily exposed with no cover.

Primary 3: Assault Girna[]

After successfully defending the CLS (or failing to; see Optional objective below), you will be ordered to continue on towards Girna. Avoid going through the valley and instead climb to higher ground towards the hill on your right. Your squad will move through the valley but you don't need to follow them; just make sure you're within proximity and move parallel alongside them.

As you reach the outskirts of the village, a four-man AAF fireteam will emerge on the hill across the valley with a chapel on it. Focus on these troopers as your squad will handle the enemies down below in the valley. Once eliminated, assist your squad fighting off any remaining enemies in the village, but stick to cover and don't be afraid to push into the valley.

The instant the last AAF trooper in Girna is killed off, this objective will be completed and you will be told to entrench your position.

Primary 4: Deploy UAV[]

After the first batch of mortars impact Girna, you will be told to search the corpse of Bravo's drone operator. Take his backpack and UAV Terminal, then assemble the drone on a nearby flat surface.

Primary 5: Eliminate Spotters[]

Switch to the UAV Terminal's interface and connect to the drone. Alternately, you can also move close to the drone and select the "Connect to AR-2 Darter" action to do it automatically.

Arma3-mission-deathvalley-00

LEGEND
Red: Potential spotter positions (randomised)
Green: Alpha/Bravo squad (You)

Assume manual control of the drone's "driver" position. Start up the drone's rotors and continue to climb until you can see above the hills on either side of the village.

Fly slightly north-east in the direction of grid 029-023 before coming to a stop. Toggle auto hover mode to keep the drone stationary and to help stabilise the camera. Now switch to command of the "gunner" seat and toggle the camera's thermal vision. Don't forget to disable the drone's Autonomous mode so that it won't veer off in a different direction by itself.

Arma3-mission-deathvalley-01

You now have exactly three minutes (180 seconds) to find the mortar spotters before they succeed in hitting Bravo's location. The spotters comprise of a two-man team of AAF troopers who will be visibly highlighted in either white or black depending on your spectrum. You will also be able to see them as white blips displayed on the SENSORS panel if they are within range of the drone's Human Sensor.

They can be in one of three locations (randomised per playthrough) and will attempt to take cover behind rocks. Once you spot them, activate the drone's laser marker and do not move your cursor. Wait until Charlie squad reply over the radio and allow them to take out the spotters. Once both are dead, the objective will be complete.

Primary 6: Retreat[]

Quickly disconnect from the drone. The AAF have dispatched jets to bombard the village and will be arriving soon.

Run back to your insertion point through the valley. Sprint like hell towards the objective marker without stopping and the objective will complete once you are within ~ 999 metres of the marker. Mission complete!

Optional 7: Defend the Doc[]

Once you eliminate the patrol that neutralised the point man, your squad's Combat Life Saver will attempt to treat the incapacitated soldier.

You shouldn't have any trouble protecting him since your squad will consistently eliminate all nearby enemies. In the event that he's somehow killed by a stray round however, this objective will be cancelled and it'll skip the defence sequence to assaulting Girna instead.

Tips[]

  • Bringing a backpack is not necessary as the mission is quite short and you'll have to abandon it soon after collecting Bravo's drone anyway (though you can pick it back up after eliminating the spotters).
  • Equipping an RCO or its AAF equivalent will help with firefights since your engagements will potentially take place at distances beyond >250 metres.
  • If you're particularly adept at using marksman rifles (and salvaged one from Drawdown 2035/Situation Normal), the Mk18 ABR is an excellent weapon for this mission as its 7.62 mm round can take out plate carrier-wearing enemies far better than the MX's 6.5 mm round is able to.
  • Stick to the hills on your right as you will have the high ground over all the enemies in the valley and inside Girna itself. You will also be able to clearly see the AAF on the other hill near the chapel.
  • It isn't actually necessary to wait for Charlie to eliminate the spotters. If you have difficulty controlling the Darter, consider heading towards their location(s) on foot to take them out. Don't forget about the timer though, and try to move out before the mortar barrage sequence begins.

Trivia[]

  • Death Valley is a reused version of the Infantry showcase released for ArmA 3's Alpha. The only differences are the ending sequence, some dialogue, and mission characters.
  • Camp Tempest (north of Girna) is physically garrisoned by the AAF and you can even engage their troopers with a long-ranged weapon depending on your position.
  • The airstrike sequence towards the end of the mission is actually a scripted event as the enemy AI pilot does not physically "drop" a laser-guided bomb onto Girna. The explosion effects are caused by bombs spawned via scripting commands.

See also[]

Playable missions in ArmA 3

Beyond Hope

No ReprieveAvenging Furies

Prologue

Reality CheckCommon DenominatorDiplomatic RelationsRising TensionsDamage Control
The East Wind Survive Drawdown 2035Situation NormalBlackfoot DownPatrolDeath ValleyRadio SilenceWet WorkCrossing PathsTipping Point
Adapt Signal LostCommon EnemyScouting [Bomos]Supply NetworkScouting [Gori]Breaking EvenBingo FuelExit StrategyWithin ReachAttention DeficitScouting [Topolia]Beyond Recognition
Win New DawnResurgent WestAir SuperiorityMoral FiberPreventive DiplomacyParadise FoundStatus Quo (Game Over)
Hubs MaxwellBomosGoriTopolia
Optional Scouting

Stepping Stone

Fait AccompliDisintegration Point

Steel Pegasus

LZ NowhereBreaking ThroughFinal Strike

Altis Requiem

Lost HorizonsSalient ForceTerminal Defiance

Apex Protocol

KeystoneWarm WelcomeFirestarterHeart of DarknessExtractionApex ProtocolEnd Game
Remnants of War Memories The PeacekeeperThe GuerrillaThe RedactedThe SurvivorThe MajorThe Brother
Hubs Oreokastro Memory

Old Man

Old Man

First Contact

False NegativeGoing DarkClose EncountersAnomalous PhenomenaCarpe NoctemElimination CodaAnother Earth
Missions are listed in order of left-to-right based on chronological order.
(Parenthesis) indicate alternate and/or non-canon missions.