NOTE: This article is about the singleplayer showcase version of Firing From Vehicles. For its cooperative multiplayer-only iteration, see Firing from vehicles (multiplayer, Altis).
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Experience Firing From Vehicles as NATO forces race to rescue AAF hostages.
Mission Description
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Firing From Vehicles is a playable showcase mission in ArmA 3. It was added with the release of the Marksmen DLC.
The player controls U.S. Army infantryman Sergeant Jackson, callsign Kilo 2-4. At the request of their AAF allies, NATO peacekeepers have been deployed on a search-and-rescue mission in the north-west of Altis after one of their helicopters was shot down near the town of Syrta.
As part of the Quick Reaction Force, SGT Jackson's squad must save the survivors before FIA insurgents execute them.
There are no alternate pieces of equipment to choose from.
Objectives[]
Primary[]
(1) Locate the Crash Site
(2) Destroy the Helicopter
(3) Search the Gas Station
(4) Search the Outpost
(5) Extract
Optional[]
(6) Follow the ROE
(7) Bad Omens
Mandatory[]
Jackson must survive
The AAF survivors must not be killed
Avoid collateral damage/friendly fire
Do not leave the AO
Walkthrough[]
Primary 1: Locate the Crash Site[]
You'll start off on the benches of Romeo 1's helicopter as you're flown towards the AO. Don't fire your weapon (see Optional objective below) and wait until the helicopter reaches the target area.
Primary 2: Destroy the Helicopter[]
NOTE:
Be careful of lone insurgents from the first phase of the mission when Romeo 1 begins its landing approach.
Those random targets can severely wound you at this distance even though you are technically meant to be "safe" from further attacks.
Shortly after you arrive at the AO, Romeo 1 will begin taking fire from the insurgents below. You can either spray your weapon or let your AI teammates handle the grunt work. Do be aware that you can potentially still die to the enemy technicals if they manage to get a hit on you, so it's in your best interests to suppress the technical(s) if you they are within your firing arc.
Not long after, control of Archangel will then be transferred to you. Toggle the UAV Terminal's interface, right-click the drone's marker on the map, and select the Connect to Drone action.
Take over the drone's "turret" AI and lock the camera onto the helicopter's wreckage (Default keys: Left Ctrl + T). Once the drone's camera has been stabilised, target the wreckage with its Skalpel ATGMs and fire off one missile to blow it up.
This objective will automatically fail if Archangel's drone runs out of missiles, or you don't destroy the wreckage within sixty seconds (though the mission itself will continue regardless). Your squad leader will warn you at the thirty second mark if you haven't acquired a lock-on by then.
After the wreckage's destruction, the pilot will drop you off on the outskirts of Syrta to locate the survivors and to hunt down the remaining insurgents. The location of the survivors will randomly cycle between one of two locations depending on your current playthrough. They will be located at either at the petrol station or at the military outpost.
Primary 3: Search the Gas Station[]
NOTE:This primary objective will be cancelled if you discover the survivors at the outpost.
This next phase of the mission involves plenty of CQB through the town's streets, so pay attention to your flank and always peek around corners instead of rushing out ahead.
Watch out for civilians running around and always stick around your fireteam leader. Keep formation with your allies as they are invincible for this section. Remember: even though Jackson is wearing a heavy plate carrier, a burst of 5.56 mm or 6.5 mm rounds at this range can still kill him very easily.
Make your way through the town until you reach the petrol station on the north-western side of Syrta. Clear out its defenders but watch your fire around the station's main building, as the AAF survivors can potentially be inside and they could get caught in the crossfire (you will fail the mission if they're killed).
The objective will be completed once you've searched the building and succeed with (or failing to) locating the survivors.
Primary 4: Search the Outpost[]
NOTE:This primary objective will be cancelled if you discover the survivors at the petrol station.
If you didn't locate the survivors at the petrol station, you will be required to search through the military outpost further west of the town.
This area is slightly trickier to clear as the insurgents will not be out in the open. However as before, try not to spray and pray with the Mk200 as you could potentially kill the survivors (they will be huddled around the portable structure on the north-western corner of the outpost).
Once the survivors are located (or you discover that they are not present here), this objective will be marked complete.
Primary 5: Extract[]
Get into Thunder's helicopter once they arrive at the LZ. If you didn't clear the outpost, you may need to be careful of enemy stragglers taking pot shots at you from the guard tower within the compound (not the larger one). Once everyone is aboard, the mission and showcase will end shortly afterwards.
Optional 6: Follow the ROE[]
Obey the Rules of Engagement (ROE) and do not attack the FIA until they fire upon you.
You will instantly fail this objective if you fire a weapon before you are given authorisation to do so. Thankfully, this will no longer apply once you discover the AAF helicopter's wreckage and get shot at by the FIA (you can freely engage them beyond this point).
Optional 7: Bad Omens[]
NOTE:This is not considered to be an actual objective and serves only as a "bonus" which can be completed at the player's discretion.
The "secret" room for this achievement is the dilapidated double-storey house at grid 086-182.
A pickup truck will always be parked outside the building. Be careful of the insurgent inside the ground floor stairwell as you breach the entrance. To play it safe, you can simply spray bullets through the wooden planks of the boarded-up window and kill him that way.
You'll know that you've unlocked the achievement once a suspenseful stinger plays in the background.
Tips[]
Take your time clearing the town. You are not racing against the clock, so there is no need to rush through the streets and risk getting shot at.
Achievements[]
Bad Omens
You need to discover the "secret" house that has a whiteboard with a map of seismic readings along with a table with documents and an open laptop.
Trivia[]
The intro flyby sequence's music theme ("Into The Sun") was composed by the Czech band, "DENOI".[1]
Although Firing From Vehicles was added with the Marksmen DLC's release, it is not considered to be premium content and is bundled with the DLC's free platform update.[2]
However, there are unused text strings leftover in the Helicopters DLC's files that directly reference the Firing From Vehicles showcase.
Given that FFV as a mechanic was actually added with the Helicopters DLC's platform update[3], this could possibly suggest that Firing From Vehicles was initially meant to have been added as a showcase for Helicopters rather than Marksmen.
The presence of seismic maps and the laptop are a reference to a major plot point in the main campaign, though the existence of such objects in an FIA-controlled town makes little sense given the actual origins of the plot device in question.
