Infantry (showcase)

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Engage in Arma 3's infantry combat. Follow your leader and move through the valley to support a friendly squad pinned down by enemy forces. Mission Description

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Infantry
Time	05:55 PM
Date	08-07-2035
Location	Forest east of Girna, Stratis, Republic of Altis and Stratis

Infantry is a playable showcase mission in ArmA 3.

Overview

The player controls U.S. Army infantryman Corporal Ben Kerry. CSAT forces have surrounded Bravo squad's position at the village of Girna and have them pinned down. Your squad must relieve them before they get overrun.

Role/class:

• Infantry / Grenadier

Default loadout:

• Primary weapon: MX 3GL (5× magazines)
  • ACO (Red)
  • IR Laser Pointer
• Secondary weapon: P07 (3× magazines)
  • No attachments fitted
• Equipment: NV Goggles (Sand), RGO (2×), RGN (2×), Smoke Shell (White) (1×), Smoke Shell (Green) (1×), Chemlight (Green) (2×), 40 mm 1Rnd HE Grenade (6×), Smoke Round (White) (2×), Smoke Round (Blue) (1×), Smoke Round (Green) (1×), Smoke Round (Orange) (1×)
• Backpack: None

There are no alternate pieces of equipment to choose from.

Objectives

Primary

• (1) Regroup with the point man
• (2) Assault the village
• (3) Eliminate the spotters
• (4) Retreat

Optional

• (5) Defend the Doc

Mandatory

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

Walkthrough

NOTE:

• You may want to lower the difficulty settings in your player profile before starting the showcase (changes made mid-game will not make a difference).
• Do not hesitate to set your allied AI to maximum (1.0) while the enemy are set to the minimum (0.0) for both spotting and precision.

Primary 1: Regroup with the point man

Follow your squad leader down into the valley where Private Jackson last reported in.

He'll be next to some of the rocks with a fireteam's worth of enemy soldiers staring right towards you. Once you get to his location, the first gauntlet and (arguably) hardest section of the mission will kick in.

The opposition you'll be facing consists of four soldiers:

• A Rifleman armed with a Katiba bullpup
• An Autorifleman armed with a Zafir LMG
• A Team Leader and Grenadier, both armed with UGL-equipped Katiba rifles

Always prioritise taking out the Autorifleman first as his LMG will tear your squad to shreds if they manage to set up a firing position first. Even if he doesn't kill your allies, the constant hail of fire will suppress your squadmates and make them easy targets for the others to pick off.

Once all enemies are eliminated, this objective will be marked complete, and you'll be cleared to proceed further down the valley.

Primary 2: Assault the village

You must now secure Girna itself. There are a total of sixteen CSAT soldiers (armed with various weapons like the first fireteam) scattered around the outer perimeter and inside the village.

Take your time moving into the village and use the nearby trees for cover. Do not follow your squad leader by moving through the base of the valley; move in via the ridgeline to the south and slowly creep your way forward.

A good spot to do this is a tree with rock mounds at its base (inside grid 021-027). This location offers a decent vantage point over most of the village, though watch out for another fireteam on the opposite side of the valley who will position themselves along grid 020-028.

Primary 3: Eliminate the spotters

Girna is now being bombarded by mortars. You must find the artillery observers spotting for the battery's gunner before they manage to land a hit on Bravo's position.

LEGEND
Red: Possible mortar spotter hiding locations (randomised)

The mortar spotters will always be in one of three locations (randomised on every playthrough):

• Grid 021-029
• Grid 022-029
• Grid 023-029

They will always attempt to seek cover behind rocks so if you can't hit them directly, lob a few UGL rounds their way or toss a frag grenade (if you have any left). Otherwise, just toggle your weapon's firemode to full auto, peek behind the rocks, and dump the entire magazine into them. The objective will be completed once both spotters have been slain.

Keep in mind that you only have three minutes to find the spotters. If the timer runs out, Bravo will be struck by a mortar, and you'll instantly fail the showcase. Do not rely on Charlie to take out the spotters for you. You'll most likely run out of time before they manage to detect the spotters first.

Primary 4: Retreat

Run all the way back up the valley where you came from but divert east rather than south. Once you get close to the evac point, the showcase will end in victory.

Optional 5: Defend the Doc

When you reach PVT Jackson's position, you'll have to protect the combat lifesaver as he attempts to revive the incapacitated soldier. Once the initial defence sequence is over, this objective will be automatically completed.

You will only fail this objective if the combat lifesaver is killed during the defence sequence. Luckily, this will not result in the mission's failure.

Tips

• Consider lowering your profile's difficulty settings prior to starting the showcase.
  • This showcase can be brutal to play through due to its high difficulty spike early in the mission. Your lack of sufficient starting equipment, inability to customise your loadout, and the general poor decision making of your AI squad leader will make this showcase unpleasant to blaze through on high difficulty settings.
• It may be a good idea to take the CSAT team leader's helmet, though don't rush towards his corpse to retrieve it until it's safe first.
  • PVT Jackson's MXM rifle is also a decent choice thanks to its bipod which helps to cut down on muzzle climb when deployed. If you aren't confident at using the MX's 3GL grenade launcher, the MXM is a viable alternative that has good accuracy and a high muzzle velocity.
• Remember to take your time when pushing into Girna.
  • Do not rush headlong into the firefights. You are not racing against the clock, so make every single one of your shots count (go for headshots whenever possible). This is especially important as your enemies wear armoured uniforms whereas your squad does not.

Trivia

• Infantry was amongst one of the first showcases to be included in ArmA 3's Alpha.
  • It was also one of the earliest (playable) missions to be notably featured in pre-release demos and playtests for ArmA 3.
• The shells fired during the mortar sequence are not scripted munitions and are physically launched from an actual mortar battery at Camp Tempest.
• Numerous gameplay changes following the Marksmen DLC's release has made Infantry far more difficult than its initial release version in 2013. This is because the showcase hasn't been updated to adjust to post-Marksmen changes made to ArmA 3's core gameplay (i.e. the refactoring of personal protection equipment, suppression mechanics, AI targeting behaviours, etc.).
• The entire showcase is reused as a basis for the main campaign's Death Valley mission, though the opposing force has been swapped from CSAT to AAF for storyline purposes.
  • Another change from the showcase is the lack of drones to find the mortar spotters, as UAVs were not initially available as playable assets in early versions of the Alpha.
  • Likewise, the characters involved (such as the "Corporal Ben Kerry" who differs from his canon counterpart) and the ending sequence have been completely changed in Death Valley.