| « | Kerry faces the consequences of a botched withdrawal. Mission Description
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Signal Lost is the ninth mission of ArmA 3's The East Wind campaign.
Quotation[]
| « | Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative. H.G. Wells, Mind at the End of its Tether (1945)
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Overview[]
The player controls Task Force Aegis survivor Corporal Ben Kerry. Kerry has awakened on the beaches of Altis, not knowing his exact location.
After contacting Lieutenant James over the radio, he determines that he has landed near the old capital, Kavala, and instructs Kerry to re-join the group at one of the hills to the city's north.
Kerry's role/class:
- Infantry / Grenadier
Default loadout:
- Primary weapon: None
- Secondary weapon: P07 (1× magazine)
- No attachments fitted
- Equipment: None
- Backpack: None
The briefing loadout menu is not available for this mission.
Objectives[]
Primary[]
- (1) Adapt
Optional[]
- (2) Take the Radio
Mandatory[]
- Kerry must survive
- Avoid collateral damage/friendly fire
- Do not leave the surrounding area
Walkthrough[]
Primary 1: Adapt[]
You wake up on the shores of an abandoned beach while explosions ring and smoke plumes rise in the distance. You'll hear James' voice emanating from the corpse of one of the CTRG operatives, Sergeant Hardy. Grab his radio and wait until the conversation is over (see optional objective below).
From here on out, your one and only goal is to head to the ruins of a stone house at grid coordinates 039-143. Approach the rendezvous point with James' team from the SOUTH. Of course, it won't be easy to get through - there happens to be a horde of AAF and CSAT forces standing between you and James:
LEGEND
Red: Patrol routes
Blue: Starting location
Teal: Military camp
Olive: Road traffic
Violet: Helicopter drop zones
Orange: Static guard posts/stationary vehicles
Green: James' position (goal)
Take note of the static positions and military camp. You will want to steer clear of these areas no matter what. The patrols always consist of two-man sentry teams who will follow fixed paths when undisturbed but this can change if they become alerted to your presence. Also keep in mind of where the CSAT helicopters will land to unload their troops.
You have two options with regards to the route to take, either stealthily or guns-ablazing:
Overt[]
To help reach James' position, you need a better weapon first and not a peashooter. Either locate an isolated enemy patrol or a dead body, which can provide you with an assault rifle or light machine gun with no spare magazines. Keep in mind that you only have one magazine with your initial pistol, so if you intend on fighting patrols make sure your first engagement is perfectly executed (don't miss and go for a headshot if possible).
The AAF camp. Unless you've got a deathwish, stay well away from this position.
The quickest method of getting a rifle with plentiful magazines are the two AAF troopers next to the MRAP at the end of the road on the harbour overlooking the bay. From the starting point at the beach, head into the island until you find an altar with a binocular on it, then immediately head south, making sure you go prone as you start to head downhill.
Creep up behind the two and gun them down quickly; if you don't go prone, the troopers across the bay will see you and begin firing as soon as you start shooting.
Another thing to watch out are helicopters dropping additional CSAT troops. The soldiers themselves are one thing, but no matter what you do, do not get spotted by the helicopters. They will usually leave the area once they have offloaded their cargo but if the pilot detects you, they will stay and continuously attempt strafing runs. If you wish to engage the CSAT patrols (either to salvage their equipment or to get rid of them), ensure that the helicopters have departed the area first.
The checkpoint. The road behind it has heavy traffic so be careful when going near it.
Once you bypass the village, you will get near the main road with trucks and barbed wire fences. Various vehicles will continually drive past, ranging from trucks but also occasionally armed MRAPs or even an IFV/APC. Avoid getting spotted at all costs; you will NOT stand a chance against them in a head-on fight and they can kill Kerry in a matter of seconds.
Be on the lookout as you try to cross and listen for their engines if you don't have third person view enabled. Even then, be careful since even the trucks will attempt to run you over if the drivers see Kerry blocking the way.
Aside from the first urban area, you should take a route that avoids main roads and urban buildings. The cluster of buildings outside the city are fine to go through as they provide cover and aren't near any of the patrol routes. Once you're near James' location, approach from the ruins from the south and the mission will be complete shortly afterwards.
Stealth[]
It is possible to complete the mission without any equipment other than the radio from the body of Sgt. Hardy. Armed with only your trusty peashooter, you will be able to run/sprint for much longer compared to being equipped with a rifle and armour.
Heading up the hill from the beach, start skirting your way north along the ridge on the coast, keeping out of sight of the patrols on the road. Eventually you will see a resort-ish area below the ridge, next to the main road. On the other side of the road is a tall hill, second in height only to the hill with the radio tower.
Sprint/sneak your way through (and into, if needed) the buildings in the resort area, avoiding the foot patrol and helicopters dropping off troops. As you approach the road, stick to the bushes and go prone immediately if you hear engine noises on the road. Run across the road into some cover when clear. Make your way up the aforementioned hill. If you hear patrols shooting at you, just keep running. You have sufficient stamina to sprint all the way.
Take a breath when you reach the summit and wait till your stamina is recovered. James is waiting on the other side of the hill, approximately south-east from the summit, half-way down the hill. You will find him inside the flattened ruins of a white house. DO NOT approach James' position from the north as there are anti-personnel landmines; move in from the south only. Mission complete!
Optional 2: Take the Radio[]
Collect the radio from the corpse of Sgt. Hardy. The conversation with James will commence shortly afterwards.
Tips[]
- The ruins of the buildings and corpses inside/nearby are always randomised so you will encounter a different placement on each playthrough.
- Watch out for the patrol boat skirting around the bay. The crew will usually ignore you but if Kerry attracts too much attention they will eventually turn their guns on him.
- At the end of the mission, any uniforms and vests will automatically be replaced with a pre-set uniform and vest. If you want to keep any salvaged vests/clothing, you should put stow them inside a backpack.
- The only way to get a backpack are the CSAT AT soldiers (dropped from the helicopters) and the AAF combat lifesavers (inside the outpost). Their backpacks aren't particularly large but will suffice for the next mission.
Trivia[]
- Lt. James will chide Kerry if he gets too close to the perimeter defence mines placed behind their overwatch position.
- Despite James stating to Kerry that "[...] we'll be here until dark", he will still be waiting for Kerry to arrive at the RV even after enough mission time has passed into the evening. It is not clear if this was an intentional design choice since the mission begins at 6:55 AM, though it may have been the case that the developers never anticipated that the player could (potentially) spend more than fifteen hours just on Signal Lost.
- James' dialogue at the end of the mission will differ if Kerry did not talk to him first via Hardy's radio.
- It is not actually possible to enter Kavala itself. Attempting to do so will instantly result in Kerry dying due to the Zone Restrictions module.
- If Kerry is not killed by one of the spawned landmines, he will automatically die to fatal damage applied via the module's script.
- Aside from Sgt. Hardy, it has never been explained as to how the CTRG team members who accompanied Lt. James to Stratis were able to survive the air attack in Tipping Point without incurring a fate similar to the former.
- It is entirely possible (though rather pointlessly) to hijack either of the two CSAT helicopters.
- In order to do so, you will need to quickly obtain a weapon like the Mk200 or Zafir as only LMGs are powerful enough to pierce the bullet-resistant cockpit windows. The one that lands on the road near the knocked out Gorgon IFV is the easiest one to steal.
- Find a place where you can unfold your bipod and have a good view of the pilots as they land. Fire several bursts until you pierce through the windows and kill the pilots.
- Given the limited amount of space that you have to move around in for this mission and the large amount of threats in the area, you will most likely get shot down by other IFVs, MRAPs or the patrolling gunboats.
References[]
- ↑ Mořický, K et al. 2011, Armaverse Timeline, Bohemia Interactive Community Wiki, viewed 16 May 2022, <https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Armaverse_Timeline>.