Tanks (showcase)

NOTE: This article is about the singleplayer showcase version of Tanks. For its cooperative multiplayer-only iteration, see Tanks (multiplayer, Altis).

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Put Arma 3's Main Battle Tanks to the test. Command your crew and join the armored offensive. Mission Description

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Tanks
Time	04:45 PM
Date	07-08-2035
Location	North-eastern Altis, Republic of Altis and Stratis

Tanks is a playable showcase mission in ArmA 3.

Overview

The player controls U.S. Army combat vehicle crewman Corporal Campbell, callsign Nomad-2. The main airport has been captured and CSAT forces have been pushed east.

However, they have established a thick wall of defences at Anthrakia and have stalled any further advances. Rather than risk a frontal assault, callsign Nomad will open a second front and flank the enemy's rear at Molos.

Role/class:

• Armour / Crewman

Default loadout:

• Primary weapon: MXC (6× magazines)
  • No attachments fitted
• Secondary weapon: P07 (3× magazines)
  • No attachments fitted
• Equipment: NV Goggles (Sand), RGO (2×), Smoke Grenade (White) (1×), Smoke Grenade (Green) (1×), Chemlight (Green) (2×)
• Backpack: None

There are no alternate pieces of equipment to choose from.

Objectives

Primary

• (1) Board Tank
• (2) Join Platoon
• (3) Seize Molos

Optional

N/A

Mandatory

• Campbell must survive
• Avoid collateral damage/friendly fire
• Your tank must not be immobilised
• The platoon must not be reduced to 25% combat effectiveness
• Your platoon must not be annihilated
• Do not leave the AO

Walkthrough

Primary 1: Board Tank

You will begin the mission on the benches of a helicopter. Disembark once it lands onto the coast and hop into the commander seat of the marked tank.

Primary 2: Join Platoon

Order the driver (Hotkeys: 1-9) to regroup with the rest of the platoon at the front line.

Primary 3: Seize Molos

You must now clear the way towards the city of Molos. Because this showcase is intended to demonstrate the basics of commanding AI in vehicles and learning how to order subordinates to target enemy threats, get used to tapping the "2" key to open the targeting menu, picking targets for the gunner, and ordering the driver to keep formation with the rest of the platoon (Hotkeys: 1-1).

Along the way to Molos, you will encounter multiple armoured threats in the form of three T-100 tanks, two APCs, one IFV, five MRAPs and one truck:

LEGEND
Red: Tank spawn points
Orange: IFV spawn point
Violet: APC spawn points
Green: MRAP spawn points
Pink: Infantry with AT weapons
Blue: Infantry without AT weapons

Your encounters with them may differ depending on your platoon's CO and how long he takes to reach certain "checkpoints", so keep in mind that battles against these threats may occur earlier or later than usual on some playthroughs.

In addition, it is not necessary to stay in formation with your CO. It may be wise to hang back, find a good vantage point, and maintain a hull down position to effectively "snipe" the threats from a distance (a minimum of two or more kilometres should be sufficient to avoid drawing attention from the enemy tanks). Ignore your CO when he complains about you lagging behind; you won't fail the mission unless you actually stray too far away from his position.

Try to spot threats early by making use of the commander's viewfinder. Be sure to prioritise taking out enemy tanks (your biggest threat), then the missile-armed IFV, and finally, anti-tank rocket soldiers. Ignore all other targets as their weaponry cannot damage your tank - this includes the grenade launcher-armed MRAPs.

Your gunner can dispatch them using either the coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun or high-explosive (HE) 120 mm shells. Don't worry about the boats sailing along the Galana Nera and Molos Bay either (in the west and south-east, respectively). None of their mounted weapons will be able to scratch your tank.

Once you're within proximity of Molos itself, focus on destroying vehicular threats in and around the city. It will be considered as having been secured when they've been wiped out (infantry targets do not prevent you from attaining victory). The showcase will then come to a successful conclusion.

Tips

• Because the baseline Slammer tank does not retain any weaponry for the commander position, you may want to manually take control of the tank's driver position instead. You can still order the gunner to target specific threats with the Command Menu regardless.
  • Aside from the AI being rather "incompetent" with navigating around simple obstacles (like rocks), they don't have a particularly good grasp of fire and manoeuvre. If you leave the driver to his own devices, he will most likely leave your crew completely exposed out in the open; not a good idea when there's multiple T-100s bearing down their 125 mm cannons at you.
• If you opt to manually play as the gunner, don't forget that the enemy tanks have Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) blocks shielding the cheeks of the turret and front of the glacis plate/sides of the hull.
  • These ERA blocks can nullify a single APFSDS shell so try to aim (if possible) for the engine or centre of the turret where there isn't ERA protecting it.
• For the final attack on Molos, bear in mind that it is not actually necessary to enter the city itself. You can eliminate all vehicles from outside the city without having to risk getting ambushed by AT soldiers.
• If you run low on munitions, it may be wise to wait for your CO to call for support units from Charlie squad. Their recovery vehicle can resupply your tank completely, though you will need to be patient as the AI drivers may take some time to reach your location.

Trivia

• The multiplayer/co-operative version of the showcase is significantly easier as all four human players will be controlling Nomad's vehicles.
  • Unfortunately, the fourth player will always get the short end of the stick as they are limited to commanding the Marshall IFV rather than a Slammer tank.
• As with all showcases that predate the launch of ArmA 3's main campaign, Tanks erroneously depicts NATO troops fighting with CSAT forces instead of the AAF.
• After dropping off the player's crew, the helicopter transport will circle around to the east and then north-west until it returns to the main airport whereupon its crew will disembark onto the runway.
• The MLRS battery that conducts a fire mission in the intro only does so for cinematic effect; its crew is simply ordered to barrage grid coordinates 264-238 (no threats are actually present within the grid square).
• Following the addition of the Tanks DLC's free platform update, BTR-Ks have become a much bigger threat compared to when the showcase was first released upon ArmA 3's launch. Their ability to use a top-down flight profile for their ATGMs allows them to strike your tank even when maintaining a hull down position.
  • Adjustments made to ArmA 3's vehicle armour simulation, which included the implementation of composite armour plates and ERA blocks, have also made knocking out the T-100s significantly more difficult. It is now almost mandatory that the gunner lands a hit on a non-protected section of the tank (this was not necessary prior to the platform update due to the earlier simplified damage model).
  • Unlike the T-100s, none of Nomad's tanks are the enhanced M2A4 variants with ERA panels, therefore the player already starts off with a slight disadvantage in direct fights against the T-100.