Arma 3’s Marksmen DLC shoots onto Steam

The Arma 3 Marksmen DLC, and its associated free platform update, have taken up firing positions on Steam.

“Free platform update” doesn’t quite do it justice, since the “free” part of this update completely reworks weapon handling, improves suppression mechanics, and adds a bunch of environmental audio enhancements, all with the aim (snarf) of redefining “what it means to fire a weapon in Arma 3.” Also: a new multiplayer mode, dynamic groups, shared objectives, a revive function, a virtual garage, and some new tutorials focused on the updated weapons handling. So yeah, “free platform update” seems a little bit of an understatement for what’s actually included.

If you want to pay, then the Marksmen DLC itself is premium content. This offers five marksmen rifles, two medium machine guns, two new scopes, three types of ghillie suit for each major faction, two remotely-operated laser designators, and new scenarios focusing on these new weapons. If I understand correctly, there’s one Marksmen showcase mission and three firing drills.

The Marksmen DLC for Arma 3 is out now, and will cost you £10.99 by itself, or can be grabbed as part of the £16.99 DLC bundle that also includes Arma 3 Karts and Arma 3 Helicopters. So far, Arma 3 has been trying to balance paid content with genuinely meaningful free content, and – while I’m not much of an Arma 3 player – I’d say they’re doing a pretty bloody good job with the free stuff, at least.

You can read more on what’s included, and what’s free compared to what you’ll have to pay for, over on the Arma 3 blog.