Originally Posted by Apocal

I'm was an artillery gunner for a few months in my clan. It's fun, most def, but artillery is quite a bit overkill for a game that focuses between the squad and company level.

I agree that howitzers and such are overkill, they are just too devastating, but a Platoon or Company mortar squad is exactly what ArmA needs IMO. There is something to say about the demoralizing effect of being shelled. It is an utterly random event and quite the horrific way to die, in ArmA terms. That is the great part about artillery, it is pretty damn random, so if you stay in the same spot in some cover, there is a very good chance you won't die. BUT if you start running around, there is a very good chance you WILL die. It is an EXCELLENT form of suppression and even a light shelling can keep troops holed up for a very long time.

I think that most of the attacks that we run through (conventional warfare ones at least) would benefit immensely from having fire missions throughout. An attack without artillery is like a day without sunshine :P

We have been making due without it, but if it is added, it will make attacks something other than a suicidal move. The fire missions don't necessarily have to be player controlled, but that would be preferable as it introduces human error and can be quite fun as the spotter/shooter team. A quick scenario I just thought up; BLUFOR is defending against a REDFOR attack. They have just 1 Rifle Section vs. the REDFOR enemy Platoon. The REDFOR get a pre-planned fire mission that bombs the BLUFOR position, the BLUFOR get a group of say 4 105mm howitzers that are human controlled to bomb the crap out the REDFOR with. The key to the success of REDFOR is to push FAST so the artillery can't zero in on you, the key for the BLUFOR is to pin the REDFOR so you can blow the living crap out of them with 105mm HE rounds.

It would make for a very interesting mission IMO, something I would like to play on both sides.