How Large is the Arma 3 Map?
As a passionate gamer and content creator focused on tactical military shooters, I‘ve continued to be amazed by the sheer size and scope of the Arma 3 sandbox. With its vast terrains and endless possibilities for dynamic open-world gameplay, Arma 3 stands in a class of its own when it comes to map size and open-ended potential.
Let‘s dive deeper into the major maps available in the Arma 3 platform, from the base game maps to DLC expansions and huge fan-made environments:
Altis: Arma 3‘s Mediterranean Masterpiece
The crown jewel of Arma 3 maps remains Altis – an immense 270 square kilometer Mediterranean island that serves as the primary terrain in the base game.
To put Altis‘ size into perspective, it takes approximately 6 hours and 49 minutes to walk across the entire span of Altis on foot. That‘s how unbelievably huge this map is!
Altis presents extremely diverse landscapes, varying from dense urban areas, rolling hills and farmlands, industrial zones, mountain ridges, forests, beaches, and remote wilderness. This variety of environments and verticality make for incredibly dynamic missions and endless possibilities for sandbox gameplay.
According to developer Bohemia Interactive, Altis is a 0.75× scale rendition of the real Greek island of Lemnos. The level of detail and accuracy to mimic Lemnos‘ geography shows the love and attention that went into crafting Altis as the ultimate Arma 3 playground.
Stratis – Small but Action-Packed
In contrast to Altis, Stratis is a much more compact 20 square kilometer island terrain focused on fast-paced engagements. Featuring NATO installations, military camps, an airbase, small towns, and forested hills, Stratis packs a ton of tactical opportunities into a small space.
As the smallest official Arma 3 map, Stratis serves as an introductory arena for new players to hone their combat skills before taking on wider terrains. While small, its action density, versatility, and visual polish continue to make Stratis a popular playground for Arma fans.
Malden – Archipelagic Adventure
First introduced originally in Arma: Armed Assault, creative director Ivan Buchta described Malden as Bohemia Interactive’s “original love” when it comes to Arma maps.
Malden returns in Arma 3 as a beautifully re-mastered terrain, centered around a 36 square kilometer archipelago with lush forests and small coastal towns dotting the islands. Featuring Arma’s signature diversity of environments, Malden delivers a wonderful blend of fast-paced combat spaces and tranquil island vibes.
Livonia – Rural Warfare Intensified
With the Arma 3 Contact expansion DLC, Bohemia transported players to the cold forests, fields, and villages of 1980’s Livonia. Inspired by the rural Warmia region of northeast Poland, Livonia provides a gorgeously rendered terrain perfect for rural guerilla warfare.
Spanning 163 square kilometers of meticulously crafted wilderness and rural settlements, Livonia squeezes Arma 3’s signature combined arms warfare into dense forests, villages, and rolling hills brimming with detail. Livonia stands as Arma’s coldest and deadliest battlefield yet.
Tanoa – Paradise Gone Lethal
The Arma 3 Apex expansion gave players a huge 100 square kilometer piece of tropical paradise in the South Pacific island chain of Tanoa. Inspired by real-world Oceania locations like Fiji and Vanuatu, Tanoa retains Arma 3’s signature diversity by blending bustling coastal cities, resort complexes, dense rainforests, agricultural plantations, mountain villages, and coral reefs all into one vibrant map.
From executing long-range sniper missions along Tanoa’s ridges to intense CQC engagements under the lush canopies, Tanoa represents a dynamic shift to jungle warfare while retaining Arma’s signature sandbox elements.
Beyond Official Maps – Exploring Arma 3‘s Modding Potential
While Altis remains the crown jewel, veterans know much of Arma 3‘s long-lasting appeal owes credit to its incredible modding community. The Arma 3 platform opens unlimited avenues for player creativity through mods and custom user-generated content.
Ambitious modders have created mind-blowingly huge custom Arma 3 maps that dwarf even the size of Altis. While more experimental than official maps, playing these custom environments underscores why Arma 3 stands at the apex of dynamic large-scale combat experiences.
Let‘s look at some of the massive fan-made maps pushing the boundaries of Arma 3‘s potential:
Reshmaan Province – Epic Afghanistan Inspired Map
One of the most impressive modding feats is Reshmaan Province – an extraordinarily detailed rural Afghanistan recreation spanning 576 square kilometers. Inspired by real provinces of Afghanistan, Reshmaan Province was crafted over 5 years to capture the look and feel of asymmetric guerilla warfare across sweeping mountain landscapes.
With urban centers, dense forests, barren deserts, and sprawling mountain ranges, Reshmaan Province propels Arma 3 into a fully-fledged combat sandbox experience capturing the vastness of unconventional battle spaces.
Sahrani – Arma‘s Original Large-Scale Map
Long-time Arma fans will recognize Sahrani as the original Arma: Armed Assault map that set the standard for combined arms warfare on vast terrains.
While Reshmaan Province takes the crown for sheer land size, Sahrani delivers a more polished and optimized 512 square kilometer terrain mixing lush woodlands, arid deserts, Mediterranean coasts and an immense central lake.
With Sahrani remastered for Arma 3, this iconic map retains its special place as the OG large-scale open world proving grounds for the Arma series.
Chernarus Redux – Legendary Terrain Upgraded
No discussion of legendary Arma maps is complete without the incredible Chernarus. While technically introduced in Arma 2, Chernarus Redux brings this iconic rural Eastern European map reconstructed fully for Arma 3.
Once again inspired by real-world geography, Chernarus evokes tactical guerilla warfare across densely forested hills, remote farmlands, villages, and industrial areas across 230 square kilometers. Its unmatched blend of rural atmospherics, gameplay diversity and dense detail make Chernarus a special fan-favorite map for the Arma series.
The Ultimate Military Sandbox
Looking across Arma 3‘s official maps and the endless array of custom user-generated playgrounds, no other tactical shooter matches this platform‘s capabilities for unfettered large scale warfare simulations. Combined with unparalleled authenticity across air, land and sea vehicles, along with advanced ballistic modeling, Arma 3 has no peers when it comes to truly immersive military sandbox environments.
From ultra-precise sniping operations across 2+ kilometer distances on Altis, to white-knuckle urban firefights in the towns of Malden, all the way to heart-pounding jungle raids on Tanoa, Arma 3‘s vast maps enable endless avenues of creative combined arms gameplay at scales only possible through this franchise.
As a gamer obsessed with big terrain military shooters since Operation Flashpoint, I continue to be amazed at how Bohemia Interactive keeps delivering ever-more rich and hyper-detailed combat sandbox environments with each new Arma title.
And with mods, custom user-generated maps, upgrades to realism and authenticity in vehicle/ballistic modeling, and continuous DLC expansions, clearly the Arma series still offers endless horizons yet to be explored when it comes to dynamic military simulators.
From here, I hope this guide has offered fellow gamers and content creators a helpful inside look on exploring the incredibly diverse selection of maps across Arma 3 and the endless avenues this platform provides for next-gen tactical warfare. This franchise clearly leads the pack when it comes to delivering breathtaking, hyper-realistic combined arms combat across richly rendered terrains, while maintaining an accessible sandbox platform to unleash your inner tactical genius.
Let me know in the comments if this helps showcase what sets the battlefields of Arma 3 apart when it comes to sheer map size, geographic diversity, authenticity and large-scale combined arms potential!
