http://dai.ly/x1ary2y

If you are new to Arma 2 and its anticheat Battleye they are very picky with setup and folder permissions. The following is the easiest way to get everything setup and working properly on most systems the first time:

1) Before installing anything find steam.exe (not a desktop shortcut) in your Steam folder (usually in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam). Right click on steam.exe and run it as an Admin.

2) With steam.exe running as an Admin install and play plain Arma 2 (not Operation Arrowhead) to at least the game menu and then exit. Next install and play Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead (OA) to at least game menu and then exit. Part of the installation and setup occurs when playing each game the first time. Arma 2 OA is an expansion to Arma 2, so don't mix up the setup order.

3) If you have Army of the Czech Republic (ACR), British Armed Forces (BAF), or Private Military Company (BAF) you can then install and run each of these as an Admin to ensure complete and proper setup.

4) Do not install the "Obsolete" version of Arma 2 OA and do not install DayZ Mod on Steam. These can cause conflicts with the game and DayZ Launcher.

5) Install DayZ Launcher[dayzlauncher.com] to autodetect and download required mods for servers.

• If you already installed Arma 2 differently and it's not working try running steam.exe as an Admin, right click plain Arma 2 in your Steam games, go to Properties>Local Files>Verify Integrity of Game Cache and then play Arma 2 to at least the game menu as an Admin. Do the same for Arma 2 OA followed by ACR, BAF, and PMC. Again, do not install the Obsolete version of OA or DayZ Mod on Steam.
  
  
• If your installation still does not work then uninstall all Arma games and DLCs and delete any remaining Arma 2 and Battleye folders at:
  
  C:\Users\[username]\Documents\
  C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common
  
  After uninstalling and deleting Arma 2 and Battleye folders from the above directories, reinstall step by step as outlined above.
  
  
• Sometimes manually editing Arma 2 and Battleye file and folder permissions and/or copying and pasting duplicate Arma 2 expansion and Battleye folders within others will work, but the intent of this guide is to help you get a clean, fully functioning installation. It's a pain, but if you do it right then you only need to do it once.

Use DayZ Launcher to autodetect and download mods that are required to connect to servers.

Web: https://dayzlauncher.com
Downloads: https://app.dayzlauncher.com/download
Support: https://discord.gg/MZBFZVJ

To make Arma 2 load much faster go to DayZ Launcher settings and check off No Splash, No Pause, No Logs and PreFetch Mission.

Under Additional Parameters enter: -world=empty

This will skip the load screens, unnecessary logging, allow the game to run in the background, cache your server missions so they don't need to be re-loaded every time, and skip loading the default world at the menu. You'll notice a huge improvement in load times.

You may also manually enter the above Additional Parameters (except PreFetch Mission) as:

-nosplash -noPause -noLogs -world=empty

Full list of Arma 2 Parameters:
https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma2:_Startup_Parameters

https://app.dayzlauncher.com/stats
https://www.battlemetrics.com/servers/arma2
https://www.gametracker.com/search/arma2/
https://www.gametracker.com/search/dayzmod/

https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-2-operation-arrowhead/mods

DayZ Mod: https://discord.gg/zwbSzpfwPY
DayZ Epoch: https://discord.gg/0k4ynDDCsnMzkxk7
DayZ Launcher: https://discord.gg/G3aR3bRQud

Server performance affects your FPS more than anything else. You can have the best PC available, but if you're playing on a low performance server you will still get low FPS. The fastest server I have found is UWU Jade Groove map, I get 90 FPS on there.

However, the following video and link detail settings that can help maximize your FPS.

https://youtu.be/2KH2u0Q8N00
How to boost your FPS in DayZ[web.archive.org]

https://www.arma2.com/game-features/arma-2-features

Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead Manual
Sniper Operations Manual v2.0[getactics.com]
Arma 2 DayZ Epoch Website & Wiki[epochmod.com]

Interactive Arma 2 DayZ mod loot maps:
https://dayz.ginfo.gg/chernarus/

DayZ Epoch Building & Crafting:
https://epochmod.gamepedia.com/Modular_Building_System
https://epochmod.gamepedia.com/Crafting_System

DayZ Origins Building:
https://dayz-origins.wikia.com/wiki/Building

DayZ Mod Building:
https://youtu.be/1O4divPAe_w
https://youtu.be/I0Lk7zlFuZI

Screenshot after building my first DayZ Epoch base, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away (all that wood was chopped down by hand with axes!):

While the specific details of setting up your own server for all the different available mods are beyond the scope of any single guide, the following forums are good sources of help for various different mods:

https://opendayz.net/
https://forums.dayz.com/forum/16-mod-servers-private-hives/
https://epochmod.com/forum/forum/29-server-install/

DayZ Mod is one of the most exciting and immersive games I've ever played. It's basically a multiplayer apocalyptic virtual world sandbox without any quests or story-line unless created by the players themselves. You go where you want and do as you want. You determine everything that happens except for the response from other players. You can be a bandit or hero engaging in constant gun battles in the busier towns or you can run off into the wilderness and build yourself a cabin in the middle of nowhere and hunt to survive. There are very few limits on what you can do.

I prefer DayZ Mod over DayZ Standalone for several reasons. One of the coolest things about the Mod is that it's essentially a game with hundreds of free expansions and DLCs. Because it's not centrally controlled and developed by a single dev team it offers many different types of games, maps, custom mods, play styles i.e PvP, PvE, RP, and game improvements for free from hundreds of players and community developers and continues to evolve in many alternative directions. Most mods are open source and you can modify them or help develop and improve them yourself. There are Hunger Games type mods to play like Battle Royal where it's everyone for themselves and you fight to be the last one standing, militarized mods like Overwatch full of heavy military weapons, aircraft and tanks, crafting and base building type mods like Epoch and Origins that allow you to more permanently carve out your own piece of the world and make it your home, survival type mods like vanilla DayZ, and even alien mods like Invasion. With the Mod there are so many different options and environments available for play that you're bound to find a server that suits you and if you don't you can even set up your own server and customize it just the way you like. That will likely never happen to the same degree with the Standalone.

The Mod is also much cheaper than Standalone. Arma 2 Combined Operations and Arma X Anniversary keys can be bought for about $5 and $8, just search Google for keys or wait for a sale. Not only do you pay less and get dozens of different games and options for play, but you also get the original Arma 2 combat simulator games too, which are award winning games themselves.

Overall, DayZ Mod is a must have if you enjoy PC gaming. Many games are trying to imitate DayZ Mod now, but nothing really compares so far and it will probably remain that way simply because free DayZ mods are community developed by those purely passionate about making cool mods and games while everything else is being developed primarily for profit.

If you need help installing or connecting send me a friend request and I'll try to help.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ary2y