How to Join Your Arma 3 Server

Freshly started servers often show up in the public server browser only after a delay. The fastest and most reliable way onto your server is therefore a direct connection using IP address and port – either in the Arma 3 launcher or inside the game.

Find connection details

Important

To connect you need the IP address and the Game Port of your server. You can find both in the dashboard of your server. Enter the Game Port – not the Query Port.

If a password is set for your server, you need that password as well.

Connect via the Arma 3 launcher

1. Start the launcher
   Start Arma 3 via Steam. The Arma 3 launcher opens.

2. Open the server list
   Click on Servers on the left.

3. Open Direct Connect
   Click on Direct Connect at the bottom.

4. Enter the server address
   Enter the IP address of your server and the Game Port from the dashboard:

   123.45.67.89

   Note

   The launcher has separate fields for the IP address and the port. The port field is prefilled – replace the value with the Game Port from your dashboard.

5. Enter the password
   If your server is password protected, enter the server password in the corresponding field.

6. Connect
   Confirm your input. The launcher starts the game and connects you directly to your server.

Via the server browser in the game

1. Start Arma 3
   Start the game and wait until the main menu has loaded.

2. Open Multiplayer
   Select Multiplayer in the main menu and then Server Browser.

3. Choose Direct Connect
   Click on Direct Connect.

4. Enter the server address
   Enter the IP address, the Game Port and – if set – the server password.

5. Join the server
   After confirming, your server appears in the LAN tab. Select it there and click Join.

   Note

   It is normal for the server to show up in the LAN tab. Arma 3 puts manually added servers there, no matter whether they are hosted on the internet.

Mods have to match

Caution

If your server runs mods loaded through -mod=, you have to enable the very same mods in the launcher before joining. If a mod is missing or a different version is active, you get rejected on connect. See Add Mods for how to set mods up.

Mods your server loads through -serverMod= run server-side only. As a player you do not need to install those.

Which ports does Arma 3 use?

Note

An Arma 3 server occupies several consecutive UDP ports. Starting from the Game Port they are used as follows:

Port	Purpose
Game Port	Game data and Voice over Net (VON) – players connect through this one
Game Port + 1	Query Port – Steam and the server browser query the server through this one
Game Port + 2	Steam port
Game Port + 3	Reserved VON port – currently not in use
Game Port + 4	BattlEye – RCON runs through this one as well

The concrete values for your server are shown in the dashboard. All of these ports are reserved for your server.

Server not found

If your server does not show up in the public server browser, use the direct connection. Through Direct Connect you reach it regardless of whether it is listed publicly.