Arma 3 is one of the best first person shooters out there if you like playing challenging games, and one of the reasons for it's success are the massive number of good mods out there. Today I'll be covering the 'King of the Hill' mod, designed by Sa-Matra and BobbyDigital.
This is one of my favorite mods by far. The objective is simple, three teams fight for control of a central zone, centered around one of the main cities in the standard Altis map. Vehicles such as tanks, helicopters, jets, and others are crucial to maintaining control of the zone, but ultimately, infantry are the key to winning. Your team wins by being the first to reach a score of 100, and a point is awarded every few seconds or so. You maintain control by having the most players within the control zone.
The mod lends itself to a variety of play-styles. Snipers can choose a number of weapon variants ranging from the powerful 12.7mm Lynx to a more variable role assault rifle, like the 7.62mm Mk18 that can fire full auto. Prefer more close quarters combat? Sub-machinguns, standard assault rifles (equippable with grenade launchers), and light machine guns are available for your slaughter-filled fun. If you want to go big or go home, vehicles may be your preferred choice. Whether cruising through town in a pickup truck with a .50 cal mounted in back, bombarding enemy aircraft with the AA Tigris, or blowing everything within a 3 kilometer radius into dust with a heavy tank, you'll have plenty of options to choose from. My personal preference, though, is aircraft. Whether you pilot a A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) knockoff or a F-15/16 variant, whether you choose an attack helicopter or a transport chopper, you'll have plenty of options to choose from. For me, landing a helicopter filled with troops inside the control zone is both satisfying and profitable.
Speaking of profit, one of the appeals of this King of the Hill (KotH) mod is the leveling system. A level one player doesn't have access to all the big guns right away. Instead, you have to earn experience to level yourself up to unlock better vehicles, weapons, and more. Additionally, each item costs money. Vehicles cost money each time they are purchased from the game store, and infantry can choose to upgrade their equipment on a once off basis for a little money, or spend a lot to get the item of choice unlocked permanently. And this is all in game money, as Bohemia Interactive (the game developer) has strict guidelines in place regarding the monetization of servers, i.e., it's a big no-no.
There are a few problems with the mod, but those are mainly because of players. While the admins are very good at removing players that break rules eventually, they may not ban someone immediately, but rather look into the issue first, so once in a great while you'll encounter a standard internet troll. They don't last long, though, and there are usually several servers to choose from. Another issue is team balance. Quite often one team will get a significantly higher number of players in general, good players, or players that have a lot of experience points and can get better gear than can an opposing team. While the mod does have some balances in place, it can cause games to tilt unfairly one way or another.
If you are looking for a good server, just go to the multiplayer search in Arma 3 and type in the filter, King of the Hill. It will bring up a lot of servers available, though I strongly recommend the official KotH servers. They usually have Sa-Matra's name in them. The group responsible for the mod has servers across the world, including the US, Canada, Europe, and Russia, so no doubt you can find one to your liking.
You can visit the official mod website at armakoth.com.
Also, check out this video of game play footage.
Tells us what you think about the King of the Hill Arma 3 mod in the comments section below!
