Run Arma 3's most cutting-edge experimental builds with full multiplayer-compatibility!
Shortly after Arma 3's initial release, a special Steam beta Profiling Branch was made available. Initially hidden behind a publicly available access code, so as not to confuse regular players, this branch was used to profile multiplayer game performance and potential optimizations. In recent years, this branch has become a more extensively used method for our Live Ops engineers to rapidly deploy engine fixes and optimizations. It can now be used without access code. There is no fixed schedule for updates on this branch, but builds may be published up to several times per week.
- As a rule, this branch is multiplayer-compatible with the default main branch. Both players and servers can interchange these branches and should be able to play.
- Profiling Branch only contains engine changes (binaries), and only such changes that do not break the rule above. That means certain bigger changes (f.e. low-level netcode messaging) cannot be deployed there. There are no data changes, so for a glimpse of the future for those, we defer to Dev-Branch.
- After opting into this branch, by default you do not need to do anything else to activate or enable it. There are however also additional executables available, which have "profiling" in their filenames. These binaries contain an extra suite of diagnostics, which makes them meant only for specific use cases (such as on request by one of our engineers). For most people we do not recommend using these, and therefore sticking to the branch defaults.
Given Arma 3's age and small-scale Live Ops development, we appreciate all the assistance the players provide us via Profiling Branch. Together we can still improve and future-proof the game, even more than a decade on from its release.
Caution
- Profiling Branch updates do not receive in-depth testing before publication, so you may suddenly experience new instabilities or bugs. We always try to quickly respond with (hot)fixes or even by reverting the branch to a previous version, but please consider this before opting in.
- Mods or other custom content should mostly be compatible, but as above, there may exist (temporary) issues while using this branch.
- Steam client is limited to one branch being installed at a time, so switching branches involves re-downloading data. Fortunately Profiling Branch has a small download footprint less than ~100 megabytes in size.
- While main branch updates are the culmination of the collected changes since the last update, not all changes on Profiling Branch necessarily appear in the next update.
Usage
Opt into the Profiling Branch in your Steam client:
- Right-click on Arma 3.
- Select Properties.
- Access the Betas tab.
- Select profiling - Performance Profiling Build from the drop-down list.
- Let the game update itself to the profiling build.
- To ensure a valid build, consider verifying the integrity of the local game cache using Steam client.
You can use our Game Updater tool to install multiple branches on your PC, including Profiling Branch. It can be found in the free Arma 3 Tools suite on Steam.
Reports
- Change logs are published in this forums thread and the ARMA Discord (#perf_prof_branch channel).
- The best place to report issues and to learn about known issues is the Discord channel above.
- Alternatively, report issues in our Feedback Tracker (how to guide).
- Please mark your exact version number and usage of Profiling Branch clearly.
- Please also try to replicate the issue in the actual main branch build.
- Please prioritize reports on issues new to the Profiling Branch build (not present in the actual main branch).
- The Profiling Branch build can also be discussed in this forums thread.
Thanks for your help with making Arma 3 an even better game!