Welcome to the REVGRU Manual on Land Navigation. Let us begin with the very basics.



On the Picture you see the basic Arma 3 Maptools that you have and can use to your advantage. Let's break down what you'll be needing.

Marked with a red 1. in the lower right corner you will always see information on the current spacing of the Grid in front of you. The only thing interesting for us right there is the horizontal line ending in two vertical lines on either side where you can see “2000 m” right next to it. This tells you that at the current zoom of the Map the space between those two vertical lines is exactly 2000 metres apart from one another.

With that Information we can actually figure out the current space on the Map itself, as it changes in Arma depending on the size of the Map itself. Especially in Mods you will often find smaller and sometimes larger Maps, that will throw off your Grid coordinates just due to the fact, that while on Altis a 6 digit Grid Coordinate gets you to an accuracy of a 100m² Grid other Maps might give you the same with a 4 digit or 8 digit Grid depending on the size of the Map. So figuring out how large the Map itself is, is your first job. On Altis we know that the largest Grid (2 digit Grid) is 10 km² (Marked in the middle as Red 2.)

The third Tool which is very important is the Compass. Marked as Red 3. There are two things here you need to go into further Detail with. Marked as Orange 1. you will always see to which direction (bearing) the Compass has been adjusted to. On that picture it's directly showing North or 0 if you want to. Marked as Orange 2. you will see inside the circle the only numbers that are interesting for you. It shows you the exact bearings in which direction everything is. The Bearing goes from 0 up to 360 (360 is basically 0). And with that Compass you can figure out your current location with just a few landmarks to go by. More on that later.

Most importantly what I have touched on just before, are the Grid Coordinates. Usually in Arma 3 you will always have a 6 digit Grid coordinate. This Grid is figured out by the Latitude and Longitude. On the first Picture you can just see the first digit of the Latitude and the Longitude, but if you zoom further in a more detailed Grid will appear.



As you might notice we are now in the 4 digit Grid area with the Latitude and Longitude you can read at the bottom of the screen. You can also see how the spacing between the two vertical lines in the lower right corner now shows “1000 m” this tells you the distance between the two is now 1000 metres which is 1km and as it lines up perfectly with the smaller Grid you can see now you know that each of those squares is 1000m x 1000m.

If we now Zoom in by scrolling with the mouse wheel, an even finer Grid will appear.



With this you can basically already figure out a six digit Grid by just reading the Latitude first and then the Longitude. Our red mouse and Map helper you can see on the bottom of the Map would be for example on the Grid “087130”. You can find the Latitude always on the bottom and top of the screen. The align with the vertical lines on your Map and count the distance from West to East. The Longitude is always on the left and right side on the screen. They line up with the horizontal lines, which count the distance from South to North.

Always remember: For Grid Coordinates the Latitude comes first and then the Longitude.

With the Basics now out of the way, we need to go into more Detail. What if the 6 digit Grid you can get is not enough and you need an even finer Grid? For that we use the Map Tools provided by ACE.



You can open the ACE Map Tools by pressing “CTRL + Windows Key” on the Map and bring up the Menu shown there. If you want to figure out finer Grid Coordinates it's always advised to bring out the small Map Tool as the Normal Map Tool lacks some of the finer Details. The Map Tool usually appears somewhere in the lower left corner of your Map and you may have to zoom out to get it. Just pressing on it with the left mouse button is enough to move it around. To actually turn it around, which you will need to do you need to press “CTRL + Hold Left Mouse Button” and then align it as you want. In this case you want it to point towards the South.



As you can see there the Map Tool functions as an extension of your Grid if you line it up properly. Keep in mind that this Map Tool is always adjusted for a 1km² Grid. So the distance between the 0 and 10 is exactly 1km no matter what you do. So to get the finer Grid you will need to use the small vertical lines between the numbers to actually get the Grid you want.



As you can see I have zoomed in even further on the Map Tool so you can see it perfectly aligned with the Grid. Our Grid from the Map itself where we are Operating in right now is “110180”. You can see our mouse in there. But if we want to get an 8 digit Grid now, to get the exact location of our mouse in that very moment, we can actually use the red lines Arma provides on it's Map to help us out. Considering our Grid so far was a six digit we just need to add one for the Latitude and Longitude “110X180Y”. To find the Latitude “X” we just look down at the small vertical lines and count them, up to the red line. This means that we got 3 smaller lines between the 0 and the red line and that means our Latitude is now “1103”.

Then we need to do exactly the same for Longitude “Y”. This we can find by simply counting the horizontal lines. There we have 5 of them and that means out Longitude is now “1805”. Put those two together again now and you get the 8 digit Grid of “11031805”. On some larger Maps you might even have to go into 10 digits, but don't let it frighten you. It's just the same, just a number more.

Now to give you some examples I put 3 Waypoints down on the Map here on which I demonstrate how you can get the 8 digit Grid with your Map Tools in two different ways.



Let us demonstrate the first way on how to use your Map Tool on WP1. In this case I have aligned the Map Tool with the 1km² Grid. This means that I currently ignore the third digit of both the Latitude and Longitude that I can see on the Map and just use the first two in combination with the Map Tool itself. WP1 is for the Latitude past the 9 which you can see lines also up with the Map below and so our first three digits so far are “059” for the fourth digit now we just count the vertical lines between the 9 and the red line again. This is advice from me. Always hover with the mouse right above the point you want to figure out, because it's really easier to just see the red lines on the Map tool and then count. Now going on we have 7 small vertical lines there and so out Latitude so far is “0597”.

We basically do the same with the Longitude. Where we start at “204” as you see again, the third digit lines up with the Map tool and then count the horizontal lines. I can see 4 in this case, but considering how close it is to the line, some would make the case for the fourth digit being a 5. Try to make it as exact as possible, so I'll be going for the 4 as it will still be within that Grid square instead of the next one. So our Longitude is “2044”. Now just put them together again, with Latitude first and Longitude last and your 8 digit is “05972044”.



To show you how it works if you line the Map Tool up directly with the 6 digit squares, you just ignore the numbers and basically just use the lines you can count. So this time we're starting with the Latitude “059” even if it is covered up by the Map Tool you can just figure it out by the Grid to the left and right, what comes next / before if need be and then we count the vertical lines again. Which is 7 again so even here we come to the conclusion our Latitude is “0597”.

Now we repeat the process with the horizontal lines where we start with the three digits “204”. Counting them we get to 4 lines before the red line appears and thus our Longitude is “2044”. Combining them we get to the 8-digit Grid once again: “05972044”.

So you can use the Map Tool in both ways. As a small Training exercise I recommend you do the same for WP2 and WP3. I will post the correct Grid in the comments and you can just see whether or not you were correct.

Last but not least. What happens when you're lost and don't know where exactly you are right now? Well, in that case you have to figure out your position with Landmarks surrounding your current location.



What I did first was look around and I saw the sea to the north of my current location. So I had to be somewhere North on the Island. I could also see a small Airstrip basically close to the water. This is a pretty good landmark, as there usually aren't that many landmarks. Just a quick look on the Map showed me that I could only be in one of the north-western places on Altis.



After I had figured out which Airstrip it exactly was I was looking it I aligned my Compass right onto the Building, so I would get the exact Bearing towards it. You can see through the small opening in the Compass by the way, that I am directly looking at the building. If you want you can also take the distance towards the target, but it's usually not necessary. Just get your Map Tool out and through the self interaction align it to your compass.



As you can see I drew a black line across the lineal of the Map Tool. To do this you just press “CTRL + Left Mouse button” close to the Map tool and draw along it's side. As soon as you let go, the line will fix itself. This line is very important, because with just one more point of orientation we can get our exact location.



Turning right I saw a city which could only be Abdera. Once again I picked something to actually figure out my location, and went with the house you can see right in the middle of the Screen.



As you can see, I aligned my Compass to that exact house once again. Going back to the Map Mode I aligned my Compass with the Map Tool once more.



Drawing the line right at the point of Orientation I now have my exact location, where the two lines intersect in that very moment, which is on the hill with the elevation of “173”.



And as you can see, quickly activating my GPS you can see how accurate I have figured out my own position in that moment. I am standing right where the lines intersect and if I needed to call in my position, I could use the Map Tool again to figure out my 8-digit Grid and call in help.