Parallel Processing: Headless Clients
Arma 3 is heavily bound by single-core CPU performance. A Headless Client (HC) is essentially a transparent player process that connects to the server and takes ownership of AI units. By moving the heavy calculations of AI pathfinding and behavior to a separate CPU core, you free up the main server thread for critical tasks like networking and physics, resulting in a much smoother experience for your players.Difficulty
Advanced
Time
10 Minutes
Configuration & Authorization
You must first authorize the server to accept connections from local Headless Clients.1
Open server.cfg
In the Game Panel File Manager, locate and open your
server.cfg.2
Add IP Whitelist
Add the following lines to allow the HC process (running locally) to connect:
3
Panel Activation
Navigate to the Headless Client tab in your Game Panel and click Enable Headless Client. The panel will now automatically spawn a secondary process whenever you start your server.
Mission Support Requirements
Simply enabling a Headless Client does not automatically move AI units to it. Your mission file must be specifically designed or modified to offload units.- Built-in Support
- Custom Missions
Popular scenarios like Antistasi, Liberation, and KP Liberation have built-in HC auto-detection. They will automatically transfer AI ownership as soon as they detect an active HC.
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Last Updated: January 2026 | Arma 3: Load balanced.