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Engine Tuning: Startup Parameters


Arma 3 is a legacy engine that does not always utilize modern hardware efficiently by default. By applying specific startup parameters (flags) to your server’s launch command, you can force the engine to allocate memory more intelligently and bypass redundant initialization checks.
Reading TimeDifficultyLast Updated
4 minutesIntermediateJanuary 2026

Essential Flags

  • -autoinit: Forces the mission to load and the simulation to start immediately upon boot, rather than waiting for the first player to join the lobby. Essential for persistent servers.
  • -loadMissionToMemory: Caches the mission PBO in RAM instead of reading it from the disk during every map change. drastically reduces load times.
  • -enableHT: Enables Hyper-Threading awareness.
  • -hugepages: Allows the memory allocator to use large pages, reducing TLB misses and improving long-term stability with large mod packs.

Memory Allocator (-malloc)

Determines how the application requests RAM from Windows.
  • tbb4malloc_bi: The Intel Threading Building Blocks allocator. Optimized for Arma 3. Recommended for 99% of servers.
  • system: Uses the native Windows allocator. Use this only if TBB causes crashes.

Legacy Flags

Do NOT use -cpuCount or -exThreads unless you are troubleshooting a specific issue. The modern 64-bit Arma 3 executable performs best when allowed to detect CPU topology automatically. Manually restricting threads often HURTS performance.

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Last Updated: January 2026 | Arma 3: Turbocharged.