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How to Connect to an Arma Reforger Server

Use the Community server browser for visible servers or Direct Join with an IPv4 address and UDP port for hidden servers. This guide explains the 2001 UDP default, custom host ports, password types, visibility, and common connection failures.
Length7 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To connect to an Arma Reforger server, use either the in-game server browser or Direct Join. The browser requires the server to be published as visible and lets you search by name. Direct Join is the reliable option for a hidden server, but you need its IPv4 address and UDP port. The official Bohemia Interactive server-configuration wiki lists 2001 UDP as the default game port; if your host gives you a different port, use that value instead.

Choose the right connection method

Method What you need Best use Important limitation
Server browser The server name, and its join password if protected Finding public community servers The server must be configured as visible; hidden servers will not appear in the list
Direct Join An IPv4 address and UDP port, plus the join password when required Joining a private, hidden, or newly created server You must enter the address and port exactly as supplied by the host

Both methods still require your game client and the server to run the same Arma Reforger version. A correct address cannot overcome a version mismatch or a blocked UDP port.

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Join through the server browser

  1. Launch Arma Reforger and open Multiplayer.
  2. Select the Community tab.
  3. Use the search field to enter the server name. Search for a distinctive part of the name if the full name produces no result.
  4. Select the matching server and choose the join option.
  5. If the server is protected, enter its join password when prompted. This is the password that controls player access, not the administrator password.

The menu labels above come from current hosting-provider join guides rather than a retrieved full Bohemia client manual, so a future game update could rename or move a control. The underlying sequence—Multiplayer, Community, search, select, join—should remain the same conceptually.

Why a known server may not appear

The server has to advertise itself as visible for the browser to list it. On the server, the visible setting appears under the game section of the configuration template. The exact behavior of that flag is not fully documented in the available official excerpt, but hosting guidance identifies it as the setting to check when a server is missing from the browser. If the administrator cannot make the listing appear, ask for the server’s IPv4 address and port and use Direct Join.

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Use Direct Join

  1. Open Multiplayer.
  2. Open the Community tab.
  3. Choose Direct Join.
  4. Enter the server’s IPv4 address.
  5. Enter the UDP port supplied by the host.
  6. Submit the connection. If a join password is configured, the game requests it during the connection attempt.

Do not substitute a web address, server name, RCON port, or query port for the game address and port. Direct Join is an endpoint connection: the IP address identifies the machine and the game port identifies the server socket on that machine.

Which port should you enter?

The official Bohemia Interactive server-configuration wiki identifies 2001 UDP as the default game port. That is a default, not a universal value. Hosting examples use other bind ports, including 2302 and 18574, and a host may assign a different public or forwarded port. Always prefer the value shown in the server host’s panel or supplied by its administrator.

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If Direct Join fails immediately, confirm that you copied the port as a number and that the host has opened it for UDP traffic. TCP-only forwarding will not satisfy the game’s normal server connection.

Information to obtain from the server administrator

Before troubleshooting, collect these four items:

  • The public IPv4 address (or the address the administrator specifically says is reachable from your network).
  • The public game port. Use 2001 UDP only when the administrator has not configured another value.
  • The player join password, if one is set.
  • The exact game version or update state the server is running.

For a browser connection, you normally need only the server name and join password. For Direct Join, all four details matter because the browser cannot discover a hidden server and cannot correct an incorrect port.

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Server settings that control whether clients can connect

If you operate the server, the client-side steps work only when the server configuration and network forwarding agree. The official wiki distinguishes the port used by the server process from the port registered with the backend.

bindPort: the server socket

bindPort is the UDP port on which the server socket listens. Its documented default is 2001, and valid values range from 1 through 65,535. The wiki advises leaving bindPort out of the configuration in ordinary setups so it follows publicPort; set it explicitly when a particular port-forwarding arrangement requires it.

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Older configurations called this setting gameHostBindPort before version 0.9.8.73. If you are migrating an older configuration, check the key name instead of assuming both names are active.

publicPort: the port advertised to clients

publicPort is the UDP port registered with the backend. When the server has a public IP address, it should normally match bindPort. When the server is behind a router or other forwarding layer, publicPort is the externally reachable forwarded port that clients must use.

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A mismatch between the port the process listens on, the port forwarded by the router, and the port advertised to players produces the classic symptom of a server that looks online but cannot be joined. Make those values and the host’s connection instructions consistent.

Additional ports

The official wiki lists these ports for a typical server deployment:

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Purpose Port Protocol or qualification
Game/public connection 2001 by default UDP; replace with the configured public game port
A2S query 17777 Port listed by the official configuration guidance
RCON 19999 Port listed for remote administration

Only the game/public port is needed for a player’s Direct Join attempt. A2S and RCON ports serve discovery or administration functions and should not be entered as the game port.

Startup parameters and configuration precedence

The startup parameter -bindPort overrides both gameHostBindPort and gameHostRegisterBindPort values in the configuration. If a host panel supplies a command-line port, that command-line value wins over an older value left in the config file. Check the actual startup command before changing a file that the server never uses.

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Passwords: player access versus administration

game.password is the password players need to join. game.passwordAdmin is separate: it grants administrator access in-game when used with the #login command. Giving players the administrator password does not replace the join password requirement, and entering the join password does not grant admin rights.

At least one hosted-server control panel requires passwords to be alphanumeric, without spaces or special characters. If a password is rejected even though it appears correct, check the host’s password rules and reset it to a permitted value. The administrator password cannot contain spaces. The RCON password also cannot contain spaces and must contain at least three characters.

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Cross-platform and player-limit settings

The official configuration guidance allows maxPlayers from 1 to 128, with a default of 64. This setting limits capacity; it does not increase the number of slots your hardware or network can reliably support. For cross-platform play, the wiki recommends the crossPlatform setting rather than supportedPlatforms. Players should confirm that the server’s platform policy matches the devices joining it.

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Troubleshoot common connection failures

Direct Join says it cannot connect

  • Recheck the IPv4 address digit by digit.
  • Confirm the port with the administrator. Start with 2001 UDP only when no custom port was specified.
  • Ask the administrator to verify that the server process is listening on the configured bindPort.
  • Check that the router or host firewall forwards and permits the game port as UDP.
  • Make sure you did not enter 17777 (A2S) or 19999 (RCON) instead of the game port.

If the server is behind carrier-grade NAT or another network that does not provide an inbound public route, ordinary port forwarding may not make it reachable. The administrator needs a hosting arrangement that exposes the advertised public port.

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The server is missing from the browser

  • Have the administrator check that the server’s visible flag is enabled.
  • Verify that the server has registered the intended publicPort.
  • Wait for the listing to refresh, then search by a short, distinctive portion of the name.
  • Use Direct Join if the server is intentionally hidden or the listing remains unavailable.

“Version mismatch” appears

The client and server must run the same game version. Update the game client, restart it after the update, and ask the administrator to update or roll back the server to the same release. A password change or port change will not fix a version mismatch.

The password is rejected

  • Confirm that you are using game.password, the player join password.
  • Do not use game.passwordAdmin or the RCON password unless the administrator specifically asked for an administrative operation.
  • Re-enter the password carefully, respecting capitalization if the host treats it as significant.
  • Ask whether the host panel imposed an alphanumeric-only or no-space rule and whether the password was recently changed.

Could IPv6 be the problem?

One secondary guide summary says IPv6 is unsupported, but that claim was not confirmed against an official Bohemia page. Treat IPv6-only connection instructions as uncertain: request an IPv4 address for Direct Join rather than assuming an IPv6 address will work.

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A practical administrator checklist

  • Choose a game UDP port; use 2001 unless a custom arrangement requires another value.
  • Set or verify publicPort, and make sure it matches the externally forwarded port.
  • Leave bindPort out when the default relationship is sufficient, or set it deliberately for port forwarding.
  • Check whether -bindPort on the startup command overrides the file.
  • Forward and permit the game port as UDP; open 17777 for A2S and 19999 for RCON when those services are needed.
  • Set visible appropriately if you want browser discovery.
  • Set game.password for players and keep game.passwordAdmin separate.
  • Confirm the server and every client use the same game version.
  • Give players the final public IPv4 address, public game port, and join password—not an internal LAN address or an administration port.

Fastest path for a player

For a public server, open Multiplayer → Community, search its name, select it, and enter the join password if prompted. For a private or invisible server, open Multiplayer → Community → Direct Join and enter the supplied IPv4 address and UDP port. If that fails, verify the port and version first; if the server is absent from the browser, have its administrator check visibility and public-port registration.

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