ArmA 2's editor is a lot like the one in Operation Flashpoint.
Basically it is the same one but with new additions like Game Logics which can be placed in the editor that take care of various things for you, like removing dead bodies if you leave their proximity, randomly generate animals or humans, to even generating a random war around you
So that part has become a tad easier.
However the need for scripting is still there, for example i had to use a fairly big script to get HALO drops to work.
The basics of dressing your mission are very easy though, placing units and their waypoints is very easy.
It's putting the dot's on the i's that's the hard part.