By Wade D. Glasscock 76153.2466@compuserve.com
HTML by Ben Giddings ben.giddings@pobox.com
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CONTENTS
<*> Introduction
<*> Section 1 -- Game Objectives
<*> Section 2 -- Hiring, Firing & Dealing With Mercs & Natives
<*> Section 3 -- Game Tips
<*> Section 4 -- Breakdown of game items
<*> Section 5 -- If you're in a money bind...
<*> Section 6 -- Cheats
<*> Section 7 -- Tips for saving your game
Jagged Alliance is a combination Strategy, Role-Playing game with a touch of
Adventure added in. It features turn based combat at the squad level much along
the lines of XCOM. Its most endearing feature is the interaction between its
characters. There are over 4,000 lines of spoken dialogue, much of which is
highly entertaining. The dialogue skillfully blends into the game, and the
voice acting is terrific. One publication called it " XCOM with personality".
Well, put! The combat is often a bit slow-paced and less "edge of the seat"
than XCOM, but the personality part of the game adds something special that
other combat games lack. Strategy Plus called it " addictive alliance" and
applauded its innovation. PC Gamer awarded it an Editors' Choice award.
Computer Gaming World gave it 4 1/2 of 5 possible stars and described it as "
truly a genre-busting product........must buy."
On the down side there are some frustrating and un-realistic aspects to
portions of the game play. The save game scheme needs shipping out to sea.
Version 1.0 is prone to crashes. You need to get the Version 1.1 patch ASAP and
do not use smartdrv under any circumstances. Glitches aside, this is one
heckuvva good game. Since it's a "first try" it will hopefully evolve into a
much better one in subsequent incarnations. (A Head To Head offspring is
already in the works.)
The primary purpose of this Strategy Guide is to help beginning players get
started and shorten the learning curve. It is not intended to be a detailed and
all encompassing FAQ. This is not a replacement for your manual. If you don't
have a manual, I suggest you buy the game. Enjoying the game right off the bat
is the goal, and of course ultimately winning. Short and sweet. Good games have
more than one strategy approach that can prove successful. If there was only
one correct way it would be a very boring game. There are lots of ways to skin
a cat. This is just one of them. If you have a better way, go for it. This
guide is for those who don't.
Winning at Jagged Alliance revolves primarily around Strategic Thinking, Combat
Skills, Cash Flow & Resource Management. Now let's get to the meat of the
matter.
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SECTION 1
GAME OBJECTIVES
Your primary objective is to recapture the Island of Metavira and regain
control of its Fallow trees, whose sap can cure diseases the world over. You
must "save the sap" from the evil clutches of Lucas Santino and his red-shirted
thugs. To achieve this you must eliminate the enemy in all of the 60 sectors on
the map of Metavira. You start the game with only one sector "in hand" #60.
"Milestone" objectives along the way are as follows:
Day 1
Find the "micropurifier". You will find this in the 1st sector you
capture. I recommend Sector 59. You must find the micropurifier to
be able to resume Fallow Tree production.
Day 3
Secure the "Water Source." Capture Sector 29 to accomplish this.
Capture Sector 30 to complete the re-taking of the entire water
source.
Day 4
Capture "Brenda's Lab". Capture Sector 28 note: The enemy will
attempt to re-capture Brenda's Lab and kidnap Brenda. This may or
may not happen and is dependent on certain variables (some of which
may be beyond your control). There are two paths to the game that
diverge here depending on the outcome of the above. You continue to
capture sectors regardless of which occurs. However, if Brenda is
kidnapped. You will want to find & rescue her along the way.
Day 5 or later
Capture the 2nd Factory. This allows you to increase your Fallow
Tree production as by now your first factory in Sector 60 is
probably running at or near capacity.
Later on
You must find the "Pomillia Flowers" and return them to Brenda.
They exist in only one sector & they can be vital in your attempt
to win the game.
Also later on you need to:
<*> Capture the 3rd Factory
<*> Capture the Natives' "Sacred Burial Grounds"
<*> Capture the 4th Factory
<*> Find "Brenda's Journal"
<*> Find the Natives' "Sacred Headstone"
<*> And Ultimately -- Get Rid of Santino (and possibly save the sapling)
To accomplish all of the game's objectives, you will need to hire (and
sometimes fire) Mercs. They are your only means of dealing with Santino and his
thugs. This takes money. You start with a set amount of capital depending on
the difficulty level you are playing. Starting amounts are as follows:
<*> Easy Level: $25,000
<*> Normal Level: $20,000
<*> Hard Level: $15,000
Mercs are paid a daily salary, Natives are also paid daily to act as "Guards"
or tree"Tappers".
You will find that your starting capital will quickly erode without a source of
income. That source is the production from Fallow Trees captured in ensuing
sectors. Money and personnel management are vital to your success in the game.
Natives must feel secure that their lives are not in danger, and that they are
being treated and paid properly.
Mercs in addition to wanting money all have distinct personalities that can
come into play. Some of these personality traits can be quite trying to you the
" master of mercs".
You are their employer, and like all employer/employee relationships, things
are not just cut and dried. Some mercs don't want to work with other mercs,
some will quit or demand more money if you fire one of their buddies.
Personality conflicts are just as prevalent on Metavira as in the ordinary,
everyday outside world. You may also find that firing mercs early in the game
can have some very negative bearings on the proceedings. (For example: if you
fire "Tex" he will bad-mouth you to all the other mercs.) You may also find
that it is often better to "let" a merc be killed rather than firing him or her
early in the game. However, if too many mercs get killed early in the game,
other mercs may turn down your offer of employment on the grounds that they
would have to be crazy to hire on with someone who keeps getting his mercs
killed off in short order. Firing Mercs in the early part of the game is a
potenitally hazardous experience. Later in the game, it seems to take on a more
realistic bent.
The majority of the best Mercs are too expensive to hire at the games onset,
and many of the best ones won't work for you anyway, until you"prove" yourself.
Almost all of the cheaper Mercs will be only too happy to work for you. But as
in real life you generally get what you pay for, and in the case of "El Cheapo"
mercs this is often the same. Some of these people are real misfits. Most of
them can't shoot worth a hoot. Mercs that can shoot are critical to your
chances of survival on Metavira.
There are some "cheap" Mercs that will prove to be good team members with a
little experience. There are also some medium priced Mercs that worth vastly
more than their salaries would indicate. Below are some ideas to keep in mind
when hiring Mercs and some reccomendations of specific ones to consider.
Don't load your boat with Mercs the first day. Hire 4 or 5 at most to begin
with. Most of the first sectors you will go after are not difficult enough to
justify a full boat's worth of overhead.
As you assemble your team, you will ideally want a final early game group that
has 2 mercs with good skills in each of the main skill classes. These skills
are Marksmanship, Mechanics, Medical, & Explosives. (I prefer all of these to
be decent shots or have high wisdom so that training will resolve the
deficiency. I also want high Agility ratings so that they can move and act as a
team with no laggards).
Other important traits are high ratings in Agility, Dexterity & Wisdom.
Agility seems directly related to Action Points. You want all high agility
types in the field. If a merc has low agility, forget him or her for field
duty. Low agility types will always be lagging far behind everyone else in
traversing the terrain. Agility also relates to reaction abilities. Dexterity
seems to play into several equations. Hand precision in particular, which can
be very important for Doctors performing surgery. Wisdom means smart Mercs pick
up points fast when trained and learn quickly from their experiences.
Experience Class as the manual will tell you is the most important trait in the
game. " it reflects the sum of their abilities" (see pg. 6 of the manual).
However, in the beginning this is not an option that you can do a lot about.
Merc "Kills" seems to be directly related to gains in experience class. Ivan is
a 2, but when I finished the game he was a 5 with 90 kills under his belt going
into the final day.
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You want at least one of the following in your employment by day 4: Category
Recommendation Comments
Marksman Ivan $1,500 but worth every penny. A "must have." Cheap at twice the
price. Only speaks Russian, but it would be okay with me if he could only speak
Swahili the way he shoots.
Mechanic Vinny A good mechanic at a good price $385. Needs a couple of canteens
at all times. Those Brooklyn types can't hack the humidity.
Medic Fox Good $ value with high wisdom. She won't work the first day, but will
arrive on day 2 if asked. $515.
Explosives Fidel Expensive at $1,550, but highest rated explosives guy in the
game & a good marksman. I would wait until Day 4 to hire him. He should be
another canteen carrier.
Jack of all trades Grunty Good $ value & much better than his stats would
indicate. Start with him. $490
Wolf A good mid-game choice -- a bit expensive at the start. $1,850
Budget Marksman Hector Good $ value and learns fast. $410
Native Guides Elio Offered to you on Day #2. All are free but of limited value.
They do however give you some interesting information on the history of each
sector. Accept Elio when offered to you, but allow him to be"killed off" the
same day and a few days later you will be offered HAMOUS, who is a 74 mksman
compared to Elio's 28.
"Stay at Home"
Medic, Mechanic Eli Can alternate between being an in house Medic and Mechanic.
Can also alternate in the field if needed. I would not hire him until Day 4.
$1,400
2nd premium Marksman Ice 2nd only to Ivan in this price range $1,300 add him
when cash flow allows other possibilities
Other Speck Excellent in house only mechanic-budget price $365
Sparky In house mechanic - very cheap. $205
Jimmy Very good in/out mechanic. Mediocre shot $800.
Hurl Budget medic. Decent shot. Low agility $400
I'm sure there are probably other good possibilities in addition to the ones
above. Those mentioned herein are ones that I have either personally used or
come recommended by a number of other players.
Mid Game Possibilities -- when you have a big positive cash flow
Dr. "Needle" Kranhium -- Top Medic and can shoot $1,900
"Doc" Koolhan -- Very good Medic and can shoot $1,750
Rudy "Lynx" Roberts -- marksman supreme $3,300
Victoria Waters -- multiple talents $2,850
Mid-Late Game -- it only takes money, and lots of it
"Magic" -- multi talented super star at a price $5,600
Leo Kelly -- excellent marksman. good mech. $4,700
"Scully" -- Very good all around (with an M16 rifle to boot) $7,500
End Game
Mike -- when money is no object and you need the very best (and you
might, as the final sector has more red-shirts than you can shake a
stick at) $12,000
DAY EASY or NORMAL LEVEL NORMAL or HARD LEVEL
1 Ivan, Grunty, Vinny & Hector Ivan, Grunty & Vinny
2 Fox Fox
3 ----------- -----------
4 Fidel & Eli Fidel Later Ice Eli, Ice & Wolf or "Doc" Mid Game see Other
Possibilities see Other Possibilities
Note: if Ivan, Ice & Fidel survive to the late game, they will be just as
experienced as many of the "Heavy Hitters".
Note: The Easy or Normal Merc hiring scenario makes your personnel handling
simpler, earlier in the game than the more difficult Normal or Hard approach.
By having Hector you can train him in marksmanship, and he is available as a
replacement for a wounded Merc that might require a day as a patient. You
acquire Eli sooner, and with him on board, you no longer need to have Vinny
take days off to repair items, as Eli can do this on days wehn there are no
wounded to tend to. This also frees up Fox to speed up her marksmanship
training and to be available for missions as a replacement along with Hector.
So generally, though it costs more per day in the early game, it's much easier
to get started with Easy or Normal team. The other scenario is much more
difficult but is affordable even at the Hard level (which is really the only
reason to use it if you are a beginner).
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[ Top ]
[ Capturing Sectors | Sector Schedule | After Capturing a Sector | Enemy Sector
Attacks | Recovering Items | Hiring Guards | Squaring Off | Action Points |
Combat Tactics | Line of Sight | Silencers | Combat Knives | The Swim Test |
Chasing Enemies into the Jungle | Magnify Items | Repair Items | Using Canteens
| Applying Camouflage | Explosives | Corpse Export | Going in Buildings |
Using Explosives to Open Doors | Merging Items | Land Mines | Jammed Guns |
Mercs Who Won't Follow Orders | Training Mercs | Healing Wounded Mercs | First
Aid Kits | Medical Kits | Enemy Grenade Attacks | Gas Masks | Sniper Scopes |
Extended Ear | Spectra Shield | Crowbar | Wooden Sign Posts | Messages |
Camera & Case of Beer | The Virus | Finding Flowers before the Virus | The
Headstone ]
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The following should help you get "rid of the red-shirts" (and hopefully some
of the game's frustrations)
CAPTURING SECTORS
Capture 3 sectors every day possible. This will do more for your cash flow than
anything else in the game. (example: if your overhead per day is say $8,000 and
you are able to capture 3 sectors instead of 2 for two days. you will have 6
sectors, (and their income-producing trees) for a overhead cost of $16,000 as
opposed to 4 sectors at the same cost of $16,000). Thus you have saved a full
day's overhead of $8,000 (assuming only 2 sectors captured per day). This adds
up to big bucks as time goes by. (Note: to do this requires adequate combat
skills, which is up to you to learn and learn fast).
Consider replaying perhaps the 1st 3 days worth of sectors until you've gotten
the knack. This beats plunging ahead after getting off to a bad start. Yes,
this means starting the game over, and possibly over again. This is of course a
total pain in the neck. This game can get you far behind the eight ball in a
hurry. Catching up later on can be very difficult. Practicing & polishing your
combat skills right off the bat, will make the game much more enjoyable later
on. Capturing 3 sectors in a day is actually easier early on than later, if you
have the necessary skills. Many days of course this is just not possible. You
can finish the 1st two sectors and then partially complete the 3rd sector. Kill
as many enemies as possible, and retreat before dark. You must be back in a
"friendly" sector before 7:00 p.m. or the game will wound and/or kill some or
all of your mercs "....while retreating". The enemies killed in the un-captured
sector will not be there to harass you the next day, thus speeding your capture
of the sector.
Another important thing to know is don't waste a lot of time picking up things
in sectors until after the sector's capture. This is very time-consuming. Don't
waste valuable time after the sector's capture. Don't try to pick up every
known goodie. Get only those you really need (which will be most of them the
first few days). Move along rapidly to the next sector. If worse comes to worse
you can always have your mercs traverse through and pick up some goodies on the
way to somewhere else in later days.
Speaking of cash flow, for a moment, build a positive cash flow of $4,000 --
$5000 before making any further major expenditures. The reason for this is
quite simple. The early game seems to try to lure you into the feeling that you
have the cash situation well in hand, before it throws the next monkey wrench
in your lap. Forewarned is Forearmed.
Where you enter a new sector from, is often important. Look at the sector map
to get some idea of the lay of the land. You normally will want at least some
nearby cover to use in your advance. Advancing across vast open spaces is often
an invitation to disaster. Sometimes where you enter from can greatly affect
the difficulty of the sector. Sector 38 is classic example of this. Most of the
places you can enter this sector have a lot of open space to cross, and there
is a guy with a shotgun here that can do major damage to your mercs caught out
in the open with little cover to protect them. This can quickly become one big
nightmare. It's best to enter this sector in the NW corner coming from the SW
corner of S-28. You have a small building to shield your entrance and then a
line of trees to follow while moving South. The guy with the shotgun has lost
his open spaces long-distance shooting advantage and the sector becomes pretty
much of a quick and easy proposition.
Sector 39 that I call the "3 Bridges Sector" is another example. If you enter
this one anywhere East of the river, you will have to cross at least one of the
bridges to get anywhere. Bridges are a constant source of enemy "booby traps"
throughout the game. This sector is no exception. Enter S-39 from the South or
North West of the river, and stay far to the West side of the sector. You will
probably never have to cross any of the bridges, as the enemy will likely come
to you.
So look before you leap. Yes, make a conscious effort to make the enemy come
play where it's advantageous to you and not vice versa. Avoid the Jungle,
bushes, and bridges that the red shirts love to lure you into. This is not
always possible of course, but do your best to make him play on your turf, not
his.
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A Plan for Capturing Sectors in a Scheduled Sequence
You Begin the Game With Sector 60 DAY SECTOR COMMENTS
1 59 Find the Micropurifier. Transfer 4 guards here.
50 Get your first big batch of trees. Put the other 4 guards here.
49"Warehouse" sector. Finish the day here. Stay in the sector until dark if
completed as you won't have enough guards to transfer any here until the next
morning and by staying you can defend it against any attacks.
2 48"Booby Trap" Sector. Find the Shotgun but beware of the 2nd box. Avoid
searching buildings.
40 Traverse back to this sector and find .357 Magnum & 9mm pistols.
39 Enter from the South only. Stay West of the bridges. This requires
traversing. Get out before 7:00 PM if not captured by then.
3 39 Finish "3 Bridges" sector 39 if you have not done so on day 2.
29"Water Source" sector. Enter from the South. Stay in the long N/S corridor on
the West side of the sector and "draw" the enemy out to you. The last enemy
will probably require a trip into the bush.
30 Enter from SE corner of S-29. Get the silencer & other goodies.
4 19 9mm w/silencer, TNT, Cash to find in this one. Takes some looking.
28 Brenda's Lab, take metal detector and search diligently.
5 38 Enter from SW corner of S-28 stay near treeline bearing South. Find the
.357 magnum pistol and Shotgun Ammo.
37 Take TNT w/detonator in case Vinny can't pick lock, or keys not found
27 2nd Factory -- use silencers only to capture if possible. This prevents
"sabotage" and saves lots of lost cash flow if successful. Any enemies located
must be whacked in the same turn or they will alert the others, who will in
turn start the sabotage process.
Note: there is around $4,700 in hidden or sometimes obscurely located cash in
these opening sectors (that I know of). Cash finds can occur from time to time
throughout the game. So keep your eyes open & go get the greenbacks.
This should get you off to a good start in sector capturing (and cash flow).
The rest is up to you.
Note: Later in the game, if you are getting desperate to find a new factory,
due to your money running low, you should consider a little"sector peeking."
What this involves is simply going into a sector and looking to see if it has
any buildings (not native huts). No buildings = no factory. Take your native
guide with you, if the buildings therein contain a factory, after a couple of
turns he will more than likely tell you that the sector contains a factory. No
factory, vacate ASAP and traverse to another nearby sector and repeat the
process.
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Note: "linked sectors" are not possible if a body of water separates the linked
sectors. Always protect a captured "exterior" sector with 8 guards . Don't
believe anyone who tells you that less will suffice, it may but don't bet on
it, as I have seen sectors with 8 guards re-captured by the enemy, and more
than once. Guards are cheap. Save money some other way.
Don't go to the next sector until all guards are transferred and have arrived
. (unless you feel it necessary to race to Brenda's Lab or some other vital
sector to save the sector from an imminent attack).
Transfer guards immediately after the capture of a sector. This stipulation
may help avert an "ENEMIES' NEARBY" attack, and even if they don't avert it,
your team is already in the sector and can join in the battle and eliminate the
enemy.
Note: "enemies nearby" attacks almost always seem to happen after you have
captured a sector and are either waiting for guards to arrive, and/or searching
the sector for goodies. If you have not ordered in new guards for the sector
immediately after its capture you may be inviting an attack.. If you are
mopping up and capturing the sectors in short order it seems to be a way of
slowing down your progress towards another sector. When the "enemies nearby"
status initiates, you will once again be encumbered by action points and have
to battle the incoming enemy to rid the sector one more time of the enemy. The
guards you have in the sector with you, and any guards in transit that arrive
prior to your disposing of the enemy will actually join in the battle with you.
Each group, guards, mercs & enemies receiving a turn at a time until the
situation is resolved. This does add an interesting and fun element to the
game. The design seems to be a way for the enemy to hamper your progress when
you are doing "too well."
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The majority of sector attacks by the enemy seem to take place late afternoon,
or shortly after you capture a new sector. The frequency of attacks seems
related to how well you are doing in the game. If it's only 3:00 PM and you've
already captured your 2nd sector of the day, chances are the enemy is going to
go on the warpath real soon. I've also seen attacks take place in the morning.
Most of these, being when you captured your 1st sector of the day early in the
morning, instead of the more usual 11:00 am to Noon. At least one or two enemy
attacks per day seem to be the standard, no matter how well or poorly you are
doing. Attacks most of the time seems to be against vital sectors, as in
sectors with labs, factories, lots of trees, or in sectors adjacent to the
aforementioned. Most attacks of this nature seem to be unsuccessful (other than
killing off some of your guards). However, some can be successful even if you
have 8 guards. Attacks against Brenda's lab S-28 and some of the sectors in
"Lucasland" can be particularly virulent. Resulting in the deaths of all 8 of
your guards and then of course any and all tappers you may have employed in the
sector in question.
Don't transfer guards across water unless absolutely necessary. Move them
around by land. If you ignore this, you may very well lose some of your guards
in transit to drowning or Metaviran reptiles.
Pick up and search/find all goodies after you capture the sector. This will
save your time and much needed action points for when you need them -- combat
with the enemy. The only exceptions to this stipulation are obvious, such as
when you see an item that you need now . (more ammo, etc.)
Pick up only those items, that you really need. Be quick about it. It's much
more important in most cases, to push on to the next sector, and beat the cash
flow time clock, than to waste time picking up the umpteenth box of.38 ammo,
you don't really need. This loading the vests, and rearranging to cram in more
goodies is one of the biggest time consumers in the game and severely impedes
your progress. Know what you need in the way of old items, in advance.
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Use the pg. down key to get to the overhead map view of the sector you are in
-- look for flashing white objects click on one and the currently selected merc
will go stand on it. Exit the map and have him pick it up. A note of caution:
be sure that the route the merc will travel to get the Item will not take him
into the water as you may lose your merc. Please also note that the map will
only show objects in portions of the map you have explored. You need to have
someone scurry around the entire un-traveled parts of sectors to illuminate
these objects. Buried or hidden objects will not show up either. Objects in
boxes or cabinets you have not opened are the same. Some obscured objects have
trees, etc. blocking your view. These are not visible to you from the regular
"on the ground" view. Very often these non-visible objects can be the most
valuable "find" of the sector. Other "most valuable" areas often turn out to be
small islands or peninsulas off the beaten path, or boxes hidden in the jungle.
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For a good deal of the game, you will need to hire at least 16 guards (and
sometimes 24) to occupy newly captured sectors and perhaps some extras to
replace guards killed the previous day. Guards should be in all sectors that
are adjacent to enemy controlled sectors (not diagonally). Even if water
separates the enemy sectors from your own this is still necessary. Later on
when you have "safe" interior sectors you will often not need to hire new
guards.
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The best way to cut down on guard overhead is to '"square off" or"fill in" your
block of sectors. Then eliminate un-needed groups of guards.
For example: if you have an enemy sector anywhere within your block, depending
on where it is -- it can often take 3 to 4 groups of guards to keep the enemy
from taking over an adjacent sector. 3 sets of guards at $38 per guard = $912
per day in increased overhead. Multiply this problem by several times and you
are talking thousands of dollars per day in excessive overhead. Early in the
game, there is not a lot you can do about this. By day 8 or 9 you should be in
a position to start eliminating a lot of these kinds of situations. As your
block grows in size you will not need guards in most of the interior sectors.
You will always want some extra guards. 16 to 24 needed to expand outward and
perhaps 4 extras guards to fill in during the day in sectors where enemy
attacks have resulted in depletion of the existing guards.
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I personally think it is best to have all mercs move with Maximum Aim or at
least Reserved Points. This allows you to interrupt the enemy's movement and
return fire, before your next turn. If you choose to move any or all of the
mercs further (thus nullifying these reserves) just click the mouse and off
they will go to wherever you send them. This is a little annoying, but it is
the safest way to assure that some or all of your mercs will be in an interrupt
position. PS -- it takes 2 action points to crouch.
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This one is pretty much up to you. Combat tactics seem to be a very"personal"
thing, with people seeming to always have their own particular method of doing
things the "right way." As a number of different approaches can often be
"right", I'm not going to touch this one.
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You can use the F9 key to obtain a "line of sight" reading for each merc in
regards to the enemy. I would not accept this as gospel. I have killed many
"red shirts" that I could not "see" according to the F9 key. I have also missed
many enemies that I could "see." I would use this simply as an aid, that's all.
If you have what appears to be a doable angle of fire, I would shoot,
regardless of whether I can "see" the enemy in question. What this game begs
for is a "Line of Fire" similar to XCOM.
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These are vital for capturing new factories and Lucas's lab without the enemy
sabotage of the facility and its contents . Sabotage of factory facilities
means that there will be no production from the newly captured factory until 2
days of repair work has been done by Jack's men. This means two days of lost
cash flow on any harvestable trees you own in excess of your currently
producing factories capacities. This alone does not assure success, as you must
also kill all enemies spotted prior to the next turn (in theory this extra turn
gives the enemy time to alert others and to put the sabotage mechanism into
action) You must also not be "spotted" by other enemies (usually out of
windows) for the silencer only routine to be effective.
Not all weapons can use silencers. Colt 45's will accept them, as will 9mm
pistols, however regular .357 magnums will not. You must modify your .357's by
merging a "chunk of steel" with them to produce a "modified .357 magnum
pistol". The modified version will accept a silencer. As chunks of steel are
not found in great quantities, I usually try to save them to use first on the
.357 magnums, then later on the M-14 rifles. A modified .357 is perhaps the
best all-around gun in the game. It doesn't use as many action points as
shotguns and rifles, but has a decent range only exceeded by 12 guage Rifles,
M14's, & M16's. This is a matter of personal perception and may not in fact be
borne out by the facts -- whatever they may actually be. M14's and M16's do
have more power and more range, but it is possible that you will play almost
1/2 the game without either one of these.
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What seems like a pretty worthless weapon is actually an essential one in some
cases.
At least some of your merc's must have combat knives. Though of limited value,
except for an occasional up close "hand to hand combat" type of situation, they
play one very essential role in the game. The merc who goes into deep water
(and sometimes it is difficult to tell where deep water begins and ends)
without a combat knive in his hand, has a good chance of winding up sleeping
with the fish!! As in dead! It turns out that the waters of metavira are
absolutely teeming with merc-eating eels (snakes)! In fact you can lose more
mercs to metaviran reptiles in the course of a game than you can to the
"Red-Shirts", bombs and bullets.
So when deep water calls, make sure that those mercs who are going to have to
cross it are equipped to eliminate eels.
Which brings me to what I call:
________________________________________________________________________________
( this is more for amusement than anything else, although you may find out some
useful info concerning some of the mercs aquatic abilities )
Mercs are also susceptible to drowning -- some more so than others -- and of
course, except in rare cases no-one has bothered to tell you which ones can
swim and which ones can't, and how good are they if they can. So in order to
get some kind of clue as to their abilities, I devised what I call the swim
test, which works as follows:
If you are in a sector that has a lot of water, preferably next to a large body
of water, or the ocean I suppose would be even better, after capturing the
sector, save the game . Equip all your would-be swimmers with knives so that
you will know swimming is their problem, and not eels. March them all off into
the deep water. You will find out real fast, what's what. But also note that
some merc items are extremely heavy. Spectra Sheilds, being the worst offender,
I have found. I never let anybody go into any kind of deep water wearing a
Spectra Shield, because I may never see them again. Test all of your mercs with
their normal weight loads, then perhaps test them without heavy items, so forth
and so on. I found, for example when I did some of this that Fidel and Vinny,
had a real good chance (particularly Vinny) of not returning to dry land,
whereas Ivan seemed to be part fish. I also had very little trouble with any of
the natives drowning -- although I did not test all of them. Then abandon the
game and go back to your saved game and back to playing.
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In a word, don't! Try to lure them out into the open, away from where they want
you to go. They seem to want to get you in the underbrush, where they can
"cheat" and shoot thru places you seemingly can't. I've seen instances where
one lone enemy was able to wound 3 of my troops from behind a bush. My 3 troops
are shooting at him from virtually point blank range through the same bush and
never hitting anything but limbs. This may just be bad luck, but the poor end
results remain the same. Avoid this kind of situation if at all possible. If
stuck in this scenario with no apparent means of retreat, it's time to pull out
that precious grenade you've been hoarding for a rainy day, and"equalize" the
situation. An optimum time for this is when there are 2 or more "red-shirts" in
close proximity to each other.
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Toolkit in Mechanic's right hand. 1st item to repair in left hand. Top vest
slot on down establishes the order or repair preference. He (the mechanic)
needs to be "assigned" to Repair.
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Go to the Inventory screen, pick up canteen, and apply to the mouth of the
mercs "silhouette" in the middle of your screen. Click until content or the
canteen is empty or the merc is out of action points. Watch your merc's Blue
graph to see to what degree his thirst problem is being alleviated.
Note: both Fidel & Vinny seem to be constantly "thirsty" and therefore in need
of water. I can only assume that there are other mercs in the game, which I
have not used, who will have this same problem. When I use Fidel and/or Vinny,
I have them carry all the canteens for the entire squad, (I found that the
other squad members I used, seldom had this "thirst" problem). Thus they can
both give canteens to other mercs when necessary, and have extras on hand to
take care of their own problem. This also makes available extra vest pocket
slots for the other mercs that don't have this constant dire need of drinking
water.
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Use the exact same procedure as the canteen (except of course, the blue graph
is not relevant here). Of course you apply the camo to his body not to his face.
Apply the camouflage to your mercs at the beginning of the day before the
mission begins. This eliminates the need for hauling the camo kit around on the
mission. Have the guy with camo kit apply it to all the mercs that need it
while you are "gearing up" in the morning.
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Always send your explosives expert to get these and disarm them unless you're
ready for "sick bay" at the hospital, or worse. This includes grenades, as some
of them are "live."
Always try to have a medic type nearby, so he can immediately heal your
"expert" if his disarming fails. Even Fidel sometimes meets his match. The
medic on-hand can save him from meeting his master.
Grenades : nothing beats the plain old, ordinary grenade. This is the game's
great "equalizer." Hoard these puppies until you really need them. They can
save the day, when nothing else will. (particularly useful for disabling
multiple enemies with one pop. Especially when they're safe as can be behind
some of the game's seemingly "for enemy use only spectra shield bushes".
TNT & Plastic Explosives : Merge each of them with a detonator to become
operational. Have your explosives "expert" do this in the morning "gear"
sessions prior to taking to the field, as this will save vest pocket space.
Live Plastic Explosives are a result of merging with detonators, but can be
found already in this state. Since they no longer require merging, they only
require 1 vest pocket slot.
Mustard Gas Grenades are quite deadly and are almost as useful as grenades.
It's probably best that the thrower and all your nearby mercs be equipped with
Gas Masks.
Tear Gas Canisters will disorient and befuddle the enemy, however they and
Stun Grenades seem to inflict no lasting damage. One negative (in my opinion)
of Tear Gas Canisters is that they tend to make the enemy run away,
necessitating using up more action points in chasing them down.
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Pay for all burials. If you don't people will start quitting and demanding pay
raises to stay, far more than offsetting the costs of the pine box. In this
case it just does not pay to be a cheapskate.
________________________________________________________________________________
When possible, wait until sector is enemy free. This will save a great deal of
time. Many times you will find an essential key/keys needed for entering on a
dead enemy.
Use your wall probe, when necessary, to determine if enemies are inside a
building prior to entry. If no enemies are inside, there is no need to enter
the building in question until the sector is secure. And of course if enemies
are inside, they must be eliminated before the sector is secure.
Always have your Mechanic be the first to enter, as his lock-picking talents
are often necessary. It's best to have him with full Action points prior to
opening the door, this way he can open the door and be able to step aside and
let your killer merc/mercs with full Action points, who you have stationed just
behind him at the door take care of the enemy who is often lurking at or near
the door. If you don't use this procedure, Vinny may be a dead merc in very
short order, or a very badly wounded one at best.
Have your explosives expert (Fidel or whoever) open all the boxes, with the
other mercs in the building at a safe distance. Booby-traps are a way of life
on Metavira.
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Grenades will open any wooden door. Be sure and throw the grenade at the door,
not at the foot of the door, as this will do nothing but waste a valuable
grenade.
Note: Regular fragmentation grenades only. Stun grenades, etc. do not work.
Metal doors require the use of other explosives (grenades will not work). Live
Plastic Explosives have one large advantage over TNT -- all you need to carry
with you is the Plastic Explosive. TNT requires you to also have a detonator,
which you then merge with the TNT. (see above about merging TNT and Plastic
Explosives before starting the day's mission.)
Wall Cabinets - look in all of these as many tend to have goodies. I suppose
these could be classified as "medicine cabinets" as they tend to contain
medicine kits, first aid kits, and cloth rags (for molotov cocktails)
________________________________________________________________________________
For most successful results always use your Mechanic or your Explosives guy
(depending on what the items are) to perform "merging" operations. Generally
this means your Mechanic, but anything to do with explosives is best handled by
your explosives expert.
To merge: put the item in right hand. Put item to merge in the"manipulation"
slot just below the right hand. If merging is possible, you will get a message
asking if you want to do this. If you have a top of the line Mech or Explosives
guy the result will usually be successful. Other than top of the line types
often have very poor results.
You can also use this "merging" to consolidate tool kits, med kits, lockpick
kits, etc. If you are using a Vinny or Fidel or some other very highly rated
expert, and the initial try doesn't work. Try again. It once took Vinny 3 tries
to merge something for me.
It's best to do all your merging in the early morning "gear up" sessions.
Some items to merge are:
Chunks of Steel
I personally prefer to use my chunks of steel initially to merge
with the first few .357 Magnum pistols I find, as this accomplishes
two things -- it converts the ordinary .357 pistol to a "modified"
.357 magnum that has a longer barrel, making it more like a rifle,
and at this point in the game, there are no rifles that I
personally have found, except for the 1st shotgun. The 2nd thing it
accomplishes is that it makes your .357 able to accept a silencer
which is vital in taking over sectors with factories in them
without the enemy disabling the facility for several days which can
cost you a lot of lost cash flow. Later on I use newly found chunks
of steel to modify M-14 rifles.
Compound 17 (glue)
There are multiple uses for this item, as there are for the chunks
of steel. I personally prefer to use the first of these to modify
my "Spectra Shields." This then becomes a "Treated Spectra Shield"
and this is the "piece de resistance" for bodily protection in the
game.
Your Mechanic is the person for these jobs.
Some fun things for your Explosives expert to create are:
Molotov Cocktails
Merge Glass jar with tin of oil, then merge gasoline with the jar,
then merge a cotton rag with the jar, and voila a molotov cocktail!
Ready to throw! Other cute things for your explosives' people to
make (though of dubious value in terms of cost) are the:
"Eagle" weapons
Combo of gas can, cloth rag, tin of oil, and the various grenades
or"canister" weapons. Resulting in:
Eagle Fearball
use the grenade
Eagle Dog
use the mustard gas grenade
Eagle Screamer
use the tear gas canister
Eagle Silencer
use the stun grenade
Eagle Smokeball
use the smokeball
Note: I never personally used a smokeball that worked so can't recommend these
at all. "Eagle" weapons are "cute" and entertaining but is basically the waste
of a good grenade.
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Get your Explosives expert with Metal Detector in hand in the lead --
preferably with a bunch of action points worth of steps in front of everyone
else, and have him clear a path. Then have the others march (single file if
necessary) in his footsteps. This advice is for implementation in sectors where
land mines seem to be everywhere, in most sectors this is an unnecessary, time
consuming procedure.
________________________________________________________________________________
This is one of the most "overdone" elements of the game. The number of"jammed"
guns at times gets completely out of whack with reality. I once had 7 different
guns jam in the same turn. This only happened twice in the two times I have
played the game (although one was in the final sector). However, the incidence
of "jammed" guns on a regular basis seems to be way beyond the borders of
reality.
After capture of sector, try repeatedly firing them until they unjam, this
works most of the time. Your mechanic may be necessary. If all else fails leave
the weapon in question for repairs with your "stay at home" mechanic the
following morning.
To avoid this problem to some extent, it's best to have at least one and
possibly two of your mercs carry an extra gun, that they may hand off to the
merc/mercs with jammed guns. Late in the game when many of the items to be
picked up are often duplicates of items already held in sufficient numbers in
inventory, I tend to have my main "killer" mercs carry two weapons, preferably
a modified .357 magnum pistol and either a M14 rifle, 12 guage rifle, or 12
guage shotgun. This gives them long range capability, and more killing power
when needed.
________________________________________________________________________________
MERCS WHO WON'T FOLLOW ORDERS ONCE OBTAINING A "BEAD" ON THE ENEMY
Fidel, amongst others, will refuse to follow orders once he feesl that he has a
"sure-fire" bead on the enemy. This can be a real pain, when you would like him
or others to move to a better shooting angle, or some other reason of your own.
Solution: simply take their weapon out of their hand, then they will follow
your orders without further ado, then put the weapon back in their hand. No
more problem.
________________________________________________________________________________
Put merc in training, select Marksmanship (or whatever skill you wish to
improve). If he or she has a wisdom rating of 70% or higher gains of 2-3 pctg.
points per day of training are not uncommon. So in a matter of only 5 short
days, you've gotten a 10 + point gain in the skill involved. Then get them out
in the field again to gain that other vital missing ingredient. Experience.
________________________________________________________________________________
At the start of the day change the status of wounded mercs you wish to leave
behind and heal to "Patient". Be sure that the status of your stay at home
medic is on "Doctor". Put a Medical Kit in the Doctor's right hand.
________________________________________________________________________________
Are useful prior to acquiring enough Medical Kits. Better than nothing at all.
________________________________________________________________________________
Your stay at home doctor needs one of these in his right hand. You should
strive to have two of these in the field on missions. Two different Mercs
should carry these in the event that one of them gets killed, or wounded so
severely that they are unable to get around to perform their medical duties.
________________________________________________________________________________
These often happen at the very beginning of a sector. The biggest clue to this
possibility (enemy grenade attacks) is the sudden appearance of an enemy in
very close proximity to your squad. Who, with one fell swoop, can do massive
damage to your guys' health before they can spread out. When you see the nearby
enemy in this type of situation, you need to take him out first, before giving
any of the other enemies that you can see even a second thought. If all else
fails, keep one of your individuals who has a grenade, with adequate action
points, so that you may grenade the nearby enemy, rather than risk a squad
imperiling attack.
________________________________________________________________________________
All your in the field Mercs need these babies -- especially later in the game
when the enemy starts barraging you with Tear Gas Canisters and Mustard Gas
Grenades.
________________________________________________________________________________
Your lead Gunners need these for hearing the enemy at a distance. An Early
Warning system of sorts. This device fits in the slot which is normally
occupied by your Merc's radio. Fear not, as only 1 radio is necessary per squad
of mercs.
________________________________________________________________________________
"The very latest in bullet absorption technology... capable of withstanding the
most powerful of handguns, reducing impact of most rifles & deflecting shrapnel
with ease."
Get your guys and gals each one these ASAP. (Kevlar Vests are the predecessor
to these), when merged with compound 17, it becomes a "treated spectra shield".
This is the best body protection in the game that has pockets. An"Ultra Shield"
provides even better protection, but has no pockets, thus it has more for end
game use when pockets for inventory items are much less important for all mercs
to have.
________________________________________________________________________________
The crowbar's function is prying open boxes. However, there are many times in
the game when your explosive's person will not be able to open some of the
boxes even with the crowbar -- "It's Stuck!" This is when your mechanic must
then take the crowbar, and get the job done. A top notch mechanic in the field,
in addition to another doing repairs at home base is essential. Certain tasks,
such as lockpicking, and some of the crowbar assignments, simply cannot be done
by anyone other than a top-rated mechanic.
Note: although there are times when an ordinary non-mechanical merc may just
need to have his "blue" indicator enhanced in order to successfully use the
crowbar, a drink from the old canteen can provide a quick boost to his "blue"
indicator.
________________________________________________________________________________
Located throughout the game, these can be read for possibly valuable
information by magnifying them.
________________________________________________________________________________
Found throughout the game, these offer clues that are sometimes quite obvious
("S 36 D9" refers to Sector 36 Day 9). Other times they are in"code." One is in
Spanish and so on. Some give very useful information. But don't worry, if
you're not a cryptologist or fluent in pig latin -- the world won't end, and
you can still successfully complete the game.
________________________________________________________________________________
It will spread and continue to kill the Fallow Trees. An antidote is necessary.
It seems to first occur around Day 16 (at least this was the timing the two
times I played).
These flowers are the source material for the antidote for the "Virus" that
kills the Fallow trees. They are only found in one specific sector.
________________________________________________________________________________
The game will not recognize that you have already obtained the flowers, since
it apparently does not look in your base inventory to see if they are there or
not. This means that you should have one of your mercs take some of the flowers
with them on the day's mission, after it has been announced that the "virus"
has arrived. When he returns at the end of the day with the flowers, you will
receive credit for finding them. When I first played the game I captured the
sector with the flowers prior to the "virus" outbreak. Fortunately I was aware
of this problem. Just to be safe I took some of the flowers back to base. I
left 1 batch lying on the ground where I found them, in the event that the game
would require me to actually go and pick up the flowers. This extra precaution
does not seem to have been necessary. But might be worth doing, just in case my
first solution does not work for you.
________________________________________________________________________________
Stolen from the native's burial grounds by Santino's henchmen. Jack asks you to
find the headstone and return it to the natives. The implication is that "dire"
things may happen if you don't find this headstone ASAP. As far as I could tell
this is just more "smoke" to add to the urgency of the games' goals. The
headstone can be found in one of the sectors in Santino's stronghold area (NW
portion of the sector map).
________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 4
BREAKDOWN OF GAME ITEMS
[ Top ]
[ Weapons & Ammo | Explosives | Other Explosives | Items for Making Explosives
| Merc Equipment | Miscellaneous | Other Items ]
________________________________________________________________________________
WEAPONS & AMMO
<*> .38 Revolver
<*> .38 ammo
<*> Colt 45
<*> .45 ammo
<*> Modified Colt 45
<*> 9mm Beretta pistol
<*> 9mm ammo
<*> .357 Magnum pistol
<*> .357 ammo
<*> Modified .357
<*> 12 guage shotgun
<*> 12 guage ammo
<*> 12 guage rifle
<*> (uses 12 guage ammo)
<*> M 14 Rifle
<*> M 14 ammo
<*> Modified M 14 Rifle
<*> M 16 Rifle
<*> M 16 ammo
<*> Modified M 16 Rifle
<*> Case of Beer
<*> Notes ( approx. 8 different one found throughout the game)
<*> Door Keys
<*> Padlock Keys
<*> Pomillia Flowers
<*> Bra
<*> Rock
<*> Brenda's Journal
<*> Burnt Journal
<*> Micro Purifier
<*> Alarm Clock (with transmitter detector)
<*> Antidote
<*> Sapling
<*> Torn Piece of Paper (several of these)
YOU'VE READ THIS ENTIRE GUIDE & YOU STILL HAVE MANAGED TO GET YOURSELF IN A
"LIFE OR DEATH" MONEY BIND
Last Gasp Solution: (This is great "trick" to play on "Jack") rest everyone for
a day, or however many days it takes to restore your finances. Resting mercs
only receive 1/2 their normal salary. Thus the trees will produce and you will
come out thousands of dollars ahead. (I hope you've got 8 guards in every
necessary sector before you try this) Jack will hate this tactic and will
complain and tell you how "lucky" you were to survive the day with no mercs in
the field, but nothing really awful will probably happen other than a lost day
or two and you'll be back in the chips again. (There is a chance that some of
the natives may start quitting. When the "NATIVES ARE RESTLESS" you may be
forced to raise their pay. Offer them pay raises $1 worth at a time to
determine the level of their discontent. This also applies to when you get the
message"NO WORKERS AVAILABLE".)
________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 6
AND IF YOU ARE REALLY DESPERATE, YOU CAN RESORT TO...
GAME CHEATS & AIDS
One of the purposes of this guide is to give people ample information, so that
they can play the game in its entirety without having to resort to cheats. I
personally think that cheats can ruin a game. However, I realize that there are
some who just cannot resist. There are also some who simply just don't have the
patience (or in their minds, perhaps the time) required to play the whole game
on the up and up. There are some who just enjoy the combat and don't really
care about the resource and money management part at all. So for those who
simply must have a"cheat" for whatever reason, I list below the only ones that
I am personally aware of.
All are on CompuServe in the Games Forum. I believe they are in the strategy
section. These particular cheats or aids can also be found on the Internet.
QHEAL.EXE is a cheat that allows you to heal your mercs wounds. It is by Jeremy
Reaban. This cheat of course will take the "medical" part of the game and turn
it to ashes. I would not use this unless you don't care about healing your
troops and only really care about the combat portion of the game.
There is also an editor called JAEDIT15.ZIP. I have no idea about its merits.
JAGCHT.ZIP has a list of all the items in the game along with an explanation of
how to use them with UGE.EXE (Universal Game Editor). I have no knowledge of
its respective good or bad points.
JA Table of Mercs is an IBM/Word 6.0 Document which allows you to sort your
mercs according to various skills. This is not a cheat, but is a very useful
aid in examining Mercs stats. If you prefer spreadsheets, you can paste one of
the tables in this document into the spreadsheet of your choice and sort any
which way until your heart's content.
And last, but certainly not least:
________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 7
SAVING YOUR GAMES
Jagged Alliance has a very quirky save game scheme. Below are some tips.
Keep extra copies of saved games in a subdirectory you create . Give it some
obvious name like "Savecopy" or "Saves" or whatever suits your fancy.
To save the day's game in progress to this subdirectory you will need to save
the following files: QUICK.SAV, OFFICE.SAV & DAY.SAV.
Save Often : Even during turn-based combat, you should hit Alt X and save the
game, exit to dos and then re-start. This will save your day's progress and
leave you less vulnerable to crashes that will wipe out your entire day's
progress.
Save the game at the end of each sector you complete, before moving on to the
next. Exit to Dos and copy these saved game files (quick, office, day) to your
saved games sub-directory.
Just prior to the end of each day (before 7:00 PM), save the game, exit to dos,
and copy the files again to the same sub-directory. I know this sounds like
overkill, but I have had the game crash several times after the "day" is
complete but before I could save it in the "calendar" save game slot -- thus
losing an entire day or at the least the last sector's worth of work. The
reason this unfortunate situation can occur is that the game deletes the
QUICK.SAV,
DAY.SAV & OFFICE.SAV files when you complete the game day. This happens prior
to your saving of the game at the Calendar, so if the game crashes in the
interim you are just plain out of luck.
Eliminate Smartdrive and a large part of this problem will go away.
I was told that eliminating QEMM and using a "clean" boot disk would eliminate
the rest of the problem. That may be so for some, however in my case I then had
to deal with a translucent mouse cursor and unreadable inventory in the morning
"gear up" session after eliminating QEMM. So my "clean" boot disk meant I
couldn't really play the game at all. I'm sure there was probably some way
around this latest problem, but by then I was out of patience with the whole
save game scheme anyway. Besides, once in the habit, I liked the idea that I
had a safe way of saving my games and even a catalog of all the days of the
game (see below).
At the end of each "day", after I have successfully saved the game in a
GAME#.SAV slot, I personally go to a sub-directory I have named"history". If I
have just completed Day 7 for example, I make a new sub-directory under
history, named DAY7 and then copy the day's GAME#.SAV file to this directory --
this way I don't have a bunch of duplicate GAME#.SAV files, and I know exactly
which day is which.
All of this is of course a total pain in the neck. However, replaying a lost
sector or day, is an even bigger one. Perhaps the next version will completely
eliminate the problems.
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