Jagged Alliance 3 (JA3) Guide - Tips for Beginners (2024)

Source: Jagged Alliance 3, developer: Haemimont Games

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In the nation of Grand Chien, the elected president disappears, triggering a power struggle with the emergence of "The Legion" paramilitary group. Jagged Alliance 3 revolves around the President's family's decision to enlist the services of capable mercenaries in their quest to locate the missing leader and restore stability. Assume the role of their captain and embark on a mission to bring harmony back to the country. Nevertheless, it is not an easy journey. JA3 is a difficult game. We will tell you here some useful tips for beginners.

• Jagged Alliance 3 Tips
• Jagged Alliance 3 Guide

Jagged Alliance 3 Tips

JA3 General Tips

1. Remember about your finances! The most important aspect of the game is to maintain proper budget. Your mercenaries require regular payment! What is more, mines can deplete. So be cautious and think about the future.
2. Game has some endgame events. They trigger when you go too close to the north (A8 sector) or to Majors Base. If you want to explore in peace, wait with that. And if you trigger Biff event, stop a Legion squad that is going to his location, and don’t visit him immediately, discover what else game has to offer. Don’t enter Refugee Camp when you get a message.
3. Bags of Chien Franks and Small Diamonds can be used to barter, and relics can be donated to the Museum (for Militia).
4. If you are new to the game, you should allow saves at anytime. It will make your life easier.

JA3 Squad Tips

1. In each squad should be at least: Medic, Mechanic, Explosive expert and Sniper (it’s not a class in the game, but one of Marksmen should use sniper rifle).
2. At the beginning pick cheap mercs. Money will flow eventually, but you should take care of your finances at the beginning. What is more, Recruits are quite useful, too. You can upgrade them also. We have prepared an ideal team to begin with. Link is in the “Tips” section.
3. Paying some mercenaries for 2 weeks is better. Experiment with the time slider because many mercs are much cheaper to hire for a 2-week period.
4. Group together people who like each other. They will get morale boost thanks to that. It works also in the other way round. You will get penalties if mercs don’t like their teammates.
5. You can have multiple squads in one sector. It may be useful for more difficult combats.

JA3 Exploration tips

1. Wisdom is important. Thanks to it, you will be able to discover hidden objects. Every squad should have at least 1 person with this stat quite high.
2. Jagged Alliance 3 does not pick the best mercs to the jobs. If you select a few characters and want them to pass a check (for example explosives), the game does not always pick the best one. Very often it is someone proper, but not always. It is problematic when we take into consideration traps. So watch out.
3. Use alt! This shortcut will allow you to see interactive places. It is important because without that they are difficult to see, and you will need all resources which you can get.
4. Remember about tilde. Thanks to this key, you will be able to select all mercenaries.
5. Enter tactical view in “boring” places – some sectors do not seem to be interesting. At the first glance they do not have important structures. Nevertheless, inconspicuous areas may be connected to some quests. They are also the best source of Meds.
6. Conquer hostile bases ASAP. They will make your game harder, as they will send soldiers to attack your terrain. Sadly, they are well protected. You can weaken them, though. There are small shields next to them. These represent additional enemies, which can be dealt with even before the attack. If you scout the area, you will be able to know what to do, to get rid of them.
7. Train militia! They will allow you to leave towns even when there is a hostile base nearby. Recruits can be trained once again to become better. And thanks to combat experience they can get event stronger.
8. Some sectors have special Operations. They are unique for them. Very often it is connected to a quest or a building which is in this region.
9. Don’t rush the game. Stop from time to time, let your soldiers rest, heal and repair their gear. If you are not prepared, you will die easily.
10. Make people loyal to you. Do quests and help locals. Their loyalty will allow you to earn more from mines. It will be also useful to finish some quests.
11. Try to have two mines active. It is possible that a mine can be depleted, this is why you should have a spare one. A couple of these buildings is enough to keep a moderate army of mercenaries and it will let you explore in peace. Adding to that the fact that you will gather some valuables, your income should be secured.
12. While exploring, you will get to places full of mines. You will recognize them by traces of explosion in the surrounding and bodies/destroyed objects. Send and Explosive expert first and move very slowly.

JA3 Combat Tips

1. Modify weapons. Remember that you can upgrade the most useful guns. It is a good idea if you have a favorite weapon. However, it costs Parts (quite a lot of them), so don’t waste them on weapons which you don’t need / replace quickly. Suppressors are a must have for squads which want to use stealth.
2. Use stealth. Don’t rush into a fight. Firstly, hide and take good positions. It is even possible to eliminate many opponents without starting a proper battle if you have quiet weapons.
3. During fights remember to take cover. It will drastically prolong lives of your mercenaries.
4. Aim at heads! Headshots are powerful and quite easy to use, if you know how. Just remember to zoom your shots and make sure that there are more green pluses than red minuses in the shot view.
5. Don’t forget about explosives. While explosives against one enemy is not very useful (similar or even greater damage is done in most cases by a headshot), it is a good idea to use them against grouped opponents.
6. Various environmental objects can be destroyed. It is especially crucial if we are talking about cars, as they can explode.
7. You can heal during combat, but you can’t cure wounds. We write more about it in a separate article in the Guide section.

Jagged Alliance 3 Guide

JA3 Guide – General

1. Best mercenaries to start with – if you want to know who to hire at the beginning, read our text. This decision is very important.
2. How to heal – at some point your mercenaries will be wounded. It is unavoidable. You have to heal them as soon as possible.
3. How to hire militia – in this article we will tell you how to hire militia to protect your settlements.
4. How to repair weapons – with a broken gun you will not kill your enemies.
5. AIM Gold – is it worth it? We will answer this question.
6. How to buy and sell items – if you wonder how to buy or sell your equipment, read our article.
7. IMP – do you want to create your own mercenary? IMP is for you!
8. Meds – if you want to get meds, you must read our guide.
9. Mines – it is the most important source of money. You have to take over them.
10. Diamonds – another source of money, and not only that. They are connected with loot boxes.
11. Pause – is it in JA3? How to use it? Learn in our article.
12. Morale – one of the most important mechanics in the game, as it influences AP.
13. Save game location – if you have created too many saves it may be very difficult to remove them all from the game menu. Of course, you can do it quickly in the save folder.

JA3 Guide – Quests

1. Pirate Gold – it is one of the quests, you have to find a very precious item.
2. Haunted Mansion and Ditch Location – those two notions are connected! Help a ghost, get a lot of money and reunite two old friends.
3. Dump – there are two groups fighting over influence here. We will present you all outcomes, and tell you how to reunite them.
4. How to get Metaviron – a very powerful healing item, useful in some quests.
5. Museum of the Adjani – have you found some relics? You may leave them in the museum!
6. Lenore – do you know Edgar Allan Poe? This quest is about one of his poems.
7. PSG1 Sniper Rifle – it is one of the best weapons in the game, we will tell you how to get it.
8. Diamond Necklace – it is a quest item which can be found in a luxury chair. Read more about it on our site.

JA3 Guide – Important characters

1. Herman – he is trapped and the mine is not something good for health.
2. Pierre – he is another important character. You may spare or kill him. This decision has consequences.
3. Bastien – a person who works with Legion but is he really that bad?
4. Flay – there are some mercs in the game, which can be recruited through quests rather than the Browser menu.
5. Larry – it is another mercenary, who will be able to join you.
6. Graaf – if you want to know consequences of Graaf fate, you are in a good place. What is more, we will give you some tips to defeat him without him killing slaves.
7. Biff – if you want to know how to win his fight or learn about the consequences of meeting him, read our article.
8. Jackhammer – a prisoner who became a prison warden… what can go wrong?
9. Luigi – you don’t betray family!
10. Lami the Witch – she uses men to dig diamonds. A unique character.