Jagged Alliance Jagged Alliance 2 - Recommended mods

[Nas92]

I played JA2 when I was younger but I just got bored with it and never really got into it. I want to try again, but I want to try a few mods.
I have neither Unfinished Business nor Wildfire - are those actually worth it or required for anything?

At first I wanted to try out 1.13, however all the download mirrors appear to be down on the official site. Any alternate mirrors for it?

That said, maybe I should just go with Straciatella and play the game as it was mostly meant to. If I go with Straciatella, do you recommend the latest stable build or should I go with one of the nightlies?

 

[Strange Fellow]

Don't go with 1.13 if you're not familiar with the game, unless it's a very early version. It's a broken piece of shit out of the box. Just do Stracciatella.

Wildfire is OK, but there's no reason to play it unless you're sick of the base game. Same with UB.

 

[Nas92]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards Straciatella myself, though I really like the idea of suppression fire and mobile militia.

I've heard that Straciatella's current stable build is not very good, any truth to that? Also does Straciatella allow higher res or will I need to get a separate mod for that?

 

[Luka-boy]

At first I wanted to try out 1.13, however all the download mirrors appear to be down on the official site. Any alternate mirrors for it?

You can find the latest releases and install instructions here:
http://thepit.ja-galaxy-forum.com/index.php?t=msg&th=20380&start=0&

 

[zool]

I played JA2 when I was younger but I just got bored with it and never really got into it.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards Straciatella myself, though I really like the idea of suppression fire and mobile militia.

I've heard that Straciatella's current stable build is not very good, any truth to that? Also does Straciatella allow higher res or will I need to get a separate mod for that?

Suppression is indeed cool. 1.13 as a whole has a bunch of good ideas filled out with 1000 retarded ones (and counting).

No idea about recent versions of Stracciatella, sorry. The last time I downloaded it was about two years ago and I've had no reason to update. It does incorporate higher resolutions.

 

[Nas92]

Suppression is indeed cool. 1.13 as a whole has a bunch of good ideas filled out with 1000 retarded ones (and counting).

But aren't most of those retarded ideas optional? Afaik you can have an almost vanilla experience in 1.13

 

[Strange Fellow]

Suppression is indeed cool. 1.13 as a whole has a bunch of good ideas filled out with 1000 retarded ones (and counting).

But aren't most of those retarded ideas optional? Afaik you can have an almost vanilla experience in 1.13

1.13 Vanilla is very buggy. It was obviously just an afterthought.

I don't think he means the offshoot mod, but just that regular 1.13 can be configured so that most of the stupider additions are disabled. And yes, it can be done, and I keep my own install relatively free of tacked-on features.

The point is that it takes a lot of time and effort and requires you to be familiar with the game, otherwise you'll have no chance of knowing which additions are good additions and which ones screw up the balance, or how to set the values of the stuff you want to keep, etc. There's also the fact that you'll ruin the game for yourself if you go rearranging its insides before you've even played it properly. It's absolutely not worth it for a first playthrough. The game doesn't need it.

 

[Nas92]

I don't think he means the offshoot mod, but just that regular 1.13 can be configured so that most of the stupider additions are disabled. And yes, it can be done, and I keep my own install relatively free of tacked-on features.

The point is that it takes a lot of time and effort and requires you to be familiar with the game, otherwise you'll have no chance of knowing which additions are good additions and which ones screw up the balance, or how to set the values of the stuff you want to keep, etc. There's also the fact that you'll ruin the game for yourself if you go rearranging its insides before you've even played it properly. It's absolutely not worth it for a first playthrough. The game doesn't need it.

You're right, I did mean configuring regular 1.13 in a way that makes it mostly vanilla with only the good features enabled. Although I did hear of the offshoot mod.

Anyhow, got Stracciatella, using the latest stable build and the optional launcher.

Is there a way to increase font size?

 

[Nas92]

Apparently, Grizzly requires notice before renewing his contract and now he's going to leave. Do I need to strip him of all the useful items before he leaves or is that done automatically?

 

[Horvatii]

You fucked up breh.
Here, I give you best modpack.
No need to fuck around with mod installs and all shit.

thanks to sevenfm
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PD_Wav_Gx8B8bTE2eKp-AKSWZ1u5lp7H

I. Download 7609enodpack.7z and readme.txt
II. readme.txt
III. How to install:
---------------
1. Make a clean install of vanilla Jagged Alliance 2 (get GOG for easy sailing)
2. Unpack 7609enodpack.7z into game folder
3. Select mod from Ja2.ini or use INI Editor to select mod and screen resolution
4. Run Ja2+AI.exe (use +AI to get seriously surprised)

Alternate way to install:
-------------------------
1. Unpack 7609enodpack.7z into empty folder
2. Copy missing SLF files from your vanilla Jagged Alliance 2 Data folder into modpack's Data folder


----------------------------------
Possible mods (select in Ja2.ini):
----------------------------------
1. Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 7609 <------------------------------- you want this
2. Arulco Revisited 1.4 + Strohmann's update + fixes
2. Arulco Revisited + Lev Progression
3. Arulco Revisited + SDO mod <------------------------------ or this
4. NightOps Maps + SF
5. NightOps Maps + SF + SDO
6. Wildfire 6.07
7. Wildfire 6.07 + Lev Progression
8. Wildfire 6.07 + SDO
9. TypeP (JA2 Reloaded)
10. TypeP (JA2 Reloaded) + SDO
11. Arulco vacations 1.10 + update 3
12. Arulco Folding Stock 4.5
13. Urban Chaos 4.5
14. Deidranna Lives 4.5
15. NightOps maps + Arulco Folding Stock 4.5
16. TypeP (Ja2 Reloaded) + Arulco Folding Stock 4.5
17. IoV 929 Revised
18. Wildfire 6.07 + IoV929 Revised
19. Arulco Revisited 1.4 + IoV929 Revised

--------------------------------------------------------------------
My notes on what individual shit is what:

av - arulco revisited, live of land, new item placements, new maps, good shit
sdo - stock data overhaul, complete gear rebalance for ncth!

nightops - maps
wildfire - maps and stuff
typep - alpha maps, shit
vacatios - modified vanilla, more gear, some npc
urban chaos - maps

arulco folding stock - gun pron
iov - item mod and viewrange, trash
lev progression - changes weapon progression on enemies and mercs, makes game easier

ncth - changes % based cth to ...% based cth in practice but with massive stat dependencies, eg:
max aperture
range to target
gun acc
actual aperture/muzzle sway
marksmanship, exp, wis, dex
aim levels
scopes
gun handling
stance
injured, morale
recoil counterforce
tracking
drop compensation

which can be modified in .ini files

[Shooting Mechanism]
MOVEMENT_MRK = 3.0
MOVEMENT_WIS = 2.0
MOVEMENT_DEX = 1.0
MOVEMENT_EXP_LEVEL = 2.0
MOVEMENT_TRACKING_DIFFICULTY = 40
MOVEMENT_PENALTY_PER_TILE = 3.0

PRE_RECOIL_WIS = 2.0
PRE_RECOIL_EXP_LEVEL = 3.0
PRE_RECOIL_AUTO_WEAPONS_SKILL = 2.0

RECOIL_MAX_COUNTER_STR = 3.0
RECOIL_MAX_COUNTER_AGI = 1.0
RECOIL_MAX_COUNTER_EXP_LEVEL = 1.0
RECOIL_MAX_COUNTER_FORCE = 12.0
RECOIL_MAX_COUNTER_CROUCH = 10.0
RECOIL_MAX_COUNTER_PRONE = 25.0

RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_MIN_ERROR = 0.3
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_DEX = 3.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_WIS = 1.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_AGI = 1.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_EXP_LEVEL = 4.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_AUTO_WEAPONS_DIVISOR = 4.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_TRACER_BONUS = 10.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_ANTICIPATION = 25.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_ACCURACY_COMPENSATION = 2.0

RECOIL_COUNTER_FREQUENCY_AGI = 3.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_FREQUENCY_EXP_LEVEL = 2.0
RECOIL_COUNTER_FREQUENCY_AUTO_WEAPONS_DIVISOR = 4.0



Basically, you should run
1. Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 7609 and JA2+AI - to get the clever AI, 1.13 experience
2. Arulco Revisited + SDO mod + NCTH + JA2+AI - to get the NCTH, Arulco Revisited, AI experience
3. Map/Itempacks for lulz

 

[Strange Fellow]

^This is good if you've exhausted the vanilla experience.

Apparently, Grizzly requires notice before renewing his contract and now he's going to leave. Do I need to strip him of all the useful items before he leaves or is that done automatically?

Happens automagically. Now you also see how it's a good idea to renew contracts well before they expire. Can't expect highly sought-after mercs not to plan ahead.

 

[Horvatii]

Strange Fellow
umm guy, wanna try multiplayer in 7609en with NCTH? for lulz? 1 on 1? like literally, 1 merc vs 1 merc, pistols and shit
since we have taht modpack to make everything smooth

Can try 2v2 later for some crossfire ambushes and tictacs if things go alright.

PM me

 

[typical user]

Apparently, Grizzly requires notice before renewing his contract and now he's going to leave. Do I need to strip him of all the useful items before he leaves or is that done automatically?

Automatically, the game asks you where do you want him to drop all the stuff. Can be used as a mule - you'll also get a notification when the gear becomes available so don't freak out if it takes him a day or two to reach the other end of the country. Also it is random if they agree on renewal or not when it's soon to expire - your merc will be unavailable as he immediately gets hired by someone else. At the beginning don't sweat, but later on this mechanic is to make sure you don't min-max your funds and stick with long-running crew. Also there is a chance when someone is on different assignment they can randomly die which can be bad if you aimed to recruit him (but you can save-scum this).

 

[Haba]

I recommend mods to move this to the correct forum.

 

[Nas92]

Happens automagically. Now you also see how it's a good idea to renew contracts well before they expire. Can't expect highly sought-after mercs not to plan ahead.

Yeah, he just dropped his shit on the ground. Even asked if I wanted his gear dropped in the sector he was or at the airport. Now the problem is that it seems he will have nothing but his dick in his hand when he arrives at Omerta again. How long are these assignments btw?

Also I'm starting to remember why I never got into this game. I think I'm missing something crucial about how to play this game when it comes to combat. Right now all I'm doing is going prone, hoping the AI does something retarded like come close standing up (they're smart enough not to do that very often) but mostly just aiming and shooting and hoping the dice rolls are on my side and not the enemies'. While this would be fine, but with the amount of extremely drawn out combat encounters, this is getting a little tedious. I'm trying stealthing around, distracting enemies while someone stealths and flanks them, but it's way too risky and generally low reward in my experience. I also still don't have access to most of the better gear - Day 13 and still handguns and submachine guns - while the enemies are already packing shotguns and rifles. They never seem to drop them either.

 

[typical user]

Yeah, he just dropped his shit on the ground. Even asked if I wanted his gear dropped in the sector he was or at the airport. Now the problem is that it seems he will have nothing but his dick in his hand when he arrives at Omerta again. How long are these assignments btw?

Also I'm starting to remember why I never got into this game. I think I'm missing something crucial about how to play this game when it comes to combat. Right now all I'm doing is going prone, hoping the AI does something retarded like come close standing up (they're smart enough not to do that very often) but mostly just aiming and shooting and hoping the dice rolls are on my side and not the enemies'. While this would be fine, but with the amount of extremely drawn out combat encounters, this is getting a little tedious. I'm trying stealthing around, distracting enemies while someone stealths and flanks them, but it's way too risky and generally low reward in my experience. I also still don't have access to most of the better gear - Day 13 and still handguns and submachine guns - while the enemies are already packing shotguns and rifles. They never seem to drop them either.

Some assignments take up to 2 weeks IIRC. Well it's funny reading this, since later on you will be packing such equipment that you will just laugh that most of the roaster can bring only small Berettas and Kevlar. Don't worry about it but plan ahead and try to accumulate gear at Drassen since the airport makes it natural base. You should have plenty of people free since the others will be busy fixing gear, training militia and tending to the wounded. To get better gear you have to kill more enemies, if you want better quality then liberate more cities.

 

[Nas92]

Is it possible for Bobby Ray's selection to decrease? I remember that one day I could buy sun goggles (which I ended up not ordering) and now I can't anymore. He finally started selling assault rifles too.

 

[Nas92]

I've been playing this game for a while now, I'm enjoying it for the most part.

Anyhow, I've been having major problems with patrols actually. I could conquer most of the town sectors and it was only mildly challenging, but the random patrols on the map completely eviscerate me every time. It seems I can't do them right no matter what - if my mercs are grouped up they fuck them up with explosives, if they're spread out they get ganged up on. The random dice rolls are also not on my side, they always spot me before I spot them and they usually get the first shot off. Thus far I've been avoiding patrols by using Skyrider almost exclusively after getting most of the SAM sites or just savescumming and dancing around them. However, I'm getting near Meduna and all the surrounding sectors have tropps just waiting around and with all the late game equipment. If I want to finish this game, which I do, I need to either kill these soldiers or find a way to bypass them. Any ideas?

 

[typical user]

I've been playing this game for a while now, I'm enjoying it for the most part.

Anyhow, I've been having major problems with patrols actually. I could conquer most of the town sectors and it was only mildly challenging, but the random patrols on the map completely eviscerate me every time. It seems I can't do them right no matter what - if my mercs are grouped up they fuck them up with explosives, if they're spread out they get ganged up on. The random dice rolls are also not on my side, they always spot me before I spot them and they usually get the first shot off. Thus far I've been avoiding patrols by using Skyrider almost exclusively after getting most of the SAM sites or just savescumming and dancing around them. However, I'm getting near Meduna and all the surrounding sectors have tropps just waiting around and with all the late game equipment. If I want to finish this game, which I do, I need to either kill these soldiers or find a way to bypass them. Any ideas?

Have you conquered other cities? If not then I recommend you do, especially Alma and Grumm, those have some great equipment which may help you with your final assault.

For patrols at later stages of the game it is recommended to attack at them night to negate their numbers advantage. You need glowing sticks, UV goggles, heavily modded assault rifles and explosives. Also for Expert difficulty I would roam with 12 people because 1 squad is just not enough for groups of 20-40. 12 sometimes might feel to crowdy but trust me, with good equipment the enemy won't be able to kill your soldiers unless they decide to do completely bullshit strats like pulling out a LAW in the open or spam throwables. Otherwise you will be able to kill lots of 'em since 12 guns is much more firepower than just 6. If they use explosive then you need to spread apart, they usually use mortars if two or 3 people are in the blast radius. Attacking at day is recommended only when you are annoyed with enemies throwing shit at you because they will when you create muzzle flash from taking those pot-shots. The AI can't stand fighting at night with 0 % chance to hit so they will resort to stuns, frags and gas grenades if your mercs do not wear gas mask (which unlike them you can't with NV / UV goggles).

I once attacked one group of 40 roaming in swamps in the middle of nowhere for the heck of it and it was loads of fun. But usually it's best to wait for them to split apart, no patrol consists of 40 people, groups just travel to the same place (and use roads to get as close to their destination as they can to save time).

As for Meduna on normal playthrough you need to fight through outskirts first. Expect heavy resistance and well placed defensive posts. I recommend attacking through north-east road entrance sector since you can use trees for some cover and circle around the center where most of enemy forces will be located. You can also split and push from two sides but that's after the initial more aggressive forces are thinned out in that area. If you want a cheesy approach then you can sneak around through west-most sector and use water to bypass enemy troops. Do it at night otherwise they will spot you and kill you. Also bring a metal detector and a sapper-daddy because there is a minefield on shore.

For Bobby's equipment I don't think it changes if you lose control of Arulco. Might be, but I didn't notice it at all. The only stuff I bought from him were mortars, LAWs, spectre gear, C7s, UV goggles, headsets, Compound 18 and weapon mods. The rest you can easily get from the field. So I wouldn't worry about Ray's that much since in mid-game he won't have better options than corpses you loot.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Bobby Ray's stuff never decreases per say. Every bit of progress you make increases the selection of weapons you can get, and losing areas or mercs won't decrease that. Sun Goggles in particular wouldn't disappear if that didn't happen, since that's always around IIRC. Its never a guarantee that they'll have stuff, just that they can have it.

I've been playing this game for a while now, I'm enjoying it for the most part.

Anyhow, I've been having major problems with patrols actually. I could conquer most of the town sectors and it was only mildly challenging, but the random patrols on the map completely eviscerate me every time. It seems I can't do them right no matter what - if my mercs are grouped up they fuck them up with explosives, if they're spread out they get ganged up on. The random dice rolls are also not on my side, they always spot me before I spot them and they usually get the first shot off. Thus far I've been avoiding patrols by using Skyrider almost exclusively after getting most of the SAM sites or just savescumming and dancing around them. However, I'm getting near Meduna and all the surrounding sectors have tropps just waiting around and with all the late game equipment. If I want to finish this game, which I do, I need to either kill these soldiers or find a way to bypass them. Any ideas?

Depends on the mercenaries you have and how comfortable you are with stealth. If you're good with it, and have some high agility boys, have your forces sneak into Meduna. The guards outside don't go in and there are no tanks inside the city IIRC. Still very tough though. I remember the airport had a ton of snipers, so you might be better off avoiding there. As long as you get the queen, it doesn't matter if you cleaned the rest out or not.

 

[urmom]

Wildfire is OK, but there's no reason to play it unless you're sick of the base game. Same with UB.

I think Wildfire maps are better. But he can wait until he's done with his Vanilla playthrough to try them.

UB is an okay expansion I guess if you like fighting in bunkers.

 

[Nas92]

Have you conquered other cities? If not then I recommend you do, especially Alma and Grumm, those have some great equipment which may help you with your final assault.

For patrols at later stages of the game it is recommended to attack at them night to negate their numbers advantage. You need glowing sticks, UV goggles, heavily modded assault rifles and explosives. Also for Expert difficulty I would roam with 12 people because 1 squad is just not enough for groups of 20-40. 12 sometimes might feel to crowdy but trust me, with good equipment the enemy won't be able to kill your soldiers unless they decide to do completely bullshit strats like pulling out a LAW in the open or spam throwables. Otherwise you will be able to kill lots of 'em since 12 guns is much more firepower than just 6. If they use explosive then you need to spread apart, they usually use mortars if two or 3 people are in the blast radius. Attacking at day is recommended only when you are annoyed with enemies throwing shit at you because they will when you create muzzle flash from taking those pot-shots. The AI can't stand fighting at night with 0 % chance to hit so they will resort to stuns, frags and gas grenades if your mercs do not wear gas mask (which unlike them you can't with NV / UV goggles).

I have conquered every city except for Balime. I also cleared the ground levels of Tixa and Orta, but they basically immediately reconquered it once I moved out of there.

Yeah, at this point the enemy, especially the patrols, use throwables and explosives really often, there were battles where they didn't fire a single shot, they stayed in the shadows and bombarded me. I tried doing the same to them, but unlike them, I can't see shit, even with night goggles and night ops mercs. (some of my mercs have UV goggles, but not all, couldn't find that many) Sometimes I don't even have a chance to actually do anything, they basically just spawnkill me. I tried doing these missions with 12 people, but at that point micromanaging them is a pain, and the only thing I end up achieving is there are more people getting wiped out.

Also any weapon recommendations for this late in the game on Tons of guns mode? Thus far G41's and C7's were fine. I upgraded some of my troops to using FN-FALs, they seemed pretty powerful, but somehow in practice they're underwhelming as fuck.

 

[urmom]

Trying to remember, but I think my favorite was the Steyr AUG 3. The number of APs required to fire it was very low, and the accuracy and ammo were pretty great. 6.8mm I think? Plus it could take all sorts of attachments.

Must have been added by a mod, because it's not in the wiki.

https://jaggedalliance.fandom.com/wiki/Steyr_AUG

[ed]

The VSS Vintorez was my #2 favorite.

My #3 favorite were mortars with mustard gas, but enemies usually all sported gas masks after a certain point in the game.

 

[Nas92]

Yeah, my game has simple Steyr Aug using 5.56 ammo.

I've been thinking that maybe I should switch to AK-74. Works pretty well for my mercs who do use that and has pretty low AP cost. Not sure how effective it is against armor though.