Jagged Alliance 3 from Haemimont Games

[razvedchiki]

im tempted to restart with ratos overhaul, anyone tried it?

 

[Visperas]

I'm about to start my first playthrough of JA3. Any recommendations on difficulty level? Anything else I should know before I start? Is there a mod so good and useful that you would recommend it even for a first run? Hit me!

 

[destinae vomitus]

I'm about to start my first playthrough of JA3. Any recommendations on difficulty level? Anything else I should know before I start? Is there a mod so good and useful that you would recommend it even for a first run? Hit me!

Play on medium or better yet hard. Ignore whatever the game might say about the easiest difficulty being "standard", it really is just easymode and labeled that way for the sake of retards/gamejournos to not deal a blow to their ego.

When you make your own merc give them at least 60-70 leadership if not max, the tooltip doesn't say it but it also increases travel speed on the map which is vital. As for mods I'd at least recommend UI Enhancements and Darker Nights.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

I'm really quite loving this game. As someone who played and finished JA1 for the first time a few years back, and also given JA2 a fair shot, IMHO this combines their strengths while also bringing good new things to the table.
The graphics, especially the environments are beautiful as well

 

[Strange Fellow]

I'm about to start my first playthrough of JA3. Any recommendations on difficulty level? Anything else I should know before I start? Is there a mod so good and useful that you would recommend it even for a first run? Hit me!

Combat difficulty goes to max, no question. I did try a couple of mods that I would recommend even on a first playthrough, but that was many months ago and they're probably deprecated by now due to patches. The good news is that the game is good without them. I don't think there are any mods out there that will make you like the game if you'd dislike vanilla or vice versa.

When you make your own merc give them at least 60-70 leadership if not max, the tooltip doesn't say it but it also increases travel speed on the map which is vital.

Nothing in this game is vital. You can get by just fine without any high leadership mercs. You don't even need the IMP at all if you don't want him.

 

[3 others]

Is it possible to download Steam Workshop mods for games that you own elsewhere? I have the GOG version of JA3, and both UI enhancements & Darker Nights mod aren't available in Nexusmods.

 

[spectre]

Is it possible to download Steam Workshop mods for games that you own elsewhere? I have the GOG version of JA3, and both UI enhancements & Darker Nights mod aren't available in Nexusmods.

https://af.gog.com/forum/rimworld/guide_how_to_download_mods_directly_from_steam?as=1649904300
This is most likely outdated, but I just wanted to give you an idea about the hoops to jump. Either this method, or a bunch of sketchy websites.
I hear Gaben actively hunts those down, so sucks donkey balls when you're a paying customer and yet get treated like a pirate.

Though if the mods in question are contained to their respective mod folder, perhaps a kind soul would upload them for you.
Sadly, I don't own Ja3, and I don't think workshop works with the demo and getting the game to download all the mods then immediately refund would be really fucking desperate.

 

[agris]

If you have a Steam account I would try the linked approach with the Steam console first, before downloading SteamCMD.

There’s a chance that on a per-app basis it is required for you to own the app to download the workshop file, but being logged into Steam may be enough. That rimworld how-to indicates that the dev specifically enabled anonymous downloading of workshop mods - ie no Steam account required. At a minimum I expect most games require you to be logged into Steam

 

[Abu Antar]

I would make a throwaway Steam account, just in case.

 

[raeven]

I'm about to start my first playthrough of JA3. Any recommendations on difficulty level? Anything else I should know before I start? Is there a mod so good and useful that you would recommend it even for a first run? Hit me!

Definitely recommend max difficulty unless you've never played a turn based tactics game before.

I think the game is more fun without making an IMP character personally. The IMP is super bland and you can make do with what you're given.

As far as mercs, I recommend Barry, Thor, and Wolf in your starting squad. People recommend livewire over wolf but her combat stats are super weak comparatively. She is the funniest Merc in the game though so YMMV. You get an influx of cash after taking the first town and if you head straight to a mine after tutorial island you should be able to afford them without issue. Only hire for 2 weeks at a time to save money, even at the start.

Other grear starting mercs are Ice and Blood. IMO those two round out the best five person squad you can afford in the early game. You can round it out with an IMP Merc, meltdown, or Ivan once you can afford him.

 

[Papill0n]

In that starting squad, you would have no mechanic (Barry is not good enough from the start). Mechanics are important/useful, even early on. There are many options for starting mercs but without explosive experts and mechanics, you're always missing out on some content or on additional options.

 

[raeven]

In that starting squad, you would have no mechanic (Barry is not good enough from the start). Mechanics are important/useful, even early on. There are many options for starting mercs but without explosive experts and mechanics, you're always missing out on some content or on additional options.

Wolf would be the mechanic. His score of 65 is sufficient.

Thor would be the leadership merc, with 61.

Another reason why I like this squad is that Thor likes Ice, and Ice likes blood. the morale advantages for merc relationships are significant because they grant additional AP.

 

[Papill0n]

I guess you skip modding any guns until later when you have guns that are actually worth it and a better mechanic?
Does 65 reliably open chests and doors? The mechanical checks for quests are indeed not that important (but still nice to have), so missing these is not a big deal I guess.

Agree on the merc relations. And then you get Meltdown for the psycho perk? because without it, you miss out on content. And scoundrel? Fox later on?

 

[raeven]

I guess you skip modding any guns until later when you have guns that are actually worth it and a better mechanic?
Does 65 reliably open chests and doors? The mechanical checks for quests are indeed not that important (but still nice to have), so missing these is not a big deal I guess.

Agree on the merc relations. And then you get Meltdown for the psycho perk? because without it, you miss out on content. And scoundrel? Fox later on?

I didn't have a problem with chests between Wolf and a crowbar on Thor. He was able to do mods just fine too as I recall.

You could go with meltdown. I think I went with buns for the sixth merc so I would have a 'sniper' character. She also has the negotiator perk. You're right that that squad of 6 lacks mercs with at least two of the three conversation perks. I still think it's very strong overall, but an argument could be made for Livewire instead for the scoundrel perk. She's squishy as hell though, and wisdom doesn't carry weaker characters to nearly the extent that it did in JA2.

In my third playthrough I made a second squad that provided the conversation perks I was missing in this one.

 

[Strange Fellow]

You also want to avoid Livewire because her unique trait actively makes the game worse.

 

[raeven]

You also want to avoid Livewire because her unique trait actively makes the game worse.

Agreed, it's OP in a way that makes encounters less fun.

 

[3 others]

Can confirm that it's possible to download JA3 mods from Steam Workshop with the SteamCMD tool using an anonymous login.

Here are the steps for Windows:
1. Download SteamCMD (it's an official CLI tool provided by Valve)
2. Unpack the zip
3. Run steamcmd.exe. It will install a bunch of stuff on the first run
4. Enter 'login anonymous'
5. Enter 'workshop_download_item <game ID> <mod ID>'. The game ID for JA3 is 1084160 and the mod ID you can find when browsing Steam Workshop
6. SteamCMD notifies you where it downloaded the mod files. JA3 mods are packaged into Haemimont's identically named ModContent.hpk archives so you'll need to keep track of which ModContent.hpk was which, if you're downloading multiple mods.
7. Create a new subdirectory for each mod in C:\Users\<homo_gaymer>\AppData\Roaming\Jagged Alliance 3\mods\ and move the ModContent.hpk file in there.
8. Launch JA3 and enable the new mods

 

[destinae vomitus]

and wisdom doesn't carry weaker characters to nearly the extent that it did in JA2.

That's because natural stat/skill leveling is heavily throttled behind the scenes, and for no good reason IMO considering how powerful training is compared to JA2 on the other hand, which is why I'd recommend this mod.

 

[Papill0n]

yeah stat increases sounds like another intersting aspect to look into. I'm kinda modding a few simple things these days and the relation between traning stats gains and experience stat gains is indeed odd.

As for wisdom: it's still a very important stat. There are many wisdom checks in conversations, spotting objects and figuring clues/hints is wisdom-related and of course the perks that are available.

 

[Papill0n]

I guess you skip modding any guns until later when you have guns that are actually worth it and a better mechanic?
Does 65 reliably open chests and doors? The mechanical checks for quests are indeed not that important (but still nice to have), so missing these is not a big deal I guess.

Agree on the merc relations. And then you get Meltdown for the psycho perk? because without it, you miss out on content. And scoundrel? Fox later on?

I didn't have a problem with chests between Wolf and a crowbar on Thor. He was able to do mods just fine too as I recall.

You could go with meltdown. I think I went with buns for the sixth merc so I would have a 'sniper' character. She also has the negotiator perk. You're right that that squad of 6 lacks mercs with at least two of the three conversation perks. I still think it's very strong overall, but an argument could be made for Livewire instead for the scoundrel perk. She's squishy as hell though, and wisdom doesn't carry weaker characters to nearly the extent that it did in JA2.

In my third playthrough I made a second squad that provided the conversation perks I was missing in this one.

Oh your starting squad is very strong no doubt about it. Good take to fill the gaps with another squad, though, so not to miss out on content (i played it through a few times now and there's still lotsa stuff in the game files that I didn't activate).

Some of the character traits come in handy as early as tutorial island, though. Then, the longer the game lasts, the less... I guess devs ran out of steam to include silly stat and character checks and intejections the longer they had to write :D
I'm actually modding in some extra characters to hire on the spot to reduce the limitations that otherwise come with the heavy need for specialisation even early on. I want to have more freedom in team composition

 

[raeven]

yeah stat increases sounds like another intersting aspect to look into. I'm kinda modding a few simple things these days and the relation between traning stats gains and experience stat gains is indeed odd.

As for wisdom: it's still a very important stat. There are many wisdom checks in conversations, spotting objects and figuring clues/hints is wisdom-related and of course the perks that are available.

yes, but you can get those benefits by having a single high wisdom character in the party.

 

[Papill0n]

yeah, true. My bad is that I play more of a strategy game with many squads all over the place and rearrange squads here and there... High wisdom mercs are rare. I guess it's easier for those who play the game more like a classical RPG with just one squad that always sticks together so that all the checks are always met.

 

[deuxhero]

What mods should I use for first playthrough? Intended hardest difficulty and drop everything.

 

[Dwarvophile]

I thought I had already played JA3 and it sucked. What a surprise, it's a fun game.

Also the safest way to visit Haiti atm.

 

[Visperas]

Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'ts good.