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JAGGED ALLIANCE 2
GUIDE
by Andy "ND" Chorosinski
ndchoros@yahoo.com



ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The guide has its origins in my earlier project called "Jagged Alliance 2 NPCs
FAQ", which after some revisions was incorporated here as SECTION 6. My original
FAQ was based on Brian C. Robinson's "collective" JA2 FAQ - generally a
compilation of postings from the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup. In
my FAQ I largely expanded and modified info found in Brian's, keeping some
quotes here and there. Some time afterwards I wrote sections devoted to the
remaining game topics. By putting it all together I gave this guide its present
shape. There is no version history, as I didn't keep track of the changes and
saved over the same file. Effectively the whole guide was rewritten about a
dozen times ;)

This guide is based on the experienced difficulty level, realistic style, normal
guns option, version 1.03 US. It has a lot of practical info for all kinds of
players, also veterans. I strove to be objective in most respects, but many of
the solutions given here are just one of the possible ways. As each player
develops his/her (?) own strategy and tactics, some other choices may work for
him/her better. And although this guide is rather comprehensive, it naturally
does not fully exhaust the topic. Refer to the LINKS section for more
information on JA2.

Practically all info in this guide comes from my own playing experience and own
copious analyses of particular strategic/tactical issues. A few hints were
suggested by various people on JA2 forums. From some other sources I took game
stats. See CREDITS for contributions.

Oh, all the trademarks are copyright of their rightful owners :)



CREDITS
Following is the list of sites and people that contributed to this guide:

Sir-Tech Canada www.sir-tech.com
The makers of this excellent game and the whole JA series (great job, guys!)

Brian C. Robinson bcr19374@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu
Usenet postings arranged by him provided the basis for the NPCs section

Mad Sci mad_sci@usa.net
I used his tables with stats of hirable personalities

Official JA2 Website www.jaggedalliance2.com
From here I got info on chances to hit

Cat's JA2 Weapon Library tdoq2hq.virtualave.net/guns
I used this homepage for weapon stats

and the people whose names I didn't take down (sorry folks!), who provided hints
at the JA2 forums:
Terravirtua JA2 Discussion Board www.terravirtua.com
TacticalPlanet JA2 Discussion Board forums.tacticalplanet.com
Bear's Pit Jagged Alliance Forum www.ja-galaxy-forum.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Well, I'm a student of English Language Studies at the Jagiellonian University
in Krakow, Poland. My major is translation. I'm also an avid fan of the JA
series and other turn-based tactical/RPG games, like the Fallout series (love
it!) or Incubation.

'nuff said. Enjoy the guide! :)



CONTENTS & page
Section 1: MERCS 4
HIRING 4
INSURANCE BROKERS 5
IMP 5
MERC 5
STATS, SKILLS & TRAITS 5
ASSEMBLING A PRO TEAM 6
MECHANICS 6
NEGOTIATORS / TRAINERS 8
EXPLOSIVES SPECIALISTS 10
HEAVY WEAPONS SPECIALISTS 11
DOCTORS 12
JACKS OF ALL TRADES 13
TOP SPECIALISTS 14

Section 2: RAISING STATS 15
METHODS OF RAISING STATS 15
HOW TO INCREASE SPECIFIC STATS 16

Section 3: ARMAMENT & COMBAT EQUIPMENT 17
BATTLEDRESS 17
CHANCES TO HIT 17
RECOMMENDED GUNS 19
GUN ATTACHMENTS 20
AMMUNITION 21
HEAVY WEAPONS 22
GRENADES 22
EXPLOSIVES 23
BLADED AND BLUNT WEAPONS 25

Section 4: WAYS TO GET EQUIPMENT & FUNDS 25
HOW TO GET EQUIPMENT 25
HOW TO GET FUNDS 27
WEIRD ITEMS 28

Section 5: MILITIA 29
LOYALTY 29
TRAINING 30
AUTORESOLVE VS. REGULAR BATTLES 30

Section 6: NPCs FAQ 31
OMERTA 31
DRASSEN 32
SAN MONA 35
CHITZENA 37
CAMBRIA 38
GRUMM 40
ESTONI 41
TIXA 42
ALMA 43
BALIME 44
ORTA 46
MEDUNA 47
RANDOM LOCATION NPCs 48
HIRABLE NPCs 51

Section 7: VEHICLES 53

Section 8: MISCELLANEOUS TACTICAL TIPS 54

Section 9: PROGRAM BUGS (ver. 1.03 US) 55

Section 10: LINKS 56



Section 1: MERCS

You start your mission by hiring some mercs from AIM. This earliest choice is
perhaps most important in the whole game, as these soldiers will be your
vanguard in Arulco. Your initial team will make a reconnaissance of the area,
get in touch with the rebel resistance (your allies) and earn their confidence
and cooperation. This team will also engage first enemies, the soldiers of
Arulcan army. Choosing the right guys (and gals :) for this job is essential.
Employing the appropriate people will greatly facilitate the accomplishment of
your assignment. Thus you'll finish the game faster and with less pain.
Literally ;)


HIRING
The amount of initial funds depends on the difficulty level. In any case you
should be able to start by hiring at least 3 decent, if not good, mercs for a
week. 3 is the minimum number, but don't overdo it. It is more sensible to hire
few skilled mercs than a horde of total rookies. A week's deal is good for
practical reasons. You won't do much in just a day and the mercs will not want
to prolong their contracts then. Although in the beginning you cannot afford a
competent team for a longer time, you should select 2 weeks' contracts as soon
as you gather some funds (see: SECTION 4 - HOW TO GET FUNDS) This is the most
economical choice - in this way you pay the least for a day of merc's service.
Moreover, if anyone on your team gains in experience level (which means their
wages increase), they will not demand a raise until their contract expires.
Therefore they will work for you longer at a lower cost.

Most AIM mercs apart from their regular wages require a medical deposit. This
money is to cover treatment of a merc who gets dismissed while in need of
medical attention. If this happens, any remaining amount will be subsequently
returned to you. If the merc is sent away in full health, you will be refunded
the whole sum. This deposit is mostly determined by the merc's experience level:
the more experienced s/he is, the greater sum is required. By extending mercs'
contracts you can avoid paying an increasing deposit; then you do it only at
first hire.

Whether the mercs will or will not be inclined to extend their contracts is
based mostly on how they perceive your effectiveness. Among the negative factors
affecting your performance are merc fatalities and injuries, high turnover rate
(how frequently you hire/fire personnel), lost/deserted battles and any
locations reclaimed by Deidranna. Mercs' morale is raised by winning battles,
liberating towns and completing quests (see: SECTION 6) Mercs' disposition
(friendly, aggressive, etc.) and personal likes/dislikes will also affect their
judgment. Sometimes you will be able to keep a quitting merc by offering them
higher wages. In such case a 50% increase should do, which is roughly what they
demand after gaining another experience level. Some mercs may leave without
giving you the chance to extend their contract. This will happen if you are
doing badly or if you hire somebody they don't like. Sometimes you might be able
to rehire such mercs later.

At times you may be unable to hire certain AIM mercs. They can refuse because
your leadership skills are questionable, because there is somebody they do not
like on your team or because they are busy on another assignment. In the last
case you can leave a message and they will contact you each time they return.
But occasionally you may get a notification of such merc's death while on duty.
These accidents are random. If this merc was the one you intended to hire,
reload a previous game and hope that now another (or no one) will die ;) As far
as I know 3 mercs are killed in this way.


INSURANCE BROKERS
Optionally you can insure your hired mercs (AIM only) at Malleus, Incus & Stapes
Insurance Brokers. The insurance works like this: if a member of your team gets
killed before their contract expires, you will get back your money for the
remaining period. The premium and the possible refund depend on several factors,
read it all on their homepage. If you are a cautious player (and you certainly
don't want your mercs to die) you won't ever need insurance. IMO it is only a
waste of cash.


INSTITUTE OF MERCENARY PROFILING (IMP)
Try not to spend whole funds on AIM. The IMP site which lets you create a custom
merc is definitely worth checking out. I think this is one of the best features
of the game. Not only is it a highly entertaining process, but it also gives the
play a personal touch. The custom merc's stats can be fully adjusted to meet
your needs, but this always means a trade-off. You can't simply create a
superhero ;) Skills, traits and personality of the created merc, as well as
his/her equipment, will depend on the decisions made throughout the
questionnaire. Apart from the IMP charge, your custom merc will work for free!
You can only create one merc at IMP, but it's still well worth the price.
Different answers and stats generate different mercs. Save before you enter IMP
and experiment.


MORE ECONOMIC RECRUITING CENTER (MERC)
On the second day you will receive e-mail from Speck, a cowardly merc from
previous JA games (though hopeless in the field, he made a cheap, skillful home
mechanic) On AIM homepage you will find that Speck has quit this organization to
establish a rival enterprise - MERC. Personnel offered by Speck is mostly very
cheap, but rather useless. Still, you may find some of them helpful (see:
chapters on specialists) These characters can be only hired on a daily basis,
but you don't have to pay up front. Speck will remind you of your debit after
some time. At the beginning your choice is just 6 "mercs" from the total of 10.
To be able to hire the rest you have to employ some of the initial ones and keep
paying for their services. Without this Speck will complain about funds
insufficient to recruit new personnel.


STATS, SKILLS & TRAITS
All mercs' stats and skills are explained by in-game help ("H" in laptop)
Generally, the higher the stat is, the more effective the merc will be in
exercising this particular ability. But mercs have both strengths and weaknesses.
Some of them are better at certain jobs, other sport great vitality or posses a
special aptitude (see below) Use this knowledge to your profit. While there are
few top-notch soldiers who surpass other mercs in various fields (see: JACKS OF
ALL TRADES), they are usually extremely expensive. You won't be able to afford
their services for long or early on. A low physical stat (75), among other assets they will be
able to do more things in turn-based combat (especially fire more shots) These
soldiers will constitute the core of your squad. At the beginning 3 snipers
should be enough to take over a hostile sector, but later you will need at least
twice as much firepower. You also have to employ specialists in diverse fields