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Training thru experience
This is the ordinary way. During the mission stats go up when you make a
frequent use of them. E.g. MRK increases by firing a lot, especially with
successful aimed head or out-of-range shots; EXP rises when you mess around with
explosives (and don't get yourself blown up ;), etc. With much action daily
gains of even 3-4 points in some stats are possible.

Individual practice
Done by assigning a merc to "practice" a specific ability (strategic view) Quite
effective with low stats, which can be thus raised to mid-level. However, gains
are slow (we're talking about days here) and training higher stats takes forever.

Coaching
As the name implies, this method requires participation of 2 mercs. Assign the
merc whom you want to exercise as "student" and a skilled merc as "trainer"
(strategic view) The point is to have a merc with a high stat train his/her
teammate's low stat in the same field. Coaching is faster than individual
practice, especially when training higher stats. Mercs with the teaching trait
get a bonus when instructing his/her companions.
With coaching and practice stats can be raised to a maximum level of 85.

"Active" training
Considered cheating by die-hard players, this is the fastest way to raise stats
(in terms of game time) Remarkable gains can be achieved within (game) hours.
This is in fact accelerated training thru experience. "Active" training takes
place in real-time and requires you to put the merc thru his paces to exercise
the particular stat. I found that the best time for such workout is when other
mercs train militia (see: SECTION 5) and you have nothing else to do. With this
kind of training you can quite easily raise stats to about 90. Training over
this level requires much patience, but is still a lot faster than any other
technique. Many of the ways given below are in fact "active" training.


HOW TO INCREASE SPECIFIC STATS
Health
To exercise HEA, travel (on foot) carrying heavy equipment (weight over 100%)
This can be also done in real-time: put a great load on your merc and have
him/her run around. When s/he falls, wait until his/her energy ("breath")
regenerates and... move it soldier!

Agility
AGI is raised by getting interrupts, crawling with stealth on during combat and
dodging bloodcats' blows.

Dexterity
To raise DEX really quick, find some throwing knives and crows (after some time
they appear on rotting bodies) This shouldn't be a problem in towns ;) Use crows
as targets. Blades are not consumed and new hungry birds always appear, so pick
the knives up and repeat until satisfied with the result. If you throw a knife
at a crow which is taking off, you lose the blade (wow, it's spinning!) DEX goes
up also by punching enemies, animals or vehicles and repairing stuff.

Strength
STR can be raised by punching, opening crates and carrying heavy stuff (same way
as HEA)

Leadership
Training militia increases this stat notably, especially when you put a skilled
trainer with a less experienced one in the same sector (see: SECTION 5)

Wisdom
This stat is the one most difficult to raise. During normal gameplay it hardly
ever changes. Still, wisdom can be trained by attaching a detonator to
explosives, setting it and then disarming. Of course, there is a great chance
you will detonate yourself in the process. Therefore this task should not be
attempted by mercs with low EXP, and even with high EXP it's best to save
frequently. Fortunately, EXP can be easily increased.

Marksmanship
The fastest way to raise this crucial stat is to throw knives at crows,
gradually increasing the distance. I strongly suggest this for all marksmen. You
also gain DEX in this way.

Mechanical
MEC is increased, as could be expected, by repairing stuff, picking locks, and
merging items.

Explosives
To raise explosives like fire lay and disarm a mine over and over again. If the
merc's EXP is too low to disarm it, use your explosives specialist and continue
as before. And did I mention "save"?

Medical
Quite plainly, medical skill is raised by performing first aid and by doctoring
injured mercs.

Experience level
This collective stat goes up as the merc develops his/her abilities. The number
of kills, as well as completed quests (see: SECTION 6) influence the experience
level. LVL rises also when the merc gains in his stats! :)



Section 3: ARMAMENT & COMBAT EQUIPMENT

To take over Arulco, besides specialists (see: appropriate chapters in SECTION 1)
you need a crackerjack fire squad - adept snipers with high MRK, AGI and LVL.
Appropriate personnel is, however, just one part of the job. To come into their
own they need proper equipment. You really don't wanna fight Deidranna's army
bare-fisted (and bare-assed ;)


BATTLEDRESS
The importance of body protection needs not be explained. Outfit your team
(particularly snipers, who will see most combat) in the best you can get.
Spectra armor treated with compound-18 offers superior protection against enemy
bullets and to a certain degree grenades. Don't use c-18 on anything other than
spectra, it's too rare to be wasted. Apply it first to vests, then to pants and
finally to helmets - in this way you will gain most extra shielding. Ceramic
tiles (sometimes found in farmhouses) when put into the vest provide even more
protection. With all these improvements your armor can even exceed 100%!
(possibly a bug?) All your snipers must wear sun goggles which raise their sight
range during the day (see: CHANCES TO HIT), and the extended ear to hear the
approaching enemies. They also need to carry gas masks against chemical attacks.
Put these on when necessary. And although it's better not to engage the enemy
after dusk, some sharpshooters may be additionally equipped with night vision
goggles which improve sight range in the dark - just in case. All marksmen (and
particularly those with lower AGI) should carry at least one canteen, an
indispensable fast energy refreshment. Camouflage helps in the open, especially
when crawling in stealth mode (the stealthy trait gives another bonus, see:
SECTION 8)


CHANCES TO HIT (adapted in part from the Official JA2 Website)
A sniper's outfit would not be complete without a firearm. Give your hitmen some
iron and now they are ready to take on the Arulcan army. Shooting unfriendlies
seems basic - how much does it take to fire a gun? Yet, in (game) reality this
action is complex. Your chances to actually hit the enemy with a firearm are
conditioned by multiple factors. The first one is the distance between you and
your target. Obviously, the lesser this length is, the greater the chance of a
successful shot. This factor, also referred to as the sight range, is
additionally modified by the time of the day. By night and underground your
sight range is significantly decreased in comparison with daytime. Mercs with
the night-ops trait have the edge in such circumstances and night vision goggles
help, too. Another determinant is the enemy's posture. You are most likely to
hit him when he is standing. You are less likely to do so when he is crouched,
and even less when he is prone. Your chance depends also on which part of the
body you are pointing your gun at - torso (good), legs (lesser), or head (least)
Besides, the more APs are spent on aiming, the higher the chance of getting a
hit (this action produces much better results with the sniper scope; see: GUN
ATTACHMENTS) Shooting at the same enemy multiple times uses less APs with each
shot and also gives a bonus to hit. But being shot (even without health loss)
decreases accuracy, and wounds received (whether untreated or bandaged) give a
penalty, too. Whether you fire a single shot or a burst also makes a difference:
autofire is penalized and moreover each round in a burst has an increasingly
lesser chance to hit the target. These penalties are reduced by the auto weapons
trait. Following aspects, the merc's MRK and LVL, have already been dealt with
(higher stats mean better accuracy) I believe that the merc's posture while
taking a shot further affects their chances to hit, which should be greatest
when shooting prone, then crouching, and then standing. Finally we come to the
firearms proper. Here 3 factors come into play: the gun's range, condition and
attachments. A long-range firearm enables sniping at the enemy. Besides, long
range increases the likelihood of hitting him, with a bonus also at short
distances. But if the gun is out of range, this chance is halved. As the
weapon's condition drops, it becomes less accurate, and more prone to jamming.
Just what you need in the heat of the battle... not! A jammed gun can become
operational after repeated attempts to fire it (if you get lucky) or after
repairing it. Gun attachments (see appropriate chapter) add to shooting
precision. One last thing - firing a single or two guns (in both hands) at once.
Unless the merc has the ambidextrous trait, using 2 pistols or SMGs (only they
can be fired together) reduces his accuracy considerably.

With all factors taken into account, the accuracy (chance to hit) of any shot
can never be greater than 99% Much like in real life. This means you *might*
miss the enemy standing right next to you! ;)

Of course, a merc who cannot see the enemy won't be able to hit him, except by a
blind chance ;) A small red number in the merc's portrait represents the amount
of enemy soldiers within his/her sight range. When you're not sure, check their
positions by clicking on this number (or press "E") several times. This will
cycle thru enemies visible to that merc. But beware: the fact that you can't see
an enemy does not mean that *he* cannot see you. An enemy soldier may spot your
merc before s/he (the merc) realizes it. In such case the enemy will open fire
and you can only take cover and/or retreat. To learn how to avoid being spotted,
see: SECTION 8. Keep in mind that mercs will initially refuse to take a shot if
they don't have a clear line of sight. Moreover, sometimes the enemy could have
such a good cover that it will be only possible to target his head. In some
circumstances this cover can deflect or even block your bullets. In such case
you will not get a hit regardless of other factors.

Many of the above considerations are in effect also when you become a target.
E.g.: you are most difficult to get hit by the enemy when you're lying prone.
The actual damage inflicted on the enemy (or you) is likewise modified by a
number of factors. Among them are the armor type, weapon type and damage, ammo
caliber and type (see: AMMUNITION), distance, APs spent on aiming (max aiming
resulting in "critical hits" usually does greatest damage), which body part was
shot, whether the hit was direct or ricochetted and so on. Check out also the
Official JA2 Website for more detailed info and sample calculations of to-hit
chances.

NOTE: There is a user-made JA2 utility which calculates the chance to hit
of every shot (see: SECTION 10)


RECOMMENDED GUNS

NOTE: This chapter deals only with the weapons available via the "Normal
guns" setting.

The choice of a weapon depends largely on the tactics you employ. Some players
prefer sneaking with close-range fights; others go in with their guns on full
auto. I personally favor long-range precision shooting. This enables me to take
out the enemies from a significant distance before they approach my squad. At
the same time the foes themselves are too far to take accurate shots - if they
ever get a chance to shoot ;) The gun I need must meet three conditions, in
order of importance: long range, fast operation and high damage. On these
grounds I rule out shotguns (short range, slow) and sniper rifles (excellent
range and damage, but awfully slow) But few other guns fulfil the above criteria
and are thus worth serious attention (ascending by overall value):

Glock 17
Your initial weapon. It's the best pistol: quite fast with 15-round magazine and
easy to repair. On the downside, its short range and low damage make it
effective only at close quarters. But what else can you expect from a pistol?

MP5K
This SMG has a longer range. Fast operation and big magazine make shooting
easier. And you can burst at short distances. The MP5K is a very common gun.
Several can be already found around Drassen.

Mini-14
Once you use it, you will see the difference. This single-shot rifle can be
fitted with a scope plus sight (see: GUN ATTACHMENTS), making it first sniper's
weapon. It uses the popular 5.56mm round to deliver high damage. It's also quite
fast and has a better range.

G41
This should become your standard weapon. A good all around gun. Comparable to
the Mini-14, with even longer range and auto capability.

M14
One of the guns to use until the end of the assignment. With 7.62mm caliber it
dishes out the greatest damage of all rifles. Quite fast firing with range
slightly longer than the G41. Ammo is scarce, though.

C-7
Many people regard it as No.1 gun. No doubt it makes the best use of the 5.56mm
round. And it's Canadian ;) Superior range and fast operation make this
versatile assault rifle the preferred weapon.

FN-FAL
There is no better firearm. The FN-FAL offers the finest in long-range precision
shooting, along with very fast operation. You will only get a couple of these
and 7.62mm clips are hard to come by.

Some people believe that the rocket rifle beats all other weapons. In my opinion
its slow operation and small magazine downplay the exceptional range and damage.
Worst of all, it doesn't accept any attachments (see appropriate chapter) This
excludes accuracy at long ranges and the built-in laser doesn't help much. The
RR is also extremely hard to repair and the mini-rockets are in short supply. If