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Hope that this is of assistance to those of you who are fighting the good fight. If you
are encoutering an especially difficult area, let me know and I will try to walk you through
it.

Keep your heads low and your powder dry.
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OTHER HINTS

1) Game's too hard? Try novice, it ain't novice.

2) Start up the game and before doing anything make certain AIM has the Mercs you
want available (not hired elsewhere). Save now. Then get custom Merc. Don't like him/her?
He/she doesn't have the special abilities you want? Restart and try again. And when it
comes to stats, allocate point to those that don't go up regularly during play.
Marksmanship, agility, meds... all tend to rise. Others move more slowly. And some, like
wisdom, apparently not at all.

3) Buy an expensive Merc with great equipment to begin. YOU GET TO KEEP
EQUIPMENT! Everyone complains about pistols and low rifle supply at first. So buy Lynx,
for example, for just a day, use him to his fullest, keep his armor and rifle, then give it to
a cheaper, less well initially supplied merc.

3a) At the beginning, after getting the best equipment from great, but expensive,
mercs, buy some cheap quick-learnin' rookies, like Barry or Igor. These guys will rise fast
and furiously, yet will charge you a fraction, even once they reach high levels, of the big
boys.

4) Save games in Save menu at critical points. Fast save (alt-s) after small "victories".

5) Talk to the locals. They tell you all the quest info. you need to know.

6) Tired of looking for the enemy? Let them come to you. Take a defensive position and
fire some shots in the air. They'll come running.

7) Never stay too long in a bad position. The temptation is to keep firing with a long
distance rifle, even out of range, at some guy who is well-bunkered in. This wastes time
and ammo. If it don't work, fix it. Leave the position and take a new angle on him. Resist
the urge to stay put.

8) If you enter a sector with enemies and are getting cut to pieces, check the map. It
may present a far superior entry point. Leave, sometime this means taking just two steps,
and re-enter from another side.

9) ALWAYS leave points for next turn. APs accumulate... to a point (excuse the pun). I
believe you can add up to 5 points from a previous turn to the next. If you need that aimed
shot, but don't have the points, don't waste the ammo in frustration. Wait for next turn
and take two well-aimed shots. Oh, and then there's interrupt, nothin' like it.

10) Throw stuff between guys during combat. What a sensation: Lynx just nailed a guy
twice for serious damage from a ridiculous distance with his long-range scoped rifle (the
best weapon on the team). But he's got just five points left and the bugger is still standing
firm with a wicked shotgun ready to end the-guy-on-your-team-who-snuck-up-near-him-
and-ran-out-of-point's life. Toss the rifle to Raven! (Or some other sharpshooter.) The
MP5K she's currently carrying won't go the range or do the damage, but she's got
plenty
o' APs. She catches it, takes careful aim, and plugs the sucker for a critical hit before he
gets one off. "That enemy breathes no more."

11) For information on whether quests have been completed, look at your history file.
Uncompleted quests appear in red. Once they're completed, they turn black and another
notation appears.
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SORTED QUESTIONS

1) What's the most effective way of scouting in a sector where you have no idea
where the enemy is? (I tend to get sloppy and walk right into them because I can't
muster the patience to proceed slowly and methodically through every square foot.)
Patience, several routes. Or move into good defensive positions and fire into the air.
Also cool is attracting the enemy with a sniper team in ambush in an right angle to his
approach.

2) What Precisely cuts down action points in combat? Unbandaged wounds
certainly, but what about bandaged ones? What about energy? I hate when guys with
23 points perfect only get 15 at other times!
An interrupt with not the full action points left from the previous round. An interrupt
after an interrupt. A hit. Running, using full APs for some rounds. Bandaged mercs have
less APs. If your merc is not hurt (bandaged of not bandaged) and not tired (blue bar) he
should get the full APs all the time.

3) When you Quick Load a turn back does the fight go exactly as before unless
you do something radical?? That happens to me a lot. Hits and misses are the same
if i have the same people fire in the same order??? Also the enemy always hits for
same amount of points and never misses.
Yes, I've had the same thing. When I re-load, everything is exactly the same unless I
do something different. I only re-load when somebody took a hit, though, so it's usually
easy to solve: I just take the person that took a hit & move them to somewhere safer.
That way I have one less person firing & it changes the random number generator (or
whatever).
Force your way into locked rooms - it doesn't seem to cause loyalty issues, except
maybe in Balime, but then it will be obvious to you why.

4) Is it worth letting the computer auto-resolve battles, or is it too much of a
risk?
It depends on the ratio of mercs/militia versus enemy, and depending on their levels. If
your mercs and/or militia outnumber the enemy, using AutoResolve may speed things up
without risking your mercs. Besides, during AutoResolve you can always order your mercs
to flee the sector by clicking on their portrait in the AutoResolve window.

5) Does the enemy attacks all the sectors of cities indiferently of what they
contain?
I've noticed that the game AI appears to exclusively go after the "high value" areas
(mines, airports, SAM sites), and I have yet to see it go after population areas such as the
middle section of Drassen or the non-hospital section of Cambria.

6) What's the yellow crosshair for?
The yellow crosshair is what happens to tell you that you're using the maximum amount
of AP's you can for targeting.... making an "aimed shot" compared to just moving the
cursor
over the enemy, and just L-Clicking the mouse. Move the cursor over the enemy, and R-
Click a few times... notice the number increase? You're now aiming.

7) Is it worth searching the non-obvious places? I did find a key once in a
medicine chest that seemed like all the others, but searching everything is such a
bore in broken down town.
I would search every corner. Depends on what you are willing to endure to get a health
booster or another grenade.

8) Is there any safe place to store items without haveing a significant risk of
theft?
In a sector where you have militia. they'll keep it safe for you, until the sector get
taken by the enemy. Also realize if you have no militia in the sector, the items may begin
to disappear… remember you are in a war ravaged country, where that mini-14 you have
left on the ground may bring a family security or food for the next week…

9) What are the specific effects of alcohol (seems to make morale soar for
moment, then plummet)?
Tends to temporarily boost the morale, followed by low morale for a period of time…
Don't give to Ivan though, he had a relative he will tell you about who became an alcoholic…

10) Hmmm, this game was released 3+ months ago in Germany, and from what I
know it had the same bugs the English version has.. couldn't u guys fix a few of
these? (especially the damn helicopter - sam site crash.. god, so damn annoying, I
can't use chopper at all to try to avoid random crashes). Anyway, when is the patch
coming? And, will my old save games be compatible w/ the game after I patch it?
Every bug that was reported by Topware was fixed for the English version. The
helicopter crash is a missing file that will appear in the patch. However, in the meantime,
know that if your game exits to the desktop stating "missing file for character 97", it
basically means Skyrider has been shot down, which you probably don't want to happen.
And yes, when the patch is released, your save games will be compatible.
Ian Currie – Sirtech Canada

11) Am I missing something?
Can somebody tell me the levels of armor in this game? I'm on day 8, and I have
one Kevlar vest, and the rest of my mercs have flak jackets. It's only day 8, and
the enemy is taking very little damage from my weapons, and I'm getting nailed for
35-60 points by these guys. I'm using automatic rifles and such, but they only do
about 20. What armor do the enemies have, and is there somewhere I can get it? I
know the enemy should be stronger, but it seems to be unfairly so for the novice
level setting at this point in the game. (What I mean by unfairly is that on Day 8, I
don't have the resources to hire really top-notch mercs, and I don't have access to
the really good weapons or explosives, which I seem to need defeat the enemies I am
facing. Just sitting around saving up money leads to attacks by the queen's forces.)

Here's a little bit of friendly assistance.
- Buy better Mercs at the start. I chose Lynx to begin with because he's one of the
best sharpshooters in the game and because he's one of the only semi-affordable ones
with a red-hot, long-range rifle. This will help you immensely in the beginning. Of course,
you have to grab those mines fast to be able to keep on affording him or one like him (also
started with just one other hired Merc, Danny for Meds).
- The enemy militia slightly North of Drassen that guard the roads and territories
between towns have longer range weapons. This makes them tougher to defeat, but a few
good battles might score you a couple of decent range weapons.
- You're on the 8th day, Gun's & Ammo store should be getting in a few new, better-
than-pistols items by now - order a few.
- Use the right ammo for the job. Some of those enemy bad boys have the tough armor
(enemy types are defined by color, see the manual - elite troops are badddd). Go for the
head or, alternatively, use that AP ammo for a bit more damage (though it might not score
you the 40+ point hits).
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1. MERCS, NPC'S & ENEMIES

1.1 - MERCS SKILLS

What does Dexterity effect exactly?
Dexterity affects the skills that use it, primarily Medical and Mechanical, but also
quite possibly removing traps…

Does the skill of the Doctor determine the speed of healing of "patients" when in
"doctor" mode (not bandaging in battle, but actual health point recovery)?
Yes.

Is training worth it? (Seems to take long time)
No, some mercs with high wisdom learn faster, and with a trainer student situation even
faster yet.

Where do Mechanic skills really come in handy, beyond fixing items? (For example,
I tried wire cutters on barb wire fence in trees in Alma sector, I believe, and though
they turned gray, as opposed to red, they didn't cut squat - maybe mech skill too
low.)
Mechanic skills allow for better lockpicking, and removing of traps…
The wire cutters will only work when the symbol is red. You need to fiddle around a bit
until you find a spot where it works. There´s no link between tech skills and using the wire
cutters.

Is camouflage programmed to just an attribute of merc´s visibility in the game ?
so will it work also inside houses too ? Or is it more complex code ?
I believe camouflage only works in the outdoors...
Eric T. Cheng – Sirtech Canada

Ok, here's my question. Does Dexteriety affect marksmanship in anyway at all?
Reason why I am asking is this. My custom merc has a 87marks and a 85dex, and
he can consistently out shoot Scope with her 99marks and 73(?)dex. I payed good
money for Scope and she isn't doing to good.
Nope, depends on guns mostly. Dex is used for determining if you hit for everything
else like punches, grenades and various knives (thrown and melee). Also, some mercs are
better at burst fire. There has been speculation about certain mercs being better with
certain weapons like Ivan with Russian made weapons and such, but no hard facts from Mr.
Camfield.


Suggestion (and some info) for the Attributes of the Custom Merc:

Health - 65
Unless health has a meaning other than how many hit points you get, I don't see why
you need a big health. If you take 30 hits, it takes the same amount of time to heal them
whether you went from 99 to 69 or from 55 to 25. If I take a bunch of hits, I'll run from
back-up anyway. If I find out that dexterity is useful for something, I will run my health
down to 55 & take 85 dex without a 2nd thought.

- To improve, get shot, hit, and daggered 'till at least 2/3 of your health is
gone. and leave it alone for a while and watch your blood-drops before medicate
him/her. Too dangerous to try at the end of the game 'cause enermies are simply
too powerful.

Agility - 85
A big one. Combat movement points is apparently based on agility, as is stealth. Also,
this attribute is somewhat difficult to boost.

- To improve, dodge bullets, knives, and punches a lot. Sometimes punching or
knifing enermies can increase this stat, but most of time punching will do for
Strength and knifing will do for Dexterity.
- Agility is increased this way. When you're in the real time mode and looking
for enemies and see them first, pull back into cover, and a lot of times the agility
goes up a point. My Merc is usually around 88-89.
- I've also had agility go up when I try to sneak & run at the same time.

Dexterity - 75
Wish I knew what dexterity was good for. It must be worth something, though, so I
think it gets a lot of points.

- Dexterity basically boils to how well you can handle two weapons at once.
Also important for medics and such, but if your merc is ambidextrous, dexterity is
a big factor.
- Dexterity is used for determining if you hit for everything else like
punches, grenades and various knives (thrown and melee.)
- The best info I have been able to come up with is that dexterity has little
effect on combat except for the determination of whether you can have the
ambidextrous skill. Otherwise, it's mainly for explosives, mechanical, & medical