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Jagged Alliance

Strategy Guide

By Wade D. Glasscock 76153.2466@compuserve.com
HTML by Ben Giddings ben.giddings@pobox.com
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CONTENTS

Introduction
Section 1 -- Game Objectives
Section 2 -- Hiring, Firing & Dealing With Mercs & Natives
Section 3 -- Game Tips
Section 4 -- Breakdown of game items
Section 5 -- If you're in a money bind...
Section 6 -- Cheats
Section 7 -- Tips for saving your game

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INTRODUCTION

Jagged Alliance is a combination Strategy, Role-Playing game with a touch of
Adventure added in. It features turn based combat at the squad level much along
the lines of XCOM. Its most endearing feature is the interaction between its
characters. There are over 4,000 lines of spoken dialogue, much of which is
highly entertaining. The dialogue skillfully blends into the game, and the
voice acting is terrific. One publication called it " XCOM with personality".
Well, put! The combat is often a bit slow-paced and less "edge of the seat"
than XCOM, but the personality part of the game adds something special that
other combat games lack. Strategy Plus called it " addictive alliance" and
applauded its innovation. PC Gamer awarded it an Editors' Choice award.
Computer Gaming World gave it 4 1/2 of 5 possible stars and described it as "
truly a genre-busting product........must buy."

On the down side there are some frustrating and un-realistic aspects to
portions of the game play. The save game scheme needs shipping out to sea.
Version 1.0 is prone to crashes. You need to get the Version 1.1 patch ASAP and
do not use smartdrv under any circumstances. Glitches aside, this is one
heckuvva good game. Since it's a "first try" it will hopefully evolve into a
much better one in subsequent incarnations. (A Head To Head offspring is
already in the works.)

The primary purpose of this Strategy Guide is to help beginning players get
started and shorten the learning curve. It is not intended to be a detailed and
all encompassing FAQ. This is not a replacement for your manual. If you don't
have a manual, I suggest you buy the game. Enjoying the game right off the bat
is the goal, and of course ultimately winning. Short and sweet. Good games have
more than one strategy approach that can prove successful. If there was only
one correct way it would be a very boring game. There are lots of ways to skin
a cat. This is just one of them. If you have a better way, go for it. This
guide is for those who don't.

Winning at Jagged Alliance revolves primarily around Strategic Thinking, Combat
Skills, Cash Flow & Resource Management. Now let's get to the meat of the
matter.
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SECTION 1

GAME OBJECTIVES

Your primary objective is to recapture the Island of Metavira and regain
control of its Fallow trees, whose sap can cure diseases the world over. You
must "save the sap" from the evil clutches of Lucas Santino and his red-shirted
thugs. To achieve this you must eliminate the enemy in all of the 60 sectors on
the map of Metavira. You start the game with only one sector "in hand" #60.
"Milestone" objectives along the way are as follows:

Day 1
Find the "micropurifier". You will find this in the 1st sector you
capture. I recommend Sector 59. You must find the micropurifier to
be able to resume Fallow Tree production.
Day 3
Secure the "Water Source." Capture Sector 29 to accomplish this.
Capture Sector 30 to complete the re-taking of the entire water
source.
Day 4
Capture "Brenda's Lab". Capture Sector 28 note: The enemy will
attempt to re-capture Brenda's Lab and kidnap Brenda. This may or
may not happen and is dependent on certain variables (some of which
may be beyond your control). There are two paths to the game that
diverge here depending on the outcome of the above. You continue to
capture sectors regardless of which occurs. However, if Brenda is
kidnapped. You will want to find & rescue her along the way.
Day 5 or later
Capture the 2nd Factory. This allows you to increase your Fallow
Tree production as by now your first factory in Sector 60 is
probably running at or near capacity.
Later on
You must find the "Pomillia Flowers" and return them to Brenda.
They exist in only one sector & they can be vital in your attempt
to win the game.

Also later on you need to:

Capture the 3rd Factory
Capture the Natives' "Sacred Burial Grounds"
Capture the 4th Factory
Find "Brenda's Journal"
Find the Natives' "Sacred Headstone"
And Ultimately -- Get Rid of Santino (and possibly save the sapling)

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SECTION 2

HIRING, FIRING & DEALING WITH MERCS & NATIVES

[ Top ]
[ Overview | Categories & Reccomendations | Suggested Hiring Schedule ]
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OVERVIEW

To accomplish all of the game's objectives, you will need to hire (and
sometimes fire) Mercs. They are your only means of dealing with Santino and his
thugs. This takes money. You start with a set amount of capital depending on
the difficulty level you are playing. Starting amounts are as follows:

Easy Level: $25,000
Normal Level: $20,000
Hard Level: $15,000

Mercs are paid a daily salary, Natives are also paid daily to act as "Guards"
or tree"Tappers".

You will find that your starting capital will quickly erode without a source of
income. That source is the production from Fallow Trees captured in ensuing
sectors. Money and personnel management are vital to your success in the game.

Natives must feel secure that their lives are not in danger, and that they are
being treated and paid properly.

Mercs in addition to wanting money all have distinct personalities that can
come into play. Some of these personality traits can be quite trying to you the
" master of mercs".

You are their employer, and like all employer/employee relationships, things
are not just cut and dried. Some mercs don't want to work with other mercs,
some will quit or demand more money if you fire one of their buddies.
Personality conflicts are just as prevalent on Metavira as in the ordinary,
everyday outside world. You may also find that firing mercs early in the game
can have some very negative bearings on the proceedings. (For example: if you
fire "Tex" he will bad-mouth you to all the other mercs.) You may also find
that it is often better to "let" a merc be killed rather than firing him or her
early in the game. However, if too many mercs get killed early in the game,
other mercs may turn down your offer of employment on the grounds that they
would have to be crazy to hire on with someone who keeps getting his mercs
killed off in short order. Firing Mercs in the early part of the game is a
potenitally hazardous experience. Later in the game, it seems to take on a more
realistic bent.

The majority of the best Mercs are too expensive to hire at the games onset,
and many of the best ones won't work for you anyway, until you"prove" yourself.

Almost all of the cheaper Mercs will be only too happy to work for you. But as
in real life you generally get what you pay for, and in the case of "El Cheapo"
mercs this is often the same. Some of these people are real misfits. Most of
them can't shoot worth a hoot. Mercs that can shoot are critical to your
chances of survival on Metavira.

There are some "cheap" Mercs that will prove to be good team members with a
little experience. There are also some medium priced Mercs that worth vastly
more than their salaries would indicate. Below are some ideas to keep in mind
when hiring Mercs and some reccomendations of specific ones to consider.

Don't load your boat with Mercs the first day. Hire 4 or 5 at most to begin
with. Most of the first sectors you will go after are not difficult enough to
justify a full boat's worth of overhead.

As you assemble your team, you will ideally want a final early game group that
has 2 mercs with good skills in each of the main skill classes. These skills
are Marksmanship, Mechanics, Medical, & Explosives. (I prefer all of these to
be decent shots or have high wisdom so that training will resolve the
deficiency. I also want high Agility ratings so that they can move and act as a
team with no laggards).

Other important traits are high ratings in Agility, Dexterity & Wisdom.

Agility seems directly related to Action Points. You want all high agility
types in the field. If a merc has low agility, forget him or her for field
duty. Low agility types will always be lagging far behind everyone else in
traversing the terrain. Agility also relates to reaction abilities. Dexterity
seems to play into several equations. Hand precision in particular, which can
be very important for Doctors performing surgery. Wisdom means smart Mercs pick
up points fast when trained and learn quickly from their experiences.

Experience Class as the manual will tell you is the most important trait in the
game. " it reflects the sum of their abilities" (see pg. 6 of the manual).
However, in the beginning this is not an option that you can do a lot about.
Merc "Kills" seems to be directly related to gains in experience class. Ivan is
a 2, but when I finished the game he was a 5 with 90 kills under his belt going
into the final day.
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[ Top | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 | Section 6 |
Section 7 ]
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CATEGORIES AND RECCOMENDATIONS

You want at least one of the following in your employment by day 4: Category
Recommendation Comments
Marksman Ivan $1,500 but worth every penny. A "must have." Cheap at twice the
price. Only speaks Russian, but it would be okay with me if he could only speak
Swahili the way he shoots.
Mechanic Vinny A good mechanic at a good price $385. Needs a couple of canteens
at all times. Those Brooklyn types can't hack the humidity.
Medic Fox Good $ value with high wisdom. She won't work the first day, but will
arrive on day 2 if asked. $515.
Explosives Fidel Expensive at $1,550, but highest rated explosives guy in the
game & a good marksman. I would wait until Day 4 to hire him. He should be
another canteen carrier.
Jack of all trades Grunty Good $ value & much better than his stats would
indicate. Start with him. $490
Wolf A good mid-game choice -- a bit expensive at the start. $1,850
Budget Marksman Hector Good $ value and learns fast. $410
Native Guides Elio Offered to you on Day #2. All are free but of limited value.
They do however give you some interesting information on the history of each
sector. Accept Elio when offered to you, but allow him to be"killed off" the
same day and a few days later you will be offered HAMOUS, who is a 74 mksman
compared to Elio's 28.
"Stay at Home"
Medic, Mechanic Eli Can alternate between being an in house Medic and Mechanic.
Can also alternate in the field if needed. I would not hire him until Day 4.
$1,400
2nd premium Marksman Ice 2nd only to Ivan in this price range $1,300 add him
when cash flow allows other possibilities
Other Speck Excellent in house only mechanic-budget price $365
Sparky In house mechanic - very cheap. $205
Jimmy Very good in/out mechanic. Mediocre shot $800.
Hurl Budget medic. Decent shot. Low agility $400

I'm sure there are probably other good possibilities in addition to the ones
above. Those mentioned herein are ones that I have either personally used or
come recommended by a number of other players.

Mid Game Possibilities -- when you have a big positive cash flow
Dr. "Needle" Kranhium -- Top Medic and can shoot $1,900
"Doc" Koolhan -- Very good Medic and can shoot $1,750
Rudy "Lynx" Roberts -- marksman supreme $3,300
Victoria Waters -- multiple talents $2,850
Mid-Late Game -- it only takes money, and lots of it
"Magic" -- multi talented super star at a price $5,600
Leo Kelly -- excellent marksman. good mech. $4,700
"Scully" -- Very good all around (with an M16 rifle to boot) $7,500
End Game
Mike -- when money is no object and you need the very best (and you