[Eagle of Fire]

Originally Posted by Talkie

Hello,


I have never played Jagged Alliance before. I heard a whole lot about this franchise through the years, but always somehow managed to ignore it. As I'm always zigzaguing between playing a current title and an older rumoured-to-be-a-gem title, it's time for me now to attempt playing this.

JA is one of the best games I ever played. It had a lot going for this title back in the days but they were mostly innovations not seen before and if you're used to new games now then it might feel kind of bland. But it is still a great game.

I have to mention that I already had to restart all over because I used a full 8 mercs from day 1 (at normal setting) and was having many problems while moving along, expecially concerning funds. Now, I am playing on easy level (hate to admit that) with more careful selection of mercs. Had major problems on sector 29, where I wasted A LOT of ammo, but I read here this is a common sector people find difficult, so I won't panick too much.

Yup. Part of the normal gaming experience. Most people have to restart for this very reason because they think it is very important to have a full team. Once you get to know the game you realize that it is much more important to have a few key members which fill key spots. I remember I hired a guy who never got out on a single mission in the whole game, he was staying back at the base and repaired all my armor, guns and misc items (usually in this priority) so my fighting mercs could perform well enough without dying. Mercs perform better when they are not injured, more importantly do't lose max AP and also guns which are below 90% have a real chance of jamming in the wrong moment. Managing your mecs and equipment is part of the game experience though, no question asked.

What I'm panicking about is this:

I keep reading that you MUST capture 3 sectors a day in Jagged Alliance, or you risk getting half-way through the videogame and not able to move on and you might have to restart from day 1 or very early on. I hate when that happens, when I have to restart everything, so that is why I opted playing on Easy. My question is: can I relax about this whole 3-sectors-a-day deal on Easy mode? Is it fine if I just make 1 or 2 sectors? I find everything to be a bit slow, so it sounds to me that 2 sectors a day would be a better rhythm. Is there in fact, a limit of "days" available in the overall plot?

I'd say it is true but that you should consider it as an average and not an obligation. Most of the time, considering allowing your mercs to rest or be healed is way more important. Once you'll get used to the game you'll find it's quite easy to go thru the very first sectors (until you secure the water source, which happen quite early game) without casualties and sometimes without even getting hurt (getting hit is not the same than getting hurt if you have good enough armor). I remember getting used to look around the base at day one, then capturing at least 2 to 3 sectors in the same day and stopped only because of nightfall with my mercs being uninjured.

I remember reading that some people completely ignore the base until they get to a point in which they need to stop to recuperate. At that time it is usual to have a single merc or two which are uninjured but would not perform well alone, so you either set them for practice (inefficient) or you can use that opportunity to get all the stuff lying in the base. You'll definitely need the ammo hidden everywhere later on.

Cover is the most important aspect of this game. You always need to make sure your guys are not in the open because you risk getting ambushed and shot at first, which is the last thing you want. Most early levels have very obvious strategy routes and if you are careful it is rather easy to avoid casualties even if you're not used to the game and get hit often. In practice, simply crouching or laying down behind a bush is a great protection. The enemy bullets often hit the scenery before you then. The real trick is to get the enemy where you want it. Or, more to the point, learn to ambush them yourself and take them from multiple directions.

Someone earlier mentioned that quick-save during combat is worth nothing. Not sure what they meant: I use it all the time. I can even return to the last quick save when I relaunch, so that's pretty useful when I get stressed and need a long pause (because things here CAN get a little stressful, but that's the fun of it). Yes, I heard that sometimes it's buggy and won't relaunch. Never yet happened, but I also save each starting day.

Not sure about this either. But I remember I used to quick save only on critical moments which would lead to a very bad outcome or one of my merc death. Restarting the whole day when there is only a few hours or minutes left before night is not a really enjoyable experience when you repeat it often.

I'd definitely never quit the game in the middle of combat though. I would always save at the end of the day.

I need to learn the best distance for firing, because my mercs keep telling they have a view of the enemies, but waste a lot of ammos on them. So I suppose the perfect distance for each weapon has nothing to do with enemy sight, and I haven't mastered that yet. It's hard, what with the little action points and all!

You are quite right on that part. You're doing very well if you noticed this already.

I usually go with the %chance of hitting. If I want to conserve ammo I'll want to get as high as possible before firing. Some weapons are very rare and have very scarce ammo but are also most deadly so you will definitely want to watch this aspect of the game later on.

Another small question: the canteens. I dropped them after use. I'm guessing am going to have serious problems real soon. I can't seem to use them on the rivers. That's part of why I'd prefer do a couple sectors each day, so I can rest my mercs because they only can do so much. What do I do to get more water?

This strange item is one of the most important item in your whole game. You did make the heck of a bad tactical choice by leaving them on the field... But you can come back to the area and pick them back up, isn't? Canteens refill automatically each day at your base if you have them on you or at your base but you can't refill them yourself. What you can do is fill one half canteen with another half canteen to save up space as used up canteens stack if I remember well. I always made sure every single merc had one or a few canteen on themselves before heading out as it is a quick and cheap way to get fatigue out of the merc system. As the canteens got used up I gathered them all on a single merc to save space. This item is specially important when your merc is wounded or you are traveling very arduous terrain like swamps. A sip in middle of battle can make the difference with your merc firing 3 times and winning or firing 2 times and finding himself in a bad spot.

Always used them liberally. Either in battle or between battles. Save a lot of time resting and help keeping top shape when you travel.