Haemimont Games and THQ Nordic's Jagged Alliance 3 is a complex tactical strategy game in which players control a group of mercenaries as they seek to liberate the fictional West African nation state of Grand Chien from the occupation of an oppressive warlord known as "The Major." In addition to managing different squads of mercenaries and their unique personalities, players will also have to manage the territories they occupy, such as Diamond Mines and Settlements, in order to generate both income and Loyalty.
Loyalty is a measure of how well the player gets on with the local populace in a given area. This will influence the production output from nearby Diamond Mines, and may also have implications for how certain storylines will play out in the given settlements. There are two key ways in which players are able to generate Loyalty quickly: winning battles against the Legion, and completing any Side Quests for characters in the settlements.
Winning Battles
In order to start earning loyalty from any given settlement, players will first have to liberate it from the control of the Legion. This is done by simply defeating any occupying group in a given zone. This will automatically provide a base loyalty figure, which will then change depending on players' actions thereafter. Defeating further groups of Legion soldiers in the surrounding Zones will also help to increase the loyalty of a settlement.
Just as settlements can be liberated, they can also come under attack. Players will need to ensure that either their Mercenaries are present or that a strong Militia has been trained in order to defend them. Players will be notified when a settlement is under attack via the Satellite View, and being in place to defend will help win increased Loyalty from the target settlement. Increased loyalty will lead to greater income from any nearby diamond mines, and this effect is stackable across multiple settlements surrounding a single diamond mine.
Completing Side Quests
While the main focus of Jagged Alliance 3 may be the recovery of President LaFontaine, there are many other objectives to complete throughout Grand Chien. The world is filled with interesting and unique NPCs with different stories, often with additional quests for players to complete. These characters are signified with a large green icon above them, indicating that they can engage in proper discussions with the group of mercenaries.
Some side missions can be complicated and will contain moral dilemmas for the player. This can often affect a settlement's Loyalty, either positively if the player makes a choice which is in line with the values of the community, or negatively if the player chooses something that is likely to outrage the community. While it is often difficult to tell which way things will go, players can often redeem themselves for making a bad choice by completing further missions in that area and ensuring that the settlement is adequately defended.
Jagged Alliance 3 is available now on PC.