Summary
- Perks in Jagged Alliance 3 provide specific bonuses to Mercenaries as they level up, such as health boosts and bonus damage against flanked enemies.
- Certain perks, like Vanguard and Flanker, are particularly useful for specific types of Mercenaries, such as those with heavy weapons or agile fighters with sub-par marksmanship levels.
- Perks like Dead Eye and Assassination are especially beneficial for long-ranged units and help increase critical hit chances and stealth kills, respectively. These perks can greatly impact combat effectiveness.
THQ Nordic's Jagged Alliance 3 is a combination of turn-based combat and RTS stealth with elements of grand strategy and management too. Players will take control of a group of Mercenaries as they seek to save the President of the fictional West African country of Grand Chien from the capture of a tyrannical warlord. With a number of complex gameplay mechanics, entertaining characters, and devastating weapons, it can be easy to overlook the use of Perks in the game, which will provide Mercenaries with specific bonuses as they level up.
While each Mercenary is unique, and some perks may be of more use to certain characters than to others, these perks provide the overall most beneficial boosts and effects regardless of which Mercenary is using them.
9 Vanguard
Vanguard is a health perk that grants a character 15 Grit when ending a turn out of cover or adjacent to an enemy. This is often useful, especially for characters with heavier weapons and lower mobility.
It can also be very useful for melee combat with Mercenaries such as Blood since they will often find themselves in scenarios where they are positioned alongside enemy soldiers. Grit will act as a shield to Mercenaries when under pressure and low on health - and this boost can be the difference between life and death for them.
8 Flanker
Characters equipped with the Flanker perk will give them 15% bonus damage against flanked enemies. This can be especially useful for agile Mercenaries with a slightly sub-par Marskman level. Coupled with decent weaponry, this perk can make them into killing machines.
It can be helpful when applied to many different characters, though less so when assigned to heavy gunners or snipers, who will tend not to move around the battlefield so much. While 14% might not seem like a great deal, it can really add up when combined with the right Mercenary and weapons combinations.
7 Dead Eye
The Dead Eye perk will grant characters an additional 5% Crit Chance Per aim and is especially useful for long-ranged units such as snipers. Critical Hits will also deal 50% extra damage with this perk. While this action is likely to drain Action Points, it can be useful for targeting difficult enemies with a lot of health.
Since sharpshooter-style characters are likely to expend AP on aiming anyway, this boost can make all the difference between simply wounding an enemy or eliminating them altogether. Aiming for other parts than just the head is also sure to reap rewards since this bonus damage will make leg and torso shots extra effective.
6 Assassination
The Assassination perk is another good perk for long-range Mercenaries, as it will grant an increased chance of Stealth Kills for attacks with 3+ aim levels. This can be especially useful in the mid-to-late game, where stealth becomes more of a critical component in gameplay for reducing enemy numbers.
Dispatching enemies while remaining undetected can be extremely useful for setting up traps and getting all Mercenaries within a given squad into position. This perk can be beneficial for setting up ambushes when entering new sectors, as well as taking out tough enemies without having to fight them in a prolonged battle.
5 Shock Assault
Shock Assault is an excellent perk for characters who primarily rely on melee weapons in the game. The perk will grant characters a 30% Critical Hit Chance with melee weapons and firearms when attacking from point-blank range.
This perk is especially useful in taking out rushing enemies who will close distance quickly and is doubly effective with weapons such as shotguns, which already provide substantial firepower from close range.
4 Killing Spree
Killing Spree will allow players to inflict increased damage against several enemies at once, granting 39% additional damage against targets attacked in the same turn. Unsurprisingly, this is best utilized during Overwatch mode, but it can also be useful for Mercenaries wielding weapons that don't require much in the way of AP.
This perk is ideal for characters such as machine gunners or snipers who will spend a lot of time using Overwatch. It can also be handy for stealthy enemies and melee-based Mercenaries who can switch between weapons in the same turn.
3 Painkiller
Painkiller is another perk that will grant Mercenaries additional Grit. It grants an additional 7 Grit to allies when bandaging them, making it an ideal perk for any Mercenaries in the Doctor role or acting as the squad medic.
This will give the allies a much better chance of surviving and is especially useful since it pertains to healing injured or downed Mercenaries. In some game modes, permadeath is enabled, so this can be the difference between keeping a beloved character around or losing them for an entire playthrough.
2 Dire Warning
Dire Warning is a great perk that causes panic in enemies, often causing them to retreat and become less combat-effective. The perk grants a 15% chance of causing Panic in enemies with every attack that lands - provided that morale within the squad is High or Very High.
This can make gunfights significantly easier when outnumbered, as enemies won't necessarily have to be killed completely to remove them from the battle. Using this perk can be great in combination with Killing Spree for those units that are based on covering and defensive strategies.
1 Calm Under Fire
Widely considered one of the best perks in Jagged Alliance 3, Calm Under Fire will transfer up to 3 unused AP at the end of each turn for use in the character's next turn. Gain 5 Grit per AP transferred.
This can be great for stealthy characters and for setting traps as the accumulation of Action Points will enable Mercenaries to deal out several powerful attacks after several turns. Players should be cautious not to delay too long though, since this could cause their squad to be at a disadvantage.
Jagged Alliance 3 is available now on PC.