Jagged Alliance 2 Alma, Pt. t 2 (Part V)

Part V of Jagged Alliance 2 Walkthrough.

Ok, our squad (screencapped above) has taken out Deidranna's forces in both the prison and town/mine sectors of Alma (sectors I-13 & I-14). They are the two southern sectors depicted in this map I spliced together of Alma:

About 30 redshirts bit the dust, all told. Thus, the military town of Alma has been liberated. 

Gotta love through-the-window Interrupts:

It was funny when wheelchair guy's store got caught in a crossfire. In a panic, he wheeled himself into his neighbor's house:

He's actually a terrorist, too.

Because I was rusty (I haven't played Jagged Alliance 2 since 19-Apr-2017), some of my squad members took some nasty hits, which can be scary. I wince every time. That's what makes turn-based combat great. Buns, for example, who ended up being the hero-sniper for this phase, found herself face to face with a knife-wielding assailant, but she dodged his swings and then shot him right between the eyes. The dodges are animated. This is a 2d game from 1999...

Both doctors (Dr. Q and MD) are indispensable. Barry, as well. There were many locks and traps to negotiate in the prison -- including a particularly nasty ejection of mustard gas (gasmasks required). It's important to keep the docs and demolitions expert/locksmith out of the firing line. Dr. Q is an incredible squad member; he moves like the wind, and is a crackshot. 

My I.M.P is able to burstfire her Colt Commando accurately when Psycho triggers. Rooftop blackshirts can be problematic due to their level and elevation, so it's always good when we can make short work of them.

During this phase, the most damage I inflicted on a burst was 155. That's a burst, though. The most damage I ever recorded with a single headshot was 98. The most Wisdom I drained with a single headshot was 35. The most powerful ricochet was 52 followed by 34. That one made my day. What a great game. 

Ira and Dimitri are comparitively useless in combat at this point; they can't hit the broad side of a barn without an M24 fitted with sniper scope and laser sights for +40% to-hit, all up [pic], but they are free due to being rebels with causes. Ira is a good teacher, Dimitri a good mechanic, and they offer info on each sector:

Below depicts our Loyalty and Income as it currently stands, with Alma only freshly taken. We have a degree of loyalty in Alma because we let Sergeant Krott go free in the previous post [pic]. Also, we didn't steal from the people. Loyalty will be boosted more when we save Matt's brother from Tixa Prison to the west (no mean feat, though).

In turn, our income from the mine will go up.

As can be seen, we still have four mines to take in the west of the warzone. But that's a long way off: the first thing to do is heal the squad, repair our arms and armor, and then train our militia in Alma. Not training militia means we expose ourselves to reprisals from Deidranna, who is based in the southwest, in her Meduna stronghold. She's pretty butthurt at the moment, too. Not only has she just lost Alma...

... but her chief scientist has gone missing from her secret research facility: 

Thus, Elliot got two faceslaps in a row.

So how long did it take us to heal up, repair our arms and armor, and train up a strong Alma militia? Four days. We have four excellent teachers (Leadership): I.M.P, Buns, Ira and Conrad. High Wisdom, low level mercs are King in Jagged Alliance 2. Check out the sum-total of their skillups thus far:

• I.M.P: Leadership +7, Marksmanship +6, Level +3

• Barry: Mechanical +16, Marksmanship +4, Dexterity +1, Agility +1, Level +1

• Ira: Leadership +31, Level +1

• Buns: Leadership +22

• Dr. Q: Marksmanship +8, Medical +3

• Conrad: Leadership +7

All of the above have Wisdom scores ranging from 83-94. An idiot like Dimitri who has a Wisdom score of 56? Basically no advancement.

Deidranna's forces surrounded us at times during the training spree, but never actually invaded Alma because our force built up and then powered up rapidly.

However, B13: Drassen was invaded. But since we trained our militia to the max before moving on to Alma, they won easily. Also, one militia unit was promoted to Veteran.

Due to militia build up in Alma alone, Loyalty increased from 31% to 51%, thereby almost doubling the mine's income. Drassen is peaked at 100%, as is Omerta. Total daily income is $16,000.

Not bad.

At this point, too, contracts are renewed. My A.I.M mercs still have five days to go, but it's best to lock them in. If we let it go too long, they may complain; worst of all, they'll leave. We don't want valuable additions to our squad suddenly leaving.

Keep your mercs happy. 

Warming up again now. Day 16 begins. Next up: Bloodcat Lair.

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