Jagged Alliance 3: Best Mercenaries Ranked

There are 36 mercenaries in Jagged Alliance 3. You can simply hire most of them by signing a contract, but a few can also be recruited for free during the story missions. Fortunately, some of the finest mercenaries can be hired early in the game. Relationships between the mercenaries also play a huge role in this game, so pair up characters who like each other. Our guide will provide you with a tier list of the best mercenaries in Jagged Alliance 3, including their best traits and advice on relationships.

Best Mercenaries Ranked in Jagged Alliance 3

S-Tier Mercenaries

Barry

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Explosives
• Price: $4,940

Barry’s Boutique Explosives talent is awesome! It’s way more powerful than any other similar talent in the game. But don’t ignore his usual grenades, either, as you’ll be using them in great quantities for sure. I also suggest utilizing Barry’s Shaped Charges on smaller targets, such as doors, locks, crates, or containers, to avoid any risks. But other than that, every heavy combat that involves Barry will be immensely favorable for your team.

On top of that, Barry has no significant dislikes, and he loves working with Red, who’s another explosives specialist. Although I wouldn’t recommend getting Red for your team, you can opt for him if you want to hear some cool chatter between these two. Overall, Barry is your best bet, especially when you take into account the low price of his contract.

MD

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Medical
• Price: $5,630

MD’s unique talent Find My Feet is essential for boosting any team’s morale. He may not have the best combat skills, and he may be a bit too vulnerable to animal attacks, but he’s a quick learner and the best Medical mercenary in the game. Just get him through training sessions for shooting, and he’ll catch up in terms of combat with the rest of the crew really quickly.

I wouldn’t put MD on the same team with Steroid and Meltdown, as all they do not get along well. Later on, keep him away from Flay, who starts to annoy him quite a bit as the game progresses. If you care about any of these mercenaries, then I’d suggest replacing MD with Fox, who has bad relationships with one mercenary, and that’s Steroid. But others, like Meltdown and Flay, are entirely neutral toward her.

Livewire

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Mechanical
• Price: $6,880

Livewire is super useful when she has access to sector intel, as that’s where her Inside Dope talent helps you reveal the locations of all enemies. Having this knowledge can help you make better decisions about your team’s positioning on the map, so you don’t get suddenly attacked out of nowhere. She’s also a good hacker, which allows you to obtain intel using her PDA. Try it at night, and you’ll be amazed at just how effective it is!

Livewire can be really annoying with characters like Raven and Raider, so try to keep them apart. She also has strange relationships with Len that develop from good to bad in the course of the missions. It’s up to you if you want to hear their dialogue lines demeaning each other, but I’d personally keep them apart, too.

A-Tier Mercenaries

Buns

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Marksmanship
• Price: $8,190

Monica Buns is an excellent marksman, but you need to follow a certain strategy with her if you wish to succeed. Note that her Anything You Can Do talent that grants a bonus to her accuracy works only if another ally hits the target first. So make sure that Buns always goes last, as that’s where her talent can really make the difference.

Buns heavily dislikes Fox and will eventually dislike Reaper, too. But she’ll develop excellent relationships with Sydney, who can increase her Action Points. In combination with her Negotiator trait, which reduces the price of operations, this can be a really effective union in your team.

Meltdown

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Marksmanship
• Price: $9,000

Meltdown is similar in approach to Buns, but she doesn’t need Sydney to restore her Action Points. Meltdown’s own Hard Feelings talent does the same by marking the last enemy that hit her with the Vengeance marker, which compensates some of her Action Points once that enemy’s been defeated.

I like Meltdown a lot, as she’s basically a solid all-rounder. She also has no likes or dislikes whatsoever, so you can pair her up with any other mercenary you like. Give her a good shotgun and pair her up with any Medical character to treat her wounds, and you’ll be on your way.

Dr. Q

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Medical
• Price: $14,180

Dr. Q isn’t only a great Medical mercenary but also a fantastic martial arts master. His Exploding Palm melee attack renders any enemy unconscious, which is perfect for stealthy gameplay at night. Once you perform a successful melee attack, use his Hidden Run perk to increase his mobility and perform an extra move.

Dr. Q prefers to work with Vicki, but she’s really expensive, and you may not be able to recruit her early on. But besides her, there are no particular likes or dislikes for this mercenary, so pair him up with basically anyone you want.

B-Tier Mercenaries

Fidel

• Proficiencies: Marksmanship, Explosives
• Price: $21,000

Fidel relies on grenades much more than Barry, especially when he’s using his Double Toss talent, which allows him to throw two grenades at a time. He also has some useful melee attacks, but you’ll mostly be relying on his grenades, of which you’ll need to stack up as many as possible during your run.

Fidel likes to work with Flay a lot, who’s actually a free mercenary you can hire after speaking to Hyena Gilbert, the leader of the poacher camp at C4. Flay has a high Wisdom stat, which compensates for the low Wisdom stat of Fidel. So these two synergize really well with each other!

Vicki

• Proficiencies: Wisdom, Marksmanship, Mechanical
• Price: $25,000

Vicki is an excellent mechanic and a good combatant, but she’s way too expensive for early or even midgame. However, you should hire her for the late game and start using her Elbow Grease talent, which can repair any weapons or armor that got damaged during the previous missions.

According to the game’s lore, Vicki is Jamaican with a really quirky character. If you want to hear the best of her banter, then pair her up with Smiley, whose guts she can’t stand. Smiley is another free mercenary, just like Flay, but besides his amusing relationship with Vicki, there’s no point in hiring him.

Those are the best mercenaries in Jagged Alliance 3. Stay tuned for more Jagged Alliance 3 tips and tricks articles right here.