Just Cause 3 is a huge open-world game set in the island chain of Medici that's packed with plenty to see and do. So much to do, in fact, that players can easily become overwhelmed and eventually miss some of the things that truly make this game special. It's not so much the structured adventure that gets my blood pumping as it is the nearly endless possibilities for creative stunts mixed with wanton destruction. Here are a few helpful tips to help players get the most out of Medici.
1. Maximize Destruction
Most of the destructible items in the game are painted red and dubbed “chaos objects.” Every single chaos object creates an explosion when destroyed, and some are much larger than others. In addition, many of them are clustered together so all it takes is the destruction of one to start a chain reaction. When chain reactions begin, a combo meter appears and everything that's destroyed in succession adds to the score. Combos can be extended as long as players keep destroying items within a set period of time. It helps to combine use of tethers to topple tall objects with various weaponry and/or armed vehicles to maximize destruction.
One helpful tip is to attach a tether to explosive barrels and reel them into chaos objects for quick explosions that requires no ammunition. Another little-known fact is that players can use the Rebel Drop resupply function to drop a gigantic ammo crate onto objects for instant obliteration.
2. Explore Every Nook and Cranny
With over 400 square miles of terrain at your fingertips, exploring every area will take quite a while, but it's well worth it. For starters, there are several types of collectibles: ancient tombs, audio tapes, rebel shrines and daredevil jumps. On top of that, the developers have included numerous Easter Eggs and other features like the Top of the World shrine on Insula Stritate.
In addition, the game is littered with a huge variety of terrain that is simply fun to find and exploit. One of my favorites is experimenting with the train in a variety of ways such as catching up to it with my wingsuit and flawlessly landing on top, only to attach a tether to a passing train and watch them both derail in an explosive pile of rubble. It's also fun to find a train and hijack the vehicles that it carries. If you're lucky, you'll find a hover-jet.
3. Just Wing It
My favorite addition to this game is the handy wingsuit because it's not only extremely versatile, but it's also a pleasure to use. So much so that “wingsuiting” is my preferred mode of travel. It also makes exploring the terrain more fun. There's nothing like the feeling of gliding through the air while maintaining speed by using the grappling hook and trying to avoid slamming into trees and buildings. When you add the ability to seamlessly transition into the parachute, simply getting around has never been more fun. After a few certain mods have been earned, it becomes very easy to sneak into a military base using the wingsuit and then silently landing out of view to begin your reign of destruction.
4. Drive Hard
There are enough vehicles in this game that I could easily dedicate a paragraph to listing all of them, but I'd rather tell you where the best ones are found. Deadly military tanks and helicopters are found at most military bases, but the fastest chopper in the game is the Navajo Assault Chopper located at the Puncta Sud military base. For even more speed, grab the fighter jet at the Griphon military base, and devastating bombing runs can be made with the powerful bomber jet at the Vulture military base.
Land lubbers will enjoy using the mighty Bavarium tank that's found at Cava Montana military base. If you're not looking for pure speed or destructive power, I found the military dune buggy to be the best offroad vehicle. To be honest, I really enjoy driving all vehicles in the game because they have arcade-style controls done in a realistic way. For example, motorcycles are very fast but it's easy to wreck them due to the extremely sensitive turning.
5. Prioritize and Weaponize
With a virtual cornucopia of enemy vehicles and soldiers coming at players from all angles, using the correct weapons in the game literally means the difference between life and death. Weapons are broken down into three tiers (dual weapons, two-handed weapons, and special weapons) and players can only carry one of each tier. I found most of the dual weapons and two-handers to be interchangeable, but some of the special weapons are highly advanced. I got along well simply using a dumb-fire RPG, but there are also powerful weapons like mortar launchers and even one that calls in an airstrike. However, my preferred special weapons include the Fire Leach RPG (found at Cava Geminos Nord) that automatically targets multiple objects at once, and the Hydra RPG (found at Cava Grande) that fires five rockets per shot.
6. Mods Are Your Friends
In lieu of gaining levels and increased stats, Rico unlocks mods by completing a wide array of challenges. Each upgrade tier requires gears earned from particular challenges, like gaining wingsuit mods for completing wingsuit courses or vehicular mods for winning races. Some mods are geared for customization, like short fuses for grenades, while others are vital to advancement, like gaining fast travel or extra tethers. However, some of them, like creating rocket-propelled explosives, are just plain fun! Combine mods, and advanced stunts like elevating a car in the air with four tethers, attaching rocket-propelled explosives to it, activating said explosives, and then watching the car fly around. Detach the tethers and the car flies into about in random patterns until it explodes.
7. Exploit Challenges
I found it extremely…err…challenging to continue the game without earning mods, so I suggest that players attempt challenges whenever possible. Many of them can be exploited to gain the maximum number of five gears. For example, Crash the Bomb tasks players with crashing a bomb-laden vehicle into a target, so I attach four explosives to the front of a vehicle for extra-large explosions. Destruction Frenzy asks players to destroy military bases using specific weapons, but the countdown doesn't begin until the first explosion and tethers are available. When the level starts, I attach tethers to explode chaos items and place myself in the most advantageous spot before I pull the tethers and start blasting away. In addition, shooting challenges and races can be revisited later in the game when more powerful weapons and vehicles are unlocked.
