So um i tried using mortars....

[Mish101]

Completely ineffective. Not only do they almost not hit anything but i swear the few times they did hit someone they did no damage at all (I used the normal shells not gas). Feels like either unfinished or bugged or overlooked weapon maybe. Wouldn't use them at all in their current state.

[engager6]

I agree, mortars seem to be horribly uneffective, but, they still have use. You can dismantle mortar shells to get C4 explosive and use it to craft 40 mm HE shells you can launch from your assault rifle attachments. Those are very very effective. Not sure if it was added by mod (dismantling ammo and shells), but it works in my game by combining mortar shell with pliers. Enemy mortar shells are just resource for mass explosive production. 1 mortar shell = 1 C4 charge = 5 HE 40 mm grenades.

[OZZO]

yeah, I agree. Mortars should be very powerful, yet they are utterly useless. The only barely noticeable effect is to gas a large area from a distance.

[Rhapsody]

Explosive cartridges are useful for flushing enemies out of machine gun nests or as counter-artillery. The other shells, gas and smoke, have more uses. Gas shelling is actually one of the most devastating weapons in the game when used properly. And possibly a war crime (don't worry, we won't tell!).

[engager6]

Also i think where is a bug in the game if you use mortar shelling on opening. I remember i shelled group of commandos at I3 late in the game as the combat opening move, i seen shell landed right into cluster of them and they just took like no damage and scattered normally. I think proper damage only applies to mortar hits only when enemies are already activated, or may be i don't see something here.

[Nazkai]

+1 more love needed

[Gregory]

well, enemies always escape wherever you shell. i have never ever hit anyone with this mortar. one of the best things in ja2 became obsolete.

[Bozzemoggel]

Originally posted by Gregory:

well, enemies always escape wherever you shell. i have never ever hit anyone with this mortar. one of the best things in ja2 became obsolete.

well, when you use several mortars at once, they can´t evade... but i´d never rate them as useful

[blindseye]

Also, at the Refugee Camp, if you mortar their position on the hill, there are some NPCs there that aren't affected by HE rounds but others that are, and most of the others are effected by the Gas rounds. So mix and match and give it a try. I had a one man mortar/40mm grenade launcher take out all the enemies on the Refugee Camp map (he didn't try to have a conversation, he just attacked them from cover).

[Bloody]

use the bombard skill with with gas shells where you know the brain dead AI is going to run into. It is the same issue with MGs, it was not that MGs were OP, but the brain dead AI that runs into prepared positions . Set your guys firing lines up, bombard the area , and then watch as the AI runs dozens of troops into the choking clouds and then just keel over. /shrug. They are not that hard to use.

[lx]

mortars are siege weapons anyway, why would they be effective?! this is one thing this game actually did better, than original ja.

[Graf Erik]

Yeah, honetly I never used one. Got like... 6 or so.

Being on the receiving end convinced me they are useless.

When the ai first used them at me I got a little scared. Huge red circels, several of them. So I tried to dodge them.
But sooner or later one of them hits... and deals 2 points of damage. WTF?
Since then I've been pretty much ignoring them (unless its gas, then I walk away after they hit)

[mr_oluap]

Gaz is good, possibily gamebreaking since you can target the whole map at any distance...

[lx]

if that is true, the maps are small, as mortars have a set range stat of "quite a lot compared to other weapons"

[blindseye]

There is a mod out that allows you to set a minimum distance for a mortar, which makes sense to me.

[The Great Cornholio]

Use Livewire's wallhack to see where they are grouping up, and if all their RPG's are standing around in a group you can start the battle by mortaring them. Not totally useless.