How does morale actually work?

[Seldkam]

I don't understand how this system works. It seems very inconsistent. What are guaranteed ways to gain morale levels and lose morale levels?

[stretch]

Precisely? No idea. I can comment that it lowers if your team members take lots of damage though. Enough to panic them sometimes. Some mercs are more susceptible to this than others and actually have this on their bio somewhere.
However if you wish to have good morale and get boosts from it I suggest you get the perk that gives you a morale boost. I think it is if the merc does 50+ damage on one shot but I am not positive. I can say that if you put this perk across as many of your sniper rifle mercs as possible you will be most happy. It builds up quick. Without looking I think it's on the bottom row towards the middle and is fairly easy to get on most of your mercs as the stat required is easy to get but without checking take that with a pinch of salt.

[Rhapsody]

There's personal morale and group or battle morale. Personal morale takes longer time or more decisive actions to change, while battle morale can fluctuate from -2 to +2 values. It's displayed in top left corner above the squad portraits, while each merc's own morale is displayed when mouseovering those portraits.

There's a mod on Workshop that will describe sources of personal morale with more information.

[[SCZ]Celestrian]

seen a gameplay vid from some thot (probably got the game 4 free) that got completely destroyed on the ernie island fort sector.
while everyone was dying, Q (yes she hired him at this point in the game) went panic for 2 rounds before he was finished off.
so yeah, panic on your side is pretty bad.

there´s a wisdom talent that lets you panic enemies, however it happened to me several times that this triggered and the panicking enemy basically went into full LoS blocking cover. not sure if it removed his turn. dont remember if some panic debuff moved enemies towards my line of fire.
personally i skip panicking enemies now.

also there´s a wisdom talent that gives +moral when doing 50+ damage (easily done with snipers). the +15% dmg while having high moralle seems like a pointless trap tho. however the starting combat with high moralle is pretty good.
excellent picks (together with aiming-5%crit + sniperrifles)

high morale = more AP

not sure if mercs who ♥♥♥♥♥ at each other can actually lead to low moralle. didnt have problems even tho lemonwire smacktalked raven all the time for weeks, hitman hitting on raven even with raider on the same sector did nothing (not a longterm squadmates tho).

digging up graves on ernie island is pretty much skipped by splitting the squad, doing the dig with only 1 merc (who maybe isnt even affected) or shooting jackhammer with a failed leadership test. no idea how long these debuffs are affecting your mercs but currently i dont see this being anywhere near crippling (even with somethink like steroid + graves on ernie island with his already low AP). also it´s unlikely that this takes a way your 2nd shot of your shortened lever action. possible but unlikely.

[Your Neighbour]

Originally posted by Seldkam:

I don't understand how this system works. It seems very inconsistent. What are guaranteed ways to gain morale levels and lose morale levels?

Good kills, long range shots, headshots, crits etc = morale bonus
Merc compatibility / like each other = morale bonus
Team member with good leadership = High morale boost event

Merc incompatibility = morale loss
Low leadership = not sure if will result hi negative morale event, only came across this once but I had steroid citing the brutality of war and lost 1 morale LMAO

Also merc incompatibility is almost a constant morale loss, some of them will learn to work with it later, it's a very complicated net of relationships, best to look up the charts.

[Dorok]

I seem have notice that the underground negative trait seems have been fixed and is removed once out of underground.

I don't think the morale system is here to be controlled firmly by the player, more unplaned consequences you live with plus pre knowldge that is meaning high knowledge or even mastering this aspect.

But yeah last time at least for the island I just splitted the group, it's easy without travel/time cost thanks to the undeground. The loot involved is fixed like many in the island so it is hard to ignore.

[Yuri Kossori]

psycho mercs
0-2 injury = moral loss (-1)
3-6 injury = stable (recovers moral loss)
takes big damage (50%??) = moral bonus (+1 for 1 turn??)

[Seldkam]

Originally posted by Your Neighbour:

Originally posted by Seldkam:

I don't understand how this system works. It seems very inconsistent. What are guaranteed ways to gain morale levels and lose morale levels?

Good kills, long range shots, headshots, crits etc = morale bonus
Merc compatibility / like each other = morale bonus
Team member with good leadership = High morale boost event

Merc incompatibility = morale loss
Low leadership = not sure if will result hi negative morale event, only came across this once but I had steroid citing the brutality of war and lost 1 morale LMAO

Also merc incompatibility is almost a constant morale loss, some of them will learn to work with it later, it's a very complicated net of relationships, best to look up the charts.

I do all of these regularly and literally never get to a high morale unless I randomly get a grenade kill that kills multiple enemies at once. And sometimes, that doesn't even work...

I just finished a combat where every single enemy I killed was either out in the open/flanked, or exploded (in one turn I did 150 to 3 enemies with 1 nade... no morale change lol).

I often aim for single fire headshots which I hit at least 3 times. I oneshot enemies with my sniper. Nothing changes lol. I just don't think this works in any meaningful way.

[Grayef]

You didn't just say some thot... Seriously ?

[[SCZ]Celestrian]

nah, i wrote it 12 hours ago. think it even was a blue haired one, but not sure. was too busy laughing at tutorial wipeout.

[Optimus Princeps]

Originally posted by Your Neighbour:

Originally posted by Seldkam:

I don't understand how this system works. It seems very inconsistent. What are guaranteed ways to gain morale levels and lose morale levels?

Good kills, long range shots, headshots, crits etc = morale bonus
Merc compatibility / like each other = morale bonus
Team member with good leadership = High morale boost event

Merc incompatibility = morale loss
Low leadership = not sure if will result hi negative morale event, only came across this once but I had steroid citing the brutality of war and lost 1 morale LMAO

Also merc incompatibility is almost a constant morale loss, some of them will learn to work with it later, it's a very complicated net of relationships, best to look up the charts.

Is there somewhere I can check to see if mercs are compatible with each other? I haven't noticed them not liking each other but is only thing I can think of why I have such low morale all the time despite not taking much damage.

[Dorok]

Install a mod showing morale details, for mercs incompatibility, normally they will complain at contract renewal or even for some mercs at hiring, plus their talk to each other are very nasty (but in some cases the talks are just talks).

But try Steam guides section for mercs relationships, can't advise one I didn't use them.

[Echo.Ren]

Originally posted by Seldkam:

I don't understand how this system works. It seems very inconsistent. What are guaranteed ways to gain morale levels and lose morale levels?

having merc with 80+ leadership sure helps. also someone with the wisdom perks, tbp 6th, which boosts morale when deal 50+ damage. that's the easiest way to gain morale. also there's a perk that gives you +2 boost at the start of the combat, so guaranteed additional points for lategame.

[Your Neighbour]

Originally posted by Jeb:

Originally posted by Your Neighbour:

Good kills, long range shots, headshots, crits etc = morale bonus
Merc compatibility / like each other = morale bonus
Team member with good leadership = High morale boost event

Merc incompatibility = morale loss
Low leadership = not sure if will result hi negative morale event, only came across this once but I had steroid citing the brutality of war and lost 1 morale LMAO

Also merc incompatibility is almost a constant morale loss, some of them will learn to work with it later, it's a very complicated net of relationships, best to look up the charts.

Is there somewhere I can check to see if mercs are compatible with each other? I haven't noticed them not liking each other but is only thing I can think of why I have such low morale all the time despite not taking much damage.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3006312456&searchtext=relationship

Guide linked

It's the same as JA2, so if you play JA2 you kinda know what's gonna come up in JA3.

It's not devastating, it's just like -1 AP and if your guy's decent fast it's not a deal breaker.

[Grayef]

Originally posted by Your Neighbour:

Originally posted by Jeb:

Is there somewhere I can check to see if mercs are compatible with each other? I haven't noticed them not liking each other but is only thing I can think of why I have such low morale all the time despite not taking much damage.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3006312456&searchtext=relationship

Guide linked

It's the same as JA2, so if you play JA2 you kinda know what's gonna come up in JA3.

It's not devastating, it's just like -1 AP and if your guy's decent fast it's not a deal breaker.

Hum pretty strange.

One combat I had Red who made a fart joke with haggis during stealth mode and Mouse called him out for being a macho.

She lost 1 ap and it said she didn't like him.

Later on, Livewire missed her shot. Red made a comment on how she's a useless chattering lass. Mouse panicked at that comment was running away. I found that way too funny but I think loss of morale works like that sometimes

[[SCZ]Celestrian]

haha based red.
that guy would never vote SNP and sit in jail for thoughtcrime & jokes.
no wonder barry likes him.

@grayef:
was mouse´s moral already low before she panicked due to that comment? would be weird if a drop from normal moral to low (-1) could lead to a panic