Desperados 3 Guide

The Good, The Bad And The tactical The Desperados 3 guide contains complete walkthrough, beginner's guide, maps and best tips for exploration, skills and combat. We describe all locations, difficulty levels as well as trophies and system requirements.

Last update: Monday, February 22, 2021

Our guide to Desperados 3 will help you finish all campaign missions and complete the game in 100 percent. The tips and tricks contained in this guide are addressed to both less experienced players as well as those who have played the previous parts of the series and Shadow Tactics. Since Shadow Tactics and Desperados 3 were developed by Mimimi Games, a lot of gameplay mechanics and controls will work very similarly.

The tutorial is divided into two large parts, and the first of them is the game guide. It primarily offers starting tips where we describe various important things you should know before playing the game. Other pages have detailed information on stealth and exploration, Showdown Mode (stopping time and planning a move), the differences between the available difficulty levels, or the rules for using the heroes' abilities.

The chapter dedicated to playable characters and their abilities is very important. Each of the available characters has their own abilities and inventory items, and this significantly affects their usefulness in certain situations. The guide also has an FAQ chapter where we answer various questions. You will find out e.g. how long does it take to complete Desperados 3, how to heal a wounded character, is it possible to finish the game without killing anyone, and why a character refuses to perform the command. The guide ends with the trophy/achievement guide which contains detailed descriptions of all achievements. We have also included information about the controls and system requirements.

The second major chapter is a detailed walkthrough for all the story missions. We have combined it with world atlas - each mission has a high-quality map where you can see e.g. important locations and places where you can find chests with valuable loot. Our guide tells you how to complete mission objectives, how to complete additional challenges (Badges), and how to play on hard where the opponents' senses are sharpened.

Desperados 3 is the long-awaited installment of the popular series started in 2001. The game is set in the Wild West. Our task is to command a group of heroes and perform various dangerous missions. Proper gameplay is best described as a combination of logic, stealth, and real-time strategy. We must carefully plan all the moves and try to avoid detection, as this can often lead to heroes' rapid death or failing a mission goal.

The game also puts great emphasis on the cooperation between the characters. Each playable character has their own equipment and skills, and it is up to us to decide how we use them. We can also combine the abilities of heroes and, for example, to eliminate a few enemies at the same time. The action is presented from the isometric perspective.

However, the game's environment is completely three-dimensional. Desperados 3 allows you to freely rotate, zoom in and out the camera to spot as many important things and characters as possible.

• Desperados 3: Beginner's guide
• Desperados 3: All missions
• Desperados 3: World atlas
• Desperados 3: I have a question and I'm looking for answers
• Desperados 3: Controls and the most important key bindings
• Desperados 3: More than one character - how to choose?
• Desperados 3: Playable characters - how many?
• Desperados 3: Characters from previous installments - are there any?
• Desperados 3: Body and item - how to pick up?
• Desperados 3: Stop the time - can you?
• Desperados 3: Completed missions - can you replay it?
• Desperados 3: Collectibles - are there any?
• Desperados 3: Important choices - are there any?
• Desperados 3: Knife - why can't Cooper use it?
• Desperados 3: Lie down on the ground - can you?
• Desperados 3: Fog of war - is there?
• Desperados 3: Swimming - can you swim?
• Desperados 3: Replaying missions - does the game encourage it?

Desperados 3: Beginner's guide

1. Don't select the highest difficulty level right away. It may seem encouraging if you are looking for a great challenge, but in fact it will cause a lot of frustration when exploring unknown locations. Setting a high level of difficulty is the optimal choice - the game will still be quite demanding, but not excessively painful. So, it won't be that troublesome to complete a mission.
2. Frequent quick saves will often save your heroes. In Desperados 3 you can save a game whenever you want - there are no saves limits. What's more, you can save the game manually by using the menu or use the quick save option. We advise you to save the game before entering each new location and before attacking each new opponent. When attacking an enemy character, there is always a risk that something will go wrong.
3. The game can highlight characters and important objects in the area. This may be considered as an exaggerated cheating, but it is still a feature that makes it much easier to progress through subsequent missions. First of all, the game can mark and highlight your opponents. Other marked objects like bushes, ivy walls, ladders or items that can be collected are also very helpful.
4. When the game is paused, a large mission map is displayed. It is by far the most helpful feature in tracking progress and identifying opponents' positions (they are symbolized by red dots). It's a very good idea to take a peek at the map every time you pause the game in order to save a game.
5. Showdown Mode will make it easier for you to get through difficult locations. This is a unique mode and you can use it to plan all actions and moves of your characters that will be performed in the future. After setting up an action, just press a key to launch it. This has many uses - you can plan synchronized attacks or combine the skills of different heroes.
6. Tie up the bodies of stunned enemies and always hide them somewhere. Every stunned opponent may wake up if they are not tied up quickly enough and there is a high risk of triggering an alarm. Never forget about that. Hiding bodies in bushes or throwing them into the chasm is equally important. Get rid of the bodies not only of stunned enemies, but also of those you have murdered.

For more tips and tricks, check the Starting tips page of our Desperados 3 game guide.

Desperados 3: All missions

In this guide we have included a detailed description and walkthrough of all missions available in Desperados 3.

1. Walkthrough of Mission 1: On the Hunt - This is one of the shortest stages and it is also quite linear.
2. Walkthrough of Mission 2: Running Late on Payday - our description of this mission consists of 3 parts. We describe separately how to reach McCoy, how to approach the collapsed tunnel and how to blow up boulders with a dynamite.
3. Walkthrough of Mission 3: Troublemakers in Flagstone - Our detailed description of this mission consists of four parts. Each part describes how to murder a separate mission target - Jarvis, Wild Marge, McBane and The Duke.
4. Walkthrough of Mission 4: Until Deah Do Us Part - Our detailed description of this mission consists of three parts. You'll learn how to sneak into the mayor's office by playing as Kate, how to get to the same place by playing as Cooper and how to escape safely from the property
5. Walkthrough of Mission 5: The Magnificent Five - Our walkthrough consists of three pages. You'll learn where to find Hector, how to eliminate all Long Coats, and how to set fire to a large pool of oil.
6. Walkthrough of Mission 6: The Bridge at Eagle Falls - Our walkthrough consists of five pages. You'll learn how to get a disguise for Kate, how to get dynamite to blow up the bridge, how to destroy the bridge, and how to safely escape from the location with said bridge.
7. Walkthrough of Mission 7: One Good Shot - This walkthrough is on a single page. We presented the only possible route to the chapel and explained how to sneak into the cemetery.
8. Walkthrough of Mission 8: One Hell of a Night - Our walkthrough consists of three pages. You'll find out where to find Cooper, Kate and McCoy, how to get a disguise, and how to sneak through the town to the ship.
9. Walkthrough of Mission 9: Louisiana Voodoo - Our solution consists of four pages. We are told how to get out of the cell by playing Isabelle and then how to rescue Cooper, McCoy, Kate and Hector.
10. Walkthrough of Mission 10: Back Alley Jazz - Our walkthrough consists of three pages. You'll learn how to get a disguise for Kate, where the suspects are and which one is the wanted, as well as how to get to the office behind the back alleys.
11. Walkthrough of Mission 11: Burn the Queen - Our solution consists of three pages. Separately, we discuss how to reach the village in the marshes, how to open the cells and where to find Wayne, and how to set fire to the Queen and escape the marshes safely.
12. Walkthrough of Mission 12: Dirt and Blood - Our walkthrough consists of three pages. You'll learn how to get your disguise back in New Orleans, how to get near the harbor, and how to win your first confrontation with Frank.
13. Walkthrough of Mission 13: A Cart Full of Gunpowder - Our walkthrough consists of three pages. You will learn how to retrieve the heroes' equipment, how to free Cooper and Kate, how to push the gunpowder wagon to the designated spot and detonate it correctly.
14. Walkthrough of Mission 14: The Wages of Pain - Our solution consists of three pages. You'll find out where you can get a disguise for Kate, what are the available ways to stop the train, and how to get into the train cart.
15. Walkthrough of Mission 15: A Captain of Industry - Our walkthrough consists of four pages. You'll learn how to set off fireworks, how to activate a device in the gardens, how to sneak up on Devitt and kidnap him.
16. Walkthrough of Mission 16: The Old and the New - Our walkthrough consists of three pages. You'll learn how to get a disguise for Kate, how to go through the canyon, how to reach the chapel, and how to win the confrontation with the game's final boss.

Desperados 3: World atlas

Our walkthrough of the main story campaign (the world atlas section) contains detailed maps of all Desperados 3 missions.

1. Map of Mission 1: On the Hunt - We have marked on it the route by which James and his son John are traveling.
2. Map of Mission 2: Running Late on Payday - We have marked on it all important locations around the train and ammunition crates.
3. Map of Mission 3: Troublemakers in Flagstone - We have marked the whereabouts of the main targets and all important locations in the town of Flagstone.
4. World atlas map of Mission 4: Until Deah Do Us Part - We have marked important locations around and within the property. Knowing them will also help you escape from the estate.
5. World atlas map of Mission 5: The Magnificent Five - We have marked, e.g. bonfires from which you can get torches and the locations of all 7 Long Coats.
6. World atlas map of Mission 6: The Bridge at Eagle Falls - We marked the locations where you can find dynamite at the firing range and in the quarry, as well as the place where you get the disguise.
7. World atlas map of Mission 7: One Good Shot - We marked the route to the chapel and the cemetery.
8. World atlas map of Mission 8: One Hell of a Night - We marked the locations of the sleeping heroes, the location with the disguise, and the main entrances to the bank.
9. World atlas map of Mission 9: Louisiana Voodoo - We marked the places where the main characters are imprisoned. In addition, you will find information about all important areas of the map.
10. World atlas map of Mission 10: Back Alley Jazz - We marked the location of the disguise, the whereabouts of all 3 suspects, the entrance to the back alley, and the office in the warehouse area.
11. World atlas map of Mission 11: Burn the Queen - We have marked important locations in the marshes, the location of the prisoners, and all important areas associated with the Queen.
12. World atlas map of Mission 12: Dirt and Blood - We marked the location with Kate's disguise, the main paths leading to the harbor and the place where you can board the ship.
13. World atlas map of Mission 13: A Cart Full of Gunpowder - We marked the location with the heroes' items, the area with cages, the available routes for the wagon you have to push, and the gate at which the wagon must stop.
14. World atlas map of Mission 14: The Wages of Pain - We marked important locations near railroad tracks, places where you can block tracks, and wagons you have to reach at the end of the mission.
15. World atlas map of Mission 15: A Captain of Industry - We marked the main areas of the estate, Devitt's whereabouts, the locations to which you can lure the party guests, and the place where you end the stage.
16. World atlas map of Mission 16: The Old and the New - We marked the main locations in the left and right sections of the canyon, the paths leading to the chapel and the cemetery gate.

Desperados 3: I have a question and I'm looking for answers

In the FAQ section of our game guide, we have provided solutions to common problems that may occur during the campaign:

1. Can you complete Desperados 3 without killing anyone? - You might be interested in this if you like to sneak around many locations without killing any enemies you encounter.
2. Why the enemy is not leaving his post? - Enemies who do not leave their post, for example, after noticing a medical bag lying on the ground can be very problematic to eliminate.
3. Why does my hero refuse to do something? - Team members may, for example, refuse to climb ivy wall or enter the water. This makes it difficult to play the game.
4. How to save all civilians in mission 2? - This is probably one of the first more difficult challenges (badge) you will encounter during the campaign.
5. How do you heal a wounded hero? Your characters may be injured, for example, by hostile attacks. Isabelle also always loses 1 health point after using her special powers.
6. Which hero has the best skills? - We present some useful skills for each of the characters and highlight the ones that are by far the most helpful.
7. How can I eliminate the Long Coat elite opponents? - They are extremely troublesome because the vast majority of the attacks and skills of the team members do not allow them to kill Long coats.
8. How to avoid raising an alarm? There are a few important things to keep in mind in order not to make any frequent mistakes. You can also perform activities with a lower risk of detection.

Desperados 3: Controls and the most important key bindings

Below you will find an overview of the most important controls and key bindings for the PC version of Desperados 3. The full controls list can be found in a separate chapter of our guide (Controls), where you will also find information about additional controls settings available in the game.

	Crouch - This is also a sneaking mode in the game, allowing you to avoid generating noise and avoid being detected by enemies over longer distances.
	Select skill 1 (active) of the currently selected hero.
	Select skill 2 of the currently selected hero.
	Select skill 3 of the currently selected hero.
	Select skill 4 of the currently selected hero.
	Select skill 5 of the currently selected hero.
	Skill 1 (inactive) of the currently selected hero. This is usually a non-aggressive version of the skill, for example, choosing the option to stun in close combat instead of using a knife.
	Mode of use / interaction. After activating it, you must also select the object (or character) you are interested in with the cursor.
	Activate Showdown Mode. On all difficulty levels except Desperado, this mode stops the time temporarily. You can plan out (record) a sequence of actions and then perform them by pressing ENTER. This is very useful, especially when two or more heroes are attacking together.
	Switch between available characters.
	Activate Showdown Mode. You need to plan some actions before by pressing the SHIFT key.
	Single click - select a character. You can do that on an enemy to check their field of view. Hold down the button and draw a rectangle to highlight several characters. Alternatively, you can do the above to cancel the action and deselect a skill. Display the field of view of the selected opponent. You can also click RMB on any spot and determine who is watching this place.
	Movement. Double-clicking the button will make the character run. Interact with objects and characters (press CTRL first). Activate previously selected skills (A, S, D, F, G, Y keys).
	Camera movement. In addition, you can also move the cursor to the edge of the screen.
	Rotate the camera freely - you must hold the key. NumLock 4 and NumLock 6 allow you to rotate the camera left or right.
	Zoom in / out. It's worth zooming in, for example, to pick up a small item or when you do something in a small area. Zooming out is useful in large areas to, for example, detect opponents and check their field of view.
	Quick save. You can also open the pause menu to create manual saves.
	Quick load.
	Zoom in the mini-map. An even larger version of the mini-map is displayed on the pause screen.
	Highlight interactive objects and characters in the environment. This is a very useful feature for finding items that need to be collected or used. It also helps you detect enemies faster.

Desperados 3: More than one character - how to choose?

Selecting more than one team member can be useful, for example, if you want to quickly move your heroes to another place on the map. In the PC version, you can do this in two ways:

1. Press the slash button (\) to select all available heroes in the mission.
2. Hold down the right mouse button to draw a rectangle. All heroes in the area of the rectangle will be selected.

Selecting more than one character looks different in console versions - you have to hold R1/RB and start selecting characters you want to move around at the same time. A "tick mark"will appear on selected characters.

Desperados 3: Playable characters - how many?

There are five playable characters available in Desperados 3 - Cooper the gunslinger, McCoyt the doctor, Hector the "muscle man", Kate the lady and Isabelle the voodoo shaman. Each of these characters has separate passive and active skills. Of course, this forces you to switch characters often in order to use a hero that may be suitable for a specific task in the best possible way. By using the Showdown Mode (Action Planning), heroes can also use their skills in the same time, as well as combine them.

The availability of playable heroes is very limited in most missions. Every new team member must first join the team - Cooper in mission 1, McCoy in mission 2, Hector in mission 3, Kate in mission 4 and Isabelle in mission 8. In some missions only a few of them can be controlled and this limits the tactical possibilities. Some heroes may exceptionally appear on the map or be unlocked after you've advanced enough in the mission and have completed the mission's specific objectives. However, you usually have to wait until you get to the next mission in order to play them.

Desperados 3: Characters from previous installments - are there any?

Unfortunately, no, Desperados 3 doesn't feature characters like Sam, Sanchez or Hawkeye - fan-favorite characters from the first and second parts of the series. One can only hope that other characters will be added with DLC for Desperados 3 or in subsequent parts released in the future.

Desperados 3: Body and item - how to pick up?

Picking up bodies and collecting items in Desperados 3 is not exactly that intuitive process or action. It's a two-step action:

1. Press the CTRL button to activate interaction mode.
2. Hover the cursor over the body or item you want to pick up. Press the left mouse button to perform this action.

The same way you can interact with objects that cannot be picked up or collected. This includes, for example, opening doors and crates or activating various mechanisms.

Desperados 3: Stop the time - can you?

Yes, there is such an option and it is available on all difficulty levels except the highest - Desperado. You can stop the game time by pressing the SHIFT button on the PC version, that is, by activating the Showdown Mode. Stopping time alone is obviously not the only useful feature of this mode. You can use it to plan your heroes' actions and activate them at a convenient moment with one key press. Showdown Mode has been described in more detail in our game guide.

Desperados 3 also offers the opposite feature - you can speed up time by pressing the X key while playing the PC version. This option is useful, among other things, to shorten the waiting time for the mission target to appear in a particular spot on the map.

Desperados 3: Completed missions - can you replay it?

Yes, this is possible and absolutely necessary if you plan to complete all badges (challenges) of a particular mission. This is the only way to complete the mission in 100%. The mission selection screen is displayed after a certain level was completed and is also available from the main menu.

When repeating a level you don't have to be afraid of losing your previous progress in the aspect of completed challenges (badges) or the fact that you have already completed a mission at a high level of difficulty.

Desperados 3: Collectibles - are there any?

No, there are no classic collectibles / secrets in Desperados 3. You don't have to find documents, recordings, audio logs, paintings, artifacts or any other such items. Challenges (badges) can be treated as secrets, as they are only discovered after a mission is completed for the first time. They can also force you to carefully explore the maps, for example, to search for NPCs in order to eavesdrop their conversations.

Desperados 3: Important choices - are there any?

No, Desperados 3 doesn't offer any important choices. All missions have a fixed and imposed storyline. However, the game gives you a lot of freedom in completing mission objectives - you can choose different paths, use different heroes and equipment, and select your gameplay style. For example, you can remain stealth or engage in direct battles with enemies.

Desperados 3: Knife - why can't Cooper use it?

The answer to this question is very simple - Cooper has only one knife at his disposal and he can lose it temporarily. This will happen if you have decided to throw a knife at an opponent and forgot to approach his corpse in order to retrieve the weapon. You won't find any more knives during the game, so you have to 'take care' of this basic one.

A similar restriction also applies to some of the other heroes' gadgets, such as the bear trap used by Hector. It should also be collected from the ground after it catches an enemy or loses its usefulness.

Desperados 3: Lie down on the ground - can you?

No, the authors of Desperados 3 didn't implement such an option. A controlled character can't start crawling. However, the heroes can crouch and move in a crouching position. This is very helpful in avoiding detection - the cones of the enemy's field of view are different for a standing hero (longer) and for a crouching hero (shorter). Moving around while crouching doesn't generate any additional sounds.

Desperados 3: Fog of war - is there?

No, there is no fog of war in the game - the whole map is immediately visible and this also applies to forbidden zones and interiors of buildings. As a result, you can plan your route and how to eliminate / avoid your opponents from the first minutes of playing a certain level.

Desperados 3: Swimming - can you swim?

Yes, but only two characters can swim - Cooper and Isabelle. The three remaining characters (McCoy, Hector, Kate) won't enter the water - if you play as these heroes in some missions, then you have to look for alternative paths, such as river crossings or bridges.

A very valuable hint is that the characters submerge when they enter the water. As a result, you don't have to be afraid of being detected by enemies standing on the shore or observing the water. There are also places on the maps where you can hide in the high grass as soon as you get out of the water.

Desperados 3: Replaying missions - does the game encourage it?

As a matter of fact, the replayability factor in Desperados 3 is much higher than that of Shadow Tactics. This is a result of the challenges (badges) available in the missions included in the campaign. It is practically impossible to complete all the challenges in a single mission play-through.

Many of the challenges have extreme objectives and force you, for example, to complete the whole task without getting any of the characters into the water or hiding in the bushes. If you're planning to unlock the platinum trophy and complete the game in 100%, then you'll probably have to play each mission at least 3 times - at a high level of difficulty, in speedrun mode (completing the mission within the set time limit) and deal with all other challenges.

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