Desperados 3: Characters and general information - list Desperados 3 guide, walkthrough

Last update: 22 February 2021

This chapter of the Desperados 3 guide contains a list of all playable characters. Our guide also offers a comparison of passive skills of playable characters (e.g. which characters can swim) and general information about using their abilities.

• List of playable characters in Desperados III
• General information about character controls
• Comparison of the heroes' passive skills

List of playable characters in Desperados III

There are five main playable characters in Desperados 3:

1. John Cooper - Becomes playable during mission 2.
2. Doc McCoy - Becomes playable during mission 2.
3. Hector Mendoza - A brand new character for this series. Becomes playable during mission 3.
4. Kate O'Hara - Becomes playable during mission 4.
5. Isabelle Moreau - A brand new character for this series. Becomes playable during mission 8.

The third Desperados, unfortunately, lacks several favorite characters from the previous games like Sam, Sanchez, and Hawkeye.

There are also two exceptions regarding the playable characters. In the prologue, we play as young John Cooper who follows his father and learns some basic skills. Young John doesn't have any attacks, and his only skill is the ability to throw coins.

The second exception is Isabelle, who is a voodoo shaman. One of her "voodoo powers" is mind control, which allows us to possess an opponent (this doesn't apply to "elite" enemies who are immune to mind control). Once you have taken control of your opponent, you can perform various actions - move them around the map, use weapons to attack other enemies, or pick up quest items (e.g. keys).

General information about character controls

1. In most missions, you don't control the entire team, but several characters who are predetermined for a given level. Therefore, you have to adapt your style of play to the limited set of skills that your characters have. We recommend switching between characters frequently right from the start of the game - you will learn their skills and know how to act during more challenging missions where some characters become unplayable.
2. The death of any of the teammates fails the mission - downed characters cannot be "resurrected". The game, however, allows you to treat injured characters - McCoy's and Isabelle's active skills will be useful here.
3. You can select more than one character at any time - in the PC version, press \ or hold the right mouse button to draw a rectangle on the screen. This is a very useful feature when you want to move more than one character to another location.
4. In some missions, certain characters aren't available from the beginning. A new playable character can appear, for example, after you complete a specific mission objective or release them from prison. If possible, try to quickly "recruit" new characters. Having a large number of characters gives you more tactical options for the remaining mission goals.
5. Each character is marked with a different color on the map. If you are having trouble finding a character, you can also click on its thumbnail or press the corresponding key (1-5 on PC). The camera will move to where that character is located.
6. Not all characters perform the same actions in the same way. The best example is when they are moving bodies. Hector can move two bodies at the same time, but, for example, Kate has problems dragging one body. If you have such an opportunity, try to choose a best-suited hero for the given task.
7. Team members can cooperate, and this works most effectively in Showdown Mode. This mechanic allows you to plan ("record") actions, such as, for example, killing an opponent with a knife or throwing a vial with poison gas. Once you have prepared actions for several different characters, you can activate them all with a single key. This helps a lot in places where, for example, enemies are watching each other.
8. Some active character skills have a limited amount of use. Among these skills, you have Cooper's revolvers, McCoy's Buntline gun, or Isabelle's mind control. Maps have chests with supplies that replenish the skills. However, try to use them with caution and rely on them to get rid of the "most difficult" opponents (e.g. those who stand in places that are hard-to-reach for a normal attack).

Comparison of the heroes' passive skills

The following table contains information about passive abilities of individual characters. This is useful knowledge if you don't want to be surprised that the hero refuses, for example, to enter the water or climb the ivy.

Passive ability	COOPER	MCCOY	HECTOR	KATE	ISABELLE
Can the hero swim?	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
How fast does the hero carry the bodies of stunned or killed enemies?	Average	Slow	Fast	Slow	Average
Can the hero carry 2 bodies?	No	No	Yes	No	No
Can the hero climb ladders?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can the hero climb up ivies?	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Can the hero climb ropes?	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Can the hero open locks with a lockpick?	No	Yes	No	No	No
How many health points does the hero have (high and desperado difficulty level)?	2	2	4	2	2