Just Cause 4 Reloaded: Complete Guide

This guide covers Just Cause 4 Reloaded on PC: what the Reloaded edition includes, the grappling hook mod system, how the Army of Chaos and frontline work, the missions and side characters that unlock gear, the storm operations, the expansions, and a 61-achievement plan.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final Just Cause 4 content (Danger Rising, September 2019) and the last monthly challenges (2020). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: finished. Square Enix and Avalanche stopped new content after the Danger Rising expansion (2019) and the monthly challenges in 2020. Reloaded is the base game plus deluxe items: the Skystriker weaponized wingsuit, the Black Hand Stealth Micro Jet, the Neon Racer Pack, the Deathstalker Scorpion Pack and the Renegade Pack. The three expansions (Dare Devils of Destruction, Los Demonios, Danger Rising) are not in Reloaded. They come with the Gold or Complete editions or the Expansion Pass.

Quick Start

The grappling hook is your main tool. Tether objects together, then use the three mod families (Retract, Air Lifter, Booster) to wreck things creatively. Set up loadouts early.
Unlock mods through the side-character missions. Finishing their mission chains unlocks more grapple mods. "I Like to Keep My Options Open" is for unlocking all of them.
Chaos drives progress. Destroying Black Hand property fills the Chaos bar and raises your Army of Chaos level (up to level 14). That gives you more squads to push the frontline.
Push the frontline. Deploy squads into regions next to your territory and liberate them to unlock story missions, supply drops and more map.
Call supply drops. Weapons and vehicles you've unlocked (via blueprints) can be airdropped almost anywhere. Use them instead of walking to a garage.
Wingsuit, parachute and grapple chaining is the fastest way around. Grapple the ground to keep speed, and switch between wingsuit and parachute to control height.
Weather is a weapon and a hazard. Tornadoes, sandstorms, blizzards and lightning storms are tied to the story's weather ops. Use them against enemies once you have control.
Your Reloaded bonuses are yours from the start. The Skystriker adds weapons to the wingsuit, and the Stealth Micro Jet is a quick early air option.

Setting and Story

Rico Rodríguez comes to Solís, a large South American open world of rainforests, deserts and snowy peaks, to take on the Black Hand private army led by Gabriela Morales and uncover his father's past. Solís is ruled by Oscar Espinosa, who uses the Illapa Project weather weapon to control the population. Allies include Mira Morales (with whom Rico founds the Army of Chaos), Sargento (Luis, the Army of Chaos commander), the hacker Izzy, filmmaker Garland King and archaeologist Javi Huerta. The main arc goes after the Illapa project, and the achievements track the story operations Thunderbarge, Windwalker and Sandstinger, the securing of Illapa and the finale mission The Artifact.

Grappling Hook

Mod families

Mod family	What it does	Achievement
Retract	Pulls tethered objects together	Classic Hits (15 minutes using only Retract)
Air Lifter	Attaches balloons that lift objects and enemies	A Higher Love (15 minutes using only Air Lifter)
Booster	Attaches rocket boosters	Lift Off (15 minutes using only Booster)

Each family has upgrades (strength, duration, trigger options and so on) and you can set loadouts that combine them. Try:

Retract + Booster: tether a car to a tank, boost it and fling it across the base.
Air Lifter on enemies: float them out of the fight. It's also good for lifting explosive barrels into air targets.
Booster on a tether chain: turn a gas tank or generator into a missile.

The "15 minutes using only X" achievements count non-consecutive time. Set a loadout with just that mod and play normally for a while.

Traversal tips

Grapple and pull toward the ground while in the wingsuit to keep your speed with no altitude loss.
Parachute to go up, wingsuit to go fast. Switch as needed.
Grapple to fast-moving vehicles to hijack or ride them. "Skitchin'" is one of the achievements.

Army of Chaos and the Frontline

Chaos and squads

Chaos comes from destroying Black Hand property (towers, generators, radars, fuel tanks, vehicles and anything marked destructible). Filling the Chaos bar raises your Army of Chaos level ("Chaos Milestone"), and each level gives more squads. Level 14 is the max ("A Whole Army of Chaos").

Regions and the frontline

Look at the map. The frontline shows which regions are next to your territory.
Deploy squads into an adjacent region. Some regions ask you to complete a region operation (a base or mission) first.
Liberating regions opens up new missions, supply drops, blueprints and pilots.
"Here to Stay" is for securing every region.

Pilots you recruit ("Rico's Roughnecks") make more supply drops available. Factories ("We're in Business") and other strategic objectives also add to your abilities.

Supply drops and blueprints

Blueprints for small arms, heavy weapons and vehicles unlock supply drops ("Weapon Stash", "Fully Stocked").
Standout weapons include the Wind Gun and Lightning Gun. The Cow Gun is a bonus weapon ("Cow-Moo-Flage": turn 10 Black Hand into cows in one session).
Call vehicles in, especially jets and helicopters, instead of travelling to them.

Side Characters and Activities

Activity	What it involves	Achievements
Javi Huerta	Ancient ruins and puzzles, including the Lost Tomb of Otorongo	Allow Me to Introduce Myself, Knowledge is Power, Show Me the Way (every Ancient Statue)
Garland King	Filming stunts (wingsuit, speed and vehicle stunts)	Last Action Hero, All the Right Moves, I Feel the Need..., Stunt Driver
Sargento	Frontline and military missions	His name is Luis
Feats	Leaderboard challenges tracked in the world	Know My Name, Don't Choke on My Smoke
Challenges	Destruction and racing events	Rough Rider (15 vehicles in a challenge), Demo Pro (25)
Surveillance Airships	Destroy them all	...The Harder They Fall
Harbors	Remove every rigged vehicle	Bomb Disposal

Other one-offs: crash your plane into a flying plane ("A Game of Chicken"), stand on foot at the highest point in Solís ("Where I Belong"), and destroy a vehicle with the PBX Auto-Slug 4 shotgun ("Pinball Dreams").

Expansions (not included in Reloaded)

Expansion	What it adds	Related achievements
Dare Devils of Destruction (30 April 2019)	Stunt and destruction trials with weaponized vehicles	B ranks in: Trial of Initiation (Rookie of the Year), Trial of Triumph (Dare Devil of Destruction), Gearheads' Godsbowl Trial Rampage (Doña of Demolition), LNP's Isla Intensa Trial Run (Che's Way), Los Artistas' La Ratonera Survival Trial (Rey Slayer)
Los Demonios (3 July 2019)	Demonic invaders and Infestations across Solís	Purge the Infestations (Mainland, Compound, Farm, Lake, Church, Crash, Mountain), Never Speak of This Again (Extermination)
Danger Rising (5 September 2019; Gold/Expansion Pass owners got it from 29 August)	The final expansion: new missions, weapons, vehicles and the hoverboard	Hover or Die, Long Board and related

The Solino Underground racing courses (including an S-rank-on-every-course achievement and AR tiger targets) are part of the post-launch content. If an achievement's content is missing from your menu, you probably don't own the matching DLC.

Combat Tips

Don't fight fair. Tether soldiers to explosive barrels, lift snipers with the Air Lifter, and drop fuel tanks onto groups.
Heat: causing chaos raises Black Hand response. Break line of sight or leave the area to cool down.
Elite enemies: some Black Hand troops carry shields or heavy weapons. Flank them, or pull their cover away with Retract.
Air superiority: a helicopter or jet from a supply drop clears a base faster than going in on foot.

Performance Notes (PC)

JC4's heavy particle and weather effects can hit frame rate hard. Drop volumetric and weather-effect settings first.
Post-launch updates improved visuals, but the game is still demanding in storms. Performance during a tornado isn't representative of normal play.
Controllers work well, and mouse and keyboard is better for aiming the grapple precisely.

Achievement Plan (61 total)

Story and regions: all operations, all regions, Army of Chaos 14.
Mod-only time: 15 minutes each with only Retract, only Air Lifter and only Booster. Do these while clearing bases.
Collectibles and cleanup: Ancient Statues, Surveillance Airships, harbors, factories, locations (50% and then all).
Stunts: all of Garland's filming.
Feats and leaderboards: get on the leaderboard for every Feat, and beat someone's score while tracking a Feat manually.
DLC-specific: trials, Infestations, hoverboard, racing S-ranks.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring grapple loadouts. Swapping mods mid-fight is much faster with set loadouts.
Walking or driving long distances. Chain the wingsuit and grapple, or call a supply drop.
Letting squads sit. Deploy squads as soon as you have them to push the frontline.
Skipping side characters. Many upgrades and grapple mods come from their missions.
Chasing DLC achievements without the DLC. Reloaded doesn't include the three expansions.
Flying into storms unprepared. Weather can shred aircraft and throw you around.

Advanced Tips

Mod timing: use trigger settings on Booster and Air Lifter so contraptions go off when you want.
Speed stunts: grapple-boosting from the ground keeps wingsuit speed high for Garland's speed stunts.
Feat hunting: tracking a Feat manually makes leaderboard grinding more deliberate.
Chaos farming: big military bases with lots of destructible objects fill the Chaos bar fastest.
Illapa weather: once you control a storm type, use it to your advantage. Tornadoes are brutal against enemy vehicles.

FAQ

What's in Just Cause 4 Reloaded? The base game plus the Skystriker wingsuit, the Black Hand Stealth Micro Jet, and the Neon Racer, Deathstalker Scorpion and Renegade packs.

Does Reloaded include the expansions? No. Dare Devils of Destruction, Los Demonios and Danger Rising come with the Gold or Complete editions or the Expansion Pass. Steam lets you upgrade with an automatic discount for what you already own.

How do I unlock more grappling hook mods? Progress the side characters' mission chains, then upgrade the mods.

What's the max Army of Chaos level? 14.

Is Just Cause 4 still getting updates? No. The last content was Danger Rising (September 2019) and monthly challenges into 2020.

Where's the hoverboard? It's part of the Danger Rising expansion.