Just Cause 3’s mod system allows you to specialize and power up Rico’s abilities to suit your playstyle. You can increase the amount of explosive damage he does, power up his grappling hook, or make him a better wingsuit pilot, the choice is yours.

The catch is, mod gears (used to unlock mods) take some work to get. You’ve got to complete challenges and liberate strongholds to get your hands on them, so having a good idea of what ones are worth your while early on is a good idea if you want to maximize your gear value.

Here’s our list of mods that you should consider unlocking first because of their usefulness when completing missions and the main storyline campaign.

Tether Mods

Your most powerful tool as Rico is by far your grapple, so it is no surprise that it occupies the number one spot on our recommended mods list. The upgrades increase the amount of active tethers you can have at one time, and the individual strength of each tether.

Stronger tethers will allow you to grapple vehicles to the ground (and each other). More active tethers will become especially handy as you use them both offensively, and as a means of transportation.

Reel In Boost

The first traversal mod is one of the best, and it only costs three wingsuit gears. The reel in boost will allow you to use your grapple to propel you forward at which point you can then switch seamlessly into the wingsuit. This essentially means that you can take off in your wingsuit without needing a high spot to jump from. Very handy for escaping sticky situations.

More Explosives/ More Grenades

Having a good inventory of explosives and grenades is important, especially when you’re trying to take down some of the later strongholds and campaign missions. They are tier 2 unlocks so you’ll need to invest some time collecting the necessary gears, but it’s well worth the effort to double the amount of explosive destruction at your fingertips.

Land Nitrous

The first unlock available for land vehicles is a good one. Land Nitrous will equip all rebel dropped vehicles with nitrous boost. The boost is invaluable for escaping enemies and winning races that will in turn, earn you more land vehicle gears.

Max Flares

Located under the air vehicles mods section, the flares allow you to fast travel to a different location on the map. You can only hold one at a time from the start, but by unlocking this mod early you can have three waiting in your pocket at all times.

Yes racing, wingsuiting and grappling your way around the island is a lot of fun, but sometimes you just need to get from A to B in as short a time as possible.

Precision Aim

This one’s so important you’d think they would have included it in the default kit. With the precision aim mod, Rico can aim down the sights/ scopes of his guns to hit targets at a distance. For an easy way to get gun gear tokens, consider heading to the shooting range and completing the challenges they have to offer.