They are and it is.  :-O~~~

The last, uber-battles of the missions are a bit odd in that, when you get killed, and you will, often, instead of having to start over from scratch like you do base caps, you are returned to the next stage of the battle, which certainly makes them easier to finish. The comm and fuel depot fights in particular you get totally swarmed, and the mod has made enemy bullets (etc) all the more lethal, tipping them dangerously into no-win territory (though they are ultimately, if barely, winnable).

Anyway I'm not sure I like those battles, because they are so scripted (action a triggers action b), the enemies spawn out of nowhere, and there are very limited options for approach and improvisation -- earlier battles are far better about this.

So now I've reset the bases, and bouncing back and forth between the two islands, killing pirates in CQB and raining RPG (+sniper, +AR) hellfire down on privateers from a great height. The satisfyingly random and frequent roadside and coastal encounters are quite a treat, so much so that I think I'll leave a few bases uncaptured for a while, and just go for long walks and boat rides to see who turns up. Also, I am managing to kill enough lions, tigers and bears to maintain my expensive body armor habit and still turn a respectable profit.

Time for FC4.

Next sale I reckon.

For the time being, I just bought the GL, and turned mod difficulty up on "hard" (NJ).

Turns out the GL isn't really as fun as hand grenades (or for that matter RPG), but you do get to bring loads more grenades.

So far, "hard" just means about double the numbers of enemies driving around on backroads (though I haven't tackled a base cap yet). Which is ok, because as soon as you take out a jeep, another rolls up before you have time to loot the bodies. And, before you know it, there's 4 jeeps in a big-ass bonfire. Also there seem to be more critters (hide $$$).

Edit: After playing some more on "hard" -- it seems the enemies are also a) better at spotting you, b) attack more aggressively, often by driving off-road right at you, c) more apt to flank your position, and d) shoot straighter. Haven't made it to a base to attack it yet, keep getting myself killed on the road. Last night I was flanked from two directions by jeeps with mounted guns.  :-&

Well goddamn. I saved up my allowance for a shiny new Z93 sniper rifle, only to discover that, in the mod version, there's no suppressor for it. There is in the unmod, and I expected more/better options. Only a shitty fucking muzzle brake that makes it sound like a fucking howitzer.  :C

Found a body armour cache in the bell tower of that church of the main-mission-sniper-from-water-tower-village.

Trick is to get out of town with the armour intact, its crawling with pirates. (In the mod, body armour isn't nearly as good anyway, it lasts about as long as a regular health shot, or 3 or 4 bullets).