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Valkyria Chronicles: Gallian Crossfire mod - Temporary Ceasefire


Ertrick36
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@Ertrick36

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I don't know about Alicia being in that program but I'v at least seen many think Selvaria was. I remember that now though it is honestly weird how no-one noticed. So I know Riela in 3 was also an orphan and was adopted by an old lady. Many shunned her but she didn't care, think it was due to her red and white hair. Riela also healed fast but she credited it to her milk drinking, which apparently as weird as it sounds constantly increases her breast size and I think they're sensitive, IDK if that's true or not with that last part. VC3 takes place during this game, and though offscreen in vc1 squad 7 apparently met the nameless sometime prior to Isara's death and at Nagiar. Basically if I recall right the nameless are off the books special forces composed of traitors and war criminals. Riela is in cause her valkyrur healing makes her the sole survivor of many units in the army.

 

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@LucarioGamer812

Spoiler

The breast size thing sounds like total BS, but I also wouldn't put it past the devs to do something juvenile like that.  And I know the VC1 characters appear in the third game as more than a cameo, the Drei Stern in particular acting as the main antagonistic force once again.  I said "cameo" though because their inclusions in the game was undoubtedly due to popularity, just like it was for them in VC2 and now in VC4.

Alicia probably wasn't part of the program, but there just seems to be this heavy implication that she was with Selvaria before... like they were sisters, but separated, or that they came into contact at some point before the Imperial invasion.  Or maybe I'm talking out of my ass, but I don't remember...  I guess I'll see for myself when I play through the parts of the game again where Alicia confronts Selvaria.  I did last play through this when I was, like, 18 years old, and at that time I was pretentious enough to see hamfisted connections in everything, even when they're not actually there.

Selvaria, though, was certainly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, part of a program to reawaken the Valkyria bloodline for use by the Empire.

 

Chapter 8-6: A Fresh New Hell (Gameplay - Briefing)

Spoiler

So before I show my preparations, lemme show you the briefing and the map we'll be playing on.

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Following up from the last point in the story, we are presuming that the explosion sounds (not gunshots, Welks) came from around where our platoon is, and that apparently doesn't necessarily mean they're dead.

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Yeah, it is pretty "significant".  And here I'm wondering why the fuck they didn't have significant forces deployed at the vital supply camp in Kloden that was supposed to be made unshakable.

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Basically the main reason we need the Edelweiss in the first place for this mission.

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And a pretty big reason why this chapter can be a pain.

Because apparently Isara can't just run the tank on her own, like the unshakable deity she is.  She probably has to do her taxes or some shit like that.

Though I do remember someone or something saying that a tank like the Edelweiss actually needs four crewmen to operate it; one who is the gunner, one who loads the guns, one who drives, and one who commands.  Someone also needs to operate the radio, so it might need five depending on how much action the tank will see.  So who is running all the other stuff?  Just Isara?  Or maybe some other people?  I'd figure those people would be engineers, and there's about... eight of them.  Not to mention the two dudebros in the hangar.  So I pose the question on you guys; if Isara isn't running the other three functions, which of these brilliant technicians are:

  • Claudia Mann, the bad luck nurse
  • Dallas Wyatt, the brain-damaged (Susie incurred) lesbian teen who is a misandrist (and thus wouldn't like being around Welkin)
  • Herbert Nielson, the layabout who can't even be bothered to spend a million DCTs when it's given to him
  • Homer Peron, the masochistic "Swan of the Battlefield" and Edy's partner in crime
  • Karl Landzaat, the meek metalworker who is the lover of Lynn and would probably honestly be most content within the safe massive metal plates of the Edelweiss
  • Nadine, who writes smut
  • Ramsey Clement, AKA that goddamn lady who is solely responsible for every single shot missed because who the hell decided she should be the one working on our guns?!
  • Knute Jung, the most legitimate businessman in the entire army
  • Kreis Czherny, who probably can't be part of the misc. crew because of spoilery reasons

or...

I'm making this a legit poll; top three choices will be confirmed part of the Edelweiss, no if's, and's, or but's.

Spoiler

It may affect some possible graphics or unit choices I'll make in the future.  For flavor, basically.  Trust me, it's not gonna be entirely pointless.

Ahem... anyway...

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Yeah, right, Welks needs to get to the Edelweiss.

Alicia's here, too, but... fuck her.  I'm not gonna waste another CP on her.

So in some sense, this is a lot like the missions in Bruhl.  You know...

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These fucking missions.

You remember them, right?  Good times...

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I guess we made a real name for ourselves if they're this pissed off.

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They need to do a lot more than "fall back and defend".  Or at least, three people in particular will.

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The standard for every non-tank mission; no orders, no tank.  Just purely the strength of our units.  And we'll need a lot of it.

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Conditions.

Yeah, we still have to watch out for Alicia's stupid ass.  Except not really, because she doesn't even need to be placed in danger 'cuz I'm not using her.

So how many units can I deploy to protect our camp?  Glad you asked that.

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The answer is six.  Six measly troops will be responsible for keeping the goddamn tank safe.  And what does the map look like?

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Oh wow... that's, uh... that's a lot of dudes attacking us...

And only one of them is a scout.  So how does this apply, and who do we need to use for our attack?  Well...

It's STRATEGY TIME.

Pull up the music, Cherry.

Alright, so here's the deal.

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Blue = Welks | Purple = Our main squad | Red = Imperials

So the goals of this mission - that is, what we should actually be focusing on - are as follows:

  • Welkin needs to reunite with the rest of the team (Turns 2-3)
  • We need to take out enough tanks and lancers for the Edelweiss to survive a round of combat (Turn 1)
  • We need to set up a defensive line to protect the Edelweiss from flanking lancers (Turns 1-3)
  • After reunion, we must destroy all major foes (Turn 4 onward)

This map here demonstrates what engagements we're looking at.  The reason Welkin can't move is because of the two snipers in the middle; one of them is small fry, but the other is an Ace, and is thus pretty frickin' hard to kill (which also means it's anyone's game who kills them).  Together, they'll take Welks down immediately.  And as for the scout in the north, I just need to get him out of the way so that Welkin doesn't have to waste a CP and precious AP killing him.  There are many unknown factors for Welkin after that; I don't remember where any mines are, or how many more enemies he has to deal with.  Though very likely, it'll be stuff only he will be able to deal with because everyone else will need to deal with the enemies attacking the Edelweiss (or in Alicia's case, staying the hell back).

But before we can even think about dealing with Welkin, we need to secure the Edelweiss's safety.  For that to happen, we need to keep in mind how much damage the enemies can individually do to it, as they each will strike it once.

Tanks...

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Take roughly a third of the Edelweiss's body HP.  To be precise, this tank did 812 damage here.

And lancers...

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Also deal about a third of the Edelweiss's max body HP in damage; in fact, the exact same number as the tank did.

Now, I believe the closer tank actually deals more damage due to a lower distance gap, but the point is, we can't leave more than two tanks and lancers on the field, or at least keep less than three from shooting the Edelweiss.

Back to the map...

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So we know that we can't leave more than two lancers and tanks in a position to attack the Edelweiss... so we need to destroy four lancers and tanks.  But meanwhile, the frontward tank and shocktrooper, as well as the sniper and the scout (post frontward tank destruction), will constantly be shooting at anyone moving.  The sniper needs to go down first, so I'm employing counter sniper ops to deal with that.  The Lancer will take down the forward tank (3 CPs), and both the front-most shocktroopers will move away while taking down some enemies.  They'll primarily be gunning for lancers, though shocktroopers are another concern.  And we shouldn't forget the snipers in the middle, because I'm sure they're gonna do something and it'll suck a lot.

Once Turn 1 is over, Welkin can begin making his way over to the Edelweiss, and the pressure will ease off a little.  When he finally rendezvous with the tank, we'll need to destroy the gate and sweep all of the important enemies; remaining tanks, leaders, and the mortar cannon.  That is if we want to get the most out of this, which we most certainly do.

LTCing this the next difficult part.  I don't know for sure, but I think the A-rank requirements are really stringent for this; something like three turns is what we need to get it.  But anyway, I've briefed us up enough, so let's get preparations underway.

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Firstly, some units I'm picking because they have great potentials for defending the tank.  Like Wavy with Stonewall and Camp Defender, or other units who gain buffs from either crouching or defending a camp.

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I'm gonna make the scouts equip the Gallian-S1 because having the ability to intercept is important here, and this gun in particular has the best stats out of either gun that can intercept.  The debuffs from the X1 aren't really needed here.  Spoiler: they're hardly ever needed.

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The shockies will use the MAJ-X M1 because it has the longest range next to the Ruhm.  Attack down is a welcome debuff, too.

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Of course, I'm having Lynn use the Ruhm because I'm plebian trash who likes to use OP units with OP guns.  She's going to be able to intercept and counter every enemy that comes running at us.  And if I'm lucky, she might proc Hard Worker so that she can take out more than just one enemy.

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Lancers don't have branched weapons yet, so they don't have alternate options.

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It doesn't really matter what weapon the engineers have, so I'm sticking them with the Gallian-X1 and hoping they can intercept with that.  Spoilers: they can't.

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And the one sniper we will use, who is probably best suited to this mission, will use the Brondel M1.  It has decent tank killer potency, but not as much as the lancer weapons do, so that's not the reason why I'm using it.  It's because the only other accurate alternative only has two rounds in it, while the Brondel has three.  Every shot counts, and no one else will better make them count than Marina.

So, back to the briefing screen...

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For this round, I'm using the following units:

  • Salinas Milton
  • Edy Nelson
  • Lynn
  • Wavy
  • Elysse Moore
  • Homer Peron
  • Marina Wulfstan

These were the characters I felt were best suited to this mission.  Three shocktroopers are used for maximum perimeter security; Salinas is good with tanks (and with being around women) as well as taking out lancers, Edy gains defense when on her own, and Lynn... well, I went on enough about her, and you've seen why I like her.  Wavy can help Lynn by giving her Darcsen Bond, and can also bunker down for great buffs.  Elysse is good with camp defender and tank killer, increasing her evasion and accuracy, respectively.  Homer is good when hurt a lot, which most certainly can happen this mission.  And Marina, while she doesn't have ideal potentials for this mission, has Extra Shot, which will help her maintain her ammo count without needing an engineer.

Now, you're probably wondering... why am I making such a big deal about this map?  And why did I go so in-depth about it?  Well...

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Let's just say...

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That maybe...

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I had a little bit of difficulty here.

And maybe I didn't exactly know what I was doing.

I'm no tactical genius.  And I don't want to just follow a guide like the one on the Steam Community Guides that was made specifically for this mod, so I'm going in... relatively blind.

So let's go from the top, shall we?

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She's not going anywhere at all.

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I swear, to the heavens above and to all that is good and mighty in this world...

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GOOD.

Now sit your ass down here.

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Either that, or Felicia or Setsuna burned another frickin' surf n' turf.

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Maybe.  I mean, I don't know if the explosions or the gunshots really indicated anything, but that black smoke definitely seals the deal.

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Just to be sure, let's go over there... as scouts.

You'll be screwed if you have to deal with any shocktroopers, boy.

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Oh, and this is happening.  Pretty much right by our forward shocktroopers, which are Edy and Lynn.

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So our turn begins.

First off...

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Fuck those guys, let's get to the real action, where...

uh... wait a minute...

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Isara has an in-game portrait???

But as was said before, we can't use the tank.  Which is... sorta odd, given that I'm sure they could just have had someone simply sight targets for Isara as she exclusively takes on the weapon controls.  I mean, Welkin was only charged with being the tank commander.  As far as we know, either Isara is the only person running everything else, or there are two or three other people in there.  Not only that, but I mean...

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She can fight, too.

I mean, have you seen those sick maneuvers, bruh?  Why can't I use her in this level if we're unable to use the Edelweiss?

Goddamn, we haven't even started the mission proper, and I'm already pissed off.

 

Tune in to see just how pissed off I get later on.  Abrupt ending because Imgur's being a piece of shit.

 

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Oh, this is gonna be good hahahaha.  This mission is definitely one that gets a major difficulty spike due to the changes made in the mod whereas the vanilla version is simple enough.  I know I've seen a couple people who have struggled with this before finally beating it on stream or via YT videos.

Also, it's stated on the Edelweiss' glossary page that it can be operated by two people (Welkin operates the guns and issues orders, Isara drives and handles the radio) but I assume it can be operated more efficiently with ~4 people.

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7 hours ago, kaidoi said:

Also, it's stated on the Edelweiss' glossary page that it can be operated by two people (Welkin operates the guns and issues orders, Isara drives and handles the radio) but I assume it can be operated more efficiently with ~4 people.

I mean... they can say whatever they want about it, and it can be true in the world of VC.  I'm just throwing some fluff in there and maybe trying to integrate more characters into the meta-narrative, and found this historical inaccuracy a great place to do so.

Though I will say that the tanks the Edelweiss was based off of - those being the Entwicklung-50 Standardpanzer prototype (E-50 for short), the Panzer III and IV, and the Tiger I and II - were all Medium and Heavy tanks, and all had crews of five, fulfilling the roles that I listed.

I think the main reason the Edelweiss supposedly only has a two-person crew is because there being five people doing one job each makes the crew sound less glamorous and more disjointed to ordinary people who aren't really into military facts/trivia.  But when it's just Welkin and Isara, it makes them seem like a very cooperative and capable pair.  I don't think there's a proper in-world explanation for why the tank can be operated by just two people; it's just one of those minor things where you have to suspend your disbelief.  Unless you're a psycho like me and refuse to accept small things like that, creating a head-canon to compensate.

7 hours ago, LucarioGamer812 said:

I totally can see Dallas, Karl, and Homer being tank operators though that's just me.

That's, like, almost all of our current engineer team, lol.

Personally, I'd definitely see Karl in there.  Being that he worked in an ironworks facility in Fouzen with Lynn before the war and that he doesn't seem to like being exposed to the battlefield like he often is, it just seems like the perfect place for him.  Another character I could really see taking to the functions of the Edelweiss is Ramsey Clement because she's really into manufacturing weapons; her main issue would be if she had to perform maintenance on the tank, as she tends to break everything she tries to repair.  And I'd imagine Knute Jung would operate the radio, since he probably would have the best communication skills being that he's into the fine business of earning profits (to the point where he specifically became an engineer to obtain control over the supply chain).

Dallas, I think would be a decent choice.  Mainly because of her "Demolition Man" potential.  That'd land her the position of weapons operator.

Homer, I honestly think would prefer being infantry because of his masochism.

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Eh, I just decided to pull the poll.

Probably better that I just make some stuff up myself anyway.  Like I always have.

Speaking of making stuff up, I'm not gonna post until tomorrow, probably.  I spent most of yesterday planting two trees.  Ain't as simple as Minecraft or Stardew Valley would make you believe it is, apparently.

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Let's begin a new kind of hell... together.

Chapter 8-7: Disturbance in Sniper Hell (Gameplay)

Spoiler

Here, listen to this song just because I've been listening to it a lot lately.

It's just as unfitting in the original game (given the situation you're dealing with) as it is here, so eh.

Let's kick the mission off by...

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Using Lynn.

Because at this point I'm pretty easy to predict.

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It's hard to see, but there's, like, two guys in this line of fire.  I'm trying to line up a trick shot.  Be prepared to see this a lot.

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And be prepared to see this a lot; me killing the shocktrooper, but not the lancer like I really should be going for.

All things considered, I honestly should've just been focusing on the lancers.  These shocktroopers do piss-all for damage, especially with our shocktroopers up at the front keeping them from getting within attacking range of our weaker units.  Our shockies are really fuggin' tanky.

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She's got the poweeeeeeerrrrrr~

I want this to proc as often as humanly possible.

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And she uses the power to go after one of the unhurt lancers.

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Though it doesn't proc again (like I keep saying it can).  I swear, it happened three times in a row at some point, and without any orders.

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Time for some more Moore, bois.

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Well... shit.

Destroying this thing will be 3 CPs down the drain.

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Even so, one of these tanks gotta go.  Though honestly, this is more to protect my infantry than my tank, because I'm pretty sure this bad boy just tries to mortar us.  I don't know for sure because I didn't take any chances.

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Next, I deploy the master of sniping, Marina.

Now, notice how she doesn't have max HP.  And take note of the debuff icon that just now appeared.

Fuckin' enemy snipers, man.

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Fuckin' assholes, they are.

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YOU-!

WHA-?!

NO WAY!

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F U C K   Y O U !

This is the pain I have to experience when sniping.  There's a significant chance that this will happen.  It's happened before very often; I just cut it out most of the time because it's barely worth noting most of the time because I usually do this...

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Reload time!

Because you can save whenever you want during missions, save-scumming is exceptionally easy to do.  I do it all the time, but I don't show it because it's often due to stupid mistakes I made or dumb misfires; hardly worthwhile things to show, basically.  However, I'm showing just about everything I do for this one mission in particular because while some mistakes I make are dumb, this chapter's also really tough to do if you want to get it done optimally.  I'm shootin' for no casualties and possibly even A-rank because both will grant me really good rewards, some of which we have yet to get to.  It was just recently that I learned that you get those particular rewards for no one getting incapacitated, so now I'm trying to reach such goals.

Anyway, so back from square one...

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BTW, I forgot to show who the Ace is.  It's Sytreet the Lynx, a unit we have never seen before.  Not giving this bastard a story because later on, he's gonna have the most pathetic death you'll have ever seen an Ace suffer.

We want this guy dead by... well, he doesn't need to die immediately.  But before Welkini moves, he'll definitely need to be dead.

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This is the attempt I realize that this bitch-ass sniper is the guy I should actually be taking down first because the debuff he gives is worse than the debuffs any other enemies here give.

But I want to take this bastard down in one shot/one CP, so resets abound!

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One more blunder, and then...

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BAM, another one of these bastards down!

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The hunt continues...

... is what she says when this procs.  Yeah, she's a hunter, through and through.

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Sweet dreams...

More more gif...  Just so show off this neat little pose.  Yeah, they're all shared between classes apart from the squad leaders' animations, but still.

Maybe one day when I can find a way to upload gifs without it being an exceptionally tedious process, I'll start including them again.

Back to the task at hand...

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I kinda want to move her to the other side of the tank to see if she can snipe that Sytreet guy at all, but...

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Um...

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Yeah...

Remember all the enemies who are around the frontmost tank?  Yeah, well, one of them is a scout and can take potshots at anyone who goes far enough to the north.  So unless Marina can avoid getting hit by that sniper, I'll just say she can't flank the tank.  Though from that angle, she has no advantages whatsoever, so honestly I shouldn't even bother.

Reset once more!

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Hey!  This time, the bastard sniper missed Marina!

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And she managed to hit him again!  Good job, Marina ヽRGaYS2c.png

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I still have her flank the tank just to get a better look and see if she has a vantage point on any key units.

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I once again employ Lynn for the trick shot, and once again fail to kill the lancer.

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And she once again unlocks THE POWER!

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So that she can once again kill the lancer and once again end her turn after two kills.

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Next, we shall deploy Mizz Panicky.  Hey, so far this attempt is turning out pretty swell, right?  Better than the last several, anyway.

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Uh...

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What the hell just HAPPENED???

LOOK at that health!

Answer: the bastard scout that's right next to Welkin and Alicia's position.

You know...

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The only one we can see up north there.

Remember that scouts have an insane interception range and radius.  To be exact...

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They have a whopping 270° interception radius, and can essentially shoot you from across the map.

Credit for this graphic goes to this guide.

Basically, unless you're directly behind them, scouts will pretty much always shoot at you.  So if Edy's to survive, we'll need to kill that scout stat.

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Thankfully, Edy's able to kill this sniper, so she doesn't nave to worry about getting insta-killed by a counterattack.

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At least you can just abruptly end your turn before the enemy fires.  It's a nice counterbalance to the bullshit way interception fire is oh-so slanted in the enemy's favor.

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Now, I didn't say I'd use Alicia, but...

Well, she unlocked her fourth potential at some point (though not her third for some reason).  No, I won't say what it is, but I will say that it can make her extremely powerful if used right.

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Unfortunately...

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It doesn't proc.

So... yeah.

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She at least kills the scout.

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But unfortunately, if I try to use her any more, that sniper will kill her.  I'm fairly confident he has pinpoint accuracy, and losing Alicia means going through a lengthy game over screen...

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So let's get Edy to clean him up, eh?

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Uh...

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Her... her health...

Who's shooting at her now???

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You... got... to be... shitting me...

I loathe Aces.

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I dunno... maybe the grenade could help.

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Not really, no.

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Uh...

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Three CPs left and no tanks or lancers are dead.

Uuuuhhhhh...

Ffffffff.....

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UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH...

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God fucking dammit...

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I'll see you all in the next update.

 

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Notice how things fell apart just as soon as Edy got severely hurt.

Conclusion: Edy is the one who holds everything together, and must be protected at all costs.

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4 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

Notice how things fell apart just as soon as Edy got severely hurt.

Conclusion: Edy is the one who holds everything together, and must be protected at all costs.

I feel like Edy isn’t exactly the best choice for this mission, given that she can get debuffed by the attack down SMGs, on top of her Panicky potential further reducing her attack power...

 

Personally, I had my own strats for this chapter, but I’ll probably tell you how I did it when you finish your write up for this one :P

Edited by kaidoi
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10 hours ago, kaidoi said:

I feel like Edy isn’t exactly the best choice for this mission, given that she can get debuffed by the attack down SMGs, on top of her Panicky potential further reducing her attack power...

If I had cleared all those shocktroopers out or exclusively used her as a defensive unit (since Panicky doesn't proc when it's the enemy's turn), she'd be fine.  Even with Panicky activated, she normally can easily take down most troops.  It's just that I tried to use her to take down the Ace when I should be using someone whose attack stat isn't so debuffed, because Aces are tougher than most other units.  I value Edy here because she can fairly easily proc a lot of her good potentials.

I think my biggest regret as far as unit deployment is concerned is Marina.  She just isn't cut out for defense sniping missions like this one; Emile would've been much more ideal.  And the Pollen Allergy just rubs salt in the wound.  However, I'm confident she'll really prove her worth the next mission; that one greatly values anti-tank snipers, and it's a night mission, so it works well for Marina.  And yet again, I didn't use Salinas as much as I could've; he'd actually have probably been better for taking down lancers.

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On a side note, what's pretty interesting about the "Alicia dies" loss condition is that she can be downed, but if three turns pass or an enemy gets her body, she says the same voice lines (but different portrait and background) like in the prologue missions and then you get game over'd.  I think this is the only instance where this happens since in other situations getting downed results in an immediate game over.  If only this applied to Welkin when he's on foot...

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On 6/29/2018 at 6:28 PM, kaidoi said:

On a side note, what's pretty interesting about the "Alicia dies" loss condition is that she can be downed, but if three turns pass or an enemy gets her body, she says the same voice lines (but different portrait and background) like in the prologue missions and then you get game over'd.  I think this is the only instance where this happens since in other situations getting downed results in an immediate game over.  If only this applied to Welkin when he's on foot...

So if she were to be KO'd but I had Welkin rescue her, I wouldn't get a game over even though she was downed?  That sounds like something I maybe could've abused; just take her down, then I could send an extra unit to the base camp to assist.

And if it could happen to Welkin, that'd be some major cheese.  Except I don't like these kinds of tactics because then I lose out on royal weapons.

 

Hope those of you fellow 'Muricun patriots had a great Independence Day.  Be sure to tell the rest of the world that they suck and America is always Number 1.  AKA, Imca.

So while in between segments, I've been playing through VC3 on my own and holy shit they actually referred to the field of study Welkin's into properly; they say "biology" instead of just "science".  Holy hell, even if the translation I got sometimes has text go way outside the text box and even if it's not fully translated, I can confirm based on this fact alone that it's a better translation than the official localizations.  Fight me about it.

On a more serious note, I found it amusing that Varrot ponders on the Nameless platoon being that squad that Gallia always sends to the wolves when that's pretty much how General Damon treats her and her regiment.  And I'm pretty sure some of the maps in VC3 are literally repurposed VC2 maps; I can see where the complaints about it being repetitive come from.

Also, new part.  Will I get it right this time?  The answer is no.

Chapter 8-8: To Live and Die a Scrooge (Gameplay)

Spoiler

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Where we last left off:

  • Lynn proved she's still one of the most badass members of my team.
  • Marina did some target practice.
  • Elysse took her sweet ass time between anti-tank shells, probably to drink some Happy Otters or some shit.
  • Homer sat on couch watching TV while eating donuts with pink frosting and sprinkles on top.
  • Alicia didn't activate [spoiler Potential] like I wanted her to.
  • Isara was too busy bickering over the radio with Kreis about the fact that she doesn't have any minions helping hands to aid in operating the tank, momentarily forgetting that she's the closest thing to a god this pathetic land has ever laid witness to.
  • Edy contracted cancer from the enemy snipers because they are the embodiment of that ailment and so help me if I don't kill every last one of them...
  • ... and so we had to reset.
  • Also, I mistakenly said earlier that I deployed Wavy here.  I actually didn't do that... yet...

Now then, let me give you some more musical beauties to listen to, because I just recently realized they make nice background setpieces for the downward spirals into madness I post here.  Plus, I just want some music to listen to while pushing out this stuff, and I think it helps folks better understand my mindset if they heard what I was hearing while typing all this.

And continuing with our theme of Jugdral...

I stumbled upon this neat little track from our boy Leif's game.  Once again, it totally clashes with the pain and suffering I'm going through in this, but hey, contrast is good for art n' stuff, right?  And while I haven't played this game yet, I'm, like, 65% sure the story and gameplay in it is a lot of pain and suffering anyway, so there you have it.  Plus, there is a light at the end of this tunnel, so something so regal and hopeful-sounding as this track actually kinda works.

Anyway, let's press on.  Because though I've suffered much, just like the stalwart knight Finn, I know it's important to keep going to ensure a brighter, better future for my liege.  Though in my case, that'd be the homicidal Exalt of Many Lands Isara.

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So more or less, the same first few things happen; I use Marina to kill the sniper, then I have Lynn go after a bunch of dudes.  Except Lynn kills the lancer all the way in the back instead of the shocktrooper, and she doesn't proc Hard Worker.  Sad!

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Then I send Elysse over to the side...

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To flank the tank, though I was honestly hoping she'd be able to hit the rear.

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And hey, this procs, so that's nice!

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I have her hit it once more, and her Extra Shot procs again.

Man, this is really eating up my CPs.  To use Marina to take out the sniper, Lynn to kill one or two guys, and Elysse to destroy this tank...

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It all drops my CP count down to a measly three.

Fun fact about the PSP games: if you attack any enemy from the side or the rear, you deal slightly more damage.  It even works for tanks.  Sometimes, when it's combined with some light damage-boosting potentials or orders, you can drop the amount of shots to kill for a tank from three down to two or even just one when you're shooting the chassis.  If that applied to this game, I could maybe shave off a couple or a few wasted CPs, which would help in the long run for LTC strats.

Or at least, it'd be nice for this thing because it just feels like a waste to use 3 CPs just to kill a single enemy.

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But that being said, I really would like this tank in particular out of the way.  Not sure if distance affects the damage tanks deal like it does for infantry, but aside from that, I'm also worried about this dick because he might mortar my infantry, which is a whole can of worms I'd rather not open.

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Though destroying the tank presents a new problem...

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Scrooge McFuck over here now has a clear line of sight on all of us.

He can even shoot Marina, who is typically hanging as far back as possible.  I tell you, the rebalancing makes our scouts suck a lot, but makes their scouts a huge pain in the ass.

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So for some reason I just leave Elysse where she is and have Marina kill the other sniper.  We gotta get these guys out of the way first because they deal a metric ton of damage to our troops.

And then-

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Scrooge McFuck strikes gold on Marina!

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You need to gently go fuck yourself in Welkin's outhouse, McFuck.

Several resets later, after I tried getting Lynn to proc Hard Worker a bunch of times or I tried to get Marina a couple of kills without getting killed by the sniper...

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I was musing about the damage Elysse was doing against the tank, and I realized something.

Tank Killer is actually NOT a damage-boosting potential.

It actually only boosts accuracy.  Which honestly is hardly needed since the base lancer accuracy in this mod is enough to hit that tank from the distances I've been shooting at it from.

However, Audrey has Tank Slayer, which boosts damage instead.  So I thought she'd be better suited to the mission, right?  Because I might be able to take the tank down in just two hits if it procs.  Well...  I'll just let you see later what happens in that regard.  Of course she'll be wielding the same weapon that all other lancers do.

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Back to the mission, aside from switching Elysse out with Audrey, the only other difference is...

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I put in this guy instead of Salinas.  Because I realized at this point that I actually don't really need three shocktroopers at all.

Anyway, I first pick Wavy this time and have him immediately proc this so that he doesn't die like a fly on a mound of salt.

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Though hell if I remember why I decided to use him, because he has difficulty killing anyone important.

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Fuck it, may as well shoot this guy.

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Well, Wavy does manage to hurt this guy a little, but at this point I already settled on just resetting again.

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Do the same rodeo, struggling to move the cursor around.  Did I ever tell you all that I don't have a mousepad and I frequently have difficulties getting certain parts of my computer desk surface to read my cursor movements?  Because as aggravating as this mod can be at times, I'd say roughly half of my frustration comes from fidgeting around to get my shitty cursor to do what I want it to.  Doesn't affect my performance too much, but it can make things more tedious when I wrestle with the mouse just to aim the bastard at an Imp.

I'd invest in a mousepad if I wasn't so callous and lazy.  But that's just the way I am.

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*Sigh* It's hard to tell, but I tried to get Marina to hit this guy, but she missed.  That's another reset, because I honestly can't afford to waste turns this mission.

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That is a much better first kill.  Because I'm fairly confident that what's really killing Marina aside from the pollen allergies (which is literally killing her slowly) is the accuracy debuff she receives from this dick.

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In fact, I'm just gonna save this because I'd like to continue enjoying her lack of a debuff.

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Next gonna have Audrey do her part... and I hope that Tank Slayer will proc.

...

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... it didn't proc.

Well, I'll sort that out later.

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I need to take this bastard out first.

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And then have her retreat properly.

Okay, let's rewind real quick.  Why the hell isn't Tank Slayer activating?

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See?  She does have it!

So what gives?

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Wait a minute...

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You've gotta be shitting me, there's two fuckin' tanks RIGHT THERE!

I guess the key word is near.  I'd wager that means within interception range, which is why even though the Edelweiss factors into the equation I still can't get it to proc.  Which is dumb because unless you're flanking them, you really shouldn't bring any of your infantry units that close to more than one tank.  It'd work if she had potentials to boost her defense against the heavy barrage of interception fire she'd face, but she doesn't.  So for Audrey, it's a very situational potential, and one that'll eventually get overshadowed by a stupidly good battle potential.

The reality here is that the only lancers who can reliably get damage buffs without stringent conditions at this point in the game are Walter, Theold, Hector, and Yoko, and only the latter two are reliable units who don't have issues meshing with the current team I have (Theold's a Darcsen Hater, and Walter's a pain in the ass who needs to be between 99% and 51% health or else he'll suffer debuffs).  Elysse and Audrey both eventually get Ultimate Anti-Armor (the strongest anti-armor buff in the game), but that's only for very late game because it's the last battle potential they can unlock.

So in other words, I'm fucked; I need to use three CPs to kill these things.  No skirting around that, so I just have to suck it up.  That being said, I actually really do like Yoko.  So after this mission, I may just replace one of my current lancers with her...  Don't worry, Jann's not going anywhere, and I've warmed up enough to Elysse.

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I select Edy to move her to a more defensive position ('cuz standing right in the mortar range is kind of a bad idea), but then immediately have her aim so that she doesn't suffer from the dreaded Panicky potential.

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And of course, I gotta take this trash out.

Quack quack, mother fucker.

If you don't get what "Scrooge McFuck" references, then congratulations on being one of the few people on this planet to not have that song stuck in your head.

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Then we run quickly away, because smol mouf can't handle too much.  Also, she received not one, but two damage debuffs; -25% from her Panicky potential, and another amount I couldn't find from the enemy weapons' debuff effects.  Can't really rely on her to kill enemies anymore for this turn, but thankfully the MAJ-X is good for more than just hurting, so she can still be helpful.

After that...

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I swear, if this misses...

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Well, I was about ready to just put Marina out to pasture for all the previous failures, but this time she's been really frickin' good, so I guess I'll stick with her.

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That's nice and all, but after this, I don't think ammo will be much of a concern.  Not like it would be for Audrey.

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Now this time, Lynn goes last.  See, I'm not favoring her completely.

Don't remember if I pointed out the accuracy on this thing yet, but... yeah.  It's insane.  And the interesting thing is that the orange circle actually represents the spread at the weapon's nominal range (the furthest point at which it does maximum damage), and if you recall the Ruhm has more than twice the range of any of the scout rifles we have, so it's actually much more accurate than if you're calculating based off of the nominal ranges shocktroopers or even scouts usually have.

In short, only a sniper is more accurate than this.  Which is stupidly hilarious.  And very OP.

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So with this gun...

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I kill the shockie yet again, and almost kill the lancer.

Honestly, I can leave him be because chances are he'll just run off to jump over some sandbags, which often leaves them very wide open to interception fire.  The AI doesn't know how to properly mitigate this issue (which I do by hiding behind the sandbags until the enemy reloads and then move), so they almost always die this way.  The AI's stupidity is equally a blessing and a curse, and I'm pretty sure you'll soon see how it'll become the latter.

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To quote the illustrious Valbar from Echoes.

Is anyone really surprised?

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I take care of this guy next to the wounded lancer.  Yes, he does go down, I just didn't screenshot it.

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Hard Worker doesn't proc again, but that's fine.  And I'd like to point out that this one shocktrooper's been constantly shooting at her, but just look at her health.  It's completely mental...

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Lynn is pretty much a battlefield goddess.  Karl sure knows how to pick 'em.

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Now, with one CP left, I do something very smart.  Not sarcasm, it actually was smart.  Because something really stupid happens not long after.

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Lynn nails another lancer, and then...

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I have her just take a seat here.  Yep, right here, at the front line.

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On the enemy phase.

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COME AT ME, MOTHER FUCKERS!

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This is never going to not be a mild irritation.  Do they really have to do this every chapter now?

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Shock boy started to move, but got interrupted by everyone attacking him and he decided to take aim at our fair lady of the Sacae plains...

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... though it honestly hurt him more than it hurt Lyndis.

Which is how I'd describe how Lundgren's plan played out in the beginning of Blazing Blade.

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Then this guy comes and attacks poor Homey.

Though it's okay because he's into that, apparently.  Yep, nothing feels better than friggin' bullet holes.  Super kinky.

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Lynn shoots the lancer, and-

uh, wait a mi-

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What the fu-

You can't just-

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Oh you DICK!

I'm gonna cut off your goddamn balls, you piece of shit!

Well, now she's not only standing, but she's also greatly wounded.  That's just great...

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Oh, and what's that?  This tank gonna do it too?  Come on, mother fucker, DO IT.  I fucking dare you, you piece of garbage!

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And this is why you should never rely on dodge-tanking, kids.

I'll just show the rest of what happened, but no... I can't accept this.

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Just look at this scum, getting away with this shit with barely a care in the world.

This is exactly what I mean when I say the AI's stupidity can be a blessing as well as a curse.  They could've gone for the tank and probably destroyed it with their combined strength, but instead they went for Lynn due to AI idiocy.  And as a result, I lost what is essentially the most reliable defense unit I have deployed here.

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In a way, it's almost genius...

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I mean, I could press on as is and still defeat them, but...

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At this point, I decided I want to do this one completely deathless.  And even if I hadn't, Lynn is the least expendable unit to me.

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So...

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THIS IS AN ORDER!

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Let's just forget that all ever happened, yeah?  After all...

FORGETFUL PEOPLE LIVE LONGER IN MY EMPIRE.

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For some reason, I have Lynn gun for the lancer.  I think I was trying to mess with RNs so that she could proc Hard Worker, but it didn't work...

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This time, I plop her sweet ass all the way back here.  With her range, I think she'll still be able to hit practically all those enemies.

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...  Though notice how many tank killers are left standing.  Remember the magic number?

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...  we can't leave more than two tanks and lancers on the field, or at least keep less than three from shooting the Edelweiss.

That's right, there's a chance the tank will go down.  But I'm gonna take a chance here because miracles have happened in the LP before.

So on the enemy phase, things happen more or less the same except...

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This guy attempts to attack Edy instead of Lynn...

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Homer's hit four times instead of three...

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These two guys land solid hits on the Edelweiss, and then...

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And...

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... and then nothing?

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Oooookaaaaaayyyyy then, I guess I can't complain.

 

I think this is a pretty good time to end this part.  Hey, we made actual progress!  That's pretty swell, ain't it?  But will the next turn be easy, or will it be just as difficult?  Find out... next time!

 

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18 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

So if she were to be KO'd but I had Welkin rescue her, I wouldn't get a game over even though she was downed?  That sounds like something I maybe could've abused; just take her down, then I could send an extra unit to the base camp to assist.

Yep, that's right.  Even then, you'd have to spend the extra CP to rescue her and request backup so idk if that'd help in the long run.  Besides, there's no point worrying about getting allies downed at this point since you can't even get access to royal weapons until you reach a certain point in the story :P

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VC3 stuff

Yeah, VC3 uses pretty much all the maps from VC2 and uses some new ones.  And yes they still get repetitive.  One of the new maps is probably one of the WORST designed imo.  It almost always pisses me off playing it due to how railroaded it feels.

20 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

Gameplay snip

Hahaha, it probably doesn't help that the ZM Kar B rifles they use trade the ability to debuff defense in exchange for lolwut range and one additional bullet.  The question is you would rather get your defense lowered or getting chipped away from longer ranges?

Something to note is that Tank Slayer can also activate from other units the game considers "armored" like bunkers, turrets, etc so you can potentially manipulate things so you can get it to proc.  Also, Anti-Armor Boost will always guarantee a two-shot against those tanks (unless it hits the treads) so you're missing out on the fun :P  (Also this is what makes generic unit runs pretty fun with the mod active since they ONLY have battle potentials.  Some of them have really great combinations)

All of the status debuff weapons reduce their affected stat (excluding HP Down) by 50%, so Edy getting Panicky and getting hit with Attack Down reduces her attack power to a mere 25% of what it normally is.  Ouch.  Attack Down is also a godsend in this mod due to the increased lethality of enemies in this.

I imagine that lancer only went for Lynn since due to her angle intercepting him, that hill blocked his shot to the Edelweiss.

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out!

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2 hours ago, kaidoi said:

Yep, that's right.  Even then, you'd have to spend the extra CP to rescue her and request backup so idk if that'd help in the long run.  Besides, there's no point worrying about getting allies downed at this point since you can't even get access to royal weapons until you reach a certain point in the story :P

Yeah, VC3 uses pretty much all the maps from VC2 and uses some new ones.  And yes they still get repetitive.  One of the new maps is probably one of the WORST designed imo.  It almost always pisses me off playing it due to how railroaded it feels.

Hahaha, it probably doesn't help that the ZM Kar B rifles they use trade the ability to debuff defense in exchange for lolwut range and one additional bullet.  The question is you would rather get your defense lowered or getting chipped away from longer ranges?

Something to note is that Tank Slayer can also activate from other units the game considers "armored" like bunkers, turrets, etc so you can potentially manipulate things so you can get it to proc.  Also, Anti-Armor Boost will always guarantee a two-shot against those tanks (unless it hits the treads) so you're missing out on the fun :P  (Also this is what makes generic unit runs pretty fun with the mod active since they ONLY have battle potentials.  Some of them have really great combinations)

All of the status debuff weapons reduce their affected stat (excluding HP Down) by 50%, so Edy getting Panicky and getting hit with Attack Down reduces her attack power to a mere 25% of what it normally is.  Ouch.  Attack Down is also a godsend in this mod due to the increased lethality of enemies in this.

I imagine that lancer only went for Lynn since due to her angle intercepting him, that hill blocked his shot to the Edelweiss.

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out!

I mean, you could use Welks for something else after rescuing her, and call up someone who could help the allies at the base proc good potentials.  I don't really remember how acquiring royal weapons worked exactly, but I'd still prefer to keep everyone alive.  Just for this mission; it's kind of an "all hands on deck" kind of mission, and I'd rather not rely on Edy the Panicky and a sniper who keeps missing (she really wasn't ideal for this mission) to deal all the damage.

The repetitive maps in both the PSP games makes me so glad VC4 seems to be going back to mostly unique maps like in VC1.  As much as I like elements of those games, I don't like rehashing a few maps several times.  I know in VC2, the repetitive nature more comes from the side missions, as I'm pretty sure there's a unique map for each story mission (barring a few exceptions), and that VC3 just jammed a crap ton of smaller "ops" within chapters to pad out gameplay.  Though VC1 had some hiccups as far as balancing is concerned (and you've seen how I've had my gripes at times even with the mod installed), I can say that at least every single chapter feels like a full, unique mission and are usually relevant to the developing plot.

I've actually been reading up this Steam guide for the mod.  Not the chapter-by-chapter strategy stuff because I want to form my own strategies, but I do know about how stuff like Gatling Turrets and turret bunkers count as "tanks" for gameplay purposes.  It's also where I got the diagram that shows how wide the interception radius is for each class, and how I know some of the stats like potential activation rates.  If anyone here wants to read up on how to get an A-rank for any mission in this mod, that place is probably better for that than this LP.

It'd seem that a super long range machine gun has its draw backs.  At least Lynn can counter scouts and instantly obliterate them.  Though with how the AI typically works, it typically just means more work later on, since many enemies will just end their turn if they're attacked from a far enough distance for their attacks to be ineffective.  Ruhm's primarily good as an assault weapon.  And the lancer getting stopped behind the hill doesn't explain why the tank also shot her, nor does it explain this BS:

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But either way, it just goes to show how ridiculous the AI behaves.  I mean, you can't really make a good AI unless you make it capable of learning, which is a bad idea for a number of reasons and is a whole can of worms I'd rather not open... but yeah, the AI doesn't always make optimal decisions, even if some of those "non-optimal" decisions cause me to reset.

And I personally just can't wait until I get to the end so everyone has the whole picture.  If I recall, things got easier after turn 1, but I had difficulties defeating certain enemies within a timely manner.

 

I just found that game over sequence you were talking about that can happen this chapter via the VC subreddit.

Spoiler

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Ignoring the absurd size of the pictures, the shading on the faces and background meld together to make this look... off.  I guess it's technically correct, but you just never see characters standing around in the shade while the camera's angled so that you can only see the sky in the background in this game.

 

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3 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

snip

 

Trying to understand how the AI works is interesting indeed, since you never know what they may or may not do.  Obviously it might vary between map to map (how much CP is spent for each of them, movement, etc.).  For those gifs you posted (and Lynn), the only thing I can speculate is that while enemy tanks and lancers will prioritize your tank as long as they're within range and have a clear LOS on it, sometimes even though those conditions are satisfied they'll target another unit that's weak and they feel like they can down in one hit.  Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quote

I just found that game over sequence you were talking about that can happen this chapter via the VC subreddit.

Posted by yours truly :P

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48 minutes ago, kaidoi said:

Trying to understand how the AI works is interesting indeed, since you never know what they may or may not do.  Obviously it might vary between map to map (how much CP is spent for each of them, movement, etc.).  For those gifs you posted (and Lynn), the only thing I can speculate is that while enemy tanks and lancers will prioritize your tank as long as they're within range and have a clear LOS on it, sometimes even though those conditions are satisfied they'll target another unit that's weak and they feel like they can down in one hit.  Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, I guess the similarity is that they both were low on health.  And though I am kind of riffing on them being "stupid", the fact that they were unpredictable to me is actually a good thing because predictable AI is easily exploitable and easy to prepare for.  Them doing things I don't expect means I have a harder time planning one step ahead and must therefore prepare for more than one possibility.  It's why I sometimes act with too much precaution.

It's one thing I'll praise Genealogy for gameplay-wise.  The "normal" AI is more difficult than any AI in the series simply because they won't always make the most efficient moves (the only predictable aspect being when the units move).  It's unpredictability, but done more fairly than, say, random reinforcement drops without forewarning (Awakening) or Fog of war against enemies that know exactly where you are (New Mystery in particular had one really BS FoW map), because you still can take proper measures to prepare for unpredictable enemy units without knowing what happens ahead of time.

48 minutes ago, kaidoi said:

Posted by yours truly :P

I almost figured you may have been the one that posted it.  It was just that the page was all messed up, so it mislabeled your post as something different (as in the contents of your post were under the topic and author of some other post above because of an internet hiccup).  Weird thing that happens at times, sometimes with hilarious results.

Edited by Ertrick36
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  • 2 weeks later...

I need some Aloe Severa now 'cuz I've got crazy burns on me shoulders n' nose.  That's one of the various things I hate about summer.  Do yourselves a favor if you ever go outside this time of year (if you live in the northern hemisphere, that is) and just cake yourself in high SPF sunscreen.  Seriously, I can't even put on a T-shirt right now.  So put on your damn sunscreen, kids!  Don't be callous like me, or you'll regret it!

 

Anyway, let's continue forth.  I'm sure I can beat this and the next chapter before VC4 releases.  I'd like to get into Fouzen at least, though, so maybe I'll kick up the pace a bit.

Chapter 8-9: The "Fuck It" Extravaganza (Gameplay)

Spoiler

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Where we last left off:

  • Lynn did not experience any losses, and was absolutely, 100% fine and kicked a lot of ass.
  • Marina somehow made herself seem like a worse sniper than Catherine.
  • A random scout set off one of Homey's kinks.
  • Edy sang a song of Conquest and Fate to Scrooge McDuck as a "fuck you" to his song.
  • Elysse transformed into a lady with a submissive complex.  Ooooohhhh~ orders from the boss!
  • Wavy... wait, what's that wall doing there?
  • Alicia whispered sweet nothings to Welks

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  • Finn did not have a child with Lachesis; her husbandu is Beowulf, goddammit!  Nanna's just Finn's adoptive daughter!
  • Oh wait, wrong game.
  • Also, we got to Turn 2.

So now that we've completed the first turn... will this turn be any easier?

Well...

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Yeah, actually, it kinda is.

However, now the issue went from "how to ensure the tank or any of my useful tanks survive" to "how can we destroy all the key targets and get Welkin to command the tank in a timely manner".  Because while I haven't really been doing my very best to get A-rank, I try still to beat these missions as soon as I'm able.  So at this point, the difficulties are somewhat self-imposed.

So after the first turn, I think I can start cutting out some stuff again.  Though I'll probably still show the roads that lead to failure.

Anyway, let's listen to some more music, shall we?  I'm gonna keep with the theme of Fire Emblem and listen to...

A song that's more cheerful.  And probably one of my favorites from Binding Blade.

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So now I select Marina, and here's something interesting.

Mortar Cannons are effectively like tanks.  What that means is standard infantry fire can't damage it at all if such attacks hit the armor.  Now, I didn't show it off in the last couple parts, but this Brondel that the mod gave us... yeah, it ignores that little flag and you are actually able to damage armored targets.  This also means that if a sniper shoots a tank's radiator, they're likely able to take it down in one or two shots.  Though I don't think there are many instances where you can effectively do that since snipers are still the slowest and most feeble class in the game even with the mod installed and are unlikely to get around to a tank's backside.

Anyway, I don't shoot this bad boy...  That'd take too long for my liking.  No, I go ahead and shoot...

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... jack shit.

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You know what that means!

It's a good thing I always save after a successful turn.

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Lynn shoots... and of course the bastard dies.

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I'd like to destroy this mortar cannon, but Audrey isn't gonna fair much better than Marina.  Still, a three "shots to kill" difference is fairly significant for one-shot weapons, but if you'd just draw your eyes to the corner of the screen...

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She isn't exactly swimming in ammo right now.  And if you think that distance is what's making it take this many...

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Here's how much it does when she goes toward it with her full movement.  And remember that damage falloff is typically quite sharp.

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And by sharp, I mean for anything that isn't a submachine gun, damage effectively gets cut in half once you reach a certain distance (which is the stated "range" value the game gives you) and falls quite steadily after that.  Though maybe you're thinking "well, you're probably more than 200 away, right?"  Well, that's an understandable line of thinking, however...

First of all, when you have a lancer go their full movement, that is at least roughly 100 units of range right there.  So there should've been some change in damage values.

Secondly, the lances we have now actually have a range of 650, so she's got pretty much the same range as Lynn, and if you'll recall...

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She can kill things from pretty damn far away.

So yeah, that "five shots to kill" is about as much as she's going to get without receiving a couple of damage-boosting buffs.  Well, if she doesn't proc a skill that replenishes her ammo, I'm just gonna say...

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Fuck it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And this is where I started up a new recording.  I try to do so at around every half-or-quarter-hour mark/whenever I'm called upon so that these recordings don't take up a ridiculous amount of space.  This has been your uninteresting, behind-the-scenes tidbit from yours truly.

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Oh, and speaking of behind-the-scenes bullshit, I alt-tabbed out to reset the recording, and then I clicked back in, which resulted in me accidentally selecting Welks D:

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Uh?

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Oh right, this is a feature, I guess.  If you press... like, F or something, you can see the stats of whatever it is you're targeting.  It's just the same stuff you can see when you press the same button on a unit icon in the Command Mode screen.  Honestly not that helpful for Action Mode, in my opinion, particularly since the big numbers barely mean anything when you're on the field.

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But I don't want to use Welkin yet, because I gotta get that piece of shit Ace sniper killed first!  Otherwise, Welkin will probably get killed by whatever the hell that question mark circle next to the mortar is.

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I just wanted to show this dopey pacing because in combination with the music I have playing (that I posted above), it's stupidly funny.

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Anyway, after a few failed attempts to get Lynn to proc Hard Worker...

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... and after I try to get Wavy involved again...

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Lynn shüts again, and...

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... not even I know why I moved her way back here.  I think I wanted her to operate more like a sniper or something.  Maybe it's just another "fuck it" moment.  In any case...

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The "To kill" counter was 2 even before I shot him.  Fuckin' hate this bullshit.

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That's only a small consolation, Marina!

It's a good thing you love cute and cuddly animals, otherwise I'd haul your ass out of this map and replace you with the indispensable Catherine O'Hara.

And yes, I've been savescumming all this time.  I'm not gonna show every reset because then I'd hit the ~100 photo limit within, like, ten resets.

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Time for Lynn's spinoff, which is a FPS.  Pick up your copy in 2040.

So I'm trying one more thing with Lynn here...

First, I'm gonna have her cuck Homer and kill this scout... from far, far away.

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Yeah, the power of motherfuckin' Ruhm, baby!

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Now, I have her nestle down here...

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To go again and murder this shocktrooper.

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FUCK YEAH, FINALLY!

Now I can do the thing!

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Lynn's gonna bust this bastard's kneecaps!

Because if Lynn can't, who can?

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Oh heeeeeellllllllll yyyyeeeeeaaaaaahhhh!

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Fuckin' DEAL with it, BITCH!

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Though I burned all of her AP getting here, so she'll just sit around for now.

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Saving the fuck out of that run.

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Like I said, those snipers were the only assholes keeping me from moving the Welks.  I've been wanting to move him as soon as possible because being able to use the tank would be a huge boon for the platoon right now.

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Though even with the snipers gone...

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There are still plenty of threats for Welkin to contend with.  Namely:

  • These guys within the wooden barricades here.
  • A scout around the corner.
  • And mines everywhere.

So firstly, we're gonna try to avoid the guys in the barricade because they're shockies, and those are big no-noes.

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The scout, however, can't be avoided.

Also, how close was this cabin to the one Welks and the 'Licia slept in?  I imagine this is where the enemy troops slept, so... yeah.

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We have Welks move a bit further, however...

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Uh...

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Oh... lovely...

So I don't recall if I told you how mines work.  You see, you can step on them without them blowing up... but the moment you step off of it, it explodes.  So unless I can get an engineer over here in a timely manner...

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Yeah, I'm not even gonna try it.

Will we get this chipmunk to his nutty tank, or will the Imps destroy it - along with the seemingly immortal Isara - before he can even have a prayer of finishing the mission?  Is this the end of the 7th Platoon and Team Darcsen?!

 

Find out... next time.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Apologies for this latest delay.  I've been trying to keep the pace to roughly one part a week, but I've gotten an awfully painful ear infection from swimming last week and need to recover a little bit before I continue this.

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, LucarioGamer812 said:

Here's some good news, Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo is out on Nintendo eshop, PS store, and X box store. It at least goes to chapter 1 of the game and data from the demo can be transferred over.

I'm actually in the process of starting a short LP for the VC4 demo on Switch.

It's already kind of a pain in the arse because I have to convert the giant pictures the Switch takes down to roughly the same size I use for this LP, and I don't just have some kind of batch program to do that work for me.  Nonetheless, I want to do my part in covering it and spreading the word.

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23 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

I'm actually in the process of starting a short LP for the VC4 demo on Switch.

It's already kind of a pain in the arse because I have to convert the giant pictures the Switch takes down to roughly the same size I use for this LP, and I don't just have some kind of batch program to do that work for me.  Nonetheless, I want to do my part in covering it and spreading the word.

Oh wow nice, I'll look forward to your reactions since I already did everything in the demo. It covers the prologue, chapters 1+2, and has an exclusive mission once you beat the other 3 levels. That exclusive mission gives you like 40k exp and 100k money if you A rank it, which I did first try, otherwise like 36k exp and 92k money which is still good for a B rank. Hoping it transfers exp and money to the full game that way I can scout abuse immediately lol.

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27 minutes ago, LucarioGamer812 said:

Oh wow nice, I'll look forward to your reactions since I already did everything in the demo. It covers the prologue, chapters 1+2, and has an exclusive mission once you beat the other 3 levels. That exclusive mission gives you like 40k exp and 100k money if you A rank it, which I did first try, otherwise like 36k exp and 92k money which is still good for a B rank. Hoping it transfers exp and money to the full game that way I can scout abuse immediately lol.

From what I hear, all the progress you make does transfer, so you probably will keep all the money and experience.  Though the case won't be the same for me because I plan to get the PC version, which doesn't have a demo.  I'm just playing the demo on the Switch so that I can try it and because I wanted to see how well it'd run.

On the topic of that proposed LP...  Honestly, it's more tedious to crank out the pictures than I originally anticipated.  My main problems boil down to me not being able to resize all the pictures en mass (I have to do them one-by-one in GIMP) and having to take them on the fly as I'm playing.  For the LP in this thread, I record footage with OBS, which is set to output in a size of roughly 528x297 pixels, then I scrub through the video in VLC Media Player and use that program's screenshot function to make the pictures.  Yet with VC4, I have to do things completely different and I'm having a hard time adapting to that without getting frustrated and bored by the process.

So I don't know.  I already resigned myself to only really being able to cover the gameplay before I even started playing, and after I realized I could just replay missions I figured I'll just play through the demo without taking screenshots and then later coming back, but...  Well, I just need to rethink it.  I may have to skimp on giving tutorials... maybe even have to skimp on actually LPing it through and just give a review/first impression.

And I can't use the screenshots as-is because, I mean...

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This is just an unacceptably giant screenshot format.  If I put a hundred of these in one post, it'd probably take readers a whole day before they're actually able to see all the pictures, and it'd be a headache to read all of my commentary in-between these pictures.

So unless I can get a batch or program to make them all smaller very quickly (or even just automatically), I'm leaning towards maybe making a first impression thread or something akin to that instead of a let's play.

Edited by Ertrick36
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1 hour ago, Ertrick36 said:

From what I hear, all the progress you make does transfer, so you probably will keep all the money and experience.  Though the case won't be the same for me because I plan to get the PC version, which doesn't have a demo.  I'm just playing the demo on the Switch so that I can try it and because I wanted to see how well it'd run.

On the topic of that proposed LP...  Honestly, it's more tedious to crank out the pictures than I originally anticipated.  My main problems boil down to me not being able to resize all the pictures en mass (I have to do them one-by-one in GIMP) and having to take them on the fly as I'm playing.  For the LP in this thread, I record footage with OBS, which is set to output in a size of roughly 528x297 pixels, then I scrub through the video in VLC Media Player and use that program's screenshot function to make the pictures.  Yet with VC4, I have to do things completely different and I'm having a hard time adapting to that without getting frustrated and bored by the process.

So I don't know.  I already resigned myself to only really being able to cover the gameplay before I even started playing, and after I realized I could just replay missions I figured I'll just play through the demo without taking screenshots and then later coming back, but...  Well, I just need to rethink it.  I may have to skimp on giving tutorials... maybe even have to skimp on actually LPing it through and just give a review/first impression.

And I can't use the screenshots as-is because, I mean...

IXT9FBS.jpg

This is just an unacceptably giant screenshot format.  If I put a hundred of these in one post, it'd probably take readers a whole day before they're actually able to see all the pictures, and it'd be a headache to read all of my commentary in-between these pictures.

So unless I can get a batch or program to make them all smaller very quickly (or even just automatically), I'm leaning towards maybe making a first impression thread or something akin to that instead of a let's play.

Yeah a review/first impression post will probably be the best way to go, maybe 1-2 screenshots but otherwise not that many. Also just a random question I have that you can answer later. Does the hit rate/% seem really wack to you? Maybe I'm too used to good accuracy weapons but honestly tank, lancer, sniper, and even normal rifle shots seem to miss, and then shocktroopers can barely hit from like 8-9 feet away. Thank Naga the mortar class is really good with dealing damage and ohko enemies. They even have interception fire which is very innacurate but does hit every now and then.

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2 minutes ago, LucarioGamer812 said:

Yeah a review/first impression post will probably be the best way to go, maybe 1-2 screenshots but otherwise not that many. Also just a random question I have that you can answer later. Does the hit rate/% seem really wack to you? Maybe I'm too used to good accuracy weapons but honestly tank, lancer, sniper, and even normal rifle shots seem to miss, and then shocktroopers can barely hit from like 8-9 feet away. Thank Naga the mortar class is really good with dealing damage and ohko enemies. They even have interception fire which is very innacurate but does hit every now and then.

My impression is that the accuracy is better than in early game for the vanilla version of VC1.  If you recall, shocktroopers and lancers had a very wide reticule.  So at the very least, initial accuracy seems better.  And I don't know if it's just luck, but I've managed to pull off a number of headshots with snipers.  In summation, I think shocktroopers are accurate enough to kill most infantry they come across fairly easily, and lancers are a bit more reliable.  I think they changed the way shots zero in so that it isn't just a wide spray.  You probably are just used to having extremely accurate lategame items, or maybe you're thinking in reference to the Gallian Crossfire mod.

And mortarers... my impression of them is very good.  They're really fun and interesting to use.  I learned very quickly the folly of trying to use them in the middle of interception fire.  I think the massively high arc and range really give them an edge, especially over mortarers in the previous games.  If it wasn't for the limited ammo and the slow ready time, they'd be quite OP.  And I actually used a mortarer to get the enemy ace in Chapter 2 of the demo.  I'll admit, it was a little tricky figuring them out at first, but once you get the hang of them they're real good, and I think the heavy-handed hype the game gives them is quite well earned.

I'll say more in that impressions post/thread I proposed.  I think I'll put it out after I get some more time in with the demo.

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