Uploaded December 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In which the name of the game seems to have become "Do whatever is necessary to have Alicia proc Valkyria ASAP, then have everybody die to interception fire". (This strategy shouldn't be necessary to A-Rank the stages, but it will be needed for several reliable A-Rank Full Clear strategies due to the very limited CP pool some skirmishes will have.)
We start to see some more interesting weapons: Alicia is equipped with the Gallian-S30R, which has a high enough vsArmor rating to be able to take out non-buffed turrets -- with Valkyria proc'd, it can easily dispatch them. The engineer's equivalent, the Gallian-E30R, has the same high 150 vsArmor rating (albeit a lower vsPers rating and Range), but fires seven shots and inflicts the Defense Down debuff! (Being honest, I had no idea about the seven shots until attempting the Vasel Riverside Expert skirmish.) These and some of the other specialized weapons will likely see use in these remaining skirmishes.
Technically, performing quickdraw (as described in Edy's Challenge) would be the "not-cheap" method of doing this, but I don't have the timing down to be able to do it consistently. Without being able to perform a quickdraw, anyone other than Rosie with Strong-Willed proc'd or Alicia with Valkyria proc'd dies before being able to perform any action.
But if you do get Valkyria to proc, it's fairly straightforward to get rid of most of the intercepting fire and clear the stage. It looks like more exotic weapons will be needed for these skirmishes to give Scouts (and/or Engineers) methods to deal with Gatling fixtures from a distance.
As for the others: Audrey is good for removing the south Tank Destroyer and the leftover Anti-Tank Turret, with Good Buddy proc'ing giving her enough to get rid of the Tank Destroyer in one hit. I got very lucky with Tank Destroyer (which I've recently understood functions exactly like Critical Shot in this mod) proc'ing with Hector, but with the leftover CP it doesn't seem like it was necessary. Knute is almost always the best choice for Engineer. Emile was to help clean up infantry units, but he wasn't needed (which is good, considering he fell before being commanded).
Also, fun fact: pressing the "End Phase" button does not seem to register if the sandbag your chosen unit is crouching behind is blown out from under them, making them stand up. That's why I wasn't able to end Lynn's action quickly enough for her to survive. Made things a little more tense, but thankfully, after Alicia's action, pressure on the starting position is loosened enough that there can be some less-than-ideal occurrences during the rest of the operation.
In which the name of the game seems to have become "Do whatever is necessary to have Alicia proc Valkyria ASAP, then have everybody die to interception fire". (This strategy shouldn't be necessary to A-Rank the stages, but it will be needed for several reliable A-Rank Full Clear strategies due to the very limited CP pool some skirmishes will have.)
We start to see some more interesting weapons: Alicia is equipped with the Gallian-S30R, which has a high enough vsArmor rating to be able to take out non-buffed turrets -- with Valkyria proc'd, it can easily dispatch them. The engineer's equivalent, the Gallian-E30R, has the same high 150 vsArmor rating (albeit a lower vsPers rating and Range), but fires seven shots and inflicts the Defense Down debuff! (Being honest, I had no idea about the seven shots until attempting the Vasel Riverside Expert skirmish.) These and some of the other specialized weapons will likely see use in these remaining skirmishes.
Technically, performing quickdraw (as described in Edy's Challenge) would be the "not-cheap" method of doing this, but I don't have the timing down to be able to do it consistently. Without being able to perform a quickdraw, anyone other than Rosie with Strong-Willed proc'd or Alicia with Valkyria proc'd dies before being able to perform any action.
But if you do get Valkyria to proc, it's fairly straightforward to get rid of most of the intercepting fire and clear the stage. It looks like more exotic weapons will be needed for these skirmishes to give Scouts (and/or Engineers) methods to deal with Gatling fixtures from a distance.
As for the others: Audrey is good for removing the south Tank Destroyer and the leftover Anti-Tank Turret, with Good Buddy proc'ing giving her enough to get rid of the Tank Destroyer in one hit. I got very lucky with Tank Destroyer (which I've recently understood functions exactly like Critical Shot in this mod) proc'ing with Hector, but with the leftover CP it doesn't seem like it was necessary. Knute is almost always the best choice for Engineer. Emile was to help clean up infantry units, but he wasn't needed (which is good, considering he fell before being commanded).
Also, fun fact: pressing the "End Phase" button does not seem to register if the sandbag your chosen unit is crouching behind is blown out from under them, making them stand up. That's why I wasn't able to end Lynn's action quickly enough for her to survive. Made things a little more tense, but thankfully, after Alicia's action, pressure on the starting position is loosened enough that there can be some less-than-ideal occurrences during the rest of the operation.
