No Reload Challenge Run

[fatgamecat]

Hello everyone. I've read the many posts and comments on vc4 forums that reloading ruins the game, or something to that effect. With that in mind, I've begun a 2nd and final no reload challenge run of this game. The conditions are not as strict as the 1st run, but not being able to reload makes up for that IMO.

As usual comments and questions are welcome. Thanks for reading and watching.

steam guide for this run including advice section:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1666797472

Playlist for this run:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2WVt24CiwWd9FR3wLKt-pjYIpHnii0X

Run conditions:

1. New Game, normal difficulty.

2. No reloading from mid-mission saves. Missions are restarted by selecting give up and retry in the menu.

3. No orders or ship orders.

4. No class leveling.

5. Mission strategies will involve low turn counts/command point efficiency, minimal damage taken, most or all leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed, and reliable strategies. These goals are conflicting, especially on later more difficult/longer missions, and I'll try to balance them as best I can.

6. Restricted use of last stand. If a unit goes into last stand, I'll select stand up, and then immediately end their turn without any further action. If the unit goes into last stand on enemy turn, I'll select counter as that likely has less impact than inspire. If for some reason I'm forced to use inspire, I'll consider the extra command point not usable.

7. All missions are played with appropriate equipment and recruits.

8. DLC missions will be reserved until after the on disc content is completed. Selvaria and Crymaria aren't allowed to be used outside of their own missions.

9. Once I clear the main game (18b), if I've missed any main game squad stories, I'll unlock them in the post game by playing skirmish 1 normal. This is mainly for squad stories like Mischief Makers that don't offer any particular reward, but I'd still like to unlock and play them for completion's sake. DCT/renown earned from repeating any mission won't be spent, to prevent any grinding.

10. Videos are recorded in a single take with no cutting. If there's a large amount of idle time in a video, I'll selectively speed up idle times so there aren't large gaps with nothing happening. Instead of cutting the idle time out of the video.1. New Game, normal difficulty.

2. No reloading from mid-mission saves. Missions are restarted by selecting give up and retry in the menu, except 17a and skirmish 6 hard which must be restarted from book mode. This respects all RNG from my testing.

3. No orders or ship orders.

4. No class leveling.

5. Mission strategies will involve low turn counts/command point efficiency, minimal damage taken, most or all leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed, and reliable strategies. These goals are conflicting, especially on later more difficult/longer missions, and I'll try to balance them as best I can.

6. Restricted use of last stand. If a unit goes into last stand, I'll select stand up, and then immediately end their turn without any further action. If the unit goes into last stand on enemy turn, I'll select counter as that likely has less impact than inspire. If for some reason I'm forced to use inspire, I'll consider the extra command point not usable.

7. All missions are played with appropriate equipment and recruits.

8. DLC missions will be reserved until after the on disc content is completed. Selvaria and Crymaria aren't allowed to be used outside of their own missions.

9. No repeating missions to grind dct/ranks, with one exception. Once I clear the main game (18b), if I've missed any main game squad stories, I'll unlock them in the post game by playing skirmish 1 normal. This is mainly for squad stories like Mischief Makers that don't offer any particular reward, but I'd still like to unlock and play them for completion's sake. DCT/renown earned from repeating any mission won't be spent, to prevent any grinding.

10. Videos are recorded in a single take with no cutting. If there's a large amount of idle time in a video, I'll selectively speed up idle times so there aren't large gaps with nothing happening. Instead of cutting the idle time out of the video.


Chapter 01 : 3 turns
https://youtu.be/gPOc_jckDpg
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

With that said, let's get started with the 1st chapter. Unlike the 1st run, I immediately make use of tanks and Grenadier's, and finish in 3t instead of 5. I attempt to kill all tanks and leaders, and attempt to minimize damage. The new indicator below lets you know what the results are. As missions get more difficult and longer, I may end up skipping some tanks and leaders, or taking some damage. We'll see how it goes.

Skirmish 01 Normal: 1 turn
Damage taken: Curtis only
Allies downed: Curtis was deliberately downed in order to recruit Eileen. Let's hope this is the only time an ally is downed on this run.
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: n/a

I mostly used this skirmish as an excuse to use Curtis and Jester whose squad stories I'm trying to unlock. My analysis of early game squad story unlocks (some data taken from PSNprofiles vc4 guide):

I have placed stars next to the recruits that are probably the easiest to use to unlock the story without resorting to grinding skirmishes.

SS1
That Which Never Changes
Curtis*, Laurent, Eileen ZM Kar 2(e) E+ 180 40 52 5
this weapon is useful on ch 3a/b

SS15
The Debtor's Calamity
Jester*, Teresa, Connor* VB PL 2(e) D 400 130 1200
this weapon is useful on ch 4a

SS2
Soothing Those in Grief
Godwin*, Rosetta, Nico* ZM MP 2(e) D 100 36 50 20
this weapon is useful on ch 5

SS6
Pride, Faith, and Mistakes
Fleuret, Rebecca*, Mabel* - Mabel damage potential

SS8
Girls Talk
Millennia, Brittany*, Rita* - Brittany damage potential

[fatgamecat]

Chapter 02 : 3 turns
https://youtu.be/J32a-hUUj_I
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

Continuing to use certain scouts to unlock the squad stories. The strategy here is similar to my 1st run, except there's some tank and Grenadier usage.

[fatgamecat]

2 new videos today. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out.

Interlude 1 (2t)
https://youtu.be/eZasqR0TlCo
Damage taken: No (NPC Raz excepted)
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

Aside from the CPU controlled Raz, no damage is taken.

The most common strategy for getting to the final base is to have Raz destroy the Gatling turrets, which takes 2 to 3 command points. Alternately, if you destroy the 2 sets of barricades, you can sneak past the Gatling turrets entirely by hugging the south wall. This takes 2 command points and you don't need to worry about double killing the Gatling turrets.

Squad Story - Like Old Times (3t)
https://youtu.be/Rb6GUoDK3lE
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: missed 2 tanks

Positioning units to manipulate the AI is important in taking no damage here. Incoming enemies are killed with interception fire before they can do anything, and enemy tanks never open fire.

The AI partially cheats in regards to the position of your units. It can tell when a path is blocked off even when your units that are doing the blocking aren't visible. On turn 2, Curtis and Eileen form a blockade in the southwest portion of the map, which causes the AI to divert its shock troopers northward instead of getting in the way.

You can also try to let the AI through and kill anything incoming with interception fire, including the ace, but I found this a bit unreliable with my current equipment.

Laurent can make multiple long-distance shots at the tank radiators, it's mostly a matter of luck how many tanks I end up destroying. I could have taken one more Lancer shot on turn one but I didn't want to potentially change how the mission plays out.

The ace is killed with a surprise attack for reliability. Veer to the right on the West Hill to avoid aggroing it.

[DoomyDoom]

A potentially interesting for your cause bit about AI pathfinding that I learned when messing with vc1 waypoints - while wp-s are ordered, the AI may choose to skip one if another is closer (I acheved that by changing placement, but I assume bumping a unit with tank long enough can get similar results). It may even choose to skip the entire path and go straight for the camp by compltely unrelated path, if the unit is set to attack your base!
I also moved base camp to a very different spot and AI was able to find the way to an unscripted spot just fine, ignoring "wrong" waypoints.

So ye, messing with enemy pahfinding by blocking and pushing can totally give you some funny advantages.

[fatgamecat]

hello, yes the ai pathing is very interesting. thanks for the insightful comment.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 No Reload C.Run Chapter 3a & 3b (2t/3t)
https://youtu.be/8XYKBPH7dp4

Chapter 03a: 2 turns

Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

This chapter features my favorite accessory in the game, the telescope. This accessory is amazing when avoiding damage is a concern. I feel like the telescope and grenades in general are a little unappreciated. Not surprising when tank mortars, Grenadier's, and flamethrowers are typically more powerful and easier to use.

The telescope is equipped on Jester. It's used against the enemy engineer crouching in the grass on turn 1, and again against a shock standing near the goal. Godwin and Curtis also throw important grenades to clear the way for Claude and Raz.

2 command points are reserved for killing the enemy scout leader. if Jester doesn't kill it on his attempt, Curtis will advance and finish it off with Jester in a team attack. In the video Jester kills it on his 1st shot.

Curtis reaches Cpl. rank after completing this chapter. His squad story grants access to the ZM Kar 2(e) which is very powerful for interception fire early in the game.


Chapter 03b: 3 turns

Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

The ZM Kar 2(e) and Raz makes it easy for the rescued party to avoid any damage. All scouts and Raz can safely reorient themselves without any shots fired. This almost guarantees the reliability of the strategy, but takes timing and command points. In order to ensure near 100% reliability, I reorient 3 different units. Without reorienting any units, the chance of success is about 50%.

Claude can sneak away from the 2nd wave of reinforcements without being fired on.

Many more grenades are tossed in this mission. Rebecca has the telescope which allows her to grenade the shock troopers across the river if need be.

Jester reaches Cpl. rank after completing this chapter. Additionally I try to get Rebecca and Nico more points. Even though Eileen is overall a better engineer, I'd like to get Rebecca to Cpl. to unlock Mabel's damage potential, which is more important IMO. Messed up a little bit at the end, could have got Nico one more command point.

[fatgamecat]

I'm pretty happy with how today's video turned out.

Chapter 04a (3t)
https://youtu.be/gY3e80TzYs8
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

The main camp is set up to deal with the incoming shocks while minimizing the chance of Claude's negative antitank potential. The 1st variable in this mission is the shock just south of the middle camp. It's a stop and shoot AI, meaning once it takes interception fire damage, it stops (or retreats a bit) and shoots at anything it can. It's more annoying than the typical suicidal AI.

It will try running south, and depending on where it stops and which direction it faces, the APC may need to kill it before the tank can move. You could try to kill it on turn one with the APC, but that introduces additional complications.

I try to minimize any infantry exposure to Gatling chaff by deploying and staying near the APC and cover such as horizontal walls and sandbags. I take advantage of the fact that infantry can board the APC over solid obstacles such as walls if it's done on the map and not in action mode.

If you look at the Gatling's in the distance, you can tell when they're firing chaff onto the map and putting your units in danger. This is easier by pressing the button to turn off sightlines. When it's safe, the Gatling's will only appear to be firing upwards, and when it's not safe the Gatling's will appear to be firing both upwards and downwards.

On 2et, there's a chance the Northeast tank won't move South. If that happens, it will require one additional command point to reach and destroy. Additionally, the layout of the tanks is sometimes different, but I haven't seen an impossible layout.

The generic tanks will appear at your main camp, unless you've captured the middle camp, in which case they'll appear there. The generic tanks are very useful, so make it a priority to capture the middle camp. The right side isn't even worth considering unless you're trying to kill every enemy on the map.

Near the end of turn 3 the Hafen makes an unlikely shot at a tank, but it's fine if this shot misses. I should have veered more to the left so that I had a better angle on that radiator. There's still enough ammo and AP to finish off the remaining tanks. The mission can end with up to 3 spare command points, so there's some leeway for misses.

As far as the enemy Grenadier's damaging the tanks, I positioned a tank with its radiator exposed to a grenadier on this stage for an hour and it didn't take any damage.

I've raised the music volume on this run to 4. You can hear it if you turn your volume up.

Portions of idle time were sped up to 20X speed instead of cutting them out of the video.

Playlist for this run:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2WVt24CiwWd9FR3wLKt-pjYIpHnii0X

[fatgamecat]

Chapter 04b (3t)
https://youtu.be/KdWq9l5QLDg
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

By using the APC, SP, Riley, and skipping some nonessential enemies, I lowered the turncount by 1 compared to the first run. The most effective route is taking the 1st ladder and heading east and down the ramp. This bypasses the north camp and still gives you the high ground and access to the enemy ace.

The APC remains parked near the 1st ladder, since it isn't efficient to clear the antitank stuff.

Command points are spent on Riley to carry Brittany and Rebecca eastward. Once Riley has the high ground, it's open season on imperials.

on 2et there's some randomness in which enemies act. Sometimes the shock leader will move from the base, sometimes the Southwest sniper will move, and sometimes the scout reinforcement on the north base will move. Riley and Rebecca can handle any combination of enemy activity. Nico's movement should be reserved until the path is almost entirely clear.

The mission can be cleared with up to 3 command points to spare, or rarely more if Riley manages to one shot some of her targets.

[RebirthOfJack]

While i will not watch all of these without first playing the game (currently occupied with MHW) i have to say it's already a pretty impressive run, cheers for you man

[fatgamecat]

hello, thanks a lot. thanks for supporting this game, and I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it.

playing without reloading can be pretty strenuous. can't play while half watching a twitch stream
and browsing the web.

Chapter 04c (3t)
https://youtu.be/gDoylnR9ISU
Damage taken: No (NPC Raz excepted)
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

Aside from the CPU controlled Raz, no damage is taken.

The combination of vb pl 2(e) from jester/teresa/connor's squad story and upgraded tank cannon can destroy the boss in 3 command points without hitting the radiator. Rarely it will take 4 command points. Either way, it's much more reliable than praying for an antitank mortar to land 3 times in a row.

Scouts are positioned to attack the shock that runs east near the main base on 1et.

Riley is equipped with the t1 royal grenadier weapon for 2 reasons. 1st, it ensures consistency with the position of the enemy tanks on the 1st enemy turn, since their movement won't randomly be stopped.

2nd, it allows her to safely target the grenadier facing the main camp. This is an annoying grenadier because it's significantly uphill, and the developers didn't see it fit to grant a safe vantage point. Grenadier range is reduced when firing uphill due to the angle of the slope. Usually it takes riley 2 command points to kill it, although she can do it in 1.

The tank is sent west to clear out the assault tanks and head southwest to kill the shock leader. The apc is sent west to assist nico with taking the northwest base and killing the ace. Nico continues along the north path, while curtis and rebecca continue along the south path. Rebecca is given the telescope to make long-range tosses on the enemies below. At this point in the game, t-2 grenades are more powerful and reliable against infantry than grenadiers.

The tank maneuver on t2 requires avoiding the interception fire of 2 different shocks and grenading the shock leader, and also not ending the turn too close to the crouched shock or else it will throw a grenade on enemy turn. Practice makes perfect.

Riley kills the scout leader in this video, but if she doesn't kill it, it will run west and die to nico's interception fire. Similar to how the shock leader dies to the tank.

Even on a good run, there's 1-2 command points leeway for a 3 turn clear.

Both rebecca and nico reach cpl. Rank after this mission. Now that rebecca is a cpl., I'll start using eileen who's overall the better engineer.

Rebecca's squad story not only rewards mabel's reliable damage potential, but gives the vb gw 3(e) grenadier weapon, which is very powerful if you get it early on.

[fatgamecat]

Today's video contains 3 squad stories.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 Gambler's Ruin, Honor, Pride and Regret, A Prayer For the Broken (3/2/2t)
https://youtu.be/6-eirOf7pK0

Squad Story - Gambler's Ruin (3t)

Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

Teresa is equipped with the telescope. Many grenade trick shots are thrown. The scout in front of the Ace is harder to kill than the ace itself. Did I mention grenades?


Squad Story - Honor, Pride and Regret (2t)

Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

"Try not to get shot, ladies." - Rebecca. Challenge accepted.

Telescope on Rebecca.


Squad Story - A Prayer For the Broken (2t)

Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

Telescope on Rosetta.

[DoomyDoom]

The first time I saw "bonus range" accessory I thought - "it's busted, isn't it?" And oh yes it is.

[fatgamecat]

Yeah it's pretty ridiculous with mortar lances, but hand grenades are challenging to use well. even if a player has the telescope equipped, they need to know how and where and when to use it. It's an unappreciated accessory.

Chapter 5 (2t)
https://youtu.be/uDQ7LoH0h1M
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All, including Minerva and Christel

Basically a light version of my 1st run strategy. Aladdin, Curtis w/ Telescope, and Odin deal with the left side of the map, while Mabel, Claude, and Eileen deal with the right side. Raz uses the ace machine gun to kill the crouched leader in one attack.

I use the tank to destroy the enemy tank instead of deploying a Lancer from the Northwest base. 3 command points are reserved for Claude to destroy the glory.

Enemy shock leader Dodge rates are up to 2%. I start taking extra precautions for surprise attacks.

it's hard to surprise attack Christel, and she has 25% Dodge rate. if she's left alive she can see Odin even though the game reports that she has a blue sight line, which means there's a chance that the glory will attack him. sight lines in this game are pretty unreliable, unlike the original game. there's probably a more reliable place to hide him without having to defeat her.

This mission can end with up to 2 command points to spare.

I unlocked the squad story Treading New Ground after clearing chapter 5. I've never used Aulard and don't use the APC often, so I'm guessing using Claude in the tank counts towards it.

[fatgamecat]

I wanted to talk a bit about a phenomenon I've noticed a few times in the game. sometimes I'll get surprise attacks when I clearly shouldn't be able to. this seems to happen when entering aiming mode while moving.

I believe there may be a bug with the games code where if you enter aiming mode at a certain time (related to sightlines), you'll be able to get a surprise attack even facing enemies from the front.

I've even seen it happen when driving the hafen and getting a "surprise attack" on an enemy tank. of course, it's impossible to surprise attack a tank, but the indicator was there anyway. after exiting and reentering aiming mode, the surprise attack indicator went away.

or it could be that the surprise attack indicator that's being shown isn't real, and the enemy does have a chance to Dodge. one thing is for sure, this game is a lot buggier than the original.

note that this isn't the same bug as the one where surprise attack gets stuck on the screen because your unit died from a Grenadier interception shot while aiming at an enemy from behind.

one more thing I learned recently, on "treading new ground" no less - engineers are completely immune to damage while disarming mines, and probably while repairing sandbags and repairing vehicles. I did not test the last 2.

I've got the chapter 6 strategy down already, just have to record it. in the meantime, time for some tanks.

Squad Story - Treading New Ground (3t)
https://youtu.be/8fHS-7YHY-I
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

The tread damage cut scene happens whether or not anything takes damage. You can trigger it by advancing Claude to the west, which also teleports Aulard. If it doesn't trigger, you'll still see the cut scene after ending 1pt, but Aulard doesn't get teleported.

Aulard after being teleported seems to have some weird sightline issues before being selected. My advice is to not teleport him because it puts him out in the open. Which means at minimum you'll have to spend command points to hide him again.

Anyway, don't turn your nose up at the federate tank. It's very useful, just like in 4a.

if the federate tank misses the shot on the heavy tank on turn 2, Riley can kill the grenadier, and then Aulard can advance and disarm the mines so it can get a closer shot.

Claude can sneak past the heavy tank on turn 3 without taking damage by continually entering aiming mode and resetting the heavy tanks turret, but you usually have enough command points to destroy it from the front.

Also, the invincible lampposts on this stage are apparently the strongest in Europa.

[DoomyDoom]

As a wild guess, I believe the entire plethora of bugs related to time stopping is a result of developers' decision to resolve mortarer interception rather than pause it mid-air.

I haven't seen enough of surprise attack bug to say anything definitive, but I wouldn't be surprised if sightlines rescan at certain intervals and some weird update result gets "stuck" when you pause, because something does not resolve completely. A way to test if it's real or visual I guess would be to proc sneak attack-based potential? Also different framerate caps are potentially interesting.

I've known about engies and disarming for a while, not sure if it is a bug or intentional so they don't get booped by mortars mid-action (maybe they didn't manage or want to develop such action interruption and transition)

On the subject of sightline wonkiness - I know that there can be an AI script that sort of knows how to "hunt" units based on their "last seen position" (I recommend VC1 chapter 17 but avoid wiping everything and try to hide units in some odd spots). So I am not entirely sure how AI sightlines work on their turn. Plus if there is in fact the rescanning issue, that might cause a combination of idle animations and geometry to result in inconsistent behaviour.

td;dr it's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[DoomyDoom]

Addendum (hard to edit on mobile):
Mortar interception resolution differs from all other because it requires an extended period to resolve the projectile once the "time stop" event hits, so some timers will be stopped immediately (e.g. the attack loop), some will be still running (e.g. projectile movement), some will be explicitly blocked (e.g. player attack) and some might be either way (e.g. sightlines, potential rescans). Depending on which frames these things receive their start/stop, we may see these weird effects. Or so I think, at least.

[fatgamecat]

another way to test would be try to do it on an enemy with very high Dodge rates.

I've also seen the bug happen after climbing up a ladder. you can see it in my skirmish 2 hard video on my 1st Run.

my theory is, you are able to go into aiming mode before the game can calculate the enemies site line to you. which is why it seems to Happen mostly when moving, or moving up/down ladders.

and you might be right that this is happening because of the required recoding for Mortar resolutions.

I know about the original games AI hunting your last known position. I'm almost positive that never happens in this game, and there were developer interviews where they said they had to Tone down the AI. my challenge run for the original game took advantage of a lot of those AI quirks.

Chapter 6 (2t)
https://youtu.be/4ahkhoSJSxI
Damage taken: No
Allies downed: No
Leaders (non-boss)/tanks/aces killed: All

Claude and the APC move up West, Riley carries lancers northeast towards the Vulcans spawn point. Eileen and Odin run around killing things. The APC gets a friendly fire kill, and a plain old fire kill. Once again the boss is killed reliably using Claude and Lancers.

The mission can end with up to 3 command points to spare.

Brittany reaches Cpl. rank after completing this chapter.