Angelica Farnaby is a civilian found by Squad E during their advance. She lost her memories, and takes care of cooking, cleaning, and laundry. She has a bright personality and an inherent kindness that pushes her to take care of those around her selflessly, which soon makes her popular among the soldiers. Members of Squad E call her by the nickname “Angie.”She quickly becomes a healing presence in Squad E, among soldiers who have to execute harsh orders, and she is even seen in the company of the new Valkyria, Clymaria, for unknown reasons. Her relationship with the Witch of the Snowstorms remains a mystery.
Karen Switchcoat is Squad E’s medic. While she graduated with top marks at a medical college, she had to volunteer for the military to support her poor household. Since she grew up in a family of males, she is good at handling men.
She normally rescues soldiers wounded on the field and takes care of their wounds, yet, she is also able to heal their hearts with her smile.
Ragnarok is Squad E’s mascot and medical dog. He used to be a stray picked up by Claude. Brave and proud, he will strive to rescue injured soldiers without fear even in the heat of battle. He seems to be unable abandon the weak.
Minerva Viktor is the captain of Squad F, that acts jointly with Squad E. She values the old chivalric and stoic spirit, and she is sociable and kind with her men. However, she has clashed with Claude since the times in which they both attended the same military academy.
She is also the new best girl by executive order of the News Editor, and I’ll fight you on this.
We also learn more about the game’s progression mechanics. Preparing at the base is crucial to be successful on the battlefield. Before each sortie, the player will have to use the various facilities to increase the fighting power of the platoon. Among those facilities, there are the drill grounds, that are at the core of the progression system.
Levels are gained at the drill grounds for each class as a whole, not individually for each soldier. As each class levels up, you will acquire new skills named “Orders” and new potentials. Once acquiring a certain level, you will be able to evolve to an advanced class.
Scouts can evolve to Scout Elite who can use a rifle-mounted grenade launcher. Shocktroopers can become Shocktrooper Elite, gaining the use of a flamethrower that can nullify the protection of sandbags. Snipers can become Sniper Elite. Their rifles have three shots, they can attack thanks and even counter-attack. Lancers can become Lancer Elite and can use an anti-personnel lance that affects an area. Engineers can progress to Engineer Elite, whose vehicle repair kit allows the recovery of more energy. Lastly, Grenadiers can become Grenadier Elite, with an overall improvement of their basic abilities.
It’s worth noting that the original name for advanced classes is “Ryohei,” which means “Hunter” or “Jäger,” but since it’s the same as in the original Valkyria Chronicles, I kept the same translation as “Elite.” It’s likely that Sega will do the same.
Orders are special actions that Claude can use during battles, with effects like raising certain abilities of a soldier. They can be acquired when leveling up, or even by talking with certain people at the base. In order to acquire those, the player will need to spend experience points.
Potentials are abilities tied to the personality of each squad member. Some are pre-set for each of them, and others are acquired while leveling up. When conditions are met in battle, there is a certain probability that the related potential will activate.
Different characters have different potentials, and some can have negative effects, displayed in a different way from positive ones.
In the command center, the player can examine the statistics of every squad members, check their potentials, and even change their equipment.
Last, but not least, we hear more about the “Joint Operation with Squad 7” mission that is included as a bonus in the Japanese Collector’s Edition. During the mission, Squad E will be sent to the capital of Gallia by order ambassador Jean Townshend, and they end up fighting side-by-side with the heroes of the first game, Squad 7. Incidentally, by looking at the screenshots in the gallery, we notice that Isara is a grenadier.
