Valkyria Chronicles 4 is out now in the West, and it’s your time to jump in and build the best Squad E that you can! Here’s a beginner’s guide on assembling an optimal crew. You’ll definitely find your own strategies as you play, but this should be a good starting point!

We’ll also let you know which squaddies best fit these roles, but if you want to use other favorites, what’s more important is having them built for these sorts of roles, so sub in who you’d like.

The mandatory CP units

We want you to be able to read this guide before you get too far in the campaign, so we’re not going to spoil anything about the game’s story and protagonists. So we’ll leave this part by saying “deploy all the leaders because they give you extra command points, even if you don’t plan to use them.” That should cover it.

All of these units need to hit the field on every mission, so they’re best built with whatever’s generally good in all situations. If anything, prioritize accuracy, so they don’t miss and put you down an action until you can bring them back.

Grenadiers (3)

You’ll want to use all the grenadiers as they unlock, because there are only four of them (counting Riley) and there are so many ways to build them. They’re also great to deploy together, making for an incredibly potent brigade on opponents’ turns.

The accurate one: Jascha

Jascha’s potentials all lead toward hitting targets with precision. He’s best used to take out the scariest foes, and as a versatile companion to Riley. If you don’t quite have the slots to deploy all four on a map, he’s the optional one because the others can cover a lot of his duties, but that doesn’t mean he’s less good.

The long-range one: Connor

Enemy grenadiers are just as dangerous as yours and they’re often hunkered down somewhere your snipers can’t reach. That’s where Connor comes into play. His stats and skills don’t lend themselves to the other roles, but giving him a Hartman launcher and an accessory that extends his range turns him into the best counter: a grenadier that can hit without entering enemy range. He’s also great on opponents’ phases, as accuracy’s less of a thing on moving targets and he can hit most of the map with potshots.

The anti-armor one: Aoife

A good anti-tank grenadier will come in handy a lot more often than a lancer in Valkyria Chronicles 4. It may limit Aoife’s range, but it’s still as good as a lance and can launch into ragnite engines in higher, more out-of-the-way locations that… um… are common in this one! No spoilers, but you’ll need to deal with them a lot. Aoife can also drain tanks’ AP on their movement phases and stop them from doing so much to you.

Engineers (3)

Engineers have two distinct roles in the game: to repair tanks and to administer battlefield medicine. They’re also fragile, so you need a third one to be a generalist backup.

The tank repair one: Aulard or Rita

Aulard and Rita love ragnite fumes, so settle one of them into a spot right behind the Hafen or have them hang out in the APC until needed. Larger-scale maps with more tank combat will need someone with that obsessive nature, and don’t ever actually use their rifle while they’re there.

The combat medic one: Rebecca or Eileen

On smaller, more corridor-filled maps, you’ll need a lot more utility out of your infantry. Engineers can revive a downed unit with Ragnaid, which is worth it to retain a CP unit or bring back someone so crucial to your strategy that you can’t wait a few turns to treat and redeploy. Eileen’s the best one for this (evacuate a fallen Curtis to unlock her), but Rebecca’s fine too once you’ve done her Squad Story.

The backup: Rita or Rebecca

If you slip up and an engineer takes a bullet, you need someone versatile enough to handle their duties in a pinch. You may think a third engineer slot is unnecessary, but then you’ll be really glad you have one when you need it and don’t have to make do with your number-six scout fumbling with Ragnaid.

Scouts (4-5)

Scouts don’t dominate Valkyria 4 like they used to, but you’ll still need a full complement of them to accomplish your goals!

The agents: Azusa and Odin

You’ll need to rely on your scouts in areas with a lot of footpaths and cover, and it’s not uncommon for these maps to be dark. Azusa is ideal for these circumstances, crawling and taking accurate shots from the shadows. If you have that fifth slot, bring Thomas Kevin Odin too, as he’s your next best option.

The objective sprinter: Millennia or Nico

Anyone who tried to get the highest ranks in maps in the first Valkyria Chronicles is familiar with objective sprinting. Sometimes it’s not about taking out the enemy so much as it’s running into a camp as fast as possible or quickly getting to a switch. These scouts get better running alone and taking multiple actions, and you may want to equip them with Gallian rifles for the marginally better accuracy, as sometimes they’ll need to sprint to shoot a ragna-crate or something and damage isn’t as crucial in those instances.

The one that’s basically a shocktrooper: Godwin or Curtis

Sometimes you really want to use a shocktrooper, but the target you’re shooting is too far away. Have this squaddie equip those short-range, high-damage rifles you get from taking out enemy leaders, and it’s the next best thing.

The lookout: Rosetta

The lookout is a bit different from an objective sprinter, as the role is to get to a faraway point (like a base) and guard it from light advances. Rosetta can hunker down and deal decent damage on the enemy phase, while retaining her accuracy to actually hit things with those damaging shots.

Lancers (3)

There are more options to take down tanks (including and especially one-CP tanks of your own), but lancers still have a limited place on the team for taking down armor in close quarters. Lancers also have access to mortar lances later in the game, but with the grenadiers around, they’re not really a choice usually worth a team slot.

The accurate one: Keigel

Lancers are never particularly good at aiming, but sometimes you do need to launch shots from a longer distance than you’d like or at small ragnite patches. Keigel, with a more accurate lance, is more likely to land those shots. Damage output is more crucial with lancers than any other class, so don’t sacrifice output too much; a middle-of-the-road option may be best.

The high-damage ones: Laurent and Hanna

If you can take out an tank in two actions instead of three, it can change the outcome of a mission. The potentials of these two are built toward doing just that, and you can sacrifice accuracy a bit with your equipment choices to maximize their power. Having two of them is often crucial, given just how little ammo they carry around.

Shocktroopers (4-5)

There are a lot of trickier ways to take out foes in this game, but “a lot of bullets” is, unsurprisingly, still a good option! These units really get in the mix, so it’s good to use a few team slots for backups when your first team goes down in a blaze of glory.

The camp defenders: Scott and Ferrier

When enemies run toward your base, you want them to be shot a lot, and you want your units there to stay alive. Scott and Ferrier have skills that keep them as invulnerable as possible, so they’re ideal for crouching behind sandbags and holding down the fort.

The camp raiders: Zaiga and Ryan

On the other hand, sometimes you need your units to be the ones running toward a base and taking fire. Zaiga and Ryan are better if given space and good at maximizing damage output with those gun upgrades that allow more bullets per attack. Ryan’s a bit better solo and Zaiga’s ideal for a two-person raid with CP unit Raz.

Fleuret: Fleuret

So here’s the thing about Fleuret: she may be one of the best units in the game, mandatory leaders included. She just needs to be played in a particular way. While you’d usually want your attacker to go unseen and sneak up on a foe, Fleuret is too honorable for that and will refuse to attack at inopportune moments. Fleuret prefers to be face-to-face, tactics or no tactics. But if you can play her right, she’ll reward you with hyper-competent execution.

Snipers (2)

Snipers are really useful, but it’s generally not a great idea to leave a lot of them out on the battlefield, so they don’t need too many team slots. There’s also an anti-armor sniper build, but the damage output just isn’t worth it in most circumstances, and you’re better off with Aoife or a lancer.

The multi-shot one: Mabel

Your story sniper is good at a lot of things, so if you’re using another one, it’s for another reason. Like needing to kill an enemy in one shot that has too much defense and HP! Have a sniper with the three-shot rifle, and hitting with at least two shots will lead to more damage. Mabel’s great for this role, which is more likely to be closer to the fray and in a base or darkness than in a clear, high, faraway perch.

The backup: Aladdin

Sometimes you’ll need a second normal sniper, though, and Aladdin’s distraction and evasion weaknesses don’t really come into play when you send him away to a ledge. (Any plan you’re drawing up that relies on Aladdin taking a hit is fundamentally ill-advised, anyway.)

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