When the recent announcement of Valkyria Chronicles DLC hit, forums, front pages, and twitter feeds were abuzz with people counting down the days. But a few people I spoke with on forums had some questions about what exactly was coming in each pack of content - and specifically, you actually get a lot more in each than you might think from the one or two sentences that went out in the PR blast. That’s where community comes in.

One of the biggest packs that people were curious about was Hard Mode EX, and so I wanted to start first with that pack and explain just what you get for your buck (or five, in this case), as well as help clear up any confusion about how Hard Mode EX works.

So, let’s talk about what Hard Mode EX really is in detail. Hard Mode EX allows you to replay Skirmishes on Expert setting - but it doesn’t just mean things are harder and you don’t get the Edelweiss to fall back on. (Aww…) All in all, it’s much more than just harder opponents, starting with:

New Unlockable Weapons

By making your way through expert mode, you’ll be able to unlock a number of new weapons - seven of them, to be exact. (Which counts, especially when you’re trying snipe an incoming scout.) They include:

• Two new rifles
• One new machinegun
• Two new sniper rifles
• One new anti-tank lance
  
• One new flamethrower

All of which are pretty sweet - but shiny new weapons aren’t the only thing that will be added in besides the harder difficulty. There are also changes made to the opponents you’ll be facing.

Enemy and AI Updates

That’s a lotta enemy tanks.

• New Enemy Ace
• Slight changes to attributes for core enemies
• AI will now own you eight different ways simultaneously. Maybe nine.

Just like it sounds - not only is the enemy AI harder, but the core enemies have also been tweaked, and they’ve added in a brand new enemy ace. They don’t call it Expert Mode for nothing…

Unless you are a strategist God, initial playthroughs into Hard Mode EX will likely result in pain. A lot of pain. But it’ll be a good kind of pain - knowing that there’s light at the end of the tunnel in the form of new gear, and the fact that it’s finally more new content to play with.

Anyways, hopefully this has helped clear up any questions about all the stuff Hard Mode EX actually comes with. Tomorrow, we take a look at the second DLC pack - outnumbered and against all odds, is it really possible to survive in Edy’s Mission?

With masochist Homer and ‘manly-man’ Jann on your team, you’d better believe it. Well, mostly just Jann. But that could be because I can’t stop laughing every time I hear him talk.

Edy’s Mission coverage (But no spoilers!) is tomorrow!

Welcome back Valkyria fans - after taking on the challenge that was Hard Mode EX yesterday, today I sat down and played through Edy’s Mission, officially titled: Enter the Edy Detachment.

Edy’s Mission is a mix of storyline, a challenging mission, and multiple endings based on how well you did. If you pull off a lower rank, like I did the first time I finally beat it, Edy herself will - er, well, I’ll let you guys discover on your own. The storyline and the characters are what make Enter the Edy Detachment truly shine - so first up, a quick look at who you’ll have on your team.

The members of the Edy Detachment

Edy - She considers herself a rival to Rosie. Energetic and good hearted, she assumes the leadership role in this mission. Unfortunately, she tends to be rather panicky…

Homer - A blonde-haired boy that is kind of like Edy’s partner. Oh, right - and he’s a masochist. He loves getting into dangerous situations or having Edy hit him. Or kick him. Or slap him. You get the picture.

Jann - Honey, this guy is your only lancer in the mission. Don’t lose him: not only will you have no hope against the tanks, you’ll also lose one of the funniest characters in the game. If you’ve played the story, you may also know that he’s taken a fancy to another lancer we all know - Largo. Poor guy.

Marina - A cold blooded sniper that speaks simply and does her job with professional speed. She also adores cute, bubbly-eyed puppies. (No, really - you’ll see.) Keep her alive at all costs - you’ll be thankful for it near the end of the mission.

Susie - Also known as Ms. pacifist coward-that-hates-to-fight-but-for-some-unknown-to-God-reason-is-anyway. If I hadn’t needed every single unit available to defend, I probably would have ditched her at the beginning of the fight. She comes from a well-to-do family, but is by far one of the least dependable of your entire group.

Lynn - A Darcsen girl. The second of your shocktroopers (besides Edy), she believes in - and fights for - a dream that burns strongly in her heart. Ah, and one of the empire troops makes racial slurs towards her shortly after you begin the battle. Don’t feel bad gunning him down at point blank afterwards - he totally deserved it.

How the mission begins

Let me start off by saying that Edy’s mission is actually fairly challenging. You’re probably going to lose the first time you play it - and maybe the second or third time too. When you begin, you’ll start off with a tank to the north and a tank to the south - and shocktroopers, scouts, and snipers all around - and you’ll have to choose which direction to attack in first. North, South, or a mix of the two?

Tip: Try not to spread yourself too thin. Keep both flanks secure in the first few turns, but be wary of the tanks.

Next up you have to watch the map - every turn a long range mortar will strike down at the end of the Empire’s move, destroying any sandbag cover (and units) left within range. You can see the mortar range in the picture above.

It might look like a pretty simple map at first, but you’ll find yourself going around most - or all - of it by the time you’re done. You have to keep Edy alive, but you can still manage even if you lose a soldier or two - it just makes things much harder going forward.

If I go into much more details we’ll hit spoilers, but it’s well worth noting that there arefour different endings to this DLC pack, based on how well you do. Pull off the highest ranking and you’re in for a treat: Edy style. I’ll let you guys discover what that is…

Tomorrow is the third and final DLC spotlight, and one of the largest batches of content of all three DLC packs. See the war through the eyes of the Empire, battle back Gallian troops at the war’s start, and control Selvaria Bles firsthand on the battlefield. (One of the coolest highlights of the pack.)

Valkyria DLC releases tomorrow - and with it, we’ll be posting a special look at “Behind Her Blue Flame“!