Valkryia Chroncles 2, Any%

2015-08-06 03:09:56 am

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

Sweet!

I can't fine my PSP ATM so idk when I'll get a chance to do the loading comparison, but what speed do we have the enemy phase set to? I have it set to command mode only

WanderingMind

2015-09-21 05:29:20 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

Enemy phase should be set to Instant for actual runs. I suggest putting it on Fast while learning the game to learn the enemy AI patterns and movements.

What is it with me and taking long breaks from this game? Anyway, I'm once again back to work on this game. Every time I want to do a run, I end up re-routing the game in some form or another.

The latest re-routing of VC2 will involve going into the squad draft early into the run and benching units that won't see any use. I bench all my Armored Techs, all Engineers except Cosette, and Noel, who is a Lancer. I then put Marion into my squad because I could really use another Shocktrooper. This hopefully should reduce the amount of menu time it takes to select certain units throughout the entire game. Also having a spare Shocktrooper should help with the later months.

InfiniteSheldor

Edit history:

InfiniteSheldor: 2016-03-29 01:14:57 pm

InfiniteSheldor: 2016-02-20 11:29:54 am

2015-09-22 03:01:59 pm

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

Probs because of VC1 lol

I started playing that again, need to get past the foresty level that screwed me over repeatedly on PS3 -_-

WanderingMind

2015-12-28 12:01:23 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

I did some major re-routing of VC2 once again. I changed the order of how I did the missions in the later months, reduced the number of times I went for defense coating, and tried to line up my R&D / leveling trips with when I go for the temporary coating.

I'm running this game on a PSTV from now on. It took some time getting used to playing this game on a PS4 controller compared to a PSP console hooked up to a TV, but it felt right and I was still able to pull off some of the more important movement in this game. I wonder how much time I'll save on loading, if any significant difference at all.

InfiniteSheldor

2016-02-20 11:31:58 am

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

PSTV is too expensive, so if I ever did a run I'd probably *have* to do it on Vita :/

WanderingMind

2016-02-24 07:53:56 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

My only problem with playing the game on the Vita, at least the original model, is that the Start button is too difficult for me to mash. I absolutely need to do that for the 3 hours and 45 minutes that it takes me to get through the game right now, as there is no delay in when I can skip cutscenes and sequences.

It's why I like using the Dualshock 4 on the PSTV, I can use the touchpad for Start and Select.

My sum of best according to my splits go down to 3:39:xx, but that time is the sort of god run which will never happen. I am going to be setting my goal at 3:42:xx or lower. It will require me to do most of the execution for my route and to have the RNG be favorable enough.

Here is the 3:45:28 run by the way:

WanderingMind

2016-03-10 09:24:11 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

I spent part of today putting together the pre deployment menuing for every mission in the route. This was something I didn't bother doing until very recently. Here's the pastebin for my menuing: http://pastebin.com/q6EnZ00j

LB and RB refer to the L and R shoulder buttons on the PSP/Vita, L1 and R1 on the Dualshock 3/4 for the PSTV.

The way I approached the menuing was to work my way down the roster, rather than go down the list of positions.

Menuing should be simple from January through July. It will get more complicated after I make my roster change at the beginning of August, depending on who I draft and who I bench. That will be the next step in figuring out the menuing.

WanderingMind

2016-03-12 01:54:44 am

Stay chill, be cool.

I'm still weirded out with what I discovered with one of the defend missions late in the game. For some unknown reason in The Ultimate Weapon during November, I can take out Matz in 3 shots from my tank when it should normally take 4 shots. I had always assumed that 3 shots were normal, but it turned out tonight that wasn't the case. It seemed like this all depended on my distance from the enemy tank, but I don't know really.

This is not the first time that this sort of thing has happened. I will list where else I've found them:

1) July - Laevatein Finals: For some reason, if I can run over Juliana and make her respawn far away enough, I can one shot her with a tank shot to the back of her head. It's not entirely consistent though.

2) September - The 9th Heavy Infantry: There's a Heavy Gunner that guards a camp in Area 5. If I try to take it out with my tank first thing, it would take 2 shots. But for some reason, whenever I take out a number of enemies in Area 2, and then focus on Area 5, I can kill that same Heavy Gunner in one shot.

3) December - The Final Battle: So Baldren has that engine on his back. Way back when I started running this game, it would take two tank shots to destroy it. But for some reason, if I deploy the tank, take it to the area on the platform before the ramp down, and take aim, I can destroy the engine in one shot. It isn't entirely accurate and can miss, but when I do land it, the run is basically over, because afterward it just takes one headshot, and then a regular shot to finish him off.

I'm still weirded out with what I discovered with one of the defend missions late in the game.  For some unknown reason in The Ultimate Weapon during November, I can take out Matz in 3 shots from my tank when it should normally take 4 shots.  I had always assumed that 3 shots were normal, but it turned out tonight that wasn't the case.  It seemed like this all depended on my distance from the enemy tank, but I don't know really.

This is not the first time that this sort of thing has happened.  I will list where else I've found them:

1) [b]July - Laevatein Finals:[/b]  For some reason, if I can run over Juliana and make her respawn far away enough, I can one shot her with a tank shot to the back of her head.  It's not entirely consistent though.

2) [b]September - The 9th Heavy Infantry:[/b]  There's a Heavy Gunner that guards a camp in Area 5.  If I try to take it out with my tank first thing, it would take 2 shots.  But for some reason, whenever I take out a number of enemies in Area 2, and then focus on Area 5, I can kill that same Heavy Gunner in one shot.

3) [b]December - The Final Battle:[/b]  So Baldren has that engine on his back.  Way back when I started running this game, it would take two tank shots to destroy it.  But for some reason, if I deploy the tank, take it to the area on the platform before the ramp down, and take aim, I can destroy the engine in one shot.  It isn't entirely accurate and can miss, but when I do land it, the run is basically over, because afterward it just takes one headshot, and then a regular shot to finish him off.

WanderingMind

2016-03-14 07:54:45 am

Stay chill, be cool.

I guess a re-route of Darcsen Liberation (April) is in order to see if I can do it faster. The setup for the first 3 actions like I do in my PB videos should be the same, but then it's going to be very different. I'm routing it so that I have 1 or 2 CP left over in case an enemy unit dodges a grenade toss on the first turn.

Meanwhile, I found a small time saver in The Ultimate Weapon (November). I can totally get away with ignoring Matz, the enemy ace of this mission. This saves 3 actions from destroying the tank, but I will probably have to spend 1 action to take out a Lancer Elite. If I'm lucky, I can totally ignore 1 of 2 Heavy Tanks in the other area I'm defending.

WanderingMind

2016-03-20 01:38:05 am

Stay chill, be cool.

3 : 34: 24

InfiniteSheldor

Edit history:

InfiniteSheldor: 2016-03-29 08:42:15 am

InfiniteSheldor: 2016-03-29 08:29:47 am

2016-03-29 08:25:08 am

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

I need to check this forum more so I don't have to catch up on so much Tongue

I tried practicing mashing start on Vita during my trial run last night, I found that its actually better to mash with my thumb than my index/middle finger, as it's then easier to move my thumb up to the X, O Triangle and Square buttons. I can't mash with my thumb as well as I used to be able to, but it shouldn't be too bad.

I've been using your Google Docs file to practice missions and such, so I hope they're up-to-date Tongue

I also found that you can install data to a PS Vita, and levels load pretty quickly. I compared our loading of "The War Hero" - Your run has 7 "Now Loading" animations, whereas mine loads with just four "Now Loading" animations. idk if it's any faster than without it installed, conisdering its already downloaded to the Vita itself. I presume that's the fastest loading you could get, especially if install does matter on Vita.

Also, another thing I noticed in my practice run - The two Steel A Level 1 things you need to mke the contruction arm - I didn't have any. I had enough of the other material, but not that one. Is that normal?

I need to check this forum more so I don't have to catch up on so much :P

I tried practicing mashing start on Vita during my trial run last night, I found that its actually better to mash with my thumb than my index/middle finger, as it's then easier to move my thumb up to the X, O Triangle and Square buttons. I can't mash with my thumb as well as I used to be able to, but it shouldn't be too bad.

I've been using your Google Docs file to practice missions and such, so I hope they're up-to-date :P

I also found that you can install data to a PS Vita, and levels load pretty quickly. I compared our loading of "The War Hero" - Your run has 7 "Now Loading" animations, whereas mine loads with just four "Now Loading" animations. idk if it's any faster than without it installed, conisdering its already downloaded to the Vita itself. I presume that's the fastest loading you could get, especially if install does matter on Vita.

Also, another thing I noticed in my practice run - The two Steel A Level 1 things you need to mke the contruction arm - I didn't have any. I had enough of the other material, but not that one. Is that normal?

InfiniteSheldor

2016-03-29 01:20:22 pm

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

Okay, I see what you mean about mashing start on the Vita - although it's much easier on the newer (slim) model I have.

WanderingMind

2016-04-22 11:45:49 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

I can check my PSTV, but I swear I seem to do that at the beginning of all my sessions. I remember installing data the day I got my PSTV so hmmm. Either way, whether or not you install data shouldn't make too much of a difference for it to matter, I don't know. Really the only sort of difference I was looking at was playing the game on a UMD compared to a digital copy on a PSP, Vita, or PSTV. UMD loads are just awful.

WanderingMind

Edit history:

WanderingMind: 2016-04-22 11:55:11 pm

2016-04-22 11:52:11 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

I'm making a separate post for the Valkyria Chronicles 2 speedrunning guide that I made earlier this month. This guide has the route that I use for my WR attemps, where I try to go into as much detail as possible about what I do. It's a huge document, but with the way the game is, I feel justified in making it that long. I'll be keeping it updated regularly as I think of things to change or move around. Eventually I will make a standalone section on the strats and techniques I use throughout the run.

Here is the guide:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v3dITnJkenESRYMnhCpHhT9eePajMEcKB631PdY739E/edit?usp=sharing

For reference, here is the latest WR run done at a time of 3:33:32

I hope this helps!

InfiniteSheldor

2016-05-02 03:25:53 am

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

Thanks, it's been very helpful!

InfiniteSheldor

2016-06-04 07:08:27 am

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

idk if anyone else actually follows this thread but here's the new any% WR by TheWanderingMind: 3:32:01

Grind that sub 3:30!

WanderingMind

2016-06-19 01:36:29 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

SCHOOL JUST GOT OUT

I AM DONE WITH ANY% NORMAL RTA

SUB THREE THIRTY

I grinded a lot for this time, but it paid off when I got the RNG to line up. The fact that I got ahead of my PB early on and kept the lead throughout the entire game is amazing. Sure there were dumb mistakes that cost time in the run, but no run of this game is ever going to be perfect. I saved time in a ton of places, sometimes to my own surprise. Having good RNG was fine, but I pulled off most of the execution for my route.

So there you go, the best speedrun I have ever done for this game. I am ready to move on and I don't regret running this game for the last two years.

InfiniteSheldor

2016-06-19 01:39:24 pm

The name's Sheldor. InfiniteSheldor.

SUB. THREE. THIRTY.

WanderingMind

2016-08-27 02:28:59 pm

Stay chill, be cool.

So I return to this game to get it ready for a marathon. I then find out that there's a bunch of places where I can still save time, and also discovered even more new strats along the way. Looking back to my standing PB/WR, there are a lot of places where I can improve.

My goal for now is going to be sub 3:26. I know my early game is going to be tough to beat, so I'm going to accept the time losses there, keep the run going, and save a lot of time across several missions. I already know I can save over 2:00 on one mission, :30 on another, and 1:30 on yet another mission. There are still other places where I can save time, but I figure that I set myself a reasonable goal for the time being. Wink

Also I'm probably going to have a few questions to ask about doing a segmented run for this game, namely how timing will work for SDA purposes.

WanderingMind

Edit history:

WanderingMind: 2016-11-01 11:09:46 am

2016-11-01 11:05:54 am

Stay chill, be cool.

I worked out an All Missions route for this game: go through all 197 missions, including the 22 DLC and 2 Phantasy Star Portable 2 missions.

There is plenty of work that can be done with this category.

I think more units could have been used throughout the earlier parts of All Missions, especially since I want to get as many upgraded to the highest classes as soon as possible, and to have an even amount of different classes. This will make it easier to tackle the later postgame missions. And more important, it will save a lot of time on the Mid-Level, Advanced, and Final Exam missions.

I ended up going for several DLC exclusive weapons to make All Missions much more consistent. Through initial routing, I found out that I should have 4 of the Idun SpB sub-machine guns equipped on my Troopers. I also got 2 of the DLC exclusive sword drops for Fencer Elites and then a maul for my Mauler.

Grinding to get weapon parts and materials for weapons in R&D is something I should have left for much later in All Missions. I will look through each weapon line to figure out how many weapons I actually need to upgrade, since the game never really tells you. Once I figure this out, I need to look at what missions drop what weapons to determine which would be the fastest to complete each time through. At the same time, I need to figure out which Aces I need to kill for every mission so I can figure out if I need to kill them or not. This is probably going to be the most complicated part of the route and a place where I can save the most time.

Once I do figure out how to route the R&D upgrading, I could actually break up the grinding into smaller parts and do some of it much earlier on. That way I could use different classmates enough times to unlock their missions while also working toward 50% completion of R&D weapon upgrades.

Ideally, I want to be done with all 31 classmate missions before I take on most of the 3-star missions. You really want Lavinia to have Tank Mastery.

A ton of the 3-star missions could use a lot of work. I was very slow with them and very inefficient. With routing and practice, I feel that they could be very optimized.

My in-game timer was somewhere around 55 hours, which isn't too bad. The IGT is by no means the most accurate, but it shows that All Missions can easily be dropped below 50 hours. Who knows how low the time could get here.

I worked out an All Missions route for this game: go through all 197 missions, including the 22 DLC and 2 Phantasy Star Portable 2 missions.

There is plenty of work that can be done with this category.

I think more units could have been used throughout the earlier parts of All Missions, especially since I want to get as many upgraded to the highest classes as soon as possible, and to have an even amount of different classes.  This will make it easier to tackle the later postgame missions.   And more important, it will save a lot of time on the Mid-Level, Advanced, and Final Exam missions.

I ended up going for several DLC exclusive weapons to make All Missions much more consistent.  Through initial routing, I found out that I should have 4 of the Idun SpB sub-machine guns equipped on my Troopers.  I also got 2 of the DLC exclusive sword drops for Fencer Elites and then a maul for my Mauler.

Grinding to get weapon parts and materials for weapons in R&D is something I should have left for much later in All Missions.  I will look through each weapon line to figure out how many weapons I actually need to upgrade, since the game never really tells you.  Once I figure this out, I need to look at what missions drop what weapons to determine which would be the fastest to complete each time through.  At the same time, I need to figure out which Aces I need to kill for every mission so I can figure out if I need to kill them or not.  This is probably going to be the most complicated part of the route and a place where I can save the most time.

Once I do figure out how to route the R&D upgrading, I could actually break up the grinding into smaller parts and do some of it much earlier on.  That way I could use different classmates enough times to unlock their missions while also working toward 50% completion of R&D weapon upgrades.

Ideally, I want to be done with all 31 classmate missions before I take on most of the 3-star missions.  You really want Lavinia to have Tank Mastery.

A ton of the 3-star missions could use a lot of work.  I was very slow with them and very inefficient.  With routing and practice, I feel that they could be very optimized.

My in-game timer was somewhere around 55 hours, which isn't too bad.  The IGT is by no means the most accurate, but it shows that All Missions can easily be dropped below 50 hours.  Who knows how low the time could get here.

WanderingMind

2017-02-13 11:35:11 am

Stay chill, be cool.

All Missions has been scrapped after realizing how much farming and grinding would have gone into the category. Whatever work I have done on this will be put toward a postgame guide I will be publishing on GameFAQs.

In the meantime, I know I can push the time pretty low, possibly 3:23? My runs have averaged around 3:30 to 3:33 with not a lot of practice, which means I can get even lower times with more consistency and good enough RNG.

Once I feel ready enough with Valkyria Chronicles 3, I will be making a separate thread here for that game.