Say hello to Ragnarok the dog along with more supporting characters in Valkyria Chronicles 4

Sega has published a new information batch for Valkyria Chronicles 4 in the latest Weekly Famitsu magazine. After previously showcasing the main villain characters, now Sega is introducing supporting characters that will assist Claude Wallace's Squad E, including the medic girl and the cool-looing dog shown in earlier screenshots. Read on further to get to know them further.

Supporting Characters

• Angelica Farnaby (voiced by Ayane Sakura)
  A civilian discovered by the advance Squad E. She lost most of her memories except for her name, so her past history and birthplace is totally unknown. After she recovered thanks to the military medic, she takes an initiative to support the squad by cleaning rooms, washing clothes, and cooking meals. With her bright, selfless, and kind personality, she becomes popular among the soldiers that eventually call her by the nickname Ange. Although she normally acts as a healer to Squad E's, it seems at some point she also gets to encounter Climaria Levin, the enemy Valkyria from the Empire.
• Minerva Victor (voiced by Saori Hayami)
  The red-haired squad leader of Squad F in the 32nd Armored Ranger Batallion, which participates in the same operation as Squad E. She upholds the codes of chivalry and is sociable towards her squadmates. However, she has a harsher side towards Claude, who graduated as the top student in the same class as her.
• Karen Stuart (voiced by Yuka Saito)
  A girl with gentle and kind personality. Although she wanted to attend a medical college, she needs to support her family finances which is in a dire situation, which is why she applied to join the army where she gets assigned to be a medic soldier for Squad E. She would join the squad in its advance towards the Empire's capital. Since Karen was raised in a mostly male household, she is able to interact with guys well.
• Ragnarok
  The dog, which can also be called Ragna, was picked up by Claude and his advance team. It would later work as the medic dog of Squad E while also being considered as the squad's mascot. It's very brave to rush into battlefields without fear to rescue wounded allies. It is also highly proud and will not leave weak allies behind.

Gameplay Features

Valkyria Chronicles 4 retains many of the gameplay features that existed in the first game; for example, Potentials and Orders are returning. Each character starts with Personal Potentials based on their personality and can learn Battle Potentials when they level up. Claude can learn new Orders not only from leveling up, but also sometimes from talking with friends in the Saloon.

The level up system is also the same as Valkyria Chronicles 1, where experience points are allocated to classes rather than individuals so that all characters with the same class will level up together. When a certain level is reached for a class, it will unlock a higher class with more perks as following:

• Elite Scout - Able to use Rifle Grenade Launcher that can shoot grenades far away
• Elite Shocktrooper - Able to use Flamethrowers that ignore defensive buffs from sandbags
• Elite Sniper - Can fire 3 shots consecutively and use anti-tank rifles, can also counter attack
• Elite Lancer - Can use Mortar Lances that deal damage in a range
• Elite Engineer - Increased recovery rate when using tank repair kits
• Elite Grenadier - Increased overall basic stats

Finally, this batch has a sneak peek of the DLC mission included in the limited 10th Anniversary Memorial Pack where Squad E is ordered to head to Gallia and participate in a joint operation with Gallian Squad 7 headed by Welkin Gunther. It also seems like Welkin's sister Isara is being assigned to the new Grenadier class.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 will be released first in Japan for PlayStation 4 on March 21, with a Nintendo Switch version following in Summer. The international release, which includes an Xbox One version, is currently still only slated for 2018.