Valkyria Revolution is an action role-playing game with strategy elements. The flow of the game consists of the player preparing at their base, going to the battlefield to achieve their objectives, and then returning to the base again.[1][2] The game includes the possibility of permanent death for the characters, but players are able to retry if one of them dies.[3]
The turn-based action found in the Valkyria Chronicles series was replaced with a more active combat system where actions and decisions on the battlefield have to be made in real time. The player leads a squad of up to 4 allies with different roles including damage-dealing shocktroopers, fleet-footed scouts, shield-bearers with heavy defense, and "sappers" who focus on alchemy and long-range attacks. Though the player can only control one character at a time, the artificial intelligence behavior of their allies can be influenced by chosen "Priorities" that can be set before battle. Priorities range from basic commands like using melee attacks, to more specific commands like guarding allies at low health. More Priorities can be acquired by visiting a "Circle" in town between missions and listening to their conversation. Furthermore, players can order their squad to focus on offense, defense, or support functions, and can break up their squad into "solo" or "partner" units to take on multiple enemies, or stay as a squad to focus on one enemy.
Each character carries a melee weapon, long-range weapon, a grenade, and an item pouch for single-use restorative items. The long-range weapon and grenades have limited ammo, which can only be replenished by capturing enemy bases in the field. Each character also has the ability to cast magic spells called "alchemy," with varying affects depending on the type of alchemy equipped. Most weapons and alchemy can be upgraded and switched out among every character between battles at Basil's Workshop in town, but melee weapons are permanently attached to the specific characters wielding them. Melee weapons can be upgraded at Basil's shop to expand the user's stats and alchemic affinities, but extra alchemy must be used to upgrade them instead of money.
