History Headscratchers / ValkyriaChronicles4

%%** Except Welkin and all of Gallia's forces saw Alicia drop Selveria at Naggiar. Alicia later confides in Welkin that the Gallian army began praising her because of it. So yes, the Federation and the Imperials knew of Alicia's power as a Valkyur, because both Armies [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzzdjSR5sM witnessed it for themselves]].
%%*** Other contradiction: Given the Federation's kidnapping of Valkyria, one would think that the Feds would eventually attempt to have Alicia kidnapped. If they knew about her, why didn't they kidnap her for use as a Valkryia bomb?
%%*** They ''did'' -- In the anime adaptation, [[HateSink Damon]] heard about the incident and abused his authority to have Alicia reassigned to his unit. Welkin didn't object because he was afraid of Alicia after witnessing her power. So, she reluctantly submitted to Damon since Welkin didn't stand up for her. The following episodes had Damain use Alicia as his attack dog to repeatedly rout the Imperial Army in series of blitzkriegs, [[GloryHound while taking all the credit]] for ''her'' accomplishments.

** Except Welkin and all of Gallia's forces saw Alicia drop Selveria at Naggiar. Alicia later confides in Welkin that the Gallian army began praising her because of it. So yes, the Federation and the Imperials knew of Alicia's power as a Valkyur, because both Armies [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzzdjSR5sM witnessed it for themselves]].
*** Other contradiction: Given the Federation's kidnapping of Valkyria, one would think that the Feds would eventually attempt to have Alicia kidnapped. If they knew about her, why did they do NOTHING about it!?

** It's explained durating her squad story that Fleuret excels at melee combat, specifically, with ''[[HeroesPreferSwords her sword]]'' because she believes [[DirtyCoward guns are for cowards]]. Mabel takes offense to Fleuret's assertion and harshly rebukes her for it. Then adds that if Fleuret trained as diligently with her gun as she does with her sword, she might gain a deeper appreciation for it.

*** They ''did'' -- In the anime adaptation, [[HateSink Damain]] heard about the incident and abused his authority to have Alicia reassigned to his unit. Welkin didn't object because he was afraid of Alicia after witnessing her power. So she reluctantly submitted to Damain since Welkin didn't stand up for her. The following episodes had Damain use Alicia as his attack dog to repeatedly rout the Imperial Army in series of blitzkreigs, [[GloryHound while taking all the credit]] for ''her'' accomplishments.

** Not true. Welkin and all of Gallia's forces saw Alicia drop Selveria at Naggiar. Alicia later confides in Welkin that the Gallian army began praising her because of it. So yes, the Federation and the Imperials knew of Alicia's power as a Valkyur, because both Armies [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzzdjSR5sM witnessed it for themselves]]. Claiming no one knew disregards canon.

** Except Welkin and all of Gallia's forces saw Alicia drop Selveria at Naggiar. Alicia later confides in Welkin that the Gallian army began praising her because of it. So yes, the Federation and the Imperials knew of Alicia's power as a Valkyur, because both Armies [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzzdjSR5sM witnessed it for themselves]]. Claiming no one knew disregards canon.

* The ''real'' question is why Forseti doesn't immediately get a report that his troops are under attack from Squad E, declare that Claude has thereby forfeited his opportunity to surrender, and order a full attack on the Centurion before Raz can ever get to the generator. Claude's plan involves having the rest of Squad E attack some of Forseti's troops to distract attention from Raz and his mission partner, and this decoy force also needs to take out some of the hard targets in Raz's path such as tanks and mortars. But despite the whiteout blizzard which helps to hide Squad E's movement, can't the Imperial troops being engaged by Squad E just radio to Forseti that they're under attack? Even though Forseti is in Schwartzgrad instead of on the island, he must be in radio communication with at least one command center, which in turn should be in communication with the various troop detachments through their portable radios or even just by message runners. Despite this, when Forseti radios the Centurion at the end of the one hour time limit he imposed, he asks Claude one last time if he will surrender and makes no direct reference to Squad E attacking his troops during the countdown. So was Forseti oblivious to his troops being attacked? That would make either him or his troops uncharacteristically incompetent at setting up communication through the chain of command. Or did he knew about the attack by the decoy force, but feel like giving Claude a futile chance to "resist" before then allowing him to surrender anyway? That doesn't sound right either. He's treating this trap as an unpleasant affair he wants to get over with rather than a sadistic game he wants to prolong. Even when Claude surrenders after an hour Forseti ultimately decides to show no mercy, saying that Claude didn't cooperate quickly enough. Surely, then, he would have ended the countdown prematurely if Claude had been so brazen as to try and fight his way out.

* The ''real'' question is why Forseti doesn't immediately get a report that his troops are under attack from Squad E, declare that Claude has thereby forfeited his opportunity to surrender, and order a full attack on the Centurion before Raz can ever get to the generator. Claude's plan involves having the rest of Squad E attack some of Forseti's troops to distract attention from Raz and his mission partner, and this decoy force also needs to take out some of the hard targets in Raz's path such as tanks and mortars. But despite the whiteout blizzard which helps to hide Squad E's movement, can't the Imperial troops being engaged by Squad E just radio to Forseti that they're under attack? Even though Forseti is in Schwartzgrad instead of on the island, he must be in radio communication with at least one command center, which in turn should be in communication with the various troop detachments through their portable radios or even just by message runners. Despite this, when Forseti radios the Centurion at the end of the one hour time limit he imposed, he asks Claude one last time if he will surrender and makes no direct reference to Squad E attacking his troops during the countdown. So was Forseti oblivious to his troops being attacked? That would make either him or his troops uncharacteristically incompetent at setting up communication through the chain of command. Or did he knew about the attack by the decoy force, but felt like giving Claude a futile chance to "resist" before allowing him to surrender anyway? That doesn't sound right either. He's treating this trap as an unpleasant affair he wants to get over with rather than a sadistic game he wants to prolong. Even when Claude surrenders after an hour Forseti ultimately decides to show no mercy, saying that Claude didn't cooperate quickly enough. Surely, then, he would have ended the countdown prematurely if Claude had been so brazen as to try and fight his way out.

** First issue: It's unclear whether the Centurion could target the balloons using its Amp cannons at the given range and angle, since the velocity and ballistic behavior of the amp cannons' projectiles is hard to guess, and it's unclear whether the turrets on the tanks hooked up to the amp cannons can elevate that high. But in any case, shooting down the balloons wouldn't necessarily get them through the barrier, since the wires would still be electrified even if they fell to the ground and the ship couldn't get past without running over them.
** Second issue: Forget targeting the generator with the main guns. Forseti anticipated that someone would try that when he set the trap, so he hid the generator where the ship can't see it, he made it practically suicide for anyone to get close enough to spot for the ship's guns by placing lots of troops around the generator, and geographically he placed it where the artillery shells probably won't land (namely that the generator is surrounded by natural obstacles that would get in the way of the projectiles)! Give the man some credit!

!!Raz's death.

** First issue: Centurion's main guns aren't able to target the balloons! The ship's main guns and their sighting systems were intended to target enemy ships and/or fortifications, not floating balloons on exposed electrical cables. Even though the guns are powerful enough to send shells into the sky, the problem comes down to the issue of practical elevation of the guns. If you somehow get the barrels to elevate to a 60 degree or greater angle from the horizontal plane, the guns' breech-blocks may wind up RIPPING THROUGH THE DECK PLATES during the recoil phase, which would cause nasty damage to the ship itself! There is a VERY good reason why you can't shoot airships with regular surface vessels. And forget sending a sniper to shoot the balloons, you'd cause Forseti to order an all-out assault (as he threatened) once the first balloon was felled.
** Second issue: Forget targeting the generator with the main guns. Forseti anticipated that someone would try that when he set the trap, so he hid the generator where the ship can't see it, he made it practically suicide for anyone to get close enough to spot for the ship by placing lots of troops around the generator, and geographically he placed it where the artillery shells probably won't land (namely that the generator is surrounded by natural obstacles that would get in the way of the projectiles)! Give the man some credit!

** During the ''"Two Valkyur"'' DLC, Selvaria and Crymaria fought each other to a standstill. Yet, when she tried to fight Alicia ([=VC1=]), Alicia nearly ended [[CurbstompBattle the "fight"]] with her [[OneHitKill opening shot.]] Their second encounter was even worse, since Alicia's first shot not only shattered Selvaria's shield, it sent Selvaria rag dolling across the battlefield and left her barely able to stand - and Alicia was more unfocused than Crymaria was, due to only recently discovering her powers. Wouldn't that mean ''Alicia'' was the strongest?
** Look at what Crymaria does when it comes to your final battle with her; she covers the entire battlefield with a hellish blizzard, and the area closest to her has a damage-over-time and slowdown effect. Alicia never demonstrates any ability on that scale. Or compare what damage they were able to do against large targets: Alicia's strongest attack makes a large but non-debilitating hole in the Marmota, while Crymaria destroys the ''Comet'' completely. Alicia has better ''control'' over her powers, and might be able to focus an attack against a single small target better, but she can't put out anywhere near the kind of energy Crymaria can.
*** '''Revision''': After (recently) finishing [=VC1=], we can safely assume that Alicia could have easily destroyed the Marmota. Otherwise, Maximillion wouldn't have [[OhCrap panicked]] and ordered his helmsman to change course, when saw she was preparing to use [[FantasticNuke the Final Flame.]] It took Welkin to talk her out of going through with it.
*** Alicia could potentially have destroyed the ''Marmota'' with her Final Flame, which is shown to be the greatest possible power output a Valkyria can make. Crymaria destroyed the ''Comet'' without having to use her Final Flame, meaning Alicia would have had to push herself to her highest limit to match the destructiveness Crymaria could achieve with her normal attacks. Alicia is still only WeakButSkilled compared to [[UnskilledButStrong Crymaria]].
*** She didn't ''need'' to use the Final Flame, she choose to because she had only recently been awakened as a Valkyur. A fact which she openly admitted to Sylveria, because Sylveria was more experienced in how to use her powers. Alicia even hoped that Sylveria would mentor her, but she refused. With proper tutelage, it's very likely that Alicia could have done the same as Crymaria. Otherwise, how do you explain Crymaria being able to sink the Comet, but unable to defeat Sylveria? Whereas Alicia 1-shot Sylveria - literally ''[[TheGift without trying]]'' - in a matter of seconds and her presence made Maximillion beat [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere a hasty retreat.]]
** Given that the moniker was given even before Alicia's power was even revealed, I think they just didn't know about Alicia.
*** But the in-game personnel files are omniscient (in regard to the series' lore) and Crymaria's file says she's the strongest Valkyur of all, despite being unable to defeat Sylveria. Alicia did twice and made it look easy both times. In seconds.
*** Cymaria is "the strongest and the weakest" Valkyria. She boasts the most destructive power, but she doesn't have the control or the constitution to use it in a consistent and efficient manner like Sylveria or Alicia. It's a matter of [[UnskilledButStrong power]] vs. [[WeakButSkilled efficiency]]
*** Except Alicia [[MindcontrolEyes didn't have]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APzT5xxZ44U proper control]] either, she was completely out of it when she fought Sylvaria and later told Welkin that she didn't remember any of what happened. All she knew was that everyone started [[StopWorshippingMe praising her]] afterward.
** By all indications, she's the strongest in terms of raw power, which does not mean best suited to battle. She can carpet bomb entire areas with sheer destruction, but...that's it.
*** Except ''not'' because she couldn't drop Sylveria. She withstood Crymaria's best efforts for hours and remained standing, albeit fatigued. By contrast, Alicia launched a single strike (which Sylveria ''[[NoSavingThrow blocked with her shield]]'') and still sent Sylveria ragdolling across the battlefield and [[OneHitKO knocked her unconscious.]] A blocked attacked that instantly defeats the target outright, regardless, is a display of raw power. So if Crymaria is allegedly the strongest in terms of raw power, why couldn't she do the same?

* Many of Squad E have backstories and quirks that make their presence in an elite military unit like the Rangers seem a little far-fetched, but Fleuret takes the cake. Before she completes her Squad Story she considers guns dishonourable to the point that she completely neglects her fire-arms training and is a notoriously terrible shot. Makes you wonder how she even was allowed to stay in the army, let alone be accepted into the Ranger Corps.

*** Except ''not'' because she couldn't drop Sylveria. She withstood Crymaria's best efforts for hours and remained standing, albeit fatigued. By contrast, Alicia launched a single strike (which Sylveria ''[[NoSavingThrow blocked with her shield]]'') and still sent Sylveria ragdolling across the battlefield and [[OneHitKO knocked her unconscious.]] A blocked attacked that instantly defeats the target outright, regardless, is a display of raw power. So if Crymaria is allegedly the strongest in terms of raw power, why couldn't she do the same?

** By all indications, she's the strongest in terms of raw power, which does not mean best suited to battle. She can carpet bomb entire areas with sheer destruction, but...that's it.

*** Except Alicia [[MindcontrolEyes didn't have]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APzT5xxZ44U proper control]] either, she was completely out of it when she fought Sylvaria and later told Welkin that she didn't remember any of what happened. All she knew was that everyone started [[StopWorshippingMe praising her]] afterward.

*** Except Alicia [[MindcontrolEyes didn't have]] [[http://www youtube.com/watch?v=APzT5xxZ44U proper control]] either, she was completely out of it when she fought Sylvaria and later told Welkin that she didn't remember any of what happened. All she knew was that everyone started [[StopWorshippingMe praising her]] afterward.

*** Except Alicia didn't have [[HowDoIShootWeb proper control]] either, she was completely out of it when she fought Sylvaria and told Welkin that she didn't remember any of it. All she knew was that everyone started [[StopWorshippingMe praising her]] afterward.

*** Cymaria is "the strongest and the weakest" Valkyria. She boasts the most destructive power, but she doesn't have the control or the constitution to use it in a consistent and efficient manner like Sylveria or Alicia. It's a matter of [[UnskilledButStrong power]] vs. [[WeakButSkilled efficiency]]

*** But the in-game personnel files are omniscient (in regard to the series' lore) and Crymaria's file says she's the strongest Valkyur of all, despite being unable to defeat Sylveria. Alicia did twice and made it look easy both times. In seconds.

*** She didn't ''need'' to use the Final Flame, she choose to because she had only recently been awakened as a Valkyur. A fact which she openly admitted to Sylveria, because Sylveria was more experienced in how to use her powers. Alicia even hoped that Sylveria would mentor her, but she refused. With proper tutelage, it's very likely that Alicia could have done the same as Crymaria. Otherwise, how do you explain Crymaria being able to sink the Comet, but unable to defeat Sylveria? Whereas Alicia 1-shot Sylveria without - literally ''[[TheGift without trying]]'' - in a matter of seconds and her presence made Maximillion beat [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere a hasty retreat.]]

*** She didn't ''need'' to use the Final Flame, she choose to because she had only recently been awakened as a Valkyur. A fact which she openly admitted to Sylveria, because Sylveria was more experienced in how to use her powers. Alicia even hoped that Sylveria would mentor her, but she refused. With proper tutelage, it's very likely that Alicia could have done the same as Crymaria. Otherwise, how do you explain Crymaria being able to sink the Centurion, but unable to defeat Sylveria? Whereas Alicia 1-shot Sylveria without - literally ''[[TheGift without trying]]'' - in a matter of seconds and her presence made Maximillion beat [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere a hasty retreat.]]