Combat
This page will cover the different combat stages in Girls' Frontline
The game uses a hybrid turn based and real time battle system. Combat can be separated into two different parts: the Tactical Advance stage and the Combat stage. Depending on your performance during a mission, you can be awarded with one three different medals.
- Gold: Obtained defeating a certain amount of enemies within a certain amount of turns without any of your echelons retreating. The turn and kills requirements are listed under 战场说明 (top left corner).
- Silver: Obtained by capturing all nodes on the map.
- Bronze: Obtained from winning.
Obtaining all three medals on a map is required to unlock automated battling for that map. You do not have to obtain all three at the same time.
Tactical Advance
This is the turn based portion of battling, with both sides taking turns to deploy, retreat, and move fielded echelons. Most of these actions will require 1 Action Points. You get 1 Action Point and +1 for every captured LZ and fielded echelons. All deployed squad will use 10% of their total Rations every turn.
During this stage you can see several different icons or nodes on the map.
- Headquarters: There is an HQ for both sides. You can resupply and deploy echelons from your HQ. In normal combat mode, the side whose HQ is captured first will lose. The HQ also provides 1 Action Point.
- Landing Zone: A Landing Zone provides similar functions to an HQ, allowing you to resupply and deploy echelons. It gives +1 Action Point when captured.
- Unknown Node: An Unknown Node will trigger a random event. These event may include gaining/losing resources, gaining chips, cores, or a 3* T-Doll, or encountering a random enemy echelon (only on an empty node). An Unknown Node will revert to a normal node once it is stepped on by your echelon. Certain unknown event nodes have high chances of an enemy encounter.
- Normal Node: A normal node has no special effects.
The following nodes were added in later events and now can be seen in various story and event maps
- Supply Node: One-time use, resupply the echelon standing on it, can be used without capturing first.
- Radar Node: In night maps, when captured it is used to provide vision at a radius up to 2 nodes next to it. First appearing in day maps in Chapter 10, having an echelon constantly standing on top of it means "controlling" a neutral unit nearly, allows using the unit as a normal NPC squad
To move an echelon, tap on them once then tap to a connected node next to them. You will see a crosshair on the selected echelon, and the sprite will enter the running animation. To deploy an echelon, tap on an allied HQ or LZ and select a available echelon. Next, click on 部署 to deploy the echelon. To move an echelon to a HQ or LZ select the 移动 option.
Two echelons which are next to each other can swap places without expending any Action Points. To do this tap on one of the echelon and select the 换位 option; alternatively select 选择 to select the other echelon instead.
To resupply an echelon, tap on the echelon when it is on an allied HQ or LZ and select the 补给 option. Echelons will automatically be resupplied when they are standing on top of an HQ or allied LZ at the start of your turn if the Automatic Resupply option is enabled in the Settings.
At the end of each turn, nodes currently occupied by an echelon will be captured by the side of that particular echelon. However if a node is surrounded by all nodes captured by a particular side, the node will be automatically captured on the beginning of that side's turn.
Combat Stage
The Combat Stage is the real time section of battle. It takes place in a 3x6 grid, with each side having 3x3 grids to move around.
Combat stage is initiated when two squads from opposing sides attempting to occupy the same node. Your echelons will use 20% of their Ammo and 10% of Rations during every encounter. Any T-dolls that is out of either ammo or rations will not be able to attack nor use skills during the combat stage.
During the Combat Stage, your dolls will assume the position that was set in the formation menu. However, you may move a doll by pressing on them and dragging it towards a grid tile. Each class of T-dolls have their own movement speed and will not attack nor activate skills while moving.
T-Dolls' tile buffs are based on those shown in the formation menu, and will not change if they are moved in combat or if a T-Doll unit providing that tile buff has died.
Holding on a T-doll will trigger Bullet Time if it is enabled in the settings. Bullet Time will also trigger when a doll reaches 30% HP and their damage CG shows up, during this time they will also be invincible.
During combat each class of T-dolls will have different target priorities. RF for example will target the enemy back line if possible.