When the recent announcement of Valkyria Chronicles DLC hit, forums, front pages, and twitter feeds were abuzz with people counting down the days. But a few people I spoke with on forums had some questions about what exactly was coming in each pack of content – and specifically, you actually get a lot more in each than you might think from the one or two sentences that went out in the PR blast. That’s where community comes in.

One of the biggest packs that people were curious about was Hard Mode EX, and so I wanted to start first with that pack and explain just what you get for your buck (or five, in this case), as well as help clear up any confusion about how Hard Mode EX works.

So, let’s talk about what Hard Mode EX really is in detail. Hard Mode EX allows you to replay Skirmishes on Expert setting – but it doesn’t just mean things are harder and you don’t get the Edelweiss to fall back on. (Aww…) All in all, it’s much more than just harder opponents, starting with:

New Unlockable Weapons

By making your way through expert mode, you’ll be able to unlock a number of new weapons – seven of them, to be exact. (Which counts, especially when you’re trying snipe an incoming scout.) They include:

• Two new rifles
• One new machinegun
• Two new sniper rifles
• One new anti-tank lance
  
• One new flamethrower

All of which are pretty sweet – but shiny new weapons aren’t the only thing that will be added in besides the harder difficulty. There are also changes made to the opponents you’ll be facing.

Enemy and AI Updates

That’s a lotta enemy tanks.

• New Enemy Ace
• Slight changes to attributes for core enemies
• AI will now own you eight different ways simultaneously. Maybe nine.

Just like it sounds – not only is the enemy AI harder, but the core enemies have also been tweaked, and they’ve added in a brand new enemy ace. They don’t call it Expert Mode for nothing…

Unless you are a strategist God, initial playthroughs into Hard Mode EX will likely result in pain. A lot of pain. But it’ll be a good kind of pain – knowing that there’s light at the end of the tunnel in the form of new gear, and the fact that it’s finally more new content to play with.

Anyways, hopefully this has helped clear up any questions about all the stuff Hard Mode EX actually comes with. Tomorrow, we take a look at the second DLC pack – outnumbered and against all odds, is it really possible to survive in Edy’s Mission?

With masochist Homer and ‘manly-man’ Jann on your team, you’d better believe it. Well, mostly just Jann. But that could be because I can’t stop laughing every time I hear him talk.

Edy’s Mission coverage (But no spoilers!) is tomorrow!