GamePress

Gunslinger Girl Collab EX1-4: Garden of Old EX

Introductions

Soul! We need to do EX4.
Urghhhhh. Fine.
Let's get this out of the way right now. This map is one of the hardest to date in Girls' Frontline, and will offer a serious challenge even for experienced Commanders. Those with Parachute fairies will find this map a challenge but not untenable, while those without a Parachute are faced with a slog of a battle . Worse, the enemy spawn configuration is pseudo random. There are three preset layouts of enemies on turn 1, that we were able to find.

Like so. And the enemies agro on you from anywhere on the map, while spawning from the Heliports every turn. 

I don't know about you Ari, but I'm not sure making a step by step guide for this map is entirely possible? At least, not one I feel confident telling people to follow.
We could just do some general guidelines and do's and don'ts.
I think I prefer that idea. My sanity and Quick Repairs won't survive the alternative.

Preparations and Map Start

Man I wish we had SF capture already in the game for this. Scarecrow makes this map objectively better. But, we're not getting that this month, so Echelon recommendations will have to be AR/SMG, and the very best you can bring. Enemy compositions here tend to be monolithic blobs of 65 enemies, be it snipers, molotov throwers, or the SMG weilders. AR/SMG is the best equiped to handle the variety of enemies being thrown at you. The map restricts players to a pair of Echelons so make your picks carefully.
If you have them bring a Taunt or Twin Fairies, or both. The snipers have too much health to be cleaned up with Airstrike Fairy, but it will do a lot of damage. SG tanking is impossible, as the snipers have armor pierce, and besides that, deal upwards of 30 Damage on regular attacks and 60 or more on the Bamboo shots. However, if you have a Parachute Fairy, you will want to use it to get a head start on map control. We'll talk more about Parachute Fairy in a little bit.
You are allowed a single HOC, and we both recommended 2B14, as this map needs the largest alpha strike and largest area possible, and frequently if you can manage it. Hence, 2B14, with as much Lethality as you can fit into her board.

Enemy layout that is a reset

If your map looks like this at the start, you probably want to reset the map. Having to spend the extra AP to protect your HOC on turn one puts you on the back foot for the rest of the map.

Did we forget to mention this map can potentially have reset RNG? Well it does.

Parachute Fairy

If you have a Parachute Fairy, this map is a much easier to handle, as you can immediately capture a Heliport and prevent a third of the reinforcements from spawning. 

Jump to this Heli

You want to jump to this Heliport Turn 1, but be prepared for a nasty battle. 

Make sure to protect your Command Post, and be ready to repair. A lot. 

And, of course, kite. 

 

Even with Taunt and Twin Fairies, this map will do some serious damage to your Quick Repair stocks, even with kiting, but without kiting, Dolls will die.

If you can, retreat, redeploy and jump once again with your Parachute Fairy, to prevent the reinforcements from piling up. While your Parachute Echelon is flying around the map, the other Echelon should protect the Command Post and kill off the enemies who start in the lower half of the map. 

No Parachute Fairy

Where this map turns ugly is when you don't have a Parachute Fairy. Without the means to cut off some spawns on turn one, you have to smash your way across the map with your strongest teams, under mortar cover. This is also where that reset problem comes in. You want to get both Combat Echelons on the field turn 1 while also not moving in the wrong direction, and having to move down to protect 2B doesn't line up with that objective. You could try running up the left side of the map, but I personally never had good luck with that strategey. 

Make sure to protect your Command Post on turns 1 and 2, while also starting to move your stronger Combat team to the right, moving 2B14 with them. 

Your best Combat Team will be slowly making thier way across the map roughly along this route. 

Parachuteless route

2B14 should be considered a backpack for the Combat Echelon following this route. Your HOC helps to capture nodes, while providing enough firepower to keep your Echelons from being either burned to the ground or riddled with rifle rounds. 

Soul makes it sound much easier than it is. These enemies pull no punches, so don't be afraid to repair, and make sure to watch your supplies, those five battles will catch up faster than you think. Make sure to move quickly, the turn limit is generous, but you have to move fast, otherwise it is quite possible you'll come up short!

Final Thoughts

Anything else to add? 

 

I don't think there is much more to say. The basic strategy is there, the tricky part is putting it into practice, and that rests in the hands of the audience. For anyone looking a more inforgraphic guideline, or even still struggling with this map, GFC has a suggested route, teams, and and other information as well. They are a very different perspective on the map to Ari and I, so I'd highly encourage taking a look.

Agreed. Guess we're done?
Yup. Good luck to anyone who read this far, and if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments and I will attempt to add them as I can.

Video Guide:

Next Chapter?

Enjoyed the article?
Consider supporting GamePress and the author of this article by joining GamePress Boost!
Join!

About the Author(s)

aka Soulmuse basically everywhere. Discord: soulmuse#8741.

Guide writer for Girls Frontline. KSG and G3 Propagandist. Writes the occasional fanfic.  

Feel free to send guide suggestions and feedback via DM on Discord or Reddit. You can also find me in the GFL section of the community discord. Also on twitter

Retired Girls'Frontline Guide writer.

Neural Cloud Guide writer.

Comments