Girls Frontline Beginner FAQ

Girls’ Frontline Newbie FAQ

[GETTING STARTED]
Q: Why should I play this game?
A: Do you like cute 2D girls with guns? Are you a shameless weeb with too much time to spare and neetbux to burn? Are you sick of reroll hell and seek a different form of RNG torture? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you might find some enjoyment in this game.

Q: Isn’t this just a chink knockoff of Kancolle with guns?
A: Yes and no, there are already a bunch of chinese Kancolle knockoffs looking to cash in on the boteslut market but GF plays slightly differently and targets a different demographic of military otakus.

Q: Well, I’ll give it a shot, who should I reroll for?
A: There’s no rerolling because crafting new T-dolls uses 4 different resources that automatically replenish and are needed for gameplay purposes, so you can craft anytime you want. However, crafting also requires Contracts that you can collect from daily/weekly/story quests, events and farming.
Many 2*s and 3*s are viable and you can still beat story mode and events with them.

Q: What server should I play on?
A: There are 2 mainland chinese servers, 1 taiwannese server, 1 korean server, 1 global server and 1 upcoming japanese server that was supposed to launch years ago.

Q: Why are T-dolls all female?
A: They’re converted civilian androids, fag.

>CN
DigitalSky is the main server with the most up to date build and content. However, they use Alipay for IAPs which needs a chinese bank accound. Considered to be the most stable server.
Bilibili is the secondary chinese server with slightly delayed updates but is generally on par with Digisky. They use Paypal for IAPs so it’s a prime choice for foreign whales when GF first launched.

>TW and KR
The taiwannese and korean servers use the Play Store/iOS Store/Paypal for IAPs, and sometimes the devs will release guns from their countries a month earlier in their respective servers before other servers get them. Both are roughly a year younger than the CN server but they have mostly caught up in content. Korean server considered rather stable due to GF’s high popularity in KR.
HOWEVER, some collabs may be unavailable due to licensing issues like the Gun GirlZ (Honkai Impact 2) collab.

>EN
The newest server and where most of the new players are found. IAPs use the Play Store/iOS Store/Paypal. Being the newest server, there are 2 years’ worth of content to catch up and the build itself is an earlier build with many T-dolls and content still unreleased. Despite being a “global” server it’s unavailable in many parts of the world so you’ll have to find the apk somewhere if you can’t download them off the Play Store (Applel users get fucked). Given the poor reputation of global servers, decide carefully before committing to whale.

>JP
Due to publishing disputes, the Japanese server was delayed so long they managed to publish a global server beforehand. However, the issue has been resolved and recruitment efforts for translation and publicity have been restarted. Don’t expect to see it released until the near the end of 2018 (June 28th is when preregistration opens you fucking brainlets). Was supposed to launch with a timed server exclusive SMG (Type 100).

Q: I heard some servers are censored, are there any ways of getting rid of it?
A: Unfortunately all servers are censored because of the chinese thought police. As of right now all servers have workarounds or can be uncensored with root. See the OP for the EN uncensor method, or the wiki for the CN uncensor method.

Q: What are the resources I have to manage in the game?
A: There are 4 main resources: manpower, ammo, rations and parts. The first 3 replenish at 3 per 3 minutes while parts replenish at 1 per 3 minutes, up to a soft cap you can see on your commander page by tapping your username. These resources are needed for crafting and playing the game itself.

Manpower is used for deploying and repairing T-dolls, easily the most underused resource and you’ll end up with a lot of it (unless you corpse drag).

Ammo and rations are needed to supply echelons you deploy in battle. Each echelon carries up to 5 units of ammo and 10 units of rations. Entering combat consumes 1 unit of ammo and 1 unit of rations, and ending the turn consumes 1 unit of rations. Dummy linking T-dolls increases their ammo and ration consumption. Generally considered the highest priority resources to stock up because they burn up quickly.

Parts are used for repairs, but regenerate the slowest. However, unless you regularly abuse your T-dolls, parts are mostly consumed in crafting.

[CRAFTING]
Q: How much should I spend on crafting? Does more resources = better chances of rolling 5*s?
A: The number of each resource used only dictates which set of guns you’ll be rolling in.

There are several generic recipes for crafting:
>HG/SMG: 130/130/130/130
>AR/SMG/RF: 430/430/430/230
>AR/SMG/RF/MG: 730/630/130/430
However, some specific recipes have higher chances to score 4*s and 5*s than the others, so you may want to try them to snipe a particular T-doll.

Q: WTF I spent 999/999/999/999 and didn’t get a single 5*!
A: As said above, more resources doesn’t mean your chances of rolling rarer guns are that much higher, retard.

Q: Fuck I ran out of contracts, how do I get more?
A: Do logistics and your quests. Big success in logistics is guaranteed to give you a reward if the mission has them. Or you could always buy them...

Q: I rolled this T-doll, is she good?
A: If she’s in the tier list and has some special purpose, she’s good. Otherwise, invest resources in her only if you really love her.

Q: I just started the game and rolled a 5*, should I use her?
A: Not for now, because she needs a lot of cores to dummy link, which new players likely won’t be able to afford. Unless your luck is good and you roll several copies of her which you can use to dummy link instead of cores.

Q: How do I craft shotguns? (Not in EN yet)
A: You have to unlock Heavy Construction by beating 30 missions.

Heavy Construction requires a minimum of 1000 of each resources, crafting contracts and dummy cores and is guaranteed 3* and above. You can spend more contracts and cores to increase the chances of getting 4*s and 5*s but it’s ultimately not worth it. Do note that instead of getting shotguns you can get shitty 3* SMGs for all the resources you spend, so don’t bother with crafting shotguns unless you want to bankrupt yourself.

Q: Why are some recipes listed as “4442” or “7614”?
A: Some recipes omit 30 from each resource so a recipe like “4442” actually refers to the recipe 430/430/430/230.

[MISSIONS]
Q: Why can’t I beat X boss?
A: Level your squads, dummy link them and feed them 2* guns or enhancement pills to raise their stats. Some bosses have special attacks which you need to micro your units out of their way.

Q: How’s my formation?
A: There are several tried and tested formations that work in most situations. Don’t experiment with unorthodox formations unless you’re high level enough.

Standard formations
>3AR/2SMG
Standard AR/SMG setup for most of the game, arrange in a F formation flushed to the left to maximize tile buffs on all guns.

AR SMG X
AR SMG X
AR  X  X

>2AR/1RF/2SMG
Earlygame build where formations don’t matter too much. Gives your RF some space to pick up levels while maintaining enough DPS for most situations. The RF will help against killing the enemy backline. F formation.

>2AR/1HG/2SMG/1AR  and 1AR/1RF/1HG/2SMG
Earlygame night builds when HGs aren’t good enough to tank. Take a RF if you’re expecting to fight armored enemies. F formation.

>3HG2RF
Standard RF/HG setup with 2 DPS RFs and HGs with tiles and buffs for damage and evasion. Good for eliminating Jaegers (snipers) or Strikers (slow minigunners) hiding behind large blobs of Guards (meatshields) and killing bosses. Only viable with high level HGs which have enough dodge to tank, but beware of fast enemies like Dinergates (doggos) and Dragoons (robot cavalry). Same “F” formation like 3AR2SMG with one HG giving extra tiles to your better RF.
RF HG X
HG HG X
RF X  X

>Cannon/Nuke
Setup similar to 3HG2RF where one or both RFs have a snipe skill like Interdiction Shot. Often used to one-shot bosses, the HG’s are used to buff the cannon’s damage as much as possible, tank and clear out weaker mobs before the boss. The most widely used cannon is NTW-20, but you can use M99 and DSR-50 if you have them. The second RF can be a DPS RF like WA2000 or Lee Enfield if your HGs can’t clear the mobs before the boss. Be warned that this setup is bad for general use due to the low RoF of cannon RFs so you would want to escort them with other squads.

Most other meme formations need guns that aren’t in global yet.

Q: I can’t clear X mission, what do?
A: Train your squads, or add someone with a good support echelon and use it to carry your sorry ass. Remember to enhance your guns at the factory.

Q: How do I S rank?
A: Check the mission info. You need to kill a certain minimum number of enemies under a certain number of turns and complete the mission. You don’t NEED to annex every node for S-rank.

Q: How do I get silver medals?
A: Complete the mission with every node under your control.

Q: WTF why did my node revert to the enemy’s control?
A: Nodes are automatically captured when you completely surround them with enemy nodes. While you can complete missions by surrounding the enemy HQ, be warned that your HQ can be lost the same way.

Q: My echelons ran out of ammo/rations, what do I do?
A: T-dolls who run out of ammo and/or rations cannot act in combat but echelons devoid of either or both resources can still be moved outside combat. Echelons can be resupplied at helipads or your HQ either manually or automatically at the start of the next turn if they are standing on those nodes.

[T-DOLLS]
Q: How do I get X?
A: Look at the index to see how to get her, or read the wiki.

Q: My T-doll’s skill seems useless, can I make it stronger?
A: Depending on what kind of skill it is, it may well be useless. You require skill chips to train skills under the Research menu, which are acquired from skill training combat sims. Don’t waste your fast training tickets if you don’t need to because you can only get them from events or login rewards.

Q: What does dummy link do?
A: Dummy linking adds another body which increases DPS, HP and exp gained, but also the amount of ammo and rations consumed. However, an important aspect of dummy linking is that if the T-doll gets hit by an attack which inflicts more damage than the health of a single body, the damage will only affect one body and kill it instead of spilling over to the other bodies, which most new players will find out in Chapter 5. You can use cores and duplicate T-dolls to dummy link but one time guns from events or story mode like the AR team can only be dummy linked with cores, as you can’t get duplicates of them.

The cost for dummy linking increases at each new body past x3
	 2x		3x		4x		5x
2*: 1		1		2		3
3*: 3		3		6		9
4*: 9		9		18		27
5*: 15		15		30		45

Q: Is X in the game yet?
A: Check the index, everything listed is what’s available on your server at the moment.

Q: When will X be added to the game?
A: I wouldn’t know, but certain T-dolls who appear in story events will only be added when the event comes.

Q: Why shouldn’t I ignore 2*s and 3*s over 4*s and 5*s?
A: Some 2*s and 3*s have good stats and skills, and they’re cheap to dummy link. 4*s and 5*s require lots of cores which may be hard for new players to cough up, and the biggest way to upgrade your guns is to dummy link them. Some non-5*s also get remodels later to make them stronger and more relevant in the lategame.

Q: How do I level grind faster?
A: 4-3E, 5-2E and 0-2 are the most popular grinding maps in order of difficulty. Do your exp combat sims and make combat reports from battery and global exp in the data room. Remember to gift the reports to your T-dolls in the dorms.

Q: What is corpse-dragging?
A: An autistic method of level grinding that saves lots of resources. It can be done on maps that can be completed in 1-2 turns and have at least 2 helipads, like the 3 mentioned above.
1. Set up the 1st squad with 1 maxed out AR, MG, or RoF RF (like WA2000 or SVD), 1 strong tank SMG/SG (or M16 if you have armor for her) and fill the rest with weaker guns you want to train
2. Set up the 2nd squad with only 1 other maxed out AR, MG, or RoF RF
3. Ensure automatic resupply is disabled
4. Ensure that the AR, MG, or RoF RF in the first squad has full ammo and rations (if neither carry has ammo, do steps 5, 6, and 8, then retreat the second squad and terminate the mission)
5. Deploy the 1st squad in position to clear the mission in 1 turn
6. Deploy the 2nd squad on another helipad
7. Clear the mobs with the first squad, using the weaker guns to tank
8. Resupply ONLY the 2nd squad containing the single AR, MG, or RoF RF
9. Finish the mission
10. Switch the AR, MG, or RoF RF and repeat steps 1-9 until satisfied

[EQUIPMENT]
Q: How do I unlock equipment construction?
A: Beat 2-6.

Q: What does heavy equipment construction do?
A: Heavy equipment construction guarantees 3*s and higher, and has a chance of rolling tactical fairies (not in EN yet). It requires equipment production contracts and cores, and has several tiers just like T-doll heavy construction where you spend more contracts and cores for better chances at rolling higher rarities and equally not as worth.

Q: When can I use equipment?
A: T-dolls unlock equipment slots at level 20, 50 and 80. However, each class of T-doll unlocks different types of equipment slots at each mark, so prepare accordingly.

Q: What does the MAX at the corner of the equipment mean?
A: Equipment can have a range of stats. MAX indicates that it has the maximum possible stats already.

Q: How do I upgrade equipment?
A: Beat 1-4N (Protip: craft some good AP ammo) and go to the research menu.

Same deal with T-doll enhancement, you use 2* and sometimes 3* equipment to increase the amount of stats an equipment has. Don’t bother enhancing 2* and 3* equipment because they don’t scale well.

Q: How to I make my equipment MAX?
A: Unlock equipment calibration by beating 2-4N (Protip: craft some good laser pointers) and go to the research menu.
Equipment calibration requires calibration tickets that can be acquired by doing the Defense Drill combat sim where you must face continuous waves of enemies until you lose an echelon, gaining rewards at every 10 waves. Defense Drill is available all the time but requires 5 sim points so do it on pill sim days.
Calibrating equipment raises and/or lowers one or more stats of a piece of equipment, initially costing 5 tickets but raising the cost by 5 each time until 15. Sometimes nothing changes and you lose 15 tickets for nothing :^). If you’re not happy with the result, you can revert it but your tickets won’t be refunded. Once all stats are maxed out the equipment will display MAX and cannot be further calibrated.

Q: What equipment should I use on who?
A: Read the equipment guide in the OP.

[DORM]
Q: How do I get more dorms?
A: Shop > Infrastructure.

Q: How do I buy furniture?
A: Open procurement and roll the gacha, goy.

Q: How do I get coins?
A: Quests, logistics and whaling.

Q: Why are the hearts over my T-dolls?
A: T-dolls in an echelon corresponding to an open dorm (Echelon 1 can be found in Dorm 1) will gain them after the daily reset. Pop them for a tiny affection boost.

Q: What does comfyness do?
A: Increases the amount of affection gained by T-dolls if you pop the heart bubble above her head, and increases battery generation.

Q: What does battery do and how do I get it?
A: Battery is used to upgrade your infrastructure in your data room, rescue station and fairy room, make battle reports and buy stuff from the cafe (not on EN yet). Don’t spend your batteries on anything but battle reports and data room upgrades until your data room is maxed out, after which you should focus on your fairy room (once it’s added).

You can acquire your passively generated battery at the indicated times in your dorm, in the UTC-8 timezone. Battery cap is determined by number of dorms, with 80 battery per dorm, so remember to collect your battery as you obviously won’t get more once you hit the cap. You can also collect battery by visiting up to 10 friends and collecting their batteries, the amount of which is determined by the number of dorms they have, for 1 battery per dorm. Friend batteries appear at set timings depending on version, and only 10 friends can collect batteries from another user per reset, so it’s good to have multiple whale friends to choose from. You’ll get an additional 20 FREE batteries from a daily quest so always remember to collect your friend batteries. You can lock your dorm to exclude most friends from collecting your battery but expect to get kicked if you aren’t in a whale circle.

Q: How do battle reports work?
A: A small percentage of exp earned by T-dolls below level 100 in battle is converted into global exp (level 100 T-dolls don’t gain exp and convert a large percentage of the exp they would’ve received into global exp). Tap the table in the data room to produce battle reports using 3 battery and 3000 global exp. Battle reports can then be gifted to T-dolls in dorms for instant exp boosts.