Valkyria Chronicles II RNG

I can make an argument that much of the run is fighting against the different kinds of RNG the game throws at you.  The route I do for VC2 involves repeating a mission a second time to get a powerful tank turret, which only has a 1/3 chance of dropping.  Because this mission takes roughly 3 minutes per try, I will reset if I don't get it right away.

I also have to worry about getting enough materials of a certain kind to get tank parts needed in order to go ahead with the route.  I only have a few missions where I can get them before I need to get a constructor arm, so I can build a bridge in one of the missions.  The material drops are totally random.  I had one run that died because I got the turret, but didn't have enough materials.  Then I need the same kinds of materials to build a certain tank model which I will use for most of the run.

Upgrading my units to higher classes involves getting credits, which are earned by completing missions.  Certain kind of credits are needed to upgrade certain classes.  Problem is that the credit drops are totally random.  I prefer to have Avan be a Scout Veteran by the end of April for additional movement, health, and defense, along with the ability to heal.  I can get away with him being a regular Scout if it doesn't happen, but the absolute latest I need to upgrade him is by the end of July.  Otherwise I would probably stop the run, because the route probably couldn't be finished.  Having Shocktroopers and other Scouts upgrade by at least one tier makes doing a run that much easier.  If I'm lucky, I can upgrade my units to the third tier, the highest kind.

The game is made up of story missions and regular missions.  Story missions have fixed enemy placement and rely heavily on execution.  These make up 1/3 of the speedrun.  The regular missions have random enemy placement, which forces me to adapt to situations as they are thrown at me.  Sometimes the enemy placement is enough to drastically change how I go about a mission.  I practiced the game enough to react to anything that happens for the most part.  Even then, I practice these missions nonstop because they make up 2/3 of the speedrun.

There are 4 regular missions that involve tracking down boxes and getting them to complete the missions.  These boxes are randomly placed throughout different areas.  I have to come up with a route for these missions where I can sweep each area for boxes as efficiently as possible.

As I optimize the game, there are certain missions where I will start by passing the first turn and hoping my units survive so I can do the the rest of the turns.  It's totally random whether or not I will make it, and it can easily kill a run, especially near the end.

Did I mention that the tank has a chance of firing twice in the same action?  That is also random.

I wonder how I even finish runs of Valkyria Chronicles II.

I somehow do.