Special Actions Tactics Guide

Tactical tips and video clips for Metal Slug Tactics' Special Actions, to help you decide which fits your needs and play style.

This has taken forever for me to compile, and I still have many video clips, tips and descriptions to add. But if I wait until it's complete, I might never publish it at all. So please bear with me as I try to add to this guide over time. I still have 3 more characters to unlock.

Nov. 30, 2024 Update

Added video clips for the Final Crash, Galactica Phantom and Killer Pose special actions.

Acupuncture Boost

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• +2 tiles range

TACTICS NOTES

• NOTE that Acupuncture Boost will only protect the protected character on the FIRST attack of the next enemies turn, not against all attacks against him/her on that turn.
  
  
• This action will protect against even the most powerful boss attack; however, I *think* on the final Jupiter boss, it won't protect against the boss smashing the designated square and disintegrating it, as that's not the same thing as a direction attack from an enemy.
  
  
• Protect a Soldier in Front of Convoy Truck: If you inadvertently ended a character's movement directly in front of the Convoy Truck in the mission of that name, use Acupuncture Boost on that character to prevent him from getting fatally run over. :-)
  
  Instead, the truck will propel the character a couple or so tiles in the direction opposite from the direction the Convoy Truck is moving. So if the truck continued moving East/right on that turn, the Acupuncture Boost-protected character will be bounced back 2-3 tiles West of the the truck's starting-point location.
  
  
• Protect a Soldier Designated by Mission Objective as Surviving or Not Getting Damaged a Certain Number of HP: If a mission objective requires that a certain character not get KO'd, or not get damaged beyond a certain number of hit points, you can selectively use Acupuncture Boost as needed to accomplish the mission objective goal.

Alice Activation

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/C7UBHP2gWrs?si=T4KG7sUDx4FcLnzE

Notes

This special action's main use is for a hologram to remotely control Metal Slug or Slugnoid for 2 turns, which enables you to continue using your full trio of soldiers, with the vehicle operating independently alongside.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• +2 tiles range (in this case, that means the Metal Slug or Slugnoid can be a couple tiles further away from your character when using this special action).

TACTICS NOTES

• Because Alice Activation only lasts two turns, if you plan to keep using it repeatedly during a mission, don't let the Metal Slug or Repnoid wander out of reach of the character using this action.
  
• If you don't use vehicles much, it's really only useful for remotely triggering the switches for the falling crates.

Close-Range Blast (Eri only)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 maximum tiles range
  
• +1 HP damage
  
• (Level II) Adds Instigator attribute (Each time this attack triggers Synchronization, +1 DMG dealt by synchronizing characters during the attack)

Crescent Moon Kick (Trevor only)

VIDEO CLIP

Description

Unique to Trevor, this ability teleports him up to 4 tiles away and then damages adjacent enemies in the four cardinal directions.

TACTICS NOTES

• Its 4-point attack pattern means it can damage any tile in a cardinal direction from the targeted tile.
  
• Unlike many ranged special actions, Crescent Moon Kick CAN move past floor/ground gaps because it's using teleportation, not movement by feet. :)

Distant Blast (Eri only)

Notes

This is a powerful rifle grenade attack - judging by its animation - that hits a distant spot and does damage in an "X" pattern at that location.

Although the 'X" tiles targeting pattern can be a bit difficult to place on enemies, you can use the tiles around them to fit in other units for melee-sync attacks, if you're careful.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 maximum tiles range
  
• +1 HP damage

Dynamite Punch (Ralf only)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 HP damage

Eagle

NOTES: Essentially a "shot from the sky," as if from a bird, this attack can hit any enemy within range, regardless of elevation and regardless of a tall obstacle in front of your character.

Eclipse (Trevor only; purchased)

UPGRADE BENEFIT PER LEVEL

• +2 HP damage to adjacent units

TACTICS NOTES

• A drawback to this special action is its retaliating only against attackers adjacent to the character. Many characters in MST that use melee weapons can either throw their swords 2-3 tiles or attack with long spears from 2-3 tiles away - so in those situations, Eclipse will NOT respond with any retaliatory damage. I don't think the +1 Dodge registers either if the attacker is not adjacent.
  
  In those situations, Mimic - despite doing less HP damage - is perhaps a better choice.

Enemy Chaser

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/4U8gxtCG8LM?si=Y6YmTWOG0ZrZhtW9

Notes

(level 1) Deals 3 HP of damage to up to 3 separate designated targets within range of the character.

How to Use

Click on a tile (label readers 1/3) for the first enemy to target, then repeat that for the 2nd and 3rd targets. NOTE that if you only have one or two targets within range of your character, you can just click on an empty tile or two instead to trigger the attack.

TACTICS NOTES

• This attack ignores elevation changes, so it can hit enemies on different elevations than what your character is on.
  
• Clicking the 3rd enemy's tile will TRIGGER the ability. So don't click the 3rd enemy's tile until you're certain you're happy with the first two designated enemy target tiles.
  
• Upgrading Enemy Chaser twice will raise the damage to 5 HP, which is enough to one-shot eliminate the pesky Capsules in the final stage of the Scirocco 2-stage boss battle.

Expertise

Explosive Decoy (Eri only)

Notes

When I've tried Decoy in battles, I've generally found the enemies don't cooperate - they simply won't go near the Decoy and it's rare I can attack the decoy to cause damage to enemies with it. You can get around this by simply damaging the Decoy on purpose to set it off.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 HP damage
  
• +2 Explosion AOE Range

TACTICS NOTES

• At Level 1, this action doesn't do enough damage to be really powerful, and is more just a somewhat useful decoy to draw away enemy attacks. If you're going to use it really often, then invest a couple upgrades in it because by L3 you'll have a bit higher damage (6 HP) and a much larger explosion radius (+4 AOE range), which will ensure the decoy's demise at least impacts more enemies.

Explosive Jump (Eri only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/PyjAX5CHDjY?si=rcNbJsjY_ThqENX5

Notes

NOTES This devastating attack ability does AOE damage *both* at the character's "launch point" AND at the landing point. So note that the Tetri-style blocks damage grid in this case is showing you both damage at the "launch" point and damage at the "landing" point.

Keep that in mind if your character's starting point is adjacent to friendly characters, so that you don't inadvertently inflict friendly fire. Which I may have done a few times. :D

TACTICS NOTES

• In some situations, you can damage a single larger target - such as Convoy truck or a boss - twice with this attack, doing double-damage.
  
  Be sure to hover the mouse cursor carefully around the grid to see if it's possible and use care that the large explosive radius doesn't seriously injure friendly units.

Explosive Strike

Notes

This AOE attack radiates out from the character - by 2 tiles in the cardinal directions and by 1 tile in diagonal directions.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +2 HP damage (increase from 4 to 6 HP damage is a big difference, and I recommend this upgrade if you intend to use this special action much)

Final Crash (Tarma only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/889pbcKfkPo?si=500KtmsgiJsHx4Jp

Description

Teleports Tarma to the targeted tile. Deals 3 HP of damage and causes Provocation.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

+1 HP damage per level

TACTICAL NOTES

• Hover cursor over a tile - and move it around other tiles to check - to see how surrounding enemies will be damaged.
  
• Be careful to note if the AOE attack radius will damage/destroy cover and/or adjacent friendly units.

Flashback

Flying Blade (Trevor only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/dr0V01gX1uU?si=MbHm771yY_lYXrFa

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 Targeting tiles range (i.e., the number of tiles distance a target can be)
  
• +1 number of tiles the targeted enemy can be moved from its position, in a straight line
  
• +1 HP damage

TACTICS NOTES

• You can use Flying Blade several times on a single turn if you build up enough Adrenaline points first.
  
• Because Flying Blade uses so little Adrenaline points, you can - if you've build up enough Adrenaline - yank a higher HP enemy back and forth between various tiles several times to chip away at its HP. It's an easy way to cut a higher HP enemy down to low HP and then finish it off with a secondary weapon. :) OR, just keep yo-yo'ing and damaging the enemy until it's kaput.
  
• Sometimes the smaller maps make it difficult to move far enough generate enough adrenaline to keep using this action many times in a turn.

Forced March

How to Use

When you activate this underappreciated special action, you'll see a mostly greyed out set of tiles on the level grid, and the only colored tiles will be the character actually using this (you can use it on himself/herself) OR nearby squad character(s) that you can use the special action on, if they can benefit from a few more tiles of movement.

This low-adrenaline cost, simple ability will save your bacon on boss battles because being able to move a few extra tiles can be a matter of life or death. :)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline requirement
  
• +3 tile range for the bonus move

TACTICS NOTES

• This low-adrenaline cost, simple ability will save your bacon on boss battles because being able to move a few extra tiles to avoid a boss' "death beam" is often a matter of character life or death. :)
  
  
• You can also use this on other squad members if they need to move a few extra tiles.

Galactica Phantom (Ralf only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/_ZsYLCA5vZU?si=Dt-2IPjQsRk6d6jE

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 to tiles targeting range (i.e., how far away you can target an enemy in one of the four cardinal directions from Ralf's tile location)
  
• +2 to HP damage

TACTICS NOTES

• If you intend to use this special action frequently, definitely upgrade it twice if possible because a single-action 8 HP attack will eliminate many enemies with one punch.
  
• With this attack, the character dashes to one tile short of the targeted tile, then punches the target enemy. So keep this character "tile stop point" in mind when figuring out where to attack - it's useful to end the dash behind cover, if possible.
  
• Because this is a dash-movement attack, not a teleportation-type movement attack, you can't use this to its full range if there's a drop-off or break in the floor/ground. The floor/ground tiles need to be continous.
  
• Since this attack is based on having an enemy to target as the path "end point" - unlike say, Wild Ride - you can't use this special action as a movement ability per se when there's no enemy to target.

Get Back Here (Marco only; purchased)

Giant Knuckle (Tarma only)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• +2 to maximum tiles range (i.e., distance the enemy unit is from the character using this special action)
  
• +1 HP damage

TACTICS NOTES

• Although the damage is modest, the movement of the enemy is useful for positioning it where squad mates can attack it or for dropping the enemy onto ground flames created by flame weapons.
  
• An MST player in Discord said this special action is super powerful once upgraded to level III; I haven't gotten to try that just yet. :)

Grenade Juggler

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/-XkNrPIK2wU?si=Wq1_eQVhtnG82cIJ

Notes

This essentially throws one grenade to a tile, and then a 2nd grenade is auto-throw from that location to a cardinal direction from it.

TACTICS NOTES

• This versatile grenade can be used to attack enemies in a long straight line in front of you, or you can use it to make a dogleg left or right on the ability's auto-throw to reach targets normally not reachable.
  
• Invaluable against most large bosses, as you can often get both grenade clusters to the boss target in two locations on one turn.

High Five

Notes

Primarily useful in terms of improving the ability of your character to dodge incoming attacks.

"Escape" means that at the start of the next turn, the unit's Dodge stat is not reset.

Killer Pose

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/1BLy5xMR8y8?si=YEE-3-I9EZRC4Xa7

UPGRADE BENEFIT PER LEVEL

• +2 HP damage

TACTICS NOTES

• The 5 Adrenaline points cost is modest for so powerful an attack. Look for opportunities to wait until you have 10+ Adrenaline, which means you'll be able to use this attack twice on one turn and have a better chance to finish off adjacent enemies instead of just leaving them lower on HP.
  
• Note that melee-weapon enemies may "revenge hit" the character when using attack on them. Probably best to use this when at close to full HP health or when another character has used Protect on him/her.
  
• Like any large AOE-radius attack, this special action works well with another character using Nudge, Flying Blade, Giant Knuckle etc. to move an enemy into this action's AOE radius.
  
• It's also a good idea to keep at least one friendly unit nearby for Sync attack, to help finish off enemies damaged by this AOE attack. Although if you upgrade it a couple of times, Killer Pose should regularly finish off most enemies in its radius (aside from the few 9, 10, etc. HP enemies)

Knucklebox

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/Gx4bCTdfpf4?si=ZqY9Rvg-496P8msO

Notes

This launcher has a cool animation that looks like an RPG firing a big red boxing glove. :)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• No Cover (i.e., IGNORES cover)

TACTICS NOTES

• Given its modest HP damage, main appeal is a low Adrenaline requirement of only 2. Consider it if you like having another ranged Special Action in your toolbox.
  
• Try to upgrade it to level 2, which enables the attack to ignore cover, increasing its versatility.
  
• Also, seek a passive that adds +2 damage when firing from cover. That will make Knucklebox far more effective at 5 HP damage per shot.

Lock-On

Notes

This special action is one you use on an ENEMY. The Fragile aspect then makes the enemy more vulnerable - i.e., takes +2 incoming damage - to attack(s).

Marco Salvo (Marco only)

Notes

Unique to Marco, this ability lets him fire 1 additional shot the next time he fires a weapon. You may use it up to twice on a turn, which will let him fire 3 times on one turn the next time.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• +2 tiles range

Mimic

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/2HIZemNNcsg?si=sxzCfdSbqpLIyqwj
NOTES
What's great about this defensive counterattack skill is that it responds with HP damage to ALL attacks against your soldier during the next turn, which is demonstrated in the Mimic video clip. However, he/she may still receive damage during the turn.

Mimic's counterattack damage responds both to short range melee attacks and distant long range attacks.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• At Level 2, gains 1 Dodge

Moon Kick (Crescent, Half, etc. prefix, changes if upgraded)

Notes

Note that the prefix-name of this special action changes as you upgrade it. Level 1 variant is "Crescent Moon Kick," and then the level 2 variant is "Half Moon Kick," for example.

TACTICAL NOTES

• Lifesaver on boss battles in reaching "safe tiles" if your movement points run out, as with any Special Action that can move the character a number of tiles.

Nanite Cloud (Trevor only; purchased)

Nano Knives

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 tiles maximum range
  
• +1 HP damage

Nanoshroud (Trevor only; purchased)

HOT TIPS

The character can NOT use Nanoshroud on himself/herself; it must be used on a different squad member.

Nudge

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/mCwsfoIAYJ8?si=raaCp0OQBN_Cg-Fb

NOTES:

Click the enemy that you wish to relocate (label will read 1 / 2). You'll see the tiles within range change color. Click a tile to relocate the enemy to (label will read 2 / 2).

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +2 tiles range (i.e., how far away the targeted unit is that you want to nudge-move)
  
• +1 tiles unit-movement range (i.e., how far you can then nudge-move the targeted unit)

TACTICS NOTES

I find this ability most useful in situations where you're protecting designated friendly unit or units, and need to keep enemies far enough away that they can't damage the designated unit on their next turn. So especially useful on missions like Protect Enemy Miners, Escort Rhumi and protecting that equipment tent.

It can also be useful in more routine missions in terms of helping group enemies for a powerful synch attack by your units. Or just moving an enemy unit away if one of your own characters if low on HP.

What *CAN* you nudge-move?

• Enemies
  
• Your fellow squad members
  
• Even the character USING Nudge, can use it to move himself/herself. This is sometimes useful if your character has used up move points but needs a short Nudge to reach cover, stay out of enemies' targeting range, etc.

What can you *NOT* Nudge-Move?

• Exploding barrels, exploding stationary vehicles and any other environmental objects.
  
• Friendly vehicles (Metal Slug or Slugnoid)
  
• Enemy vehicles (tanks, disabled vehicles, Convoy mission's truck)

Overhead (Ralf only)

Notes

This low-adrenaline-cost movement Special Action can be a lifesaver on boss levels in particular because it rewards you with a bonus action each time you use it. So if your character has a large amount of adrenaline saved up, you can repeatedly use this movement Special Action on a *single* turn to move a long distance.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• Leaping range increases by 1 tile.

TACTICS NOTES

• Use this low Adrenaline-cost jumping skill to move long distances around the battlefield.
  
• In a pinch on boss fights, when needing to reach safe tile areas, you can use this jumping action repeatedly to reach those areas.
  
• Although the 4 HP damage is useful, it doesn't appear that upgrading it increases the damage, so it's not generally something you'll use for damage so much as its movement aspect.

Overheating (Fio only)

Notes

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 maximum tiles range
  
• +1 HP damage per level

Power Surge (Ralf only)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +2 HP damage
  
• +1 tile range

Ricochet (Marco only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/5sUFOMZ0ANk?si=2urFXQtiTee7VvoM

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 tiles range
  
• +2 HP damage

TACTICAL NOTES

• As seen in video clips, you may use Ricochet to shoot at a boss twice in one turn, doing double damage. Also in the case of some longer/wider enemies, like the Convoy truck.
  
• You can use this special action to shoot in a dogleg action at two enemies, whether near or far, or hit two enemies in a straight line, whether back-to-back or spread apart along the straight tiles range.
  
• If you upgrade Ricochet, it's simply useful for single targets as a pistol weapon that's probably higher dmg than your equipped weapons. If shooting at just one enemy, click the enemy first and then any empty tile in firing range to complete the special action activation.

Shinobi (Trevor only)

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 tiles range
  
• +1 HP damage

Slicing Rush

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/BIVS2gOsB6Q?si=a4N_N7aYwbgCg506

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 tile charge-distance range
  
• +1 HP damage

TACTICS NOTES

• Because this attack damages a 3-tile-wide path, you can use it to attack targets that are in tiles *adjacent* to your main, central dashing path.
  
• This attack, when upgraded, may also destroy environmental objects that may kaboom and cause unintended damage. Check this carefully in the "preview" to see that the results are what you want and not intended friendly fire.
  
• Likewise, when positioning other units to provide Sync attack support, be careful they don't end up one of the tiles that will be attacked.

Slug Kick

Notes

Cool animation of a Metal Slug tank "ghost" representing the "slug kick" attack.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

+1 HP damage
+1 Adrenaline use (NOT a benefit per se)

Spacey Kunai

Notes

The inadequate description SHOULD explain that your character will teleport a distance of up to 5 tiles away, damaging anything on the tiles between the two points.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 maximum range (seems weird, and I guess it's to offset the increased damage?)
  
• +2 HP damage

Spotlight (Tarma only; purchased)

TACTICS NOTES

A player has noted that this ability seems to last an entire battle, and not just a single turn, which seems like perhaps a bug?

Step Lively

Tactical Strike (Marco only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/gmlMUEkdmbQ?si=fO2yy7v-UsBd_4_p

Notes

Unique to the Marco character, this ability calls in a fighter-bomber aircraft to drop an air strike onto a 9-tile square targeting area that is from 2 to 8 tiles from Marco.

You may target the aerial strike on ground that is at a different elevation than Marco.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline cost
  
• +2 tile range
  
• +2 HP damage

Teleportation

Notes: This tile placement-swapping ability - which uses two of the hovering drones used by the Nudge special action - may be used with friendly squad units or with enemy units, depending on the situation.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +2 tiles range

TACTICS NOTES

• Teleportation is great for making more effective use of Exploding Barrels. Move the character next to a barrel, then Teleport-swap with an enemy to leave it adjacent to the barrel. Then have another character destroy the barrel with a ranged weapon or special action. :)
  
• You may find Teleportation useful within your squad if one character is low on HP and in harm's way, and you wish to swap it with a character that has more HP.
  
• If one character's in a situation where the other character is better suited to attack actions, it's another teleportation opportunity.
  
• If your character's surrounded by enemies, you might teleport-swap him with an enemy a few tiles away, whether to protect your character or clear the group of enemies so another character can attack the group with a wide AOE-type attack action.

What You CAN Teleport/Swap Location With

• Enemy units, including (I think? haven't tested) tanks.
  
• Fellow squad units

What You Can NOT Teleport/Swap Location With

• Objective NPCs, such as Rumi or Miners
  
• Environmental objects, such as exploding barrels or parked cars
  
• Your own vehicles (Metal Slug, Slugnoid)

Trampoline (Eri only)

Notes

Essentially a portable version of the "jump leaves" in some jungle mission maps, this smiling trampoline enables a unit to jump several tiles across the map.

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• -1 Adrenaline use
  
• +2 tiles range (I think this is the range that the Trampoline can catapult the character)
  
• -Lasts +1 uses (3, instead of 2)

Vulcan Punch (Ralf only)

Warm-Up (Ralf only)

Wild Ride (Tarma only)

VIDEO CLIP

https://youtu.be/rxL5mk9yYqY?si=rP5LbKolMlSASXbk

UPGRADE BENEFITS PER LEVEL

• +1 tiles range (i.e., how many tiles distance you "ride")
  
• +2 HP damage

TACTICS NOTES

• Unless upgraded, Wild Ride generally won't finish off enemies during its ride. So it's best to try to line up your fellow squad mates for complimentary sync fire and for them to us their own actions, so that Marco isn't left exposed to attacks from the enemies he ran over.
  
• Fellow squad mates can use special actions such as Nudge and Flying Blade to relocate enemies into the path of Marco's motorcycle, so seek out opportunities to do that before activating Wild Ride.

[BlackjackGT]

And yeah this guide isn't complete because I hadn't unlocked some characters nor some characters' abilities, so I don't have screenshots, video clips or descriptions for those yet.

[BlackjackGT]

And I just fixed the Wild Ride listing to have Tarma in parentheses, thanks :)

[BlackjackGT]

I'm alive but playing other things. My elderly mom passed away in hospice in December, and Metal Slug Tactics went from my favorite new game to not something I cared about anymore.

I'll try to update the guide.

[Braylovsky]

Bro, you still alive? I got an ability for Eri thats not listed in this guide (my game is not in english, but the name would be Bird of Prey if translated).

Also, there is that last ability incorrectly put as Marco only, instead of Tarma.

[Kanaletto]

Just a minor fix, Wild Ride (last one) is exclusive of Tarma, not Marco.

[BlackjackGT]

I've added video clips for Galactica Phantom dash-punch and Killer Pose AOE attack (one of the funnier animations in the game).

Please note that I still haven't unlocked 3 characters in the game, and I won't be able to add entries for the special actions unique to those characters until I unlock them.