The Metal Slug series has a long and storied history of teaming up to blow bad buys to smithereens, and Metal Slug Tactics honors that legacy. While a turn-based tactical grid is very different from frantic arcade co-op, there are still plenty of opportunities to have your soldiers focus fire via the game’s core mechanic, Synchronization.
Synchronization is pretty simple on the surface, but there are a few things to be aware of regarding how it does and doesn’t work. Once you master Sync Attacks, there’s nothing the Rebel Army can throw at you that you won’t be able to handle.
How To Perform A Sync Attack
Sync Attacks can be triggered by any character with the Synchronization Passive Ability. That’s not a problem, though, because every character in the game has Synchronization by default. It’s possible that later DLC characters might not have that ability, but for now, everybody on the roster can trigger and participate in Sync Attacks.
Whenever a squadmate hits an enemy with an attack, doing so will trigger a Sync Attack if there are any other squadmates who are able to hit the same target with their primary weapon from their current position. This means they need to be within the weapon’s range, and unless they’re using grenades or have another way to ignore obstacles, they need to be on the same elevation as the target and be able to see them.
A squadmate participating in a Sync Attack fires their primary weapon exactly as if they were making a regular attack with it, without having to spend an action to do so. Any applicable buffs, such as extra damage or bonus shots, are factored into the attack as well. If a character makes multiple attacks via Bonus Actions, each can trigger Synchronizations, and they can still participate in Synchronizations triggered by their allies later in the turn.
If a buff only applies to a single attack, a Sync Attack will cause it to expire after benefitting from it.
Important Things To Know About Synchronization
- When you’re setting up a Sync Attack, the extra damage dealt by participating allies is shown in purple on the enemy’s health bar.
- If a character’s primary weapon deals damage in an area, they can participate in a Sync Attack if the target is anywhere in the weapon’s blast radius.
- A character will make a Sync Attack even if they would also hit an ally. You can’t prevent a character from participating in a Sync Attack if they are eligible to do so.
- If an attack hits multiple targets, it can trigger multiple Sync Attacks from different allies, but each ally can only participate in one Synchronization per triggering attack.
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Desynchronization
Powerful enemies – usually bosses – have an effect called Desynchronization that triggers the first time they’re hit by a Sync Attack each round. It’s indicated by a purple shield next to their health bar.
A Desynchronized enemy cannot be hit by any more Sync Attacks until the next turn, limiting the amount of damage that you can do to them. You can still hit them with single attacks, but allies can only chip in once. Be sure to make that first Sync Attack count!
The Convoy Truck in some missions benefits from Desynchronizations, despite not being a boss.
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