Marco Rossi was the original playable character in the very first Metal Slug game, so it’s only natural that he’s the first soldier you recruit in Metal Slug Tactics. While he certainly has an arsenal worthy of his run-and-gun arcade legacy, Marco’s true strength in this spinoff is as a team leader, coordinating synchronized strikes against targets for maximum damage.
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Marco is a team player, but he’s still Player One, the star of the show. With the support of his squadmates, he can dish out some really remarkable hits against regular enemies and bosses alike, regardless of his loadout.
Marco’s Core Abilities – Efficiency And Determination
Marco has two Passive Abilities that are unique to him and present in all of his builds. They work in tandem to let him unleash a barrage of Special Actions at a much higher rate than other characters, provided he’s working together with his squad.
Determination reduces the Adrenaline cost of all Marco’s Special Actions by one each time he contributes to a Sync Attack. Each Action’s discount is tracked separately, and can go to a minimum of zero. When Marco uses a Special Action at its discounted cost, it resets afterward, but can be reduced again by later Determination triggers.
Efficiency grants Marco a Bonus Action whenever he uses a Special Action whose Adrenaline Cost is zero. This means if you can bring most or all of his skills down to the point where they’re free, you can activate them one after the other, all on the same turn!
Marco’s Special Actions
So, what are those powers that you’ll potentially be popping off for free? Marco has a host of attack and support options available.
|
Name |
Cost |
Range |
Effect(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alice Activation |
3 |
1-4 |
Activates an interactive element, such as a crane or empty vehicle, within range. If used on a vehicle, Alice pilots the vehicle for two turns. |
|
Boost |
3 |
5 |
Target ally within range gains 2 Adrenaline and Motivation, which refunds the Adrenaline cost of their next Special Action. |
|
Forced March |
3 |
5 |
An ally within range gets a Bonus Move. Leveling up this skill lets it target more allies. |
|
Get Back Here |
4 |
2-6 |
Choose an ally within range and move them to an empty space adjacent to Marco, then grant that ally a Bonus Move. |
|
Knucklebox |
4 |
1-4 |
Deals 3 damage to a single target within range. |
|
Marco Salvo |
3 |
4 |
Applies the Marco Salvo buff to an ally within range, which causes their next weapon attack to fire an additional shot. |
|
Ricochet |
6 |
1-4 |
Deals 4 damage to a target within range, then deals 4 damage to a second target within 1-4 tiles of the first. |
|
Tactical Strike |
12 |
2-8 |
Deals 8 damage to everything in a 3×3 area, centered on a tile within range. |
Try using a Strategic Asset to summon a Metal Slug, then use Alice Activation to power it up without having one of your squadmates pilot it.
Marco Classic Loadout
Marco’s standard kit isn’t anything flashy, but it certainly gets the job done. Its Handgun and Machine Gun offer decent damage that can handle most situations, and as long as Marco is contributing to Sync Attacks frequently, he’ll be able to buff himself with Marco Salvo to get an extra shot every other round at the slowest.
It can be worth picking up an attack Special Action like Ricochet or Knucklebox to trigger Syncs with; that way, Marco can save his extra shot from Marco Salvo for when he contributes to other characters’ Syncs. Alternately, he can give the Marco Salvo bonus to someone else to double down on a Grenade Launcher or melee strike!
Recommended Passives
- Team Leader helps increase the team’s overall Adrenaline, letting other characters use their own abilities more often as well. It also helps Marco use expensive powers like Tactical Strike in longer battles against bosses.
- Feedback grants extra damage when Marco Salvo expires; if you re-apply Marco Salvo before the damage boost goes away, you can get extra shots and extra damage!
- Audacity randomly reduces a single Special Action’s cost each round, which can help trigger Efficiency more often.
- Versatility grants Marco a Bonus Move each time he gets a Bonus Action, making Efficiency a one-stop shop.
Explosive Leader Loadout
Explosive Leader plays very similarly to Marco Classic, but specializes more in fighting bosses and taking advantage of elevation. Marco Salvo is still key to this loadout’s strategy, but instead of bullets you’ll be hurling bombs.
The Focused Blast Grenade doesn’t have an AoE, instead hitting a single target. However, it ignores obstacles and can attack different elevations, and deals double damage to vehicles and obstacles. That includes most of the game’s enormous mechanized bosses, so getting an extra grenade with Marco Salvo effectively quadruples the damage against them.
The Double-S is a Grenade Launcher with an S-shaped blast pattern. It also ignores obstacles when firing, but doesn’t get the damage bonus against vehicles. You can change its AoE shape by applying mods that you find as mission rewards.
Recommended Passives
- Transmission gives Marco a damage buff every time he gets a Bonus Action, usually from Efficiency. Combine it with Feedback to put up some impressive numbers with this loadout’s weapons.
- Thick Skin gives Marco extra Dodge each time he gets a Bonus Move or Bonus Action, which can help him stay alive since he’ll be fighting at a closer range than usual.
- As with the previous loadout, Versatility and Audacity play into Marco’s core strengths extremely well.
All-Out Syncs Loadout
Both of Marco’s weapons in the All-Out Syncs loadout have the Max Syncs ability, which allows him to refund the cost of his next Special Action if he triggers a Sync Attack with two or more allies. It works well with teammates like Leona or Nadia, who can summon temporary support troops to the field.
Marco’s Special Weapon in this build, the Flatline, is a laser rifle; it hits everything in a line, friend or foe. That makes it great for triggering Sync Attacks, but if you aren’t careful it can destroy cover or detonate explosive barrels.
Instead of Marco Salvo, All-Out Syncs starts with Ricochet, giving Marco an additional attack option that’s great for firing around corners.
Recommended Passives
- Deputy Commander grants Ricochet the Instigator ability, which lets allies deal extra damage on Sync Attacks triggered by it. This also applies to Knucklebox or Tactical Strike if Marco learns them during the campaign.
- Team Leader and Audacity help defray the higher cost of Ricochet and, if you gain access to it, Tactical Strike.
- Optimized Algorithm lets you use your more expensive Special Actions without resetting their costs until you get them to zero and trigger Efficiency.
On The Edge Loadout
On The Edge provides more opportunities to trigger Sync Attacks, and by extension Determination, by giving Marco a Handgun that fires ahead and behind simultaneously and a Flamethrower for spray shots. The drawback, of course, is that your positioning needs to be spot-on, or you risk catching teammates in the fire as well.
This loadout starts with Knucklebox, which admittedly isn’t as impressive as many of Marco’s other Special Actions, but it does give you an option for hitting single targets without any risk if your other attacks would inflict friendly fire.
Recommended Passives
- Field Dressing can help patch up allies by healing them whenever Marco targets them with a Special Action, which is especially helpful if you nick them with the Double Flick Handgun.
- Deputy Commander can be used to grant Knucklebox Instigator, greatly increasing its damage output if it triggers a Sync Attack.
- Perpetual Motion takes advantage of Marco’s greater attack range with this loadout, letting you trigger Sync Attacks while buffing allies.
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