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Ralf’s design in Metal Slug Tactics is Rocky meets Rambo, and that gives a pretty clear indicator of his playstyle. If you need to hit a target as hard as conceivably possible, he’s your man. Ralf is the game’s premiere single-target damage dealer, making him a perfect pick for tearing bosses to shreds.
Whether you’re deploying his big guns or his stone-shattering punches, Ralf is an incomparable short-range fighter with plenty of options for closing the distance to his next target. With the right setup, he’ll be the focal point of your strategy.
Ralf’s Core Abilities – Bursts And Bonuses
Unlike most other characters in the game, Ralf isn’t built around any key power. Instead, he relies on frequent Bonus Moves and Actions to strike repeatedly and from multiple angles. As the campaign goes on, he’ll eventually get access to powerful moves like Vulcan Punch, which has the Burst keyword.
Burst
While Burst isn’t exclusive to Ralf (Tarma makes use of it as well), the burly boxer makes the most use of it. Attacks with Burst remove any dodge that the character has built up and deal extra damage for every Dodge that was lost. It leaves Ralf vulnerable, but in most cases it’s a guaranteed kill. Using Burst attacks strategically is one of the best ways to get the most out of Ralf.
Ralf’s Special Actions
Apart from a few movement techniques designed to make sure he always has a target, Ralf’s Special Actions are all about dealing damage – usually lots of it, or to several enemies in one turn.
|
Name |
Cost |
Range |
Effect(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dynamite Punch |
4 |
1-4 |
Deals 3 damage to a single target within range. If the target dies, Ralf gets a Bonus Action. |
|
Explosive Strike |
7 |
Self |
Deals 4 damage to all targets within 2 spaces of Ralf. Ralf gains 1 Dodge for each target hit by Explosive Strike. Enemies hit are inflicted with Provocation and must attack Ralf on their turn if possible. |
|
Galactica Phantom |
4 |
1-6 |
Ralf charges in a straight line, up to Galactica Phantom’s range, until he hits a target, which he then deals 4 damage to. This attack ignores Cover. If the target dies, Ralf gains a Bonus Move. |
|
Jet Uppercut |
5 |
1-4 |
Moves a target that is adjacent to Ralf to an empty tile within range, and deals 4 damage to them. This attack ignores Cover. Ralf and any allies that contribute to a Sync Attack from this action get a Bonus Move. |
|
Overhead |
2 |
1-3 |
Moves Ralf to an empty tile within range. Ralf gains a Bonus Action. |
|
Power Surge |
6 |
1-4 |
Hits every target in a straight line from Ralf up to Power Surge’s maximum range, dealing 4 damage plus Burst. This attack ignores Cover. |
|
Vulcan Punch |
7 |
1 |
Deals 2 damage plus Burst, twice, to a single target within range. This attack ignores Cover. |
|
Warm-Up |
3 |
Self |
Ralf gains 2 Dodge and Escape, which allows him to keep his accumulated Dodge for the next turn. |
Special Actions become cheaper and more effective as they level up over the course of a run. That’s especially true of Vulcan Punch, which eventually adds more hits as well as damage.
Ralf Classic Loadout
Starting out with Ralf, you’ll need to make heavy use of Galactica Phantom to manage the extremely short range of his weapons. The Knife and Shotgun both have great damage ratings, but positioning is even more essential with this loadout than it is with most others.
Ralf’s Shotgun in this loadout only has six shells, so look for mods that increase its ammo capacity and take every opportunity to refill.
As long as you can keep getting full moves to keep Ralf’s Adrenaline up, Overhead can be useful for lining up charges and attacks.
Recommended Passives
- Team Player and Unstoppable let Ralf get more Adrenaline from participating in Sync Attacks and frags, respectively, which helps ensure he always has enough to power his Special Actions.
- Guerrilla gets Ralf a bonus move whenever he helps frag an adjacent enemy, which will be most of them, considering he has to do so with his knife.
- Parkour makes sure that Ralf can get where he needs to be for the perfect setup.
- Killing Spree increases Ralf’s damage for the rest of the turn when he contributes to a frag, which helps him rack up more subsequent kills.
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Power Up Loadout
Unlocked after you finish at least one run with Ralf, Power Up makes great use of his combo potential. As long as Ralf is able to consistently land hits and score kills, he gets more powerful as his turn goes on, allowing him to finish off multiple enemies or end the turn with a big finisher against a boss or elite.
The Brute Force Handgun has a middling range and damage, but grants Ralf 1 Dodge for every enemy it eliminates. This can be used defensively, but the real intent behind the weapon is to use it to build up a giant Burst with either Power Surge or Vulcan Punch.
Warm-Up lets you save Dodge from one turn to the next, potentially pushing that Burst attack even higher.
The Afterburn Rifle has the longest range out of Ralf’s weapons with an astonishing eight. It fires two rounds for three damage each, which is impressive on its own, but it becomes truly mighty when its Overtime ability triggers. If Ralf fires the weapon as a Bonus Action (a blue Action icon as opposed to an orange one), both bullets get +2 damage. If you can get more shots, like with Marco Salvo, those extra bullets get the bonus damage as well.
Power Up has a built-in method for getting Bonus Actions; just get a kill with Dynamite Punch, and the Afterburn will be ready to fire at full power.
Recommended Passives
- Deputy Commander adds Instigator to Dynamite Punch, which helps ensure that it will eliminate its target and trigger the Bonus Action.
- Versatility gives Ralf a Bonus Move along with every Bonus Action.
- Killing Spree adds a damage buff to Dynamite Punch’s growing list of rewards.
- Parkour remains one of the most overall useful Passives in the entire game, greatly increasing Ralf’s movement range overall.
Remote Punches Loadout
If you’ve already got a melee character on the team but want to bring Ralf along, Remote Punches makes him great for supporting fire. The Flying Punch grenades don’t have area damage, but have Impressive built in at level 2, which saves you from having to hunt down a valuable mod.
Grenades in general have some great modification options, so you can really make some fun builds with this loadout depending on what you find. Save those coins for Rumi’s Shop between regions!
The Punchpacker Grenade Launcher, by contrast, has a very large AoE, though this does mean you’ll have to be careful not to accidentally blast your squadmates or blow up useful cover. When in doubt, there’s always Dynamite Punch!
Recommended Passives
- Team Player and Unstoppable make good use of this loadout’s penchant for Sync Attacks by using them to generate extra Adrenaline.
- Killing Spree can be used to build up extra damage on Punchpacker, allowing for a massive bombardment at the end of the turn.
- Versatility combos with Dynamite Punch to get extra movement, which can benefit even further from Parkour.
Tag Team Loadout
Tag Team plays very similarly to Ralf Classic, but has a bit more versatility at the cost of slightly lower damage overall. The Punisher only deals four damage to the Knife’s five, but it hits two targets instead of one. The Inferno flamethrower has a longer range than the Shotgun, leaves flames in its wake, and can help save Adrenaline if you get the entire squad to attack together thanks to its Max Sync ability.
Recommended Passives
- Use Team Player and Unstoppable to build up Adrenaline for high-cost Special Actions as quickly as possible, then get the cost refunded with the Motivation trigger from Max Sync.
- Guerrilla works well with Ralf’s Synchronizations thanks to the Punisher’s melee range. The Bonus Move is even more efficient with Parkour.
- Max Speed can help build up Dodge for Vulcan Punch or Power Surge, especially if Ralf is able to neutralize any threats during his turn.
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