Learn how to recruit allies in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. This guide covers capturing soldiers, special conditions, soldier careers, and Cyber-Survival mode.
You cannot complete Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops without allies. Every mission features enemy soldiers, and dead soldiers cannot be captured. To recruit an enemy soldier, you must first incapacitate them, then drag them to the truck (or a cardboard box later in the game) before they regain consciousness. After completing or aborting the mission, these soldiers will be held in prison on the Squad Management screen. While imprisoned, you can only view their skills, remove their equipment, rename them, or dispose of them. After a few in-game days, they will join your unit. Having a soldier with the 'Politician' career in your squad can speed up this process.
Special conditions for recruitment:
- Rescuing a captured soldier immediately recruits them to your unit.
- Unique Characters can be recruited, but specific conditions must be met.
The following characters will join your unit immediately after being captured or rescued:
- Jonathan
- Para-Medic
- Python
- Raikov
- Sigint
- Sokolov
- Eva
- Venus
- Teliko
- Gene (in the EU version)
- Any soldier rescued during a mission
- Any soldier acquired via AP Scan
- Any soldier recruited via password (recommended only for the GAKO soldier and Zero if you do not own the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel; all other soldiers are obtainable without passwords)
- Any soldier who joins voluntarily through Cyber-Survival
Soldier Careers:
Each soldier possesses a unique career that provides specific effects and determines the best unit for them:
| Career | Effect | Best unit to put |
|---|---|---|
| Athlete | Movement speed is faster | Infiltration Unit |
| Quarterback | Throwing distance is longer | Infiltration Unit |
| Artist | Magazine (book) has no effect | Online Unit |
| Scout | Stalking speed is faster | Infiltration Unit |
| Rescuer | Dragging movement speed is faster | Infiltration Unit |
| Gambler | Increases chance of hitting weak spot/getting hit in weak spot | Cyber-Survival |
| Deliveryman | Can send items back to Campbell's truck | Infiltration Unit |
| Bait | Makes strong enemies appear more often | Infiltration Unit |
| Stuntman | Quick recovery from knockouts | Online Unit |
| Surveyor | Increases detail in stage map | Intelligence Unit |
| Spy/Agent | Decreases enemy life (by 10%) Note! It will also decrease your recruits life, so use them with caution! | Intelligence Unit |
| Arms Dealer | Increases chance of finding ammunition | Intelligence Unit |
| Arms Specialist | Increases amount of ammunition that can be carried | Technical Unit |
| Elite engineer | Very high technical development skills | Technical Unit |
| Engineer | High technical development skills | Technical Unit |
| Chemist | Works on medicine development | Medical Unit |
| Doctor | Increases life recovery speed for your squad | Medical Unit |
| Nutrionist | Increases stamina recovery speed for your squad | Medical Unit |
| Politician | Prisoners become allies more easily | ANY UNIT |
Cyber-Survival Mode:
After recruiting allies, you can deploy them in Cyber-Survival mode, which requires access to a WLAN point. This mode has different rules than the main game. Assign equipment to your unit and send them online. Check their status after 12 hours. If you lose, save the battle report to identify mistakes and improve your strategy. You may capture enemy soldiers, and some may even join you voluntarily, sometimes offering a gift. However, be cautious, as losing can result in your soldiers being captured by the enemy. Avoid sending your favorite soldiers into Cyber-Survival mode.
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