Learn how to recruit allies in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. This guide covers capturing soldiers, special conditions for unique characters, and the benefits of each career type.
You cannot complete Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops without allies. Every mission features enemy soldiers, and you can only recruit them if they are alive. To recruit an enemy soldier, you must first knock them out, then drag them to the truck (or a cardboard box later in the game) before they regain consciousness. Once a soldier is captured, they will be held in prison on the Squad Management screen. From there, you can 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 will speed up this process.
Special conditions for recruitment:
- Rescued captured soldiers will join your unit immediately.
- Unique Characters can be recruited, but specific conditions must be met.
The following characters will join your unit immediately after capture or rescue:
- Jonathan
- Para-Medic
- Python
- Raikov
- Sigint
- Sokolov
- Eva
- Venus
- Teliko
- Gene (in EU version)
- Any soldier rescued during a mission
- Any soldier recruited via AP Scan
- Any soldier recruited via password (recommended only for the GAKO soldier and Zero if you don't own the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel)
- Any soldier who joins voluntarily through Cyber-Survival
Career Types:
| Career | Effect | Best Unit Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| Athlete | Faster movement speed | Infiltration Unit |
| Quarterback | Longer throwing distance | Infiltration Unit |
| Artist | Magazines have no effect | Online Unit |
| Scout | Faster stalking speed | Infiltration Unit |
| Rescuer | Faster dragging speed | Infiltration Unit |
| Gambler | Increases chance of hitting or being hit in weak spots | Cyber-Survival |
| Deliveryman | Can send items back to Campbell's truck | Infiltration Unit |
| Bait | Makes stronger enemies appear more often | Infiltration Unit |
| Stuntman | Quick recovery from knockouts | Online Unit |
| Surveyor | Increases detail on the stage map | Intelligence Unit |
| Spy/Agent | Decreases enemy life by 10% (also affects your recruits, use with caution) | Intelligence Unit |
| Arms Dealer | Increases chance of finding ammunition | Intelligence Unit |
| Arms Specialist | Increases the 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 |
| Nutritionist | 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 use them in Cyber-Survival mode, which requires a WLAN connection. The rules differ from the main game. After reading the rules, assign equipment to your unit and send them online. Check your unit's condition after 12 hours. If you lose, save the battle report to analyze what went wrong and how to improve your strategy. You may capture enemy soldiers in this mode, and some may even join you voluntarily or offer gifts. However, be cautious, as losing can result in your soldiers being captured by the enemy. Avoid sending your favorite soldiers into Cyber-Survival mode.
100% Human-Written. AI Fact-Checked. Community Verified. Learn how AntMag verifies content