Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Game Guide - Page 19

Chapter 2 - Metal Gear Online

The Metal Gear experience doesn’t end even after your first, second, or thirteenth playthrough of the single-player game. Metal Gear Solid 4 features a solid multiplayer component that should feel familiar for Metal Gear veterans while still offering something brand new. This section provides tips on Metal Gear Online, including coverage of skills and game types as well as strategies for conquering the online competition.

Skills

After registering and selecting your name and appearance, you’ll notice the first difference between Metal Gear single-player and online: the player skills. You can choose up to four skill points for your character and you can change these before a game if you’d rather mix it up; so when making your initial selection, don’t worry you can always change it later.

The table below reveals the available player skills and the corresponding description.

SKILL	DESCRIPTION
Handgun+	Skill wielding handguns. Reduces recoil when firing and decreases reload time.
SMG+	Skill wielding submachine guns. Reduces recoil when firing and decreases reload time.
Assault Rifle+	Skill wielding assault rifles. Reduces recoil when firing and decreases reload time.
Shotgun+	Skill wielding shotguns. Reduces recoil when firing and makes reloading and pump action faster.
Sniper Rifle+	Skill wielding sniper rifles. Reduces recoil when firing and makes reloading and bolt action faster.
Hawkeye	Increases the zoom rate when aiming weapons in First Person View (Does not affect zoom rate when using a scope).
Surveyor	Extends the maximum lock-on distance.
Quarterback	Skill wielding throwing weapons. Enables you to throw farther.
Trickster	Skill wielding traps. Enables you to set up traps more quickly.
CQC+	Close quarters combat skill. Press and hold the R1 button to use CQC against nearby enemies. Can capture and use advanced CQC.
Blades+	Skill wielding knives. Raising this skill enables faster knife attacks. Can move during knife attack.
Runner	Level of agility. Increases movement speed.
Monomania	Displays enemies you’ve attacked. Can share data through SOP. Increasing skill increases display time.
Sixth Sense	Displays nearby traps. Can share data through SOP. Increasing skill increases display range.
Narc	Displays attacking enemy when locked-on and damage is taken. Can share data through SOP. Increasing skill increases display time.
Scanner	Skill needed: CQC+. Press the triangle button to inject Scanning Plus S into a captured enemy and display link info. Can share data through SOP. Item needed: Scanning Plug S. Increasing skill adjusts scanning time.

Skills will increase over time as they are used (as long as they’re currently selected). For instance, to increase your assault rifle skill, just use assault rifles. Running around a map (remember upright, not crouching or crawling, which poses a problem since running around upright is not advisable) will increase your running skill. Bolster your trickster skill by placing traps. Your skills will increase gradually from normal play but if you join "shotgun-only" or "CQC-only" games then you will obviously find those skills increasing quickly because of the limited game options—when you can only fire shotguns then expect the skill to rise!

Obviously you should utilize a weapon skill based on your preferred weapon selection. Assault rifles and snipers seem to be the most popular online, although shotguns can be highly effective for a sneakier player. The benefits of increasing a weapon skill are apparent in a one-on-one firefight. For example, if two players are unloading an assault rifle at one another, the one with the higher assault rifle skill will reload faster. While one player is stuck reloading, the higher skilled player is already done and firing.

Monomania is arguably the best SOP-related skill (which means sharing data with your teammates). Hitting an enemy with a single bullet can reveal that enemy’s position making it easier for you or your teammates to find and eliminate him. It’s also a good combination with CQC. Strike that enemy with a weapon from long-range to reveal the enemy’s position then hide and sneak up for a CQC kill. Even a sniper will find it useful—you can spot the enemy if you don’t score a one-kill headshot and may be able to follow up (or alert your teammates to a wounded enemy). It’s not a bad idea for most of your team to have monomania as a selected skill.

Tip: A sneakier player may prefer a shotgun, blades, monomania, CQC combination. Take cover and wait for enemy players to move near and unload a shotgun or employ a knife CQC maneuver. Increasing the CQC skill increases the rate at which you choke out an enemy. Combining a maximum blades skill with a level 1 CQC adds a new devastating kill move. You can use a handgun to fire from long-range to use monomania to pinpoint an enemy’s location giving you a chance to sneak up for a close-range attack.

Skill selection is certainly personal preference but you should concentrate on increasing your most used skills and get them to the higher levels. You won’t gain any enhancements if you are switching around frequently, which means skills are gradually increasing at a slow rate.

You will also achieve certain ranks online depending on your statistics. The chart below reveals the ranks and the requirements.

RANK	REQUIREMENT
Bear	Utilize many CQC attacks.
Bee	Frequent scanner uses.
Chimera	Many sniper kills.
Crocodile	Excellent kill death ratio.
Eagle	High percentage of headshots.
Flying Squirrel	High percentage of rolling.
Jaws	Many knife kills.
Kerotan	Prefers Capture rules.
Night Owl	Use the ENVG frequently.
Pigeon	Prefers non-lethal attacks.
Rat	Falls for many traps.
Sloth	Receives a lot of headshots.
Snake	Prefers Sneaking rules.
Turtle	Uses the cardboard box frequently.

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