Battle Tactics

**Battle Tactics** is a game mode introduced as a part of *Metal Slug Attack*'s 7.0.1 update. Decks are drafted together from a limited selection of units, and then sent into AI controlled battles. The best picks win the day, and at the end of each season,  **Medals** and  **Tactics Coins** are distributed according to the number of victories each player achieved.

The coins can be spent through the associated Battle Tactics Shop to unlock and upgrade Supporters, units which offer unique skills and abilities.

Participating in a Battle Tactics match is a Daily Quest, awarding  1,000 upon completion. Additional coins are likewise distributed throughout each season just for playing.

Battle Tactics mode has ended on January 1, 2023 (GMT+9).

## Gameplay

Before starting a battle, each day a player must draft a new deck. Each season consists of fourteen days, with five chances per day, resetting at 00:00 JST. This totals to seventy battles per season.

There are five available times in which Battle Tactics can be played, all of which are one hour before the Rank Match times:

* 03:00-03:59
* 07:00-07:59
* 11:00-11:59
* 17:00-17:59
* 21:00-21:59

For each of the ten possible slots the game will offer a choice of three random categories, and then from within those, a choice of three actual units. The pools of units available varies from season to season - refer here for current and past lists. The category is only offered if there are at least three units fitting the criteria; if there aren't, then the option is not available.

Apart from seasons 1 and 2, units from the previous section carry over to the next one which also introduces newer units alongside them. Therefore, units introduced into the mode last for roughly two seasons before they're removed from the roster.

An ideal deck should consist of at least one or two <200 AP melee openers, one 100-200 mid-backup melee, one 200-300 follow-up to that (if possible) and the remaining slots should be filled with high damage/utility units. Each season has particularly useful newly introduced units which should be acquired at all costs due to their extreme versatility. While they'll still be present in the next season, they may be less effective than they used to be.

 Medium AP
 High AP
 Stagger
 Stun
 Silence
 Evasion
 Rare Skill
 Faction Specific
 Random

Any unit available in the pools presented may be used regardless as to whether they've actually been unlocked or not, and all are provided at platinum, level 50, with all standard equip Items in place, and with all skills unlocked. Status Strengthening items are not currently in use. Assault Boost items do not apply at all.

Once all ten deck slots are allocated, the player is prompted to pick a selection of three random Supporter characters and their Support System. As of season 4, players are allowed two supporters. New supporters that arrive in the middle of a season (as a result of updates) are available to be chosen if they're pulled from the pool.

The support system can be changed prior to starting a match. If a player is left unsatisfied with the resulting deck, it can be re-drafted one additional time a day to potentially make it better, although there's always the risk of no change or even it being worse. Redrafts are only recommended when most of the deck is unfeasible, either as a result of incompatible units or particularly poor offerings. Decks are automatically cleared at midnight JST.

With a finalized deck, players can then participate in the mode via the Battle button. The game automatically matches them together and puts their drafts under AI control. The match is played out PvP style, meaning that base health percentage determines the winner of the match; if both are equal, it's counted as a loss for both players.

If a battle extends outside the session's time slot or the player disconnects, the match will not appear in the records and the chance is not refunded. Therefore, it is highly encouraged to play with a stable connection to minimize the chance of disconnecting, not intentionally disconnect in a match and avoid playing in the last 6 minutes of the session (in the event of a stall-out).

## Supporters

The main purpose of Battle Tactics is to unlock Supporters for use in other game modes. Support characters do not deploy in the same manner as regular units, instead offering additional support abilities (akin to the Support Systems provided by your base), as well as passive assist skills.

Supporters can be used by all players regardless of faction type - mixing them doesn't prevent the 10% HP bonus effect granted for using a full deck of "normal" units of the one faction, nor the use of Ultimate Skills. Supporters can be used in most game modes, including PvP activities, with a cap of three. They cannot be used in Battle and Team Battle modes.

The Battle Tactics Shop offers 500  **Souls** for each supporter, and 100 are needed for each evolution frame. Like normal units, frames increase the effectiveness of the supporter; higher frames reduce AP cost. Unique to supporters only, higher frames also increases the level cap by 5 and also grants an additional use of the supporter's primary effect. Therefore, prioritizing levels are recommended over item equips.

Supporter-specific equip items can also be purchased, and are used both to reduce ability cooldown times, unlock additional passive skills and also reduce their initial charge time. An episode is unlocked upon acquiring the supporter and four additional episodes are also unlocked at levels 35, 40, 45 and 50.

Supporter levels cost  (1,000 **Support EXP** each or 3,000 for Fio/Scotia's case) and improve the power of active support abilities. Passive skill levels cost the same.

## Rewards

### Battle Count

Players who win a Battle Tactics match obtain 2,000  **Support EXP**, while a loss or draw still nets 1,000. Additionally,  **Tactics Coins** milestone prizes are also awarded just for playing certain numbers of battles throughout each season:

### Season Results

At the end of each season (lasting approximately two weeks), additional rewards are handed out according to the total number of victories each player achieved.

## Battle Tactics Shop

 **Tactics Coins** can be spent in the game's shop to help strengthen supporters in battle.

### Items

Equip Items are required to unlock each supporter's full repertoire of skills, which also increases their production rate and recharge time so they can be deployed faster. Check your supporters in Build Up to see which items they each require.

### Support EXP

 **Support EXP** is used to increase the level of each supporter's skills and abilities. You'll earn EXP naturally while playing Battle Tactics, so only buy it if you're sure you'll have no other use for your Tactics Coins.

### Souls

 **Souls** are required to unlock and evolve supporters, much as  **Parts** are used for regular Units. Evolving a supporter reduces their AP cost, increases its maximum level as well as the number of times it can be deployed within each battle. Every evolution requires 100 souls, so take the cheapest deals first. Souls that were purchased in the previous season, will be restocked/refreshed in the next season. The maximum amount of souls that can be purchased for a supporter at any given time is 500, to which the souls will be no longer purchaseable for said supporter, as they will already attain the platinum frame and be at max level.

Only Hyakutaro, Allen and Mars People are available from the shop; the remaining supporters are initially bought as pre-acquisition units. After the 30 days pass since debut, they'll be put into a Supporter Crank.

## Notes

* While the units currently lack Status Strengthening, the game mode does not account for 6.0 stat balancing changes, even though their debut stats were significantly lower.
* Following the end-of-service announcement with the release of 7.13.0, Battle Tactics' rewards were changed, with the victories at the end of the season tripling the medals and battle coins gained.