Liquid-confined laser ablation was investigated with various metals of indium, aluminum, and nickel. Ablation threshold and rate were characterized in terms of surface deformation, transient acoustic responses, and plasma emissions. The surface condition affected the degree of ablation dynamics due to variations in reflectance. The liquid confinement yielded up to an order of larger ablation crater along with stronger acoustic transients than dry ablation. Enhanced ablation performance resulted possibly from effective coupling of optical energy at the interface during explosive vaporization, plasma confinement, and cavitation. The deposition of a liquid layer can induce more efficient ablation for laser metal processing.