Full Strategy Guide - Guide for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Full Strategy Guide by Absolute Steve

Introduction

Metal Gear Solid 5 is the long awaited finale of the great series you've come to
love. The year is 1984 and the game follows Big "Venom Snake" Boss as he travels
to Africa and Afghanistan to search to search those who are responsible for almost
wiping out his forces as seen in the ending scene of Ground Zeroes. The gameplay
elements of Phantom Pain are similar to Ground Zeroes and players will have to
sneak into key locations while roaming a vast open world map, and simultaneously
build an army and their own advanced military base.

MGS5 is a complex and dynamic game, definitely deserving of a guide. Due to the
sheer dynamic gameplay, this guide has an extensive basics section. Even if you
plan on playing the game without a walkthrough on your first playthrough, it is
highly recommended to take in these general tips, some of which may actually teach
you new, lifesaving abilities.
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Basics
General Basics

Game Difficulty

Metal Gear Solid 5 features a dynamic difficulty with intelligent AI - enemy
movements and patrols are never entirely fixated to preset paths. To make this a
little more concrete and comprehensible, it also means the game will adapt
depending on your (consequent) actions. If you continuously opt for high-power
Rambo-style action strategies, you may face guards and enemies with better
protective armor, to name just one example. If you're very good at headshots and
utilize the option often, guards could end up wearing protective headgear more often.
Dynamic Walkthrough:

Directly related to the dynamic difficulty of the game, a full step-by-step
walkthrough simply isn't feasible. Instead, this guide provides a more dynamic
approach to the game, where bullet points, general strategies and directions, and
key item highlights are favored. For the first few missions, more prescriptive
instructions are given to help you get on your way, but as you advance through the
game, it simply isn't necessary (nor possible) any longer to guide you
step-by-step through small enemy outposts, as you'll have captured them in the
time it took to read those very paragraphs prescribing how to do it. In short;
prescriptive details in the early stages of the walkthrough, and much more
descriptive and informative approaches going forward.
Don't Stress It!

There are two very important points to be made that might just help you relax more
while playing MGS5. First of all, there is no ultimate reward or trophy for
completely beating the gaming in full stealth. Yes, mission ratings are affected
by Alert or Combat statuses, but it's entirely possible to even beat missions with
such negatives, simply by speeding through and making no casualties, to name just
the most important beneficial factors here. In short, don't stress out if you do
something wrong. Instead try and make the best out of the mission when something
goes wrong anyway. Trust your intuitions.

The second point is: you often cannot complete all mission objectives during your
first try. Indeed, some mission targets only appear after completing a mission
(only mandatory mission objectives appear initially). Furthermore, some objectives
require special upgrades that are obtained later in the game, such as an upgraded
Fulton device (a parachute device for extracting not only people, but for example
also heavier objects such as vehicles). This guide will however provide notes when
an initially hidden optional mission objective can be done right away.
Nonetheless, many optional objectives are truly hard without the proper gear and
equipment. It is sometimes better to wait and progress a little to avoid wasting
precious time.
Mission Preparation:

When you depart for a mission (apart from the first two) you can select your
loadout. You can hold two Primary Weapons (one on the hip such as Shotguns,
Grenade Launchers and Assault Rifles; plus one on the back such as Sniper Rifles,
Rocket Launchers and Machine Guns). You can only hold one Secondary Weapon (Gun)
plus a Prosthetic Arm. Support Weapons have eight slots, as do Items. The access
controls on the D-pad for weapons are Up for Primary, Down for Secondary, Right
for Support, and Left for Items. Holding the direction allows you to select a
slot, tapping will perform a quick swap.

- It's wise to always have a Tranq. Gun as Secondary Weapon. As Primary Weapon, an
Assault Rifle with suppressor is usually a good idea, as is having a Sniper Rifle
(a little further on in the game). Switching your Assault Rifle for a Shotgun can
be wise if you expect tricky combat situations. As a side note, it's good to know
you cannot use your Primary Weapon while holding a body (of an enemy, a prisoner,
and so on), but only your Secondary Weapon.

- Later in the game you can also deploy vehicles. Furthermore, your relation with
buddies such as D-horse becomes more important, and equipment can be bought for
them, gaining them protective advantages.
Mission Ratings:

Although this guide will delve deeper into the exact mechanics of mission ratings,
for starters it's very useful to know that the most important factor by far is
speed, meaning a fast completion time of the mission. This outranks almost all
other factors. Another important factor is how many optional mission objectives
you complete; but these aren't always possible during a first playthrough (which
is fine). Besides these factors, it definitely helps if you're stealthy too,
triggering no enemy alerts. Lastly, an important factor is non-lethality. Stun
enemies or put them to sleep with tranquilizer darts instead of brutally wasting
them. Besides, aren't you supposed to build your own army in MGS5? Indeed you are,
and what good are dead bodies to you in that regard? In any case, don't pay too
much attention to mission scores and just try and do your best. You, or the
perfectionists among you (and I know you're out there), will come back to master
all missions eventually anyway. Won't you?
Exploration:

During but especially outside of missions you're free to explore large portions of
the map. Your iDroid marks outposts and other points of interest with numbers. Be
sure to explore these areas as you pass them. Usually some loose materials can be
found, sometimes even more valuable items. Any enemies you defeat can be extracted
with a Fulton device, so it's a good way to build your army too. In fact, as long
as you explore outposts you normally come across while travelling between mission
objectives, your item supplies should sufficiently be restocked at all times. This
is vital for upgrading your equipment and the Mother Base. There's usually an
outpost or something else between mission objectives, simply due to there being
various placements alongside main roads. Speaking of enemies, keep your eyes open
for vehicles or sole wanderers, usually near main roads; they can often be taken
out with great ease approaching them from behind.

- Whenever you're riding your horse or vehicle on the vast map in MGS5, keep your
eyes open for anything colorfol that shoots by, and let your intuitions do their
work. Think you saw a colorful plant? Go inspect it.
Fast Travel:

Like with previous games, again you can board vehicles by using a cardboard box
and placing yourself on a so-called delivery point. For this to work you also need
an invoice, a special item that you should look for when infiltrating enemy bases.
The more you've collected, the easier it becomes to travel around; in fact, truck
delivery is the fastest way of transport. The second fastest is calling a chopper,
which takes a few minutes, but will still outbeat riding to far off places yourself.
Recon:

It's almost always essential to try and find a high vantage point overlooking an
enemy base allowing you to scan the vicinity and mark enemies (see also Marking
People).
Side Ops:

In contrast with at least some optional (initially hidden) main mission
objectives, Side Ops are small mini missions (often extraction related ones) that
are unlocked as you progress, and can almost always be done fairly easily. In
short, try to tackle as many of them as they become available. Why wait when you
don't have to? Better yet, keep track of where Side Ops are located on your iDroid
Map and complete them when you're already nearby, or alternatively, when you're
roughly headed in their direction for your next main mission objective. This can
save you precious (real life) time.
Mother Base:

Again, this is a subject that will be covered in much greater detail of this
guide. For now it is important to know that the Mother Base Management Game is
actually a vital part of the game as a whole. You will need specialised equipment
for later missions, so (virtually) attend the Mother Base via your iDroid
regularly after you've completed mission 2.
Health System:

The healthy system in MGS5 is different from earlier games in the series. Instead
of a health bar, the developers have opted for 'Call of Duty' approach, where the
screen is covered with blood around the edges and becomes distorted in general as
you take damage. To heal, find some cover so enemies can not longer hit you, and
stay still to regain strength. You can always heal back to 100% health.
Swapping Weapons & Items:

In the lower right of the screen, your currently equipped weapon is shown. You can
switch weapons by using/tapping the directional pad (D-pad). Up is for primary
weapons, down for secondary weapons, left is for items and right is for support
weapons such as grenades, throwable magazines, etc.
Marking People:

MGS5 features an entirely new system of marking people, mostly enemies but also
friendlies, animals and heavy weaponry or vehicles, allowing you to keep track of
all important persons and objects in your surroundings. In order to mark someone
or something, simply look at them through your binoculars (you must be properly
zoomed in if the enemy or object in question is very far away, since you wouldn't
factually 'see' them otherwise).

- Once marked, a red triangle appears over enemies' heads (green for friendlies),
or a white square above objects, along with the distance in meters that they are
away from you (yes, the Metric System owns, deal with it). You'll also be pleased
to hear that marked enemies/objects/etc stay marked even when you restart the game
from a checkpoint. Marked enemies can be spotted even through walls, potentially
even observing which direction they're facing greatly allowing you to plan your
next stealth moves. Whenever a guard spots Snakes' suspicious movements, he'll go
investigate. During this time, the red triangle will blink until they are done
with their investigation, lost their suspicion and went back to their regular
patrol or guardpost.
Collecting Resources:

MGS5 values the economic sphere so much, that everything natural has become a
'resource' - pretty much as in real life, then. Even people, animals and plants
(for example Golden Crescent, to turn into tranquilizer rounds) have economical
value and you can 'extract' them whenever you want, using a Fulton device in the
case of larger animals and people. With an upgrade later in the game you can even
extract vehicles and large containers with raw materials. In the field you'll also
often find processed materials (metal, fuel, biological material), which are also
found by your troops when they're sent on virtual Combat Deployment missions, so
you should always have recruits do two missions - the maximum allowed - at all
times.. Sometimes you'll also find Casette Tapes in the field, which are usually
music tapes. It's a smart idea to play storyline tapes when you're making a long
journey or fiddling with iDroid's endless menu options, because you're never going
to get through the heap otherwise.

- The currency in MGS5 is GMP (Gross Military Product). You get more of it by
completing missions, finding Rough Diamonds, or sending recruits on Combat
Employment missions. GMP is used in Mother Base operations, and you need it for
expansions, equipment upgrades, field deliveries and so on.
Time in MGS5:

One minute in-game takes three seconds in real life. You do the math; that's 36
minutes real life time for 12 hours (or a full switch to day/night). Daytime
starts at 06:00 and ends at 18:00 when the night kicks in. You can manipulate time
and speed it up with the Phantom Cigar - what's in that thing!?
'Cheating' is Allowed:

If you can't seem to get past that annoying sentry, or really want to burn a place
down after being killed for the n-th time, you can use the Chicken Hat or call for
air fire support respectively. The Chicken Hat is available after restarting from
a checkpoint three times. It gives you invisibility for up to three times, meaning
you can walk into an enemy's line of vision three times during a mission and you
won't be seen. This automatically reduces your mission's rank to a maximum of A,
but hey, you'll max it to S later, right? The same applies for fire support. You
can change the weather, bomb an area, use sleeping gas or smoke, but again, the
max score will be an A.
Field Objects and Miscellaneous:

There are various objects and interesting field cues that are worth going over
briefly. For example, many objects can be destroyed such as Radio Transmitters
(inside buildings, various devices with blue lights - shoot them with a regular
weapon to interfere radio signals), Communication Equipment (sattelite dishes,
destroy with explosives to again interfere with radio contact), Anti-Air Radars
(unlocks new landing zones for your chopper), Power Generators (either turn off or
destroy to cut electricity to lights and security camera's - destroying it will
trigger an alert), or Lights (most of them can be shot, but not with tranq. darts).

- Be on the lookout for red explosive barrels. You'll want to stay away from these
in heavy combat situations, but you can use them to your advantage if all hell has
broken loose already.

- Rough Diamonds come in two versions, 10000 GMP and 100000 GMP. They can be found
on various locations and can be spotted by their glimmer. If you're lucky, guards
tell you where they can be found during interrogation.

- Be on the lookout for cracks in rocky places; you can climb these, often allow
you to reach a place faster, or at least giving you a nice vantage point.

- Items you can find are Casette Tapes (collectibles), Blueprints (for specific
development projects), Posters (collectibles), Invoices (for fast travel), Intel
Files (mission objectives), Medicinal Plants, Weapons and Ammunition, Processed
Materials, Raw Materials (in huge containers) and the aforementioned Rough Diamonds.

Fulton Extraction:

As mentioned at various other points, the Fulton extraction device is your primary
means of building an army, but also for extracting large wild animals and even
vehicles and heavy weaponry (after an essential Fulton extraction device upgrade).
Small animals can be captured with cages.
Stealth Ops

Sneaking around:

Your basic stance and way of movement whenever there's a possibility that enemies
are nearby - such as during missions or near or in enemy villages or outposts -
should be crouched/crouch-walking. Take as an indicative radius 85 - 115 meters.
If enemies are below that, definitely adopt a crouched stance, especially at
daylight (the night is somewhat more forgiving). This significantly reduces the
risk of enemies immediately spotting you. If they notice your presence at all,
it'll be a minor or major suspicion (see below, under white suspicion icon).
Obviously you can improve stealth even further if you crawl, especially when
you're in shadows or grass. Especially during daytime it is an important way of
getting around enemy territory. The ultimate stealth move is playing dead while
laying in a grassy area.

- Needless to say, sprinting is the most visible and loudest way of getting
around. Only do so when you know you're alone with no one around, or if you're in
Reflex Mode (see below) to try and reach a guard in a swift movement. Regular
running is best when you are approaching an enemy base, but are still sufficiently
far away. Do be careful; snipers or enemies on high vantage points might be able
to spot you running.

- Enemies you knock out or put to sleep can and will wake up after a while, but as
long as you've moved on to the next area, this shouldn't be much of a problem,
provided the awoken enemies don't spot any bodies of their friends.

- Don't place knocked-out/sleeping enemies' bodies next to each other. One of them
will likely wake up sooner than the other(s) and notice their ally/allies' bodies,
immediately prompting an alert status. To prevent this, hide bodies separate and
relatively far away from each other, at dark places behind rocks or other things;
as long as they're out of sight. The best way to hide bodies is inside portable
toilets or dumpsters. Enemies hidden there will not wake up unless you get them out.
Stun/Sleep Duration:

Despite being somewhat counter-intuitive, and somewhat in contrast with earlier
installments of the Metal Gear Solid series, tranquilized enemies don't stay down
the longest. In fact, there's a hierarchy for the duration of how long enemies
stay out. A throw on the ground, followed by a throw against a wall will leave an
enemy out for a fairly short time. After this comes the tranquilized/sleeping
enemy. Guards that are choked stay out a little longer than that, but the longest
incapacitation period comes from a full five-hit close quarters combo, knocking
out your opponent for quite some time.

- A tranquilizer hit to an unprotected head guarantees an immediate takedown. If
you hit an enemy's body, it takes several rounds. Firing your darts in rapid
succession speeds up the takedown process and does not involve any risk in raising
the alert status (unless you are literally seen, but not by the darts themselves).
Do be careful with regards to your suppressor (indicated by the bar under your
weapon), which early on will break quite fast.

- Even through tranquilizer darts don't provide the longest incapacitation period,
they have one distinct advantage over stunning enemies: when they come by, they
won't report in (if they haven't seen you prior to the takedown). This makes
sense. A stunned enemy, no matter how you put it, has noticed your presence. A
tranquilized guard hasn't necessarily seen you, although if he has (as in,
triggering Reflex Mode, not a mere suspicion), they too will of course call in an
alert status when they come by. Nonetheless, it's something to keep in mind.

- If you need to wake an enemy (for interrogation, or to repeat the process of
stunning him anew), press R2 (PS4) or RT (Xbox) (or R1 on PS3) when standing near
their body. For interrogation, aim your weapon at them.
Day/Night:

It matters a great deal whether it's day or night. For starters, more guards are
asleep during the night, so enemy patrols are lighter. Of course, initially
enemies will see you less well in the night, but due to the adaptive difficulty,
they will often wear nightvision later in the game if you mostly operate at night
(so it's a good idea to do the first few missions, which are relatively easy, at
day). In general, don't wait for the night to fall for a mission, unless this
guide explicitly tells you to or if you think you have reasons to do so (if you
keep failing a certain tactic you want to get right).

Field Movements:

There are various ways to get around in MGS5, some of which are very obvious, such
as taking cover (simply hug walls or flat surfaces), stepping over small
obstacles, hanging from ledges, unlocking doors and so on. More advanced moves are
the quick dive (Square on PS, X on Xbox; it's good for quick stealth when you're
about to be noticed), sliding down ladders (X on PS, A on Xbox), using cardboard
boxes, or luring enemies through locked doors (rarely useful). You should also
learn to use the directional microphone on your binoculars to your advantage. It
allows you not only to overhead conversations every now and then, but can also
pinpoint sounds (and thus enemies) behind walls or buildings.

White Suspicion Icon:

Whenever Big Boss raises an enemy's suspicion (whether by visual contact or
noise), a white halo-like shade or icon appears onscreen, indicating from which
direction your opponent is looking at or hearing you. If the icon is at the top of
the screen, your opponent will be somewhere in front of the screen, if it's to the
sides or bottom the enemy will probably not be visible onscreen but to the (far)
side or behind you.

- There are two types of suspicion, small ones and big ones. Small suspicions
arouse an enemy's attention, but they will not investigate your location. The
white suspicion icon only appears momentarily. Big suspicions are far more
serious, as enemies will actively search for something (you), using their
flashlight in the dark, and so on. The red marker indicating them will blink
during this investigation period. Don't take out guards if they've had radio
contact, unless they've called in that everything is in order.

- You can actually exploit enemy suspicions, or even intentionally arouse them.
For example, showing yourself and quickly ducking back into cover allows you to
frustrate and manipulate enemy patrol routes that would normally not allow you to
pass. You can usually circle around the suspicous guard to take them out from
behind, but be careful when doing so. Especially be wary of situations in which
the suspicious guard has used his radio to call in a suspicious movement, and only
take him out when he's called in that everything is alright - not sooner!

- There are various other ways to divert attention or raise (wanted) suspicions.
Leaving a sleeping/tranquilized (ZZZ) body will attract the attention of
bystanders, but you'll want to avoid using stunned enemies for this tactic; when
they notice a knocked-out friend, guards will radio in, causing an alert status. A
sleeping friend, on the other hand, could also - perhaps - mean a
drowsiness-inducing sting from an insect? Perhaps not; let your own
interpretations run loose on the matter. But in any case, this is how the game's
mechanics work.

- Shooting at a wall where guards are standing near will arouse suspicion, but
don't shoot too close to thei position, or they'll radio in an alert (which will
more often than not happen). You can, of course, also use magazines or decoys to
draw the attention of guards. Even strategically placed buddies (such as D-horse
on the middle of a road) can help you in certain situations. You'll want to avoid
using explosives as a distraction in general, but in rare situations it can be
helpful to lure a great amount of guards toward an outer perimeter, to name one
example.

Alert and Combat Status:

If an enemy notices something completely out of the ordinary, such as destroyed
gear, stunned guards, missing prisoners, switched-off power, loud gunfire, or a
bullet hitting a wall nearby them just a little too close for comfort. The alert
status lasts over a minute, but is actually comparable with the 'caution' status
in previous installments. The enemy doesn't necessarily know where you are, but
they're on the lookout. This changes with full combat mode, in which you won't
last long. Combat status appears when an enemy spots Snake (failing and losing
Reflex Mode, see below). All enemies will engage you with gunfire, so quickly dash
to a safer location. When you're out of the clear, enemies will fall back to alert
mode, and after that, search mode, again similar to 'caution' modes of earlier
installments, where enemies will have heightened awareness and mainly search at
your last known location.

- Note that triggering an alert status in one base may have an effect on other
bases and outposts in the vicinity, who might be put into alert status as well.

Reflex Mode:

Whenever you're spotted by an enemy - as indicated by a white shade glowing over
the screen (also see above), pointing in the direction you're being seen - you're
given the opportunity to take your opponent(s) out before they can fire at you or
even trigger an alert status. Gameplay will slow down during this phase – a few
seconds - which is called Reflex Mode. If you're carrying a regular gun, taking
out your opponent isn't that hard. If you're equipped with a tranquilizer gun,
however, you'll have to aim at your opponent's head in order to take them out (a
hit at their body will not stun them in time, causing an alert status). If you're
standing close by your opponent, taking them out with close quarters combar (CQC)
is also an option. If you fail Reflex Mode and let your opponent call for help,
full combat mode is triggered, in which Reflex Mode is not available.

Interrogation:

You can interrogate an enemy (once you've extracted a Russian language specialist,
despite Ocelot speaking Russian and "wanting to help you with whatever necessary")
by choking them or by aiming a gun at their backs while approaching them from
behind. If an enemy is on the ground (when you've awoken them), you can tell them
to stay down, which leaves them there until an alert status cancels this out,
making it an effective strategy for missions with longer durations (just be sure
the enemy's position is out of the way for his friends). Interrogation allows you
to gather intel on various themes, such as collectibles, optional objectives,
prisoners or other points of interest. It's also intrinsically worthwhile to
interrogate, since it increases your heroism.

Security Cameras:

These should be avoided by walking underneath them or out of their direct line of
vision. You can shut them off altogether by turning off or destroying power
generators, but that's tricky business. Shooting a single camera (with regular
bullets is also possible, but not often advisable as it will lead to an alert status.
General Combat Tactics

Shooting & Escaping:

As a rule of thumb, and similar to other action games, it is advisable only to
shoot with short, controlled bursts of fire. This not only improves your accuracry
(and thus your mission rank), it also helps you save ammunition. If you need
improved accuracy, use the first person view. Your movement is much slower during
first person view, however.

- In general, always reload your gun so your clip is fully maxed. This can save
you precious time during crucial moments.

- Never shoot from out of the open. Always take cover behind a wall, sandbags, or
a building. If all hell breaks loose, you'll ideally want to position yourself
(temporarily) behind a low wall or sandbags, and behind you a building preventing
easy ambushes.

- If you've escaped combat succesfully, your last known location will be shown on
your iDroid as an orange circle. Enemies will be focusing their search activities
around this area, allowing you to circle around a base and find the other side
mostly unmanned.

Close Quarters Combat (CQC):

We've already touched down on interrogation procedures, which follow the choke
technique, an essential CQC maneuver that saves tranq. rounds and suppressor
health. You can, however, also throw enemies (tilt the left stick in the direction
you want to throw), or simply tap the CQC button when near an enemy to perform up
to five hits. Alternatively you can use guards as human shields, but this is only
useful in direct combat situations, and not for long. If lethal takedowns are your
thing, it's possible to slit throats, but it isn't really necessary and destroys
any possibility for you extracting said guard with a Fulton device at some point.

Heavy Field Equipment:

You'll often encounter turrets, mortars or anti-air artillery in the field.
Although these can come in handy in a full combat situation that has gotten ouf of
hand *anyway*, they're not the best choice when you're aiming for a higher mission
score, considering deaths have a negative impact on this. You can and should
extract them later in the game when you've upgraded your Fulton extraction
equipment, because heavy equipment can be used to better defend the Mother Base.

Armored Enemies:

As mentioned before, depending on how you play, enemies will start wearing more
protective gear. Unprotected faces can be hit with a well-landed tranquilizer dart
all the same, but this is considerably more difficult. Regular handguns and
submachine guns have the lowest penetration, followed by assault rifles and
machine guns with somewhat better penetration (not through thick armor, but they
can remove a helmet). A sniper rifle blasts right through everything but walls.
The iDroid

General Features:

The iDroid is, especially for 1984, a versatile device that allows you to manage
Mother Base, view maps, look at statistics and so on. Here we'll only go over the
most obvious things that could be useful for navigation. One important thing to
take note of right away is that time does not stop in-game when you pull out the
iDroid; the game is not paused and mission time will continue to flow away, or
worse, enemies can spot you and trigger alert or combat statuses. Keep this in mind.

The iDroid Map:

You can place markers at any place of the map. These will appear in-game with a
distance counter, which can be very useful to navigate both larger and smaller
areas. When you arrive at the marker, it's automatically removed. The map also
shows you geographical details such as elevation, allowin you to plan routes
through rocky areas without having to go back due to bumping into dead ends.

- The map icons are quite straightforward, but an additional description could be
useful. The player is depicted by a white triangle, followed by white dots
indicating where you've just walked. Green and red upside down triangles depict
friends and enemies respectively. Blue and yellow circles mark regular or
important side ops missions, while a small orange circle depicts your last known
position to enemies. A chopper icon speaks for itself, being a heli landing zone.
A small flame depicts resources, usually added to your map thanks to interrogation
intel. Marked objects are white squares, and mission objectives are yellow squares.

Extraction by Chopper:

You can use the iDroid to call in a chopper to pick you up. Select a landing zone
close by and make your way over. Since it takes at least a minute for the chopper
to arrive, anticipate the future and call in extractions on time. The same goes
for supplies (see below).

Ordering Supplies:

You can order supplies from Mother Base at any time while in the field, and you
should definitely use the option whenever you feel it's required; that's what the
whole infastructure is essentially for! It does cost some GMP and impacts your
mission score, but the benefits are so high that it's silly to sit around with
empty guns, which will impact your mission score all the same. The package will
arrive in about one minute after you order it.
Mother Base-ics

Basics:

The Mother Base becomes available in and after 'mission' 2. You can manage your
staff, send troops on missions, develop near essential gear and weapons, or expand
the base itself. It's not necessary to be on the physical Mother Base to manage
everything, which can be done on your iDroid in the field. In this section we'll
go over some basics.

- Besides completing mission, side ops, and collecting items in the field
yourself, Mother Base will in fact allow you to gather many more resources once
you expand the base. Most important are of course the Combat Deployment
assignments, from where the rewards really do add up. This allows you to re-invest
in the Mother Base, spiralling everything up. Use the reaped rewards to unlock new
possibilities (fundamental research deserves priority).

Staff:

Most staff will be people you've extracted from the field with Fulton devices, but
sometimes volunteers also apply, especially if The Boss' heroism grows. Early on,
most recruits have quite poor stats. You'll want to upgrade your Int-Scope
binoculars at some point, allowing you to read recruit stats and be a little bit
more selective and filter the worst from the not-so-bad ones. Early on in the game
you'll want to be less picky, however. Simply extract everyone you possibly can
and go for quantity. Later on, be a little more selective. Once your staff arrives
on Mother Base, it generally suffices to automatically assign them to one of the
various facilities.

Combat Employment:

As mentioned elsewhere in this guide, Combat Employment allows you to reap
benefits while virtually doing nothing, or alternatively put, by virtually sending
your men on missions. You should always have two active missions to maximize
profits (and more once the max has been increased with Forward Operation Bases).
Needless to say, aim for 95% chance of success whenever possible.

Development:

Here you can spend your hard earned GMP and resources to build new things, so it's
essentially a shop. Many developments can be started as long as you have the
required means, though sometimes they require a blueprint as well, which are key
items found at specific locations on the map, often - naturally - in guarded
areas. There are too many developments to describe here for an introductory
section, but things like Stealth Camouflage are among the more interesting things.
Most important is however an upgrade to your Fulton device, allowing for wider
extraction possibilities (vehicles and such). As mentioned elsewhere, an upgrade
to your Int-Scope is also vital, since it allows you to scan enemies' statistics,
allowing you to be a little more selective, in turn leading to better development
due to higher staff stats. Another good upgrade would be a solid suppressor on
your favorite weapons. Naturally you'll want to be good to your buddies, or
alternatively, if you're someone who only thinks in terms of self-benefit,
protecting buddies is a good way to prevent them from getting killed and thus
granting you the corresponding mission bonus.

- The above developments aside, expanding Mother Base is extremely important as it
literally drives your progress. Building new facilities unlocks other research
possibilities, and early on it's advisable to split at least half of your GMP
towards building and expanding Mother Base, if not more. Of course, you'll still
want to focus on key upgrades for Snake, but don't go purchasing nonsensical or
marginal upgrades just because you can, because you'll only stall your own progress.
Walkthrough
Prologue
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Optional	Complete the mission without triggering Reflex Mode	Exit the entrance
hall without being seen
2	Optional	Complete the mission without allowing Man on Fire to attack even once
after meeting up with Ocelot	During the chase, prevent Man on Fire from using his
regular attack


First you'll have to enter your ‘name', then after a few more moments, alter your
appearance. When you finally gain control of Snake after various events, crawl to
the hall and make your way to the end. Follow your mysterious friend around the
corner to trigger a scene. After this, continue down the hall and approach the
windows. After a short scene, follow your friend through the nearby door and crawl
over the floor to the other side of the room where some more scenes occur. In the
next hall, make your way to the end, but watch the windows; you can't be spotted
by the helicopter's searchlight or it'll be instant game over. Besides, especially
if you're aiming for an S Rank, it is important to have as few enemy combat
alerts. (Zero alerts isn't strictly required for an S-rank, since you can
compensate with other factors, mainly a fast mission time, but an alert does cut
down your score by 5000 points, which is quite a lot.)

Head down one floor and check the iron-bar door in the corner, then wait for your
friend to open it up. Make your way to the front to trigger a scene. In the next
room, hide underneath one of the beds directly to your left and wait for the guys
to pass, then exit the room by the door on the other side. Lay on the ground and
lay still next to the bodies until a scene plays. Heal your injured leg after this
and follow your friend downstairs, where he'll open a door for you. Immediately
move to the right and stay out of sight. When you have the fun, shoot the fire
extinguisher, then follow your friend. If you don't want to kill the next two
enemies, you don't have to; simply wait for your friend to take them out.

Once you're in the main hall, shoot the enemy in front of you (located on the
stairs) a couple of times. If you don't want to kill him, shoot him three times in
his torso and he'll stay alive; the same basically applies to the others as well.
Quickly move to the left side of the area (which you are facing initially) and
shoot some enemies downstairs. You can also take out the ones that come searching
for you. When you've taken them all out, approach the exit and dive out of the
way. After the scene, ignore Major Blaze and approach the exit once again.

After the scenes, a chase ensues. Shoot at your foe whenever he gets close and be
sure to reload only when he's further away from you. If you find the chase hard
due to your aiming settings (perhaps you switched to manual), you might want to
put them back to auto-aim for this part of the game.
Mission 1: Phantom Limbs
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Optional	Pinpoint Kazuhira Miller's whereabouts	Intel file is at Da Wialo
Village and at Eastern Communications Outpost (only one is required; this guide
aims for the one at Da Wialo)
2	Required	Extract Kazuhira Miller	Obligatory extraction within 4 in-game days (4
x 36 mins)
3	Optional	Extract the commander from Wakh Sind Barracks	The commander wears a red
beret
4	Optional	Complete the mission without being discovered by the Skulls	Follow the
walkthrough instructions, or replay the mission and choose a different landing zone
5	Optional	Secure the rough diamonds hidden in Spugmay Keep	Follow walkthrough
instructions
6	Optional	Extract the transport truck driver	Requires Fulton device (obtained
after Mission #2)


Video Support:
http://www.supercheats.com/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/walkthrough/mission-1-phantom-limbs

Once you've watched all scenes, head down the trail. After hundred meters or so
you can spot a yellow plant (Wormwood) that you can pick up. This guide won't
cover all these items (at least not right now), but you should as a general rule
of thumb be on the lookout for any colorfol plants. If you think something has a
little bit too much color for the desert, it probably can be picked up.
The first outpost

- Continue down the trail galloping (Square on Playstation, X on Xbox) until you
come across a small outpost (#23 on your map). Indeed this is a good time to
practice your sneaking skills, so dismount your horse and grab out your binoculars.

- There's one guy standing near the path, somewhat on the left side of the
outpost. Then there's a guy at the far end, looking away from you. You can sneak
behind the first hostile (just be sure to sneak very slowly the last few meters,
or you'll be heard) and as the hand icon appears, grab him and knock him out. Look
around you to spot a portable toilet. You can drag his body inside (toilets can
also be useful to hide in, if necessary).

- If it's night by now, you should easily be able to spot a glittering glimmer
below the small table nearby. This is a Rough Diamond you'll want to collect. If
it's day, you can still collect it, but it might be a little more difficult to
spot. The table is around the right corner of the building when you're facing the
portable toilet.

- Check the other building across the road to find some generic materials, then be
on your way. You'll have conquered the outpost, as it's called, since you've
defeated all (key) enemies.
Da Wialo Village

- Continue down the trail until you reach the village of Da Wialo. Ocelot
recommends that you first find a place to look out on the site. Lucky for you, on
the left/west side is a rocky outcrop that grants you a good overview of the area.

- Grab out your binoculars and spot two hostiles standing guard down below on the
west side. There are also (static) guards posted at firm positions on the north
and south side of the main road passing through the village, and they are behind
heavy turrets.

- Check your map on the iDroid (select the 'Map Mode (North Top)' option for
easier reference) and spot the largest building in the middle of the village, just
west of the main road. Intel on Miller is being held here, and the goal is to
collect it. The building is illuminated (at night), and there's a red (Russian)
flag and a radio antenna on top.

- There are various ways to sneak into the village, but starting from the west
side you'll want to start taking out one of the guards here when the other is
walking away. Always hide bodies out of sight, so for example in a grassy area
behind sandbags or low walls (or inside dark rooms/buildings).

- A good way to tackle the area is to start in the northwest part of the village,
which is free from patrolling guards. There's an illuminated building here, and
south from here are several rooms with minor items and metals.

- From here you take out the guard stationed near the main road, close to a
burning barrel.

- You should now be able to move towards the main building, although there's still
a guard circling it. If you can take him out and hide his body elsewhere, it does
help.

- There are usually two to three guards near or even inside the main building. You
can point your binoculars at the building to check if you can hear snippets of
conversation. In any case, the ground floor contains a Casette Tape, the first
floor contains the intel on Miller you were looking for.

- If you want to capture the village, you'll have to take out the remaining
guards. When you've collected the intel, usually one or two guards will close in
on your position. Drop down the roof by the northeast (if possible) and approach
these guards from the back or simply take them out with tranquilizers.
The next outpost (#18)

- Wait for the guards to stop conversing, then take out the guard on the east side
with a tranquilizer round. You can also shoot the guard to the far west, but this
will most likely be noticed by the third guard, who you'll then need to quickly
take out with another round. The last guard on the far north can be taken out with
a stealthy strangle. Collect the Casette Tape (She Blinded Me With Science) and
regular materials from the middle of the tent, then be on your way.
Ghwandai Town (Rescuing Miller)

- Depending on whether you come from the southwest or southeast path (the latter
is preferrable), you should move towards the cliffs to the east regardless. If you
come at night, a Rough Diamond can be spotted more easily near a rocky edge of one
of the hills here (see screenshot).

- Mark the three guards behind the searchlights and try to spot any other guards
near the main road. Also open up your iDroid and mark the main building in the
center of the larger market (which only roughly marks Miller's location).

- Enter the village from the east side. In fact, check the corners of the small
building on the far east to find another Rough Diamond.

- From here, take out the closest guard behind the searchlight, but beware of any
guards down below who might be able to spot you.

- You should already be close to the main building by now. There's a guard out on
the road, and another around the corner. They don't need to be taken out right
now. Enter the door (slowly and quietly!) of the building, head upstairs and
carefully enter the other room; there's likely a guard inside, so quickly put him
to sleep. If any other guards are alarmed by this, be sure to take measures.

- Be sure to collect the Secondary Weapon Ammo and Supressor from the table, along
with the Casette Tape [Koi no Yokushiryoku (Love Deterrence)] and some minor
materials.

- Free Miller from one of the adjacent rooms; he's chained to the wall with
handcuffs. Carry him and quickly make your way out of the village unseen, the way
you came.
Avoid or escape from Skull Squad

- Make your way to the extraction point with D-horse. Unfortunately some vague,
ethereal mist-like gas appears, along with Skull Squad. Despite not being properly
introduced into this game, Kojima just assumes you know who they are. In any case,
they are four lame *** undefeatable zombies that just avoided you taking off with
the chopper.

- Avoiding the Skull Squad is easy, but you need to know how to do it. First scan
all four of them with your binoculars. After doing so, calmly ride down underneath
the bridge, and stand on the right side of it. The two Skulls on top of the bridge
will automatically be lured towards your position. Stand underneath the bridge so
you can't be seen by either of them. When both are roughly 13 - 15 meters away
from you, move back to your original position and cross the bridge. Stay as far
away from the Skulls on either side and you should be fine.

- If avoiding the Skulls fails, either try again or try to outrun and avoid them.
Be sure to continuously dash with your horse (Square on Playstation, X on Xbox)
and zigzag. This will make the Skulls dash in one direction while you're already
going into another. The second they get in front of you, gallop in another
direction. When the chopper is only roughly 375 meters away, the gas-mist
disappears and it's finally - sort of - explained who these guys were in the first
place.

- At the end of the mission you get the Afghanistan Today and Ocelot's Briefing
Casette Tapes.
Mission 2: Diamond Dogs
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Required	Complete the Fulton extraction training	---
2	Required	Extract staff, raise your R&D Team's level	---
3	Required	Develop the cardboard box and complete basic training	---
4	Optional	Complete restrain training	---
5	Optional	Complete strike training	---


Video Support:
http://www.supercheats.com/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/walkthrough/mission-2-diamond-dogs

- This 'mission' is kind of an oddball. You're basically following some
instructions so your learning curve goes up. Talk to Ocelot and follow his
instructions.

- Instead of taking out the first guard with a tranquilizer round, knock him out
by strangling him and save a round. Whenever you 'extract' personnel they'll be
assigned to a team that fits their skills and abilities best. Under Staff
Management on your iDroid you can find where the guy went.

- Go do Weapons/Items under Development on your iDroid. Development on a Cardboard
Box can only be started when you've extracted enough personnel to R&D.

- Extract two more people and develop the Cardboard Box. After this, practice
Close Quarters Combat (CQC) by approaching Ocelot again. Grab the frst guard, and
repeatedly punch a second to knock him out in alternative fashion. Enemies thrown
on the ground don't stay stunned very long, so it's not the preferred way for
take-outs. Extract both guys.

- You can optionally take a shower to clean off any blood, sweat and dirt (or
tears) from the previous mission. Simply enter the blue box on the floor you're
already on (check your map). You can also scan your personnel after calling the
chopper to the helipad.

- When you're all set - and you are, at this point - enter the helicopter and
prepare for the next few missions.

- TIP: You can select a rather useful HELP screen when you're accessing your
iDroid, by simply pressing the pause button when already inside the iDroid.
(Select for Playstation, Back Button for Xbox).

- You can select any mission you want. We'll start doing them in order for this guide.
Mission 3: A Hero's Way
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Required	Eliminate the Spetsnaz Commander	Non-lethal fulton extraction is allowed
2	Optional	Neutralize the Spetsnaz Commander from a long distance (100+ meters)
Use a sniper rifle
3	Optional	Extract the Spetsnaz Commander	Preferably neutralize guards within
close range
4	Optional	Pick a Haoma in the desert between Shago Village and Spugmay Keep	Found
in the middle of the desert, southeast of the base, near a big rock
5	Optional	Secure the processed materials hidden in Shago VIllage	Under the
viaduct to the west of the village, near the southeast portion of where the
viaduct starts


D-Dog (Potential New Buddy): It may be a while before you actually encounter this,
but it's good to know up front. During the starting deployment areas of mission 3,
4 or 5 (or during free roaming at the same places, being Shago Kallai, Eastern
Communication Post, Wakh Sind Barracks) you may hear a puppy bark at some point.
You'll also get a comment about this, along the lines of: "This is no time to be
playing with animals." If you search for the puppy (at nighttime, night vision
goggles helps, otherwise go by the strength of the sound), extract him. Once you
get back to Mother Base, a cutscene will play. After this, you'll need to play six
missions of which three are from missions 7-10. When you return to Mother Base
after this, D-Dog becomes an ally.

- Choose the northern landing zone (this walkthrough will use this as starting
point). You'll also get to see the mission preparation menu for the first time.
Right now, you've got everything equipped you need (and essentially have), so just
continue. Select drop time 0600.

- You'll come across a small outpost as you ride towards your destination. You can
take out the guards if you wish, and collect some materials from the crates in the
center of the outpost camp.

- When you reach Shago Village, you should first secure the surroundings. This
means the following. Take out your map (with north facing top) and check out the
village. There are three smaller buildings (to the north, northeast, and
southeast) and one larger building with an large watchtower next to it. You'll
want to take out the guards on top of these buildings, then take out one or two
guards in the field, allowing you to move towards the main building much more
easily. Although you can extract various soldiers, most of them are fairly poorly
skilled.

- Approach the main building from the south and snear around the east side; a
guard is watching the north side (facing north). You can take him out quite
easily; hide his body around the corner between some grass.

- Enter the courtyard and ignore the power generator. Mark the guard at the other
side of the gate and approach that wall; another soldier will converse with the
guy. Now's a good time to hop through the window of the main building and loot the
place, but be sure to sneak very quietly around here, as there are more guards on
the floor above you that might hear your footsteps. There are various materials
and most importanty the Kids in America Casette Tape in the living room.

- Go back outside and take out the guard near/outside the gate, provided he's done
conversing, and hide him. Now climb the wooden stairs., sneak towards the ladder
and take out the guard at the watchtower. Also tranquilize the guard down below
that was conversing a minute ago.

- Head down the ladder and open the door; the target is inside, so immediately
tranq him, drag him outside, and extract him. The only thing left to do now is to
get out ASAP, preferably unseen. Call D-horse when you're far enough away from the
guards, or alternatively look for a jeep to the northeast. In any case, race out
of the area and keep going for a while until the mission will automatically be over.

Side Ops 1: Extract Interpreter (Russian):
If you haven't done this Side Ops yet, now is a good time to do so. Select it from
your iDroid and head towards the guard post east of Spugmay Keep. Neutralize all
guards and Fulton extract the interpreter (with the beret). You can now understand
Russian.
Mission 4: C2W
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Optional	Identify the comms equipment at the Eastern Communications Post	There
are 3 satellite dishes
2	Required (Optional if you do #4)	Destroy the comms equipment at the Eastern
Communications Post	There are 3 satellite dishes; use (for example) C4
3	Optional	Secure the rough diamonds hidden near the Eastern Communications Post
Located at the near-end of the mountain trail accessible southeast from the base
4	Required (Optional if you do #2)	Destroy the transmitter at the Eastern
Communications Post	Can be done with a regular gun
5	Optional	Extract two prisoners held at Wialo Village	They're held in the small
buildings on southwest edge of the village
6	Optional	Extract the materials container from the Eastern Communications Post
Obligatory Fulton upgrade required (later in game)


- If you've been keeping up with collecting materials, you should now be able to
develop some C4. This isn't required to complete the mission, but for one
objective it is mandatory. Go to your iDroid and head to the Mother Base tab, then
to Development.

- Note: If you want to complete an optional objective (initially hidden), initiate
the mission, then travel to Da Wialo Village to extract two prisoners. Interrogate
guards or simply search the smaller buildings on the southwest of the Village (one
next to the main road, the other to the west from there) to find the two
prisoners; drag them outside to Fulton extract them. Head back to the Eastern
Communications Post via the south road.

- Your goal is to destroy equipment at the Eastern Communications Post, which can
either be three satellite dishes or the radio transmitter (inside one of the
buildings), or both, if you want to complete all mission objectives.

- Approach the post from the east and look for a mountain trail to the west side
of the road (before the main road curves off to the west/to the base). Be careful
of loose patrols and wolves. This trail leads you to the hidden rough diamonds
from one of the (initially hidden) optional mission objectives. The Rough Diamonds
are found in a rock wall.

- At the end of the trail, recon the enemy outpost entirely, and mark the three
satellite dishes (an objective). After this, place C4 at them while carefully
making your way through the base, neutralizing any enemies you deem necessary.

- If you also want to destroy the radio transmitter, head inside the building in
the center of the base and shoot it with a regular weapon. This will most likely
attract the attention of guards, unless you've dispatched them.

- S-Rank Tips: Speed and stealth are as usual most vital for securing the highest
mission rank. An easy way to achieve this is to plant some C4 on the radio
transmitter; sneak in, plant it, sneak out, detonate the explosive and exfiltrate
the hot zone.

- General Tip: From now on forward, you should focus on developing Mother Base
platforms whenever they become available. Inbetween missions, always reassign your
staff by going to the Staff Management menu and pressing the right analog stick,
so they're on their best possible positions. Under the Base Management menu, focus
on developing the R&D Platform, Base Development Platform, Support Platform and
Intel Platform.

Mission 5: Over The Fence
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Required	Extract the captive engineer	Inside the largest building
2	Optional	Fulton extract the engineer through the hole in the facility's
basement ceiling	Only extract with 100% chance
3	Optional	Extract the prisoner plotting to escape from Wakh Sind Barracks	Might
alert nearby guards; neutralize them first
4	Optional	Extract the four wheel drive patrolling between outposts	Requires a
Fulton extraction device upgrade gotten later on
5	Optional	Secure the blueprint at Wakh Sind Barracks	There are several small
buildings in the northeast corner of the base (east of the prison). The blueprint
is inside the northwest building.


- Take the west helicopter landing zone, directly south of the base.

- Continue north, cross the main road and head further north/northeast,
crouch-walking until you reach a climbable crack. From here, continue into the
base and get more recon.

- You should be able to spot a small outpost nearby as you're making your way to
the large building (the main prison facility). If you follow rocky path
east/northeast from here you can extract a second prisoner sitting around near the
end of this rocky mountain. It's better to first extract the main target.

- Head down and take out one or two guards as you move into the main building,
either by dropping down a hole or by the stairs. Take out the guard in front of
your target's cell and see if the coast is clear, then extract the target by
putting him underneath the hole in the ceiling in the nearby room (where you can
also find various minor materials). Extract him and any soldiers through the hole,
then head back for the other prisoner.

- The UN-ARC BLUEPRINT is to be found in one of the small buildings east of the
prison. More precise, it's inside the northwest building of this set of smaller
buildings (mark it for your convenience, as always). You can find Rough Diamonds
(Small) in the small building east from here.

- You cannot yet extract the four-wheel drive patrolling the main road - you'll
need to upgrade your Fulton extraction device. Once you have that upgrade later in
the game, simply dismount D-horse in the middle of the road to make the driver
stop. Neutralize him and extract the vehicle.
Mission 6: Where Do The Bees Sleep?
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Required	Secure the Honey Bee	---
2	Optional	Eliminate the Skulls	Only one of the Skulls needs to be dispatched
3	Optional	Secure the Honey Bee with its ammunition intact	Simply don't use the
Honey Bee during the mission
4	Optional	Extract the prisoner who cannot speak	There are multiple opportunities
for this
5	Optional	Extract two snipers at the Mountain Relay Base	Found on the bridge
6	Optional	Eliminate the gunship	Use your own launcher to keep the mission bonus
(on a retry)


- From the Landing Zone (LZ), head south; the north is blocked off by your mission
radius.

- Avoid the first enemy outpost by moving past it to the right. Continue down the
long road until you reach the Mountain Relay Base, which you'll notice is located
in a vast ravine and essentially consists of a large bridge with snipers, plus
various guards at several camps.

- First scan the area and spot several guards with a prisoner at the far end of
the bridge. It's possible to rescue and extract him right away, but it's more
likely that you're too slow, requiring an (optional) extraction later on.

- There are various ways to approach the base, but by far the easiest is to
crouch-walk to the northwest, then crawl to get behind the two guards stationed
here, taking them out, and then walk to the far north over the rocky terrain to
bypass the main road entirely. Around halfway you'll want to be sure to climb some
rocks instead of sliding down, because the latter is irreversible and only gets
you back to the main bridge.

- Continue to Da Smasei Laman, which can be approached by a south or a north
entrance. Take the latter; it allows for a better recon vantage point and shortens
your sneaking route.

- After reconning the base, particularly note the anti-air radar. Destroying it
unlocks a landing zone, but there's no need for you to attempt this right now;
it's quite difficult to reach.

- Instead, curve around the base via the northwest side, crawling the last 40
meters as you get closer to the prisoner. Take out any enemies along the way when
required, and place them in the nearby dumpsters or portable toilets. Extract the
prisoner when you reach him.

- The Smasei Laman tunnels have two main entrances, one on the east (largest) and
one on the west. Various Rough Diamonds can be found inside the tunnels. Take the
one on the west/left to reach the first floor. From here head east, then follow
the tunnel to reach the Honey Bee, which is also marked if you extracted the
prisoner. In any case you will reach a small creek. Head left and continue to the
small rooms at the far back; the Honey Bee is located in the one at the end.

- Head back outside to trigger several scenes. Afterwards it's boss time.
The Skulls (Boss Fight):

- There are various ways you can deal with the Skulls. In fact, if you're
attempting an S-Rank, fleeing is a wise option.

- If you choose to fight, first mark all four Skulls. In case you were wondering,
yes, using the Honey Bee will easily allow you to defeat the Skulls, but
unfortunately it reduces your mission ranking as you're supposed to retrieve the
Honey Bee without using any ammunition.

- Retreating to the first floor of the tunnels allows you to use Grenades more
effectively, especially if you manage to lure the Skulls into the tunnel. On the
ground level they won't follow you, but you can still shoot them, albeit this is a
slow process.

- If you're daring, counterattack The Skulls' dash attack (a prompt will appear
on-screen) and empty your regular gun at the Skull that attempted the attack, who
will be temporarily dazed (and dead afterwards - unless they're (un)dead to begin
with).

- Exfiltrate out of the hot zone after the fight.

- S-Rank Tips: Speed is of the essence. Rush over to the Mountain Relay Base,
preferably extract the prisoner there. At Da Smasei Laman, don't use the Honey Bee
and preferably destroy the anti-air radar, then defeat the Skulls by exploiting
the counterattack move; immediately order the chopper and exfiltrate with it. Not
using the Honey Bee, defeating the Skulls, and exfiltrating immediately by chopper
will give you huge bonuses that will almost guaranteed grant an S-rank.
Between Mission 6 and 7: Side Ops and Upgrades

Now is a good time to go a little more indepth about several Side Ops you can do
at this point. Right now you can do the following Side Ops: 1, 5, 11, 12, 13, 27,
47, 51, 61, 152-155. Some of these will only appear after you've completed Side
Ops that have to be done first. Although the GMP rewards aren't that high, doing
these missions now will unlock more Side Ops later on that are increasingly more
rewarding.

- Side Ops 1 - Extract Interpreter (Russian): You'll most likely have done Side
Ops 1 already, where you needed to extract a Russian interpreter from a small
outpost east of Spugmay Keep, but if you haven't done so yet, get to it
immediately, as understanding Russian is a very important perk.

- Side Ops 5 - Secure the [RIOT SMG] Blueprint: You're simply required to located
this blueprint in a building on the relatively south side of Da Wialo (see video
support). Neutralize any nearby guards if required.

- Side Ops 11 - Extract the Highly-Skilled Soldier 01: This is a sniper with two
colleagues located on a top of a cliff south of Yakho Oboo. Don't approach them
head-on by going over the bridge. Instead, cirlce around and head for a back
attack, allowing you to neutralize all three with relative ease (tranq. headshots).

- Side Ops 12 - Extract the Highly-Skilled Soldier 02: This is a guard patrolling
the east side of Da Wialo. Enter the village from the east, mark and neutralize
everyone you come across until you reach the masked target.

- Side Ops 13 - Extract the Highly-Skilled Soldier 03: This extraction mission is
a bit harder compared to the previous two, hence the greater reward (60000 GMP).
The soldier is stationed at Da Smasei Laman and is accompanied (if not 'guarded')
by at least five other soldiers (mark them all). Crawl towards the entrance of the
tunnels and curve towards your target to the east from there. If you can manage to
neutralize them with tranq. headshots, all the better, but if that doesn't work
out, simply waste the rest after tranquilizing your target.

- Side Ops 27 - Prisoner Extraction 01: This prisoner is located inside the main
building (with radio transmitter you head to destroy in main mission 4). Use the
mountain trail to the south of the outpost to infiltrate it stealthily and drop
down until you reach the building. Neutralize the soldier guarding the prisoner,
head through the window and drop the prisoner outside, the Fulton extract him and
get out of the outpost.

- Side Ops 47 - Extract the Little Lost Sheep: This is indeed a sheep, located
somewhere in the northeast region of Da Wialo. Clear the area and extract the critter.

- Side Ops 51 - Extract the Wandering Mother Base Soldiers 01: This is the first
of a series of somewhat strange and (depending on your approach) relatively
difficult Side Ops. It requires you to extract a bewildered former Mother Base
Soldier. To do this you must locate him first. This can be very tricky if you
don't at least have upgraded your Mother Base intel to detect enemy presences, or
alternatively have D-Dog. You'll probably should have access to the first right
now, so we'll roll with that. The current target can be found between outposts 16
and 20 and is usually found in the hills, away from the main road. Doing this
mission during the night improves your stealth and allows you to use nightvision
goggles. Keep in mind only a tranq. headshot will do anything to this bewildered
soldier, so be sure to land it on your first try (if you fail, the soldier will go
on a frenzy and run away). You can still take down this particular soldier when he
runs away, but it does complicate things. Your melee moves have to be fast and you
need to restrain him immediately afterwards. If you want to be sure the nearby
outposts don't interfere with this mission, neutralize all guards there beforehand.

- Side Ops 61 - Unlucky Dog: This prisoner is located in a cell at the north
portion of the Yakho Oboo Outpost. There are, as always, various ways to go about
this. The hard way is to systematically neutralize all guards and infiltrate the
outpost regularly. An alternative way is to set some C4 near the entrance, then
head down the east trail and use the hole in the ground at the end to reach a
vent, crawling through to enter the base. Trigger the C4 fot a diversion effect,
then neutralize any remaining enemies if required and enter the cell too carry the
prisoner outside to extract him.

- Side Ops 152-155 - Target Practice: These Side Ops are target practice shooting
missions done at mother base. Most of them are quite easy, with the exception of
#152 (video in preparation). For #153, don't miss the three targets at the back
corner of the area. For #155, note that there are three targets outside as well.

Upgrades: Some very useful upgrades that should ideally be available to you at
this point are the following listed. If you want to know the requirements for
these upgrades, simply select the item in your iDroid Development Menu. Keep in
mind that you should have created several Mother Base platforms for these upgrades
already at an earlier time. If you lack some of the processed materials to do one
or more of the below upgrades, raid some outposts or return to one of the more
familiar villages to see if you can stock up there.

- Useful upgrades are: Int-Scope 2 (Allows analyzing soldier skills up to
B-ranks), Fulton Cargo 1 (allows vehicle extraction), Fulton Device 2 (Ammo up
from 12 to 24), iDroid 2 (Speaker function, allows playing of tapes), Prosthetic
Arm Mobility 1 (Extends Reflex Mode duration), WU S. Pistol 2 (improved general
functionality), AM MRS-4 (improved general functionality including scope and dot
sight), C4, Flare Grenade, Smoke Grenade.

D-Dog (New Buddy): A reminder. During the starting deployment areas of mission 3,
4 or 5 (or during free roaming at the same places, being Shago Kallai, Eastern
Communication Post, Wakh Sind Barracks) you may hear a puppy bark at some point.
You'll also get a comment about this, along the lines of: "This is no time to be
playing with animals." If you search for the puppy (at nighttime, night vision
goggles helps, otherwise go by the strength of the sound), extract him. Once you
get back to Mother Base, a cutscene will play. After this, you'll need to play six
missions of which three are from missions 7-10. When you return to Mother Base
after this, D-Dog becomes an ally.
Mission 7: Red Brass
#	REQUIRED/OPTIONAL	OBJECTIVE	SPECIFICS
1	Required	Eliminate the commander of the company stationed at Da Wialo Village	---
2	Required	Eliminate the commander of the platoon stationed at Shago Village	---
3	Required	Eliminate the commander of the platoon stationed at Wakh Sind Barracks	---
4	Optional	Extract the commander and all soldiers riding in his vehicle	Northern
vehicle (from Wakh Sind) is the one you need to extract with Fulton 2 extraction
upgrade
5	Optional	Extract all three commanders	---
6	Optional	Listen to the end of the commanders' conversation	Aim your Int-Scope
microphone at the house where the meeting takes place
7	Optional	Extract two prisoners held at Ghwandai Town	At the middle and
middle-northwest portions of town respectively


- You are to eliminate (or extract) three beret-wearing commanders, two of which
are on their way to meet a third at a meeting in Da Wialo Village. How you do this
mission is up to you. The meeting will take place in a small house to the east of
the village's main building, but it's not required to wait for the commanders to
arrive at the base. With your intel, it's entirely possible to head straight for
one of the two vehicles, dismount D-horse on the road, and neutralize the soldiers
inside.

- Completing all optional mission tasks in one go isn't too feasible. Head for the
prisoners in Da Ghwandai Khar first, then go back to Da Wialo to extract the
commanders. On another attempt, leave the prisoners and aim for everything Da
Wialo related.

- S-Rank tips: Simply complete the mission as fast as you can. Start to the north
of Da Wialo, extract the entire vehicle (preferably with all soldiers plus
commander in it for the optional score bonus), then ride D-Horse to the southern
vehicle, again dismounting him on the road and extracting the second commander.
Rush back to Da Wialo for the last one and you should definitely get an S-Rank.
Version History

04 September 2015 - [Version 0.30] - Initial release. Heavy focus on indepth
basics section. Walkthrough started.
07 September 2015 - [Version 0.40] - Update to the walkthrough.
Copyright

This may *not* be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private
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Credits/Contact Info/About The Author
Credits

This guide has made reference use of data in the OSG by Piggyback Interactive.
Great job by the way guys.
Contact Info

You can say 'hi' or thanks via email (preferred): faq[at]shillatime.org.
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About the author

Absolute Steve (1987) has been publishing game guides for over 13 years. He holds
a BSc and Msc in Clinical Psychology and a BA and MA in Philosophy. He enjoys a
great game every now and then and loves all sorts of music (Radiohead, The Flaming
Lips, see my other guides for more examples). He also loves to read, think, and
write. He's absolutely not absolute (except in absolute cases), but relatively
absolute, which is of course absolutely relative, or is it? He's thinks it's wise
to stop talking about himself in third person now.