Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Walkthrough

Our Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain walkthrough on S Rank will guide you through the beginning to ending moments of gameplay with strategy tips for this action-adventure stealth game on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One & PC.

Let’s start the Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain walkthrough with an introduction video directed & edited by Hideo Kojima himself!

Taking place nine years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and the fall of Mother Base, Punished “Venom” Snake AKA Big Boss, awakes from a nine year coma. The game resumes the story in 1984, with the Cold War still as the backdrop, which continues to shape a global crisis. Snake’s journey takes him into a world where he is driven by a need for revenge and the pursuit of a shadow group, XOF.

Please note that viewers must be at least 18 to watch, so no harm comes to those with innocent eyes. This game includes Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Violence, Strong Language.

Table of Contents

Index of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Guides:

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Walkthrough

Controls:

You can select from 2 types of controls. Action Type is the default control type. You can change the control type to Shooter Type & back using [OPTIONS] on the Pause Menu.

– Action Type is recommended for fans of the Metal Gear Solid series.
– Shooter Type is recommended for fans of first-person shooters (FPS).

• The on Foot Controls (for Big Boss, Quiet, etc.) per game system are listed below.
Click on a gallery thumbnail to see the large controls layout for all consoles and PC players.


• Controls while riding on horseback (D-Horse) are listed below.
Approach your horse and the “mount horse” action icon will appear. Press the Action button to mount your horse.


• The controls change while you are driving a vehicle.
An action icon appears when you approach the driver’s seat of vehicles that you can control. To get into the vehicle, press the Action button while the icon is displayed.


• The controls while controlling Walker Gear like D-Walker are as follows.
The Walker Gear is a man-sized bipedal weapons platform. Approach a Walker Gear and the “pilot Walker Gear” action icon will appear. To pilot the Walker Gear, press the Action button while the icon is displayed.


Intro:

Konami Digital Entertainment continues forth the ‘METAL GEAR SOLID V Experience’ with the latest chapter, METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Phantom Pain. Ushering in a new era for the franchise with cutting-edge technology powered by the Fox Engine, MGSV: The Phantom Pain will provide players a first-rate gaming experience as they are offered tactical freedom to carry out open-world missions.

The METAL GEAR SOLID team continues to ambitiously explore mature themes such as the psychology of warfare and the atrocities that result from those that engage in its vicious cycle. One of the most anticipated games of the year with its open-world design, photorealistic visual fidelity and feature-rich game design, MGSV: The Phantom Pain will leave its mark as one of the hallmarks in the gaming industry for its cinematic storytelling, heavy themes, and immersive tactical gameplay.

Storyline:

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has brought a new edge to the Cold War, and in 1984, a one-eyed man with a prosthetic arm appears in the country. Those who know him call him Snake; the legendary mercenary who was once swept from the stage of history and left in a coma by American private intelligence network Cipher. Snake is accompanied by Ocelot, an old friend who saved him from attack when he finally awoke.

Now, Snake’s former partner Kazuhira Miller is being held by the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Snake must undertake a solo mission to rescue Miller and prove to the world that the legendary mercenary is not dead and gone. That first step will lead to a path of vengeance against the very Cipher that slaughtered so many of Snake’s men, and to a battle that will embroil the whole world…

What started in Ground Zeroes must finish with “V”.

Key Game Features:

  • Open-World game design allowing players ultimate freedom on how to approach missions and overall game progression.
  • Fox Engine delivers photorealistic graphics, thoughtful game design and true new-generation game production quality.
  • Online connectivity that carries the experience beyond the consoles to other devices to augment the overall functionality and access to the game.
  • Evolution means that MGS goes open world, includes a new breed of stealth, has unparalleled strategic freedom, with deeper stealth action, a realistic passage of time, real-time weather, blistering action and CQC (Close Quarters Combat), a buddy system, it also lets you procure a variety of resources, expand Mother Base, and of course the cardboard box is back!

Here’s an emotional debrief video message about the MGS series from the creator Hideo Kojima.

PC System Requirements:

• Minimum PC Specs are…
OS: Windows 7×64, Windows 8×64 (64-bit OS Required)
Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 (3.40 GHz) or better; Quad-core or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (2GB) or better (DirectX 11 card Required)
DirectX: Version 11
Hard Drive: 28 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

• Recommended PC Specs are…
OS: Windows 7×64, Windows 8×64 (64-bit OS Required)
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 (3.60GHz) or better; Quad-core or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 (DirectX 11 graphic card required)
DirectX: Version 11
Hard Drive: 28 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card (Surround Sound 5.1)

Story History Explained

The Metal Gear Saga is a confusing one for both newcomers and long-time fans alike. Despite many years and many entries to the series, Big Boss’ full story remains a mystery to many. Time to explain the complete story in chronological order and bring you up to speed for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

Episode 0: Prologue – Awakening (Flashback)

Welcome to the Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain walkthrough done on S Rank difficulty level!

Maka (and later Brian & Powerpyx) will also be your voice-over commentators showing you around the game’s areas with key tips and guiding you through the toughest battles in the game.

Mission Objective: Escape the hospital.

S Rank Requirements & Tips: To get an S Rank in this prologue mission — outside of skipping all the cutscenes to increase your time score — the mission tasks are to complete the mission without triggering Reflex Mode AND without letting the Man on Fire to attack even once after meeting up with Ocelot.

Try to score headshots on the first two enemies. When you get to the lobby with multiple enemies, immediately turn around and drop down the hole in the ceiling, now crawl to the opposite end of the room where the exit door is found.

S-RANK IMPORTANT RULES: To get this S-rank simply skip all cutscenes in the prologue. Try to score headshots on the first two enemies. When you get to the lobby with multiple enemies, immediately turn around and drop down the hole in the ceiling, now crawl to the opposite end of the room where the exit door is found.
There are a few golden rules for getting S-ranks…

1. Don’t try it on your first playthrough. A lot of strategies only work when replaying missions and you will unlock better gear over the course of the game.
2. Skip all cutscenes to save time. Yes, cutscenes add to your time and will greatly reduce your points total!
3. Getting 130,000 points or more in a mission unlocks the S-rank (same score requirement for all missions).
4. Turn off Reflex Mode, you will get 10,000 extra points in each mission.
5. Be fast and silent (stealth) to get extra points for doing no combat.
6. Use shortcuts, if you know where an prisoner / enemy is, go to them directly without getting the Intel first.
7. Use your buddies D-Dog or Quiet to speed up your mission progress, but not D-Walkers (no other support team either, as the S-Rank Strategies below will explain).

S-RANK STRATEGIES: Here are some basic tips and things you should know…
– Only Main Missions have a ranking system, Side Ops don’t. Main Missions #2, #22, and #43 are an exception to the rules, as they don’t have any rankings. So your performance there doesn’t matter, since they are mostly cutscene heavy missions. There are 50 main missions in total.
– Completing the missions as quickly as possible without being seen is usually good enough. Skip the bonus objectives, they take too long and will complicate things.
– Equipping the Stealth-Suit, Parasite-Suit, Chicken-Hat, Bandana, using D-Walkers, Fulton Extraction or calling in air strikes / helicopter support will void the S-rank. With these items you are limited to A-rank at best. So don’t use them!
– On your first playthrough of the missions, always try to take out the enemy radar stations. This gives you a huge tactical advantage because you can call the extraction helicopter directly to the enemy base (or start the mission there).
– S-Ranks earn you a lot more money and heroism than lower ranks do.
– Be warned that the game uses a variable difficulty system. If you use a lot of headshots, enemies will get helmets. If you always infiltrate at night, enemies will get night vision goggles. If you always use sleeping grenades, enemies will wear gas masks etc.

Episode 1: Phantom Limbs

Mission Objective: Rescue Kazuhira Miller.

S Rank Requirements & Tips: Beat the mission at least once before doing this S-rank. This allows you to change the helicopter’s landing zone at the end and you can skip the confrontation with the skulls.
Make haste to the prisoner’s location. Approach the village from the east, this way you can easily skip all guards. Pick up the prisoner, put him on your horse, call the helicopter and you are done.

Note: To completed this with the “No Traces” perfect bonus, completely skip all enemies in this mission.

Tip: PAUSE the game, and view/configure the controls and a variety of settings. At the bottom of the screen you will find tips related to the current situation. – However, pressing the START button displays the iDROID data device screen and the game does not pause while you are using the iDROID.

Weather and Time of Day Hints: Time in the game passes at a fixed rate. At night, your visibility is reduced and enemy guard shifts change. The weather also changes along with the time of day. – For example: Sounds are less audible when it is raining, and visibility is limited during a sandstorm (but not for you if you use heat-vision infrared goggles).
To change the time from day to night (and so on) you need to smoke a Phantom Cigar, at which point you’ll look at your Seiko watch and it’ll speed up the time as Big Boss smokes a cigar to pass the time. (A Phantom Cigar level 2 will speed up time by a full 24 hours.)

Episode 2: Diamond Dogs (Flashback)

Mission Objective: Undergo Ocelot’s basic training. Complete Ocelot’s basic training covering the operation of Mother Base. – On top of learning all about Mother Base, you’ll also receive the Fulton Recovery System from Ocelot.

Note: There’s no S Rank in this mission, and as such no points are awarded upon completion.

Fulton Extraction Tips: Extracting soldiers from the area of operations is essential to expanding Diamond Dogs.
Approach a non-resisting individual (either unconscious, asleep, or held up) and hold the button to Fulton extract them.
After developing better Fulton extraction devices, you will be able to extract objects as well, including vehicles, materials containers, and weapon emplacements such as machine guns and mortars.
– The success rate of Fulton extractions depends on factors such as your Support Unit’s level, the weather, and the subject’s physical condition.
– You cannot perform a Fulton extraction when there is a ceiling above you.

Episode 3: A Hero’s Way

Mission Objective: Eliminate the Spetsnaz Detachment Commander.

S Rank Requirements & Tips: Use a sniper rifle to eliminate the target from far away. Start at the eastern landing zone. The commander will always spawn in or around the same building and wears a red hat. From the landing zone you ride to the mountain top near the village and shoot him. Leave the area on horseback.

What To Do When Spotted By Enemies?: Enemies that spot you will notify their allies by shouting, calling on the radio, or other means. Take the appropriate action for the situation, such as eliminating the enemy, fleeing, or hiding. If a battle is underway, reinforcements might still show up even after you eliminate the initial enemy. – If you give enemies the slip, they will spend time carefully searching the area where they last saw you.
Additionally, the moment you are spotted, the action slows down (Reflex Mode), and you can press left trigger button (L2 on PlayStation / LT on Xbox) to point your weapon at whoever spotted you. – If you neutralize whoever spotted you while Reflex Mode is still in effect, you can prevent them from notifying their allies.

Note: Attack nearby enemies with hand-to-hand combat. A variety of actions are possible with different button combinations.
This enables you to neutralize enemies without the noise of gunshots.

Weapons Arsenal Hint: You can carry two primary weapons (one at your hip and another on your back), two secondary weapons, and eight support weapons. Additional weapons that you obtain will have to be swapped out with those you are carrying.

Episode 4: C2W

Mission Objective: Disable the Soviets’ reinforcements system by putting a hole in their base-to-base communications network. Head for the eastern communications post, and destroy its comms equipment. – Use binoculars to locate the communications equipment at the facility.

Requirement: Have C-4 explosives unlocked.

The Easy Way: Once you have destroyed the enemy anti-air radar in a previous playthrough of this mission, it becomes very easy. If you haven’t already, replay the mission and throw some explosives at the radar (you find it in the same enemy camp that has the antennas you must destroy). At the start of this video guide a new landing zone is selected, that’s where you can also find the enemy radar.
In your next playthrough select the new landing zone in the enemy camp and shoot down the antennas with your helicopter’s minigun. That’s it, now you won’t even have to leave the helicopter.

Sneaking Movement Tips: Tilt the left stick a little to move slowly and all the way to move quickly. The faster you move, the easier it will be for enemies to spot you.

Basics of Stealth Infiltration:
– [Use the left analogue stick] You will be at a distinct disadvantage if the enemy spots you. Move as stealthily as you can to ensure you are not discovered. Enemies also respond to noise.
– [Use the X button on PlayStation / A button on Xbox & PC] The lower your stance, the less likely it is that you will be spotted. Use the left stick to move in any stance from standing to crouching to crawling.
– [Approach an object to stick to it and conceal yourself] You can even move along the object while staying hidden. While behind cover, hold the Ready Weapon button to pop out and take aim (only if the cover allows). Release the button to return to cover.
– [Lean over a cliff edge or other ledge to grab and hang off it] Use the left stick to move while hanging. Climb back up with the Triangle button on PlayStation / Y button on Xbox & PC. Let go and drop down with the X button on PlayStation / A button on Xbox & PC.
– [Quick Dive by simultaneously pressing the left analog stick + Square button on PlayStation / X button on Xbox & PC] Perform a quick dive in the the direction you are tilting the left stick. This is useful for evading enemy attacks or their line of sight.

Episode 5: Over The Fence

Mission Objective: Extract the engineer who tried to defect from a Soviet base camp and is now being held at Wakh Sind Barracks. – Hunt down a prisoner target inside a Soviet outpost.

S Rank Requirements & Tips: On the west of the enemy base is a crack in one of the rocks. Climb up and you can skip almost all enemies. There are only two guards where the prisoner is. Put them to sleep and get the prisoner. There’s a hole in the ceiling, put him there and use the fulton device to extract him.
Now simply get back to your horse and ride away to escape the hot zone. Mission complete!

Tip: To hold up enemies, approach them from behind or without them noticing and aim your weapon at them.

Tactics for taking out Fighting Vehicles: When going up against an armored vehicle or tank, stay behind cover and attack from the rear with explosive weaponry such as a missile or grenade launcher. Another effective approach is planting directional mines or radio-detonated explosives like C-4 along its predicted route ahead of time to immobilize it by destroying its tires or tracks.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Walkthrough continues on Page 2 with Episode 6: Where Do The Bees Sleep?.