Stealth Ops

Sneaking around: Your basi[Subsistence] 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.

- Enemie[Subsistence] 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.

- Do[Subsistence]’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.

Stu[Subsistence]/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 hi[Subsistence] 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.

- Eve[Subsistence] 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/Nigh[Subsistence]: 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, som[Subsistence] 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.

Whit[Subsistence] 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.

- Ther[Subsistence] 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.

- Yo[Subsistence] 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!

- Ther[Subsistence] 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 a[Subsistence] 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.

Aler[Subsistence] 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 Mod[Subsistence]: 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.

Interrogatio[Subsistence]: 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 Camera[Subsistence]: 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.