METAL GEAR AC!D 2
BOSS GUIDE

Copyright 2009 HalfMillennium

This guide is written as a free guide and is not written to make profit.

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The information contained in this walkthrough may have errors. 



1: INTRODUCTION

2: THE BOSSES
2.1: Harab Serap
2.2: Vince
2.3: Golab
2.4: Metal Gear KODOQUE
2.5: Chaigidiel
2.6: Vince 2
2.7: Metal Gear Chaioth ha Qadesh
2.8: Metal Gear *name removed, spoilers*
2.9: *name removed, spoilers*

3: CREDITS



---------------
1: INTRODUCTION
---------------

The boss strategies were written for the Normal difficulty setting. They do
not assume you have used any cheats to acquire cards. Generally, if a normal
card is mentioned, its upgraded form can be used for the same purpose.

Please be aware that the censored boss names are listed for their respective
entries. The guide contains no unnecessary spoilers apart form those above.



-------------
2: THE BOSSES
-------------

 /----------------\
| 2.1: HARAB SERAP |
 \----------------/

Harab Serap attacks in two ways. If you're at a distance, he may fire his hands
off, which induces Knockdown and occasionally Faint. He can also use the move
to quickly transport himself around the room. If he hits Snake with them, they
fall to the ground and he regenerates them soon after. His other attack is a
simple arm strike if he's right next to Snake. Once his health is at about 50%,
he sprouts blades from his arms, which enable him to induce Bleeding if he
attacks you.

Harab Serap is almost tediously fond of Front Evade, often equipping a pair of
them. There is a way around this - Harab Serap's massive size means he spreads
across four blocks, and attacking the back two regardless of facing won't
trigger Front Evade. Alternatively, you could run up to him, use CQC to
eradicate Front Evade and strike with a real attack.

As far as cards go, a range of cards are fairly effective against Harab Serap.
The Fury (or The Fury+) is a good choice, but be aware that if you're standing
right next to him when you fire (pun not intended), Snake can be burnt. Also
consider that Harab Serap can burn you simply by walking at you if flaming.
Hold no illusion, Fire, Bleeding and Faint are not a good combination. Cyborg
Ninja is handy, as it can attack Harab Serap regardless of range or facing.
Survival knife is effective if you can get round the back of Harab Serap or
eliminate his Front Evade prior to using it. A few Rations wouldn't hurt, and
Spin Kick might be effective as well. GRU soldiers can be useful given their
movement range.



 /----------\
| 2.2: VINCE |
 \----------/

Slightly easier than Harab Serap, Vince is fought with both Snake and Venus.

He fights with an RPG-7, but don't be too intimidated - his Warning Shot
attack is pretty much pointless and doesn't hit anyone. His actual RPG strikes
do hurt, but they're not as powerful as you might expect. One thing you should
watch out for is where you position your characters; if an RPG hits an
extinguisher or a barrel, your character might well have to fight the Blind or
Fire status effects, respectively. Speaking of barrels, Vince can also pick one
up and throw it, again inducing Fire.

As you have two characters, you can attempt to get Vince in a pincer movement.
The same strategies apply as with Harab Serap relating to cards. Again, Vince
is fond of equipment which makes attacks miss or subtract less HP, but with two
characters you can shake it off with Snake and attack with Venus (or the other
way round, depending on the situation). Fighting Vince on the top level seems
to make it slightly easier to coordinate attacks against your aggressor. If
you wish, you can use the environment against him by shooting items.

It's not a stretch to say you won't lose to Vince on your first attempt - in
fact, it's not unlikely you'll need to replenish your HP.



 /----------\
| 2.3: GOLAB |
 \----------/

Golab may look like Otacon's evil brother, but he's a bit of a pushover - if
you have the right kit.

Before you attack, press Triangle and explore the arena. Several barrels are
dotted around the arena, with crates forming cover. Ladders on the sides of the
battlefield permit access to walkways. That's where you want to be, ideally,
but for the moment, you need to fight Golab up to his face.

Golab's attacks involve the large container he carries. He can whack a
character if he's next to him/her, and he can also swallow oil from the
container and breathe it out as fire (similar to The Fury or Pyro Bison).
Naturally, this can burn a character. If he can't attack you, he may choose to
spit three loads of oil out, creating oil slicks on the spots where they land.
Occasionally, he could spit on a character, causing the Oil Slick status effect.

An ideal Snake deck for this fight would contain a Nikita and a few GRU
Soldier+ cards. Venus should be equipped with a USP and several assault rifles
and Marines+. As usual, Rations are useful, and Venus' ability to sustain
Snake's HP is handy.

Venus should immediately make a break for the west walkway. Snake, meanwhile,
remains on the floor to fight Golab for a while. The idea is to use Snake as a
shield while Venus takes up an offensive position on the walkway. Golab, like
Harab Serap, likes Front Evade. He comes pre-equipped with Ceramic Armour. CQC
and assault rifles work fairly well. Once Venus is in position, she can start
firing on Golab while Snake makes his way to the walkway. If Snake's HP gets low
(it shouldn't for a while), Venus can replenish it. Snake should climb the
ladder Venus didn't; this spaces them out and means Golab's fire breath only
hurts one of them. If Snake has a Nikita, he should fire it before climing the
ladder to take off a good chunk of Golab's HP. Once he's up, it's simply a
matter of blasting Golab with whatever's available until he falls.



 /-----------------------\
| 2.4: METAL GEAR KODOQUE |
 \-----------------------/

If you've played (and beaten) Metal Gear Ac!d, you should have an idea of what
to expect from this colossus. Metal Gear has two gigantic 'wings', each of which
deploys a salvo of four missiles. These missile fire at the highlighted blocks
on the following turn. It also has a laser cannon located in a rather
questionable position, which the game handily shows the range for this time
round.

Metal Gear remains stationary at the start of the battle, but eventually walks.
It does a good job of not stepping on Snake and Venus, but any crates it stomps
on are destroyed immediately. Avoiding the missiles is as simple as not
standing in a block adjacent (in any direction) to the ones which are
highlighted (and, obviously, those ones themselves), but it's easy to overlook
this step. The laser cannon can fire on any block in the range shown in front
of Metal Gear; crates can shield you from it.

The Nikita and RC Missile are worthless as Metal Gear's lower body isn't a
target. The Redeye, if you own one, is an effective weapon, as is any other
rocket launcher. Special mention should be made of the M79: if Metal Gear
manages to hit you with its energy blast attacks, you can turn the tables by
dealing 350+ HP in one shot (it's entirely possible to build a strategy
around this trick). The Dragon, counterproductive though it may seem, is
actually a useful weapon, as you can use it to convert the Cost used as you
move into damage.

The first task is to take out both wings. Although it might seem simpler to
send Snake after one wing and Venus after another, if you order both of them to
attack the same wing, you'll be able to half the number of missiles the mech
deploys after the first is shot off. When both wings are down, Metal Gear
gains a new attack. Its upper body rolls forward, revealing an energy cannon
which takes 20 Cost to charge. Fully charged, it fires an energy burst, and
hits any character in front of it (even if they avoid the initial attack) for
300 HP and Knockdown. Incidentally, it's only vulnerable when it's in this
stance. A few good shots from rocket launchers and it'll be down.



 /---------------\
| 2.5: CHAIGIDIEL |
 \---------------/

Chaigidiel's a weird little enemy you'll encounter on ??? 2F.

First and foremost, Chaigidiel's hypnosis briefly takes control of Snake or
Venus, so try to avoid positioning them next to each other. He can also throw
mines, which he occasionally chooses to blow even if he's in range of one. His
other trick is to teleport to the ceiling and run around on there for a bit. A
good shot will knock him off.

There's not much to be said regarding strategy; as usual, the USP and other
normal weapons are useful. The only trick is to stand at either side of him
when he stands between the pillars in the centre of the room. He's fond of
Chris Jenner (anti-Knockdown) and Front Evade, but CQC has its uses as it did
with Harab Serap. After a few hits, he plunges the room into darkness; if you
follow him round the room this shouldn't be a problem.



 /------------\
| 2.6: VINCE 2 |
 \------------/

Look who's back. You'll fight Vince again after your battle with Chaigidiel on
an arena almost identical to the one you fought him on.

Vince is supported by a squad of soldiers, but don't panic. Each of them is
easy to finish and Vince might even kill them with one of his barrel throws.
As Vince tends to go for Snake first, it might be wise to get Venus onto the
eastern guards and join Snake when she's finished fighting those. Shooting
barrels can take out numerous guards at once, and you can use CQC to kick them
off ledges or stairs onto the lower level where they faint.

Other than that, the battle is pretty much exactly the same as it was when you
last fought. He tends to use cards which make him resistant to Fire and also
uses Ceramic Armour and anti-Knockdown cards, but he also uses Warning Shot,
so there's opportunity to attack.



 /---------------------------------\
| 2.7: METAL GEAR CHAIOTH HA QADESH |
 \---------------------------------/

Koppelthorn's mechanical monster is a complicated boss, so read carefully.

Chaioth ha Qadesh is fought on a massive arena populated by crates. These offer
limited cover from Koppelthorn's attacks, and can be destroyed.

Metal Gear has three targets, one on each arm and... well, you'll know when you
see the third one. Each target has 700 HP, and unlike with KODOQUE destroying
a target doesn't usually diminish Metal Gear's ability to attack.

A unique part of this fight is being able to see Chaoith ha Qadesh's cards.
Don't be tempted to press Triangle and speed over the choosing animation; if
you check what he's about to play you can plan accordingly. He chooses the
first card in his hand on each occasion.

Movement (! symbol) - 10 Cost. Any card can be used for Movement, but there's
also a specific card. Metal Gear Chaioth ha Qadesh stomps forward five blocks,
and may turn before and/or after it moves. Anyone hit by its legs is instantly
killed. If it lands on someone's block, it jumps (which may or may not hit
depending on which block they're standing on), before jumping across the arena.

Shagohod (green and yellow tank) - Vulcan Strafe, 8 Cost. Chaioth ha Qadesh
fires its Vulcan cannon at a lengthy region in front of itself, hitting targets
for 200 HP and Knockdown.

Jehuty (light mecha) - Burst Shot, 10 Cost: Chaioth ha Qadesh eradicates all
equipment and equipment slot upgrades.

Metal Gear RAY (green dragon-like mecha) - Hydraulic Cutter, 8 Cost. Chaioth ha
Qadesh fires a ray in front of itself, for 300 damage and Knockdown.

Metal Gear D (Revised) - Vulcan Cannon, 8 Cost. Functionally identical to Vulcan
Strafe.

Metal Gear (grey walking tank) - Red Laser, 8 Cost. Similar to Hydraulic Cutter,
but with Bleeding alongside Knockdown.

Metal Gear GANDER (purple cartoon-style mecha) - Guided Missile, 15 Cost.
Chaioth ha Qadesh fires missiles which cover a wide space in front of it and
strike for 250 HP and Knockdown. Crates offer some cover. It'll fairly often
miss, so don't panic.

Metal Gear MK-II (small blue mecha) - Data Processing, 6 Cost. Might not seem
to do much except seem oddly cute, but MG MK-II actually reorders Koppelthorn's
cards and can confuse players.

Onto strategy. Body Armour is pointless, but Front Evade can be fairly
effective. An ideal deck would contain several Red-Eyes or FMA-92s and Dragons,
along with at least one Action++. M67s can be useful as well.

It's vital that you spread your characters out to avoid Chaoith ha Qadesh's
feet. It isn't particularly good at attacking over long ranges, so a good
technique is to use Venus as bait while Snake fires rockets from across the
battlefield. Make sure you check his NEXT card, not his current card, when
you're given access to Koppelthorn's own hand. If it's going to be something
dangerous, fall back. Venus can lend a hand with USPs, Makarovs and whatever
else she might use, but Snake should perhaps be your main offensive player.
Crates can provide cover from the beam attacks and missiles and Front Evade is
handy for avoiding attacks, but Burst Shot eliminates Front Evade. If you wish
to engage Metal Gear directly, try moving among the crates to maintain cover.



 /--------------------\
| 2.8: METAL GEAR LUCY |
 \--------------------/

No, that's not a typo. The boss is Lucy... merged with Chaoith ha Qadesh.

This fight continues directly from the Chaoith ha Qadesh one apart from a
lengthy cut-scene, and your characters retain the HP and cards they had
before you apparently took out the mech. Lucy retains Metal Gear GANDER,
Metal Gear MK-II, Jehuty and Movement as cards, along with three new
attacks.

Metal Gear REX (grey dinosaur mecha) - Trample, 10 Cost. Chaoith ha Qadesh
leaps forward and kills anyone it lands on.

Arsenal Gear (grey battleship) - Boot Up, 10 Cost. Chaoith ha Qadesh lunges
and hits anyone in front of it for 300 HP.

KODOQUE (the winged Metal Gear you fought) - Optical Weapon B, 20 Cost. Chaoith
ha Qadesh fires a beam which hits anyone in front of it for 400 HP and
Knockdown.

As the beam and Vulcan attacks are no longer available, you can attack from
a slightly less ranged vantage point, but be aware that REX can provide a
nasty instant-death attack. KODOQUE is brutal but doesn't necessarily kill,
whereas Arsenal is if nothing else a better alternative than it actually
walking forward.

All of MG Lucy's weak points are on the top, so attack from points where
Snake or Venus can land a strike. Use similar strategies as for Chaoith ha
Qadesh and adapt as necessary to accommodate for the new moves and lack of
other ones.



 /----------\
| 2.9: VENUS |
 \----------/

And the final boss.

If you choose to do this battle the way you might assume, it's difficult.
Venus fights with Snake's deck and can use even the cards which are usually
'Snake only'. She has 1500 HP, 20% extra luck and the ability to move more
than Snake and use CQC more than once per go.

Fortunately, there's a simpler way. If you're observant, you may have spotted
the chasm which borders the arena. Alternatively, you might have been kicked
or blown into said chasm by an eager Venus. Well, she's not immune to being
thrown over the railing.

A deck needs custom-building for this strategy to be easy-ish. First, remove
any and all weapons which can deal the Knockdown status effect from the deck.
Optionally, remove all ranged weapons and Front Evades. Now, start the fight
and ignore Venus. Go east until you reach the area where a south-east corner
is. Lie on the floor there. Observe that there are two ways to kick someone
over from there. Venus runs toward you and kicks you. If she approaches from
the west, simply jump to your feet and kick her off. If she comes from the
north, on your feet, run round behind her and kick her. And that wasn't
difficult. Oh, and don't forget to reorganise your deck for the escape scene.



----------
3: CREDITS
----------

Credits to Kojima Productions and everyone involved in MGA2.