This is great for a quick extraction or for dropping into the action hot on later missions, but be warned that using these high-risk landing zones means that you and your chopper are likely to take enemy fire. However, you can change that by taking out anti-air radar stations, which open up new landing zones right next to enemy territory. Normally, your helicopter needs to land a fair distance from your mission areas. If you don’t know what to do next, you can’t wrong with something yellow. Anything that is story-critical – including main missions, side ops, and even cassette tapes – is highlighted in yellow text or with a yellow dot. If you want to make sure you’re getting the key information about The Phantom Pain’s story, the game has conveniently color-coded it. Unlike previous Metal Gear games, you don’t want to go into a mission loaded down with all of the best items you can carry, because you end up paying for stuff you never use and bleeding resources that could be better spent on other things. Some items also require other items, like specific plants or metals. Every item you bring along – guns, grenades, even buddies – has an associated GMP cost. However, every time you deploy into a mission area, it also costs GMP based on the equipment you are using. If you want to expand Mother Base, it costs GMP. If you want to research new equipment, it costs GMP. Your basic currency is GMP, and most parts of it are pretty basic: You earn it, and you spend it.
Instead, pause the game (press the left side of the touchpad on PS4 controllers) and choose “return to ACC.” You can lose progress when you do this, so it's best to do right after a mission or side-op, but it’s a quick (and free) ticket home. When you’re in the open world, you can call for an extraction chopper that gets you there, but that costs GMP. You need to call in a helicopter to get there from Mother Base, but not from the battlefield.
The Aerial Command Center (ACC) is where you go to launch your missions. If you start this early and stay on top of it, getting from place to place between missions is less of a hassle. Once you have a voucher, you can use that station to ship yourself (via cardboard box) to the other cargo stations you’ve unlocked. Some of these have cargo stations nearby, and those stations have posts with vouchers you can take. As you explore, you find enemy bases and outposts. Getting around the massive maps in The Phantom Pain isn’t easy, and the game never clearly explains one of the ways it addresses the problem. You can either lie about it, or tell the truth and just change your system’s internal clock. I won’t explain why, but I recommend using an actual name (it doesn’t even need to be yours) instead of something like “Buttz” or “Flaccid Snake.” As for the birthday, there’s just a fun in-game nod when the date rolls around. To make sure you don’t miss anything important, we’ve put together a spoiler-free list of tips and tricks to ensure you get the most out of your time as Big Boss.Įarly on, you are asked to enter a name and a birthday. However, it also increases the chances that details and features might slip through the cracks.
In terms of depth and scope, this installment takes the series to a new level, which means fans have more Metal Gear to explore than ever. After years of waiting, gamers are finally playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain today.