Guide, Part 1

Complete Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with our comprehensive trophy guide. Learn how to earn every achievement, from story milestones to S-ranks and Side Ops.

Story Milestones

1. Awakening: Complete “PROLOGUE: AWAKENING” mission.
2. Phantom Limb: Complete “PHANTOM LIMBS” mission.
3. Beekeeper: Complete “WHERE DO THE BEES SLEEP?” mission.
4. Gears Turn: Complete “HELLBOUND” mission.
5. Caravan: Complete “TRAITORS’ CARAVAN” mission.
6. Voices: Complete “VOICES” mission.
7. Immortal: Complete “METALLIC ARCHAEA” mission.
8. Skull: Complete “SAHELANTHROPUS” mission.
9. Disappearance: Complete “A QUIET EXIT” mission.
10. Truth: Complete “TRUTH: THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD” mission.

Apprentice

In order to use someone else during a mission, you will need to first unlock the Combat Unit for your Mother Base. This happens after completing Mission 8: Occupation Forces. When you place people in this unit, you will be able to play as them by choosing the option during the initial mission setup. Just complete any mission with that character to earn this.

Apprentice: Complete a mission using a Combat Unit staff member. (15 points)

Accomplished

Missions in the game are separated into Main Missions and Side Ops. You need to complete all of the Main Missions in the game in order to unlock this. Playing through them normally will bring things to a halt after completing Mission 31. Continue playing and finishing Side Ops until more missions unlock. Eventually, you’ll unlock a majority of the missions, save for probably 45 and 46. These two are special and require certain conditions in order to be unlocked.

For Mission 45, you need to have recruited Quiet by saving her in Mission 11, max out her bond and exile the scientist from Mother Base. This will unlock Side Ops 150 and finishing it will make Mission 45 available. For Mission 46, it seems you need to finish every Main Mission, with the exception of 45 and higher, then do all of the story-related Side Ops (marked in yellow). You also require the Mother Base to be upgraded to a certain point.

Accomplished: Complete all missions. (30 points)

Executed

Every main mission in the game will have tasks that you can do during them, such as extracting a specific person or getting a certain item. These tasks are hidden the first time you do any mission, but will be revealed on the mission selection screen. You need to complete every single tasks for every single mission in order to get this trophy/achievement. It will probably be one of the last ones you get, as some missions will require you to replay them, since you might not have the required tools to finish an objective on your first playthrough.

Executed: Complete all mission tasks. (30 points)

Elite

At the end of any of the main missions in the game, you will receive a rank that is based on your overall score. In order to get an S Rank, you need to get a total score of 130,000. While there are a lot of factors for your score, the main one is how fast you do the mission. There are a few things you want to do to increase your chances, such as not being spotted at all, not using Reflex Mode, and not killing anyone; all of these will add bonus points to your total.

There are some items and other things in the game that restrict your rank to a maximum of an A, should you use them. These are the Chicken Hat, Infinity Bandana, Parasite Suit, Fire Support, Helicopter Support, Stealth Camouflage, and D-Walker’s F-Ballista. Basically, using any of the above during a mission will make it so you can’t get higher than an A rank in that mission. It’s probably not a good idea to aim for S Ranks on your first playthrough of a mission, as coming back later with more powerful equipment will make it a lot easier.

Elite: Complete all missions with an S rank. (100 points)

Side Ops Missions

Side Ops are side missions that unlock after completing Mission 2. Each one has a different objective and are usually not as involved as the Main Missions in the game. There’s a total of 157 Side Ops and you will need to complete them all to unlock Achieved, with Undertaken and Cleared earned along the way.

Undertaken: Completed a SIDE OP. (15 points)

Cleared: Completed all "Mine Clearing" SIDE OPS. (15 points)

Achieved: Completed all SIDE OPS. (30 points)

Captured

Throughout the game, you will be forced to enter various outposts and guard posts to do some sort of objective. In order to capture one of these, you simply need to either kill or put to sleep all of the guards in it. It’s best to do this one at the smaller guard posts littered across the map, which are shown with numbers on your map.

Captured: Captured an outpost or guard post. (15 points)

Deployment

After completing Mission 8, you will unlock the Combat Unit for Mother Base, as well as Dispatch Missions. Basically, as you place more members in the Combat Unit, you can send them out on missions that they will complete with you never having to do anything. The key Dispatch Missions are marked with a yellow dot to the left of their name, so you only have to complete all of those.

Deployment: Completed all key Dispatch Missions. (30 points)

Intruder

To unlock the Forward Operating Base, or FOB, you will need to progress through the main missions until you complete Mission 22. The first FOB is free, but for each one you want to build, it will cost you MB Coins, which are purchased with real life money. Once you build your FOB, select the FOB Missions option under the Missions tab and choose to infiltrate anyone. As soon as you start flying there in your chopper, the trophy/achievement will unlock; you don’t even need to land.