Metal Gear Solid 5: Mission 09 – Backup, Back Down

This guide will help you earn an S Rank score in the mission Backup, Back Down in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and includes a list of the primary and optional objectives available for this section. Note that it is not necessary to complete all the objectives to earn an S Rank. You just need to accumulate a score of 130,000 or more, and earning the time bonus will greatly increase your chances of getting an S Rank score. 

Objectives 

• Eliminate an armored vehicle (Mandatory).
• Eliminate multiple fighting vehicles or gunships (Optional).
• Eliminate all armored vehicles without a resupply or fire support (Optional).
• Secure a weapon carried by a transport truck (Optional).
• Extract and armored vehicle (Optional).
• Extract the four soldiers searching for the escaped prisoner (Optional).
• Extract six prisoners (Optional).
• Extract three tanks (Optional). 

Walkthrough 

For this mission, your goal will be to eliminate all 11 vehicles, and you will not need to focus on the time bonus this time. Only seven vehicles are required to complete the mission, but you will need to destroy all 11 if you wish to achieve an S Rank score.  Being spotted by the enemy will result in a 5,000 point deduction from your score, so make sure to stay in cover as much as possible. Also, you will be needing C4 and a rocket launcher. If you don’t have these items yet, postpone this mission and come back to it when you have the right equipment. 

Begin by landing at the landing zone north of the Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost. Position yourself about halfway between your landing zone and the outpost, and prepare to ambush the vehicles that pass through. Plant several sticks of C4 on the road, and take cover. When an enemy tank rolls over the C4, blow the charges and destroy the tank. Resupply your C4 by calling in a supply drop when necessary. You should be able to eliminate at least seven vehicles with this technique.

After you have dealt with the first seven vehicles, the other four that you need to destroy will be in various locations. The next two will not come from the south like the previous vehicles. From your ambush location, there should be two vehicles approaching from the north: a truck carrying a CGM 25 rocket launcher, as well as a jeep transporting a prisoner. Destroy the truck and grab the launcher out of the back, as you will need this to take out a gunship later. Attempt to extract the prisoner without being spotted to contribute to one of the optional objectives. 

There will be three additional tanks that you can pursue as well as a gunship flying above. You may need to relocate from your ambush position depending on the direction these vehicles are headed. One option is to head south of the outpost and attempt to catch up with them on horseback, or even use your D-Horse to obstruct their path in the road, giving you a chance to strike. When dealing with the gunship, use your newly acquired CGM 25 rocket launcher that you got from the back of the truck earlier. When it’s out of ammo, swap it with your original launcher and call in a supply drop to replenish your ammo until you eliminate the gunship and the armored tanks. If you have an upgraded Fulton Recovery Device, the tanks can be extracted to contribute to another optional objective. 

Achieving the S Rank for this mission has proven to be quite difficult, and you may need to attempt this mission several times. It might help to come back to this mission later in the game once you have acquired the firepower needed to efficiently take out the vehicles and tanks in under four shots. Hopefully our techniques have assisted you in earning the S Rank score for this mission. 

When you have eliminated all 11 vehicles, call in your extraction helicopter and prepare for the next mission, Angel with Broken Wings, or return to Prima’s Metal Gear Solid 5 Walkthrough and Guide.