Metal Gear Solid 5: Mission 12 Hellbound

This guide will help you earn an S Rank on Hellbound, a main story mission in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.  We have also listed all of the mandatory and optional objectives available for this mission. Keep in mind that the optional missions are not required to achieve an S Rank. The goal for earning an S Rank is to finish the mission quickly, granting you the time bonus needed to earn a much higher score. 

Objectives 

• Make contact with Dr. Emmerich (Mandatory).
• Extract Dr. Emmerich (Mandatory).
• Extract three Walker Gears from Central Base Camp (Optional).
• Extract Dr. Emmerich without him taking damage (Optional).
• Secure the glamor model poster at Central Base Camp (Optional).
• Secure the blueprint at Central Base Camp (Optional).

Walkthrough 

Our goal with this guide is to help you finish the mission in about 15 minutes in order to earn the time bonus. However, this mission has some tricky spots that can cause mistakes along the way, so we will try to help you avoid errors as much as we can. 

Begin by deploying at 18:00 hours if possible, in order to have the cover of darkness working to your advantage. There are three overall sections to this mission: the Serak Power Plant, the open area past the Plant, and the Afghanistan Central Base Camp where Dr. Emmerich is located. The power plant is your first stop, so let’s begin. 

Enter the red door on the left leading to the power plant. Head to your left, and be careful not to let any enemies spot you.  The simplest way to deal with the power plant is to not deal with it at all. So, carefully sneak along the left side of the map until you have fully bypassed the power plant. You may need to keep your tranquilizer gun ready, in case you encounter any enemies along the way.  Just be sure to take them down before they can call for backup. Sneaking along this path should be rather simple, especially if you have the cover of darkness to keep you hidden.

Once you have bypassed the power plant, you can begin to head toward the Afghanistan Central Base Camp on your D-Horse.  Beware of several outposts and patrols that you may discover along the way. Use your iDROID to occasionally scope out the area to avoid any unexpected enemy encounters. If you get spotted, you may want to restart from a previous checkpoint in order to ensure the time bonus. 

Once you arrive at the Afghanistan Central Base Camp, sneak your way in and keep to the very left side. You may want to interrogate one of the guards outside of the camp before entering, in order to have Dr. Emmerich’s location display as a waypoint on your map. However, you can find Dr. Emmerich in the building on the north side of the camp, and following along the left side should take you there. Stay prone and keep covered as much as possible, as it is very easy for the enemies to notice you here. You will also need your tranquilizer gun quite often, so keep it handy for neutralizing enemies.

When you reach the building where Dr. Emmerich is being held, carefully walk over the top to make your way to the east side and locate the building entrance. A cut scene will trigger once you head inside. You can opt to skip the cut scene in order to ensure a better time bonus if you wish. However, if this is your first playthrough of this mission, you may just want to let the scene play. 

After the cut scene, pick up Dr. Emmerich and toss him over your shoulders to exfiltrate him from the base. Although it’s not necessary, you can use the Walker Gear if you wish. Using the mini gatling  gun on the Walker during enemy encounters interestingly does not seem to alert the rest of the camp, so feel free to use it. Backtrack along the same path you came in from, heading back to where you originally entered the base earlier. 

Another cut scene will occur once you exit the Base Camp. After the cut scene, you will face a 100-foot tall robot named the Sahelanthropus, who will try to prevent you from leaving.  Look around for a truck parked nearby that you can use to escape. Toss Dr. Emmerich onto the passenger side, and then climb into the driver’s seat. Drive between the legs of the Sahelanthropus as you leave the area, and then use your iDROID to call in an extraction helicopter to pick you up at the LZ one further down from the closest one. As you make your way to the new landing zone, the helicopter should arrive just in time for extraction. 

When you get near the landing zone, stop and grab Dr. Emmerich out of the passenger side to carry him to the LZ. Make sure not to park under the helicopter’s landing spot. Once you board the chopper with Dr. Emmerich in tow, take control of the mini gun to destroy the robot’s onslaught of small flying pods. After you take out the pods, start blasting the Sahelanthropus to destroy the robot and conclude the mission. If you were able to complete the operation in about 15 minutes or less, you should be granted the S Rank for this mission. 

Continue to Pitch Dark, or return to the Metal Gear Solid 5 Walkthrough and Guide.