This guide will help you earn an S Rank score in the story mission [Extreme] Metallic Archaea in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and includes a list of the mandatory and optional objectives available for this mission. Note that it is not necessary to complete all the objectives to earn an S Rank, but that you just need an accumulated score of 130,000 or more. Completing the mission quickly and earning additional score bonuses will greatly increase your chances of achieving an S Rank for the mission.
Objectives
- Eliminate the Skulls (Mandatory).
- Extract Code Talker (Mandatory).
- Complete the mission without being grabbed by a puppet soldier (Optional).
- Extract the Skulls (Optional).
Walkthrough
This mission is meant to be a more difficult version of the earlier mission Metallic Archaea where you faced the Skulls. This time your enemies will have more health, and you are also more susceptible to damage, so this mission may be a bit more challenging than the previous version.
Normally we would suggest that you bring along Quiet for this mission. However, at the time of this post there is still a problem where bringing Quiet for this mission can result in a corruption of your entire save file. Although you may not encounter this issue, we greatly advise that you avoid using Quiet for this mission until a future update, for the sake of preserving your game’s save file.
Instead, prepare for this mission by equipping the D-Walker at the Sortie prep screen. You can use the gatling gun on the D-Walker to quickly whittle down the health of the encroaching Skulls. You may also choose to equip a powerful sniper rifle if you wish to stake out on the airport’s rooftop to hit enemies from a distance.
Just like the original version, the mission will begin with you being surrounded by the Skulls. Quickly hop on your D-Walker and run away to put some distance between you and the Skulls. If you are choosing to use the D-Walker, you can call in a supply drop now so that you will have ammo already available when you need a resupply later.
Try not to be out in the open for too long, as you can get hit by the Skull’s jump attacks. Keep moving so that the Skulls don’t get too close to you. Also, avoid the weird gas emitted by the Skulls, as this can disable your D-Walker.
Use the gatling gun on your D-Walker to riddle the Skulls with bullets, staying mobile to maintain your distance. Make sure to use your Fulton Recovery Device to extract the neutralized Skulls before the end of the mission to earn extra points.
Once you have eliminated the Skulls, locate Code Talker near the crashed chopper and carry him to the landing zone. When the extraction helicopter arrives, the mission concludes. With the added points for earning Perfect Stealth, No Kills, as well as the other bonuses, you should have earned enough to achieve an S Rank.
Continue with Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death, or return to the Metal Gear Solid 5: Walkthrough and Guide.
