Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain - 12 Crucial Tips & Tricks You Need To Know

From Ground Zeroes import bonuses to secret moves and much, much more.

Regardless of if you knew MGS V was going to be an expansion on Peace Walker's core collect-'em-all gameplay or not, the sheer breadth and depth of content within Phantom Pain is absolutely mind-blowing. Big Boss/Snake's abilities are thoroughly fleshed out from what MGS 3 put in motion, your loadouts can include everything from inflatable decoys to multi-missile homing devices, stat-screens govern gargantuan offshore facilities where you send your men out on missions, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood-style... and all that comes within the first 15 hours or so, around a tenth of the entire game. Creator Hideo Kojima has lived up to and surpassed his illustrious reputation as being one of gaming's most barmy-yet-brilliant auteurs, and following around a half-decade in development, the resulting project is something that - alongside The Witcher 3 - feels like an entire world is ticking away on the other side of the screen. However, with such a gigantic game in every sense of the word, Kojima simply wants you to go forth and play in his glorious sandbox. That means there are going to be things you'll miss out on, tricks you'll read about online that the game doesn't spell out - and all sorts of little-known tips that can really improve your enjoyment of the game throughout. Leave your own custom tactics in the comments below, but for the sake of the story and those who haven't read the leaked plot synopsis, this article and the section below will (and should) remain spoiler-free.
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.