The Boss, The Joy, the Mother of Special Forces, and Snake’s mentor. She is what awaits players at the end of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and is the game’s final boss. Snake’s whole mission has been building to this confrontation and players will need to know how to take her down. With MiGs coming to bomb the entire field, it’s time to give her and Snake the best 10 minutes of their lives. Face her! This guide will show players how to beat the final Boss Fight and defeat The Boss in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
How to Beat The Boss in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Just like most of the other bosses in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, you can choose between either performing lethal or non-lethal attacks against The Boss. Weapons that use real bullets or other weapons that kill normal enemies will deplete the health bar of the boss, while non-lethal weapons will chip away at their stamina bar. If you can fully deplete either bar, you will win the boss fight, but beating the boss by non-lethal means will give you an extra reward.
This boss also has a time limit, but unlike Volgin, there is no timer on the screen. You will need to beat her within 10 minutes. As the 10 minutes approach their end, the “Snake Eater” theme will start to play. When the song ends, MiGs will bomb the area, causing an immediate game over.
Taking on The Boss will be the ultimate test of the skills she taught Snake. You will need to sneak around and get the drop on her and prove your superior skills in CQC. When there is distance between you and her, she will utilize her Patriot Assault Rifle, a fast-firing gun with infinite ammo. When she is firing the gun and whenever she is aware of your location, you won’t be able to hit her with any gunshots. She will move from tree to tree to keep her distance.
If The Boss sees you at a medium or close distance, she will charge at you, which is telegraphed with a voiceline. When she is running at you, she will dodge out of the way of any shots you send her way. If you try to CQC her at any time when she is aware of your presence, she will counter it and take you down instead, leaving you open to a follow-up attack from the Patriot.
If she reaches you after charging, she will perform a CQC combo. If you’re holding a weapon with the ability to perform CQC, she will instantly take you down and take the weapon out of your hand. She will then throw it away, leaving all the ammo and the gun scattered around the arena. You will need to go pick up the weapon and ammo if you want to use it again.
If you aren’t holding a weapon or have a weapon equipped that can perform CQC, like the Mk22, M1911A1, or Survival Knife, you will need to counter her combo. If you fail, she will take you down and throw the weapon that you were in your hands away, along with all of its ammo. Just like any other weapon, you will need to collect the gun and ammo to use it again.
Depending on what CQC weapon you have in your hand, The Boss’s combo will be different, meaning its important to know how to counter each version of her combo. She will also get an extended version of each combo when she drops below 50%, gaining a second attack that you will need to counter. You will need to hit the melee button at the right time to counter her CQC. You will know that it’s time to counter when her attack slows down into slow motion. This window is short, so you will need to know it’s coming. This means it might take a little time to get the hang of the correct timing. If you are able to counter her combo, you will take her down to the ground, doing stamina damage and leaving her open for a follow-up attack.
When she CQCs you when you aren’t holding any weapons, she will trap Snake’s left arm after he throws a punch and go to elbow him in the gut. When she pulls back from the elbow, counter her. When she drops below 50% health or stamina, her second attack will be a punch that she attempts when Snake traps her right arm right after countering the first attack. When the counter the first attack in the first phase and counter both attacks in the second, she will be knocked to the ground.
If The Boss tries to CQC while you’re holding the Survival Knife, she will run up and trap the arm holding the knife and then go for a knee to the gut. When she enters her second phase, Snake will trap her arm behind her back after countering the first strike. She will attempt to counter by throwing an elbow at his head.
When holding a pistol, she will grab the gun and lift it above her head. Right when the gun is above her head, counter it. Her second attack sees her flip out of an attempted takedown and then pulling her right arm across her body to prepare for a backhand, counter this as she pulls her hand back.
Another way to CQC The Boss is to sneak up on her. If you can get the drop on her, you can CQC and knock her to the ground without worrying about a counter. If she sees you last second, you can CQC while the exclamation point is above her head to punch her and stun her. You can then follow this up with a CQC attack.
Now that you know how to combat the CQC of The Boss and how to do damage to her, its time to just go for whatever damage you want to do when there is an opening. If you want to take her down lethally, you can use the SVD Sniper to hit her at range and then the M37 Shotgun after you CQC her to the ground. For the non-lethal option, I suggest using the Mosin Nagant at both range and close up. When you take her down, shoot her in the head with the Tranq Sniper Rifle to do massive damage. There is a classic exploit from the original game that carries over to the remake. If you unequip and then re-equip a weapon that has a long reload, you can skip the animation. This means with something like the Mosin Nagant, if you fire, and then unequip and re-equip, you can get multiple shots off very quickly. You can fire three shots in quick succession with this technique, inflicting significant damage.
If you beat the boss non-lethally, you will get the “Snake” Camouflage. She will drop the box with the camo when she is defeated. You will only have a few seconds to pick it up, so when you beat her, run up to her body and claim your reward. This camo doesn’t have any special effects but is useful in every location, meaning you will get a good boost to your Camo Index no matter the area you wear it in.
With The Boss defeated, Snake will now need to put down his mentor. There’s no getting out of this one. Time to pull the trigger and change the trajectory of the Metal Gear universe forever.
You now know how to beat The Boss in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Stay tuned to Gameranx for more news, updates, and guides for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater as well as other great games in the future.