Spoiler Alert: Due to the nature of this guide, major narrative and gameplay spoilers will be detailed below, including the names of every major boss. Proceed with caution.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has some of the most interesting bosses in the franchise. Each Metal Gear Solid Delta boss has a gimmick that requires you to think on your feet and put the game’s mechanics to work in unique ways, but that can leave some players stuck on certain encounters until they figure out exactly what to do.
There are nine total bosses in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and you’ll find yourself at a new boss battle every two or three hours if you’re playing through the game at a steady pace. You can defeat every boss in the game non-lethally as well, and there are special rewards for exercising restraint and playing as a pacifist even though there are other tools at your disposal. Here’s how to beat every boss in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
All MGS Delta Bosses in Order
These are the bosses that you’ll face in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater:
- Ocelot
- The Pain
- The Fear
- The End
- The Fury
- The Sorrow
- Volgin
- The Shagohod
- The Boss
All of these bosses appear in Operation Snake Eater, so you don’t have to worry about boss battles during the Virtuous Mission prologue. There are several different strategies for taking on each boss in MGS Delta, including some easy ways to cheese them if you’re not up for a fair fight.
Ocelot
Ocelot is the first major boss that you’ll encounter in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. You’ll face off against Ocelot in a classic western-style duel across a deep chasm.
Ocelot will constantly run from cover to cover, shooting at you with his revolvers while he’s on the move. Your best chance to damage Ocelot is when he reloads. He’ll frequently reload his guns out in the open, and you can use grenades or captured animals to flush him out of cover and force him into the open.
There are also beehives hanging from tree branches that you can shoot to stun Ocelot as well. He may try to retaliate with a beehive of his own, so use some Bug Juice to avoid the hornets. If you need healing items or ammo, crawl around your side of the arena to find extra resources. You can also climb the tree to your right to reach a vantage point if you can’t get a shot off otherwise.
If you defeat Ocelot nonlethally, you’ll receive the Animals Camo as a reward.
The Pain
You’ll encounter The Pain shortly after your duel with Ocelot. This bee-centric boss is a pain (no pun intended), but there are some easy tricks you can pull off to take him out.
You can use Bug Juice to reduce the effectiveness of The Pain’s hornets.
The main strategy against The Pain is to dive underwater so he loses track of you, then emerge behind him for a free shot. The Pain will protect himself with bee armor during the fight, but you can destroy it with enough gunfire. The Pain will retaliate with bees if you engage him directly for too long, so a head-on approach is risky. Sometimes, The Pain will create decoys of himself as well, so pay close attention to find the real one.
You should also avoid using grenades against The Pain. Grenades may seem like an effective way to destroy The Pain’s bee armor, but he’ll just instruct his hornets to intercept the grenade and carry it back to you. Halfway through the fight, The Pain will start using bullet bees against you. If they touch you, they’ll deal continuous damage unless you remove them in the cure menu. Thankfully, they only need a knife to be removed, so you don’t have to waste precious healing resources.
If you defeat The Pain non-lethally, you’ll receive the Hornet Stripes Camo as a reward.
The Fear
The Fear is the second member of the Cobra Unit that you’ll face in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. He leaps from tree to tree and pelts you with poisonous crossbow bolts. This fight is headache-inducing if you’re not prepared, but The Fear can easily be taken care of with the right gear.
As soon as the fight begins, open the cure menu to remove the crossbow bolt and remedy the poison. The Fear will continue to shoot these bolts at you throughout the fight, so repeat this process if you get hit.
The Fear will periodically get tired and come down to the ground in search of food. Instead of shooting him, try to throw poisonous or rotten food on the ground for him to collect.
The Fear will spend most of the battle jumping between tree branches, so keep your camera pointed upward and try not to lose track of him. The Thermal Goggles completely invalidate his stealth strategy if you have them. Either way, don’t forget about the various traps set up in this part of the forest. Watch out for tripwires and keep shooting The Fear when he sets up on a tree branch.
If you defeat The Fear non-lethally, you’ll receive the Spider Camo as a reward.
The End
The End is the third member of the Cobra Unit you’ll face in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and this is a very different encounter compared to the previous two. He shoots you with tranquilizer darts instead of real bullets, and if you pass out from stamina loss, you’ll be sent back to Graniny Gorki.
The End’s boss battle takes place across three separate areas of Sokrovenno, and he’ll constantly relocate to different sniping positions throughout the forest. As such, this boss battle is all about spotting him before he spots you. If you hear The End start talking, or you see his scope glint, duck for cover.
The Survival Viewer map shows all of the possible sniping spots where The End can set up.
The best way to defeat The End is to stay low and figure out his location with the Thermal Goggles and Directional Mic. Once you’ve tracked him down, you can shoot him with the SVD or try to sneak closer to use another weapon. If you manage to sneak close enough to The End, you can hold him up like you would with a regular guard. He’ll drop the Moss Camo pattern if you succeed.
When The End darts off to a new sniping position, he’ll leave a set of footprints behind that can lead you to him. The Thermal Goggles will make these much easier to spot, but you can still see the prints with the naked eye if you pay attention. Just be sure not to confuse them with your own footprints.
If you defeat The End non-lethally, you’ll receive his Mosin Nagant rifle as a reward. It fires tranquilizer rounds!
The Fury
You’ll encounter The Fury once you pass through the mountains after the famous ladder climb in the second half of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. This is another round of hide-and-seek, only The Fury is much more aggressive than The End.
This battle takes place in a cramped, dim set of concrete rows. The Fury will patrol up and down each aisle, using his flamethrower and jetpack to zip from one end of the arena to the other. If The Fury spots you, it’s only a matter of seconds before you’ll be engulfed in flames.
To avoid The Fury’s attacks, roll through the gaps in the walls to cross over to different aisles. Stay low and use the right camo patterns to avoid detection. You can use the Thermal Goggles to try and spot The Fury from afar, but remember that his flames will make that more difficult than normal. You can shoot the red water pipes running along the ceiling to put out the fires.
If you can sneak close enough to The Fury and slash him with your knife, you’ll tear his suit, and he’ll take more damage from all sources as a result.
Since The Fury’s flamethrower packs quite a punch, you should only take a few shots at him each time before retreating to safety. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the fire, especially if he’s already lit up other parts of the arena. There are also explosive barrels throughout the arena that you can blow up for big damage against The Fury. Repeat this series of short ambushes, and The Fury will go down in flames.
If you defeat The Fury non-lethally, you’ll receive the Fire Camo as a reward.
The Sorrow
The Sorrow is one of the most unique bosses in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater since there’s no combat involved. Instead, The Sorrow makes you travel down a river and face the ghosts of every single person you’ve killed up to this point.
If you’ve been playing non-lethally, this will be a short encounter. Otherwise, the river will be much longer. There’s not much to this boss fight. Just trudge through the water and avoid the ghosts. Your weapons won’t do anything to them, so don’t even bother shooting.
The Sorrow will occasionally blast you with a ghostly beam. Dodge them by diving underwater for a few seconds. At the end of the river, you’ll see The Sorrow’s corpse. Touch it, and Snake will die. Instead of choosing to continue, use the Revival Pill in your inventory to spring back to life and complete the encounter.
You’ll get the Spirit Camo as a reward for making it to the end of The Sorrow’s river.
Volgin
The battle against Colonel Volgin is tough since you’re locked in a small room with him, and his electric powers invalidate most of your weapons. You’ll need to rely on clever positioning to damage Volgin, and you only have a few minutes before the facility explodes.
Bullets will damage Volgin from the sides and from behind, so wait until he performs an electric attack that locks him in place, and then run around behind him. You can also CQC slam him if you get close enough, and that’ll open him up to damage while he’s on the ground.
If you equip the Raikov mask during this fight, it’ll confuse Volgin and make him vulnerable to attacks for a few seconds.
Volgin will also yell at Ocelot a few times throughout the fight, giving you an opportunity to deal more damage. Also, he’ll occasionally recharge his powers at an electrical box in the corner. Shoot him while his back is turned for some easy damage.
As long as you keep dodging Volgin’s repetitive electric attacks and using CQC to get him on the ground, you shouldn’t have any trouble with this fight. Make frequent use of Snake’s combat roll to avoid incoming damage. You can also go prone to duck under most of Volgin’s attacks as well.
If you defeat Volgin non-lethally, you’ll receive the Cold War Camo as a reward.
Shagohod
Taking on the Shagohod is one of the final objectives in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. It’s a long, multi-stage fight, and you can’t really do anything until the last section. The chase sequence is entirely scripted, so just focus on shooting the guards while EVA drives.
Eventually, you’ll end up in an arena for a one-on-one duel with the Shagohod. EVA will drive around the arena, so all you have to do is use the RPG to disable the Shagohod’s treads. When the tank is immobile, shoot its central core to deal damage. Once you deal enough damage, Volgin will emerge from the tank for a rematch.
At this point, EVA will drive off to distract Volgin while leaving you on foot. Your game plan remains the same, however. Just use the RPG to disable the Shagohod’s treads, then shoot Volgin with the SVD (or weapon of your choice).
If Volgin targets you instead of EVA, run to the side to avoid incoming fire. Volgin will periodically launch missiles at you as well, and you can destroy them with gunfire before they reach you. There’s no non-lethal reward for this fight, so go nuts with your favorite guns.
The Boss
The Boss is the final boss of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. This is another game of hide-and-seek, but The Boss is much more dangerous than any of the enemies you’ve encountered so far.
This battle takes place in a field of white flowers, so equip the Snow Camo to stay hidden. You can only damage The Boss when she’s unaware of you, so crawl through the flowers until she loses you. Then, take a shot when you have an opening. If you shoot The Boss enough times while she’s vulnerable, she’ll be knocked to the ground, giving you a chance to reposition.
You can find three uniquely-named snakes slithering near the logs throughout the arena. Use the Thermal Goggles if you’re having trouble spotting them!
If The Boss sees you, she’ll rush straight at you for a CQC takedown. There’s no way to escape this attack, but you can parry it by pressing the CQC button just as the attack lands to avoid damage. If The Boss gets you while you have a weapon equipped, she’ll dismantle it and remove all the ammo. Make sure to pick it back up when you have the chance.
To defeat The Boss, just keep sneaking around the field while using the Thermal Goggles and Directional Mic to keep track of her. The Boss tends to hang out near trees when she’s looking for you, and she’ll kick up flower petals when she runs to a new location. There is a time limit for this fight, but it’s generous enough that you don’t have to rush.
If you defeat The Boss non-lethally, you’ll get the Snake Camo as a reward.
After defeating The Boss, you’ll be at the very end of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater! There’s still plenty more for you to enjoy in Metal Gear Solid Delta after the credits roll, however, including the returning Snake vs. Monkey minigame and the multiplayer Fox Hunt mode.
