Welcome, soldier. You’re about to embark on one of gaming’s most celebrated and challenging stealth missions: the journey of Naked Snake into the hostile fortress of Outer Heaven in Metal Gear Delta.
This isn’t just a simple remake; it’s a meticulously crafted experience that preserves the brutal difficulty and intricate mechanics of the original masterpiece while updating them for a new generation.
Success here isn’t measured by kills, but by your ability to remain unseen, manage your sparse resources, and navigate a sprawling, deceptive base.
This guide is your crucial intelligence dossier—your key to surviving every sector, defeating every ruthless Boss, and uncovering the chilling truth behind the legendary mercenary, Big Boss.
Prepare to master the shadows, because in Outer Heaven, one mistake means certain death.
I. Infiltration and Basic Survival Training
Your mission begins. You are dropped into the barren desert surrounding Outer Heaven with minimal equipment. Your survival depends on immediately mastering the core stealth and resource mechanics.
A. Mastering the Codec and Communication
The Codec is more than just a radio; it’s your lifeline, your map, and your psychological support system.
A. Frequent Contact: Always call your support team (Big Boss, Kazuhira Miller, etc.) after entering a new area or when facing a confusing obstacle. They often provide subtle clues or even direct solutions you might overlook.
B. Big Boss’s Instructions: Pay close attention to Big Boss’s initial instructions, especially regarding Rations and weapon locations. He guides you to the first crucial supplies.
C. Frequency Scrambling: Be prepared for Code Scrambling when approaching key security areas. This indicates a disruption field, meaning enemies are highly alert and your map/support may be temporarily unavailable.
B. Essential Starting Gear and Resource Location
Your first task is securing the necessary items to survive the initial sectors (Areas 1 through 3).
A. The Survival Knife: Your only starting “weapon” and your most reliable tool for opening crates or cutting through specific weak points in fencing. Use it, don’t lose it.
B. First Rations Location: The first set of Rations is typically hidden in the Northwest section of Area 1 (the outer perimeter, usually under a truck or in a small guard shack). Never let your Rations count drop to zero.
C. The Beretta/M9 Pistol: This is your first firearm. It’s low-power but crucial for eliminating initial guards silently. Its location is almost always in the second main building, often locked in a room accessible via a vent or a specific wall-knock pattern.
C. Understanding Guard Patrols and Detection
Outer Heaven’s guards follow strict, predictable, but punishing patrol patterns.
A. Cone of Vision: The guards’ visual range is represented by a cone on the mini-map. Never step into this cone. Learn the maximum diagonal distance you can move without triggering the alarm.
B. The Two-Second Rule: If you are momentarily spotted (indicated by an exclamation mark ! above the guard’s head), you have approximately two seconds to duck behind cover, change direction, or neutralize the guard before the full alert phase begins.
C. Sound Cues: In Delta, sound is crucial. Footsteps on metal grating or using an unsuppressed weapon will alert guards in adjacent rooms or floors. Stick to soft earth or carpeted areas whenever possible.
II. Sector-by-Sector Infiltration Strategy
Outer Heaven is divided into distinct, interlocking sectors. Each sector demands a specific stealth approach and features unique challenges.
A. Sector 1: The Outer Walls and Main Gate
This area is focused on simple line-of-sight evasion and finding the first keycard.
A. Finding Keycard 1: This card is almost always obtained by defeating the first significant guard post commander (usually a guard positioned near a radio or communication device). Use the M9 Pistol or a well-timed punch-punch-kick combo.
B. Maneuvering the Electric Floor: The second building in this sector often features a room with an electrified floor. You must use Remote Controlled Missiles (if you have found them) or a specific power-cutoff switch (usually hidden in a vent system above the room) to pass safely.
C. The Vent System Shortcut: Always check for vents in the main corridors. They are your fastest and safest route past heavy guard patrols, though you might need Cigarettes to see the Laser Traps inside them.
B. Sector 2: The Warehouse and Heavy Weapon Depots
This sector introduces tougher enemies and requires the acquisition of your first heavy firepower.
A. Obtaining the Grenade Launcher: The Grenade Launcher is often guarded by a series of pressure plates or floor traps in a large storage room. You must use the Mine Detector (found near the starting area of Sector 2) to safely navigate this room. The Grenade Launcher is necessary for the upcoming boss.
B. The Camera Maze: Overhead cameras often cover the warehouse floor. They are highly sensitive to movement. Do not shoot them unless absolutely necessary. Instead, use the Jammer (found after the first turret) or practice a precise sprint-and-crawl technique between their scanning beams.
C. Rope Descent: To reach the lower levels of the depot, you’ll need the Rope. This is usually guarded by a particularly observant Sniper Guard. You must approach this position from an unexpected vertical angle.
C. Sector 3: The Basement and Prison Block
This is where the environment becomes hostile, introducing darkness, pits, and the first serious prisoner rescue.
A. Darkness and Flashlight: The basement is often pitch black. Do not rely on the Flashlight as it alerts guards. Instead, use the Night Vision Goggles (hidden behind a breakable wall in the northern corridor) or the light from your Cigarettes to see laser wires.
B. Saving Prisoner Shotgun (Kyle Reese Equivalent): You’ll find a key prisoner (often an explosives expert) who gives you Keycard 3 and, crucially, the location of the Shotgun. This weapon is invaluable for close-quarters emergencies in the cramped prison cells.
C. The Pitfall Challenge: Several corridors are lined with hidden pitfall traps that drop you back to the beginning of the sector. Use your Binoculars from a safe distance to scan the floor for subtle changes in color or texture that reveal the trap locations.
III. Facing the Bosses: Preparation and Tactics
The boss battles are unique tests of your learned skills, forcing you to use specific weapons and gear to exploit their fatal weaknesses.
A. Shotgunner (Shotgun-toting Mercenary)
The first combat boss is a straightforward test of timing and agility.
A. Weapon of Choice: Grenades or the Shotgun (if acquired).
B. Tactic: The Shotgunner is slow but hits hard. Wait for him to reload (listen for the click sound cue) and throw a Grenade. Alternatively, use the Shotgun to fire a quick burst, then immediately retreat behind a pillar to avoid his counterattack. Do not try to melee him unless he is pinned against a wall.
B. Machinegun Kid (Rapid Fire Specialist)
This boss tests your ability to exploit the environment and utilize defensive gear.
A. Weapon of Choice: Remote Controlled Missiles (RC Missiles) or Plastic Explosives (C4).
B. Tactic: Machinegun Kid moves rapidly and fills the room with continuous fire. You must use the pillars and barricades to create a path for your RC Missiles. Plant C4 on a pillar, lure him close, and detonate it for massive, risk-free damage. If you don’t have RC Missiles, you must use the Cardboard Box to bait his focus while circling for a clean Shotgun blast.
C. The Tank (Armored Vehicle)
A classic Metal Gear challenge that demands an understanding of military logistics.
A. Weapon of Choice: Plastic Explosives (C4) only.
B. Tactic: The tank is impervious to all conventional weapons. You must sneak into the hangar/battlefield and place three pieces of C4 on its side hull or back engine compartment. The turret has a massive blind spot directly beneath the gun. Move to this blind spot, plant the C4, and run to a safe distance before detonating. Do this three times to destroy the vehicle.
IV. The Final Confrontation and Key Discovery
The last sectors require all your acquired skills and a final piece of essential gear.
A. Sector 4: The Communication Hub and Computer Room
This area is densely packed with patrols and features the final prisoner holding the ultimate objective.
A. The Laser Grid: The final approach to the hub is often protected by a massive laser grid. You must use the Infrared Goggles (IR Goggles)—usually found in the Tank Hangar’s hidden storage room—to see the laser emitter and deactivate it with a precise shot from the M9.
B. Finding Keycard 5/7: The final keycard is typically found by rescuing the lead programmer (Dr. Madnar equivalent), who is held in the deepest cell. He will give you the final access card and the crucial Computer Disk.
C. The Computer Room: The famous sequence where you must use the Computer Disk on the main computer. You will need to listen to the final Codec message from your support team to learn the correct three-digit access code that completes the upload. This is often the most critical non-combat moment.
B. Unmasking the False Leader (The Decoy Boss)
After using the computer, a powerful, familiar-looking foe confronts you.
A. The Decoy: The initial confrontation is with a look-alike or a heavily armored mercenary claiming to be the final Boss. This fight is purely a test of endurance. Use your Grenades and Shotgun to quickly deplete his health bar.
B. The Twist: Once defeated, the real revelation occurs. You are then instructed to find the true source of Outer Heaven’s power.
C. The Metal Gear Prototype
Your final mission: destroy the walking nuclear deterrent, Metal Gear.
A. Weapon of Choice: Remote Controlled Missiles (RC Missiles) and Rocket Launcher.
B. Tactic: Metal Gear is a slow-moving but heavily armored behemoth. It only has one major vulnerability: its legs and the missile ports on its back. RC Missiles are mandatory here. You must stay in the trenches or behind cover, launching RC Missiles one by one and manually piloting them into the leg joints or the cockpit when exposed. This is a battle of attrition and precision guidance. You will need every missile you have.
C. The Self-Destruct Sequence: After destroying Metal Gear, the final escape sequence begins. You must use your Fastest Route Memorization to sprint back through all the sectors before the time limit expires.
V. The True Final Boss: Confronting Big Boss
The ultimate betrayal and the final, personal test of your abilities.
A. The Twist Revealed
As you approach the extraction point, you are confronted by the man who sent you: Big Boss. The true commander of Outer Heaven and the mastermind behind the entire operation. This is a shocking, high-stakes, hand-to-hand combatchallenge.
A. Weapon of Choice: Punching and Kicking (Hand-to-Hand Combat).
B. Tactic: Big Boss is a master of CQC. He dodges all gunfire. You must discard your weapons and engage him directly. The strategy is to bait his attack, quickly sidestep, and unleash the punch-punch-kick combo. Use the environment (corners and narrow spots) to your advantage, as this limits his mobility.
C. The Flamethrower/Final Attack: In the final moments of the fight, he often retreats and grabs a powerful weapon like a Flamethrower. You must use your last remaining Grenades or a perfectly timed Shotgun blast to end the confrontation before he incinerates you.
Conclusion
The successful infiltration of Outer Heaven in Metal Gear Delta is a grueling, rewarding masterclass in stealth gaming. More than a test of trigger-finger speed, it is a profound examination of patience, intelligence, and resourcefulness.
You, as Naked Snake (who will later earn the title of Solid Snake in subsequent lore), navigated a labyrinth of deception and danger, meticulously managing every ration, every bullet, and every moment spent in the sightline of an enemy.
The article detailed the crucial strategic shifts required for this classic remake: the absolute necessity of Code Scrambling anticipation, the life-saving skill of the Two-Second Rule during detection, and the critical importance of treating every item—from the Cigarettes for revealing lasers to the Cardboard Box for evading the Machinegun Kid—as a vital piece of the survival puzzle.
The boss fights, in particular, demand a philosophical shift: the Tank cannot be shot with bullets, requiring C4 placement finesse in its blind spot; the final confrontation with Big Boss requires the ultimate sacrifice of your arsenal to succeed in a pure hand-to-hand CQC duel.
By the time you destroy the Metal Gear prototype and face the shocking betrayal of your mentor, you haven’t just completed a game; you have participated in the genesis of a legendary soldier and a cornerstone narrative of the military-industrial complex in gaming.
The true high score is simply making it out alive. The lessons learned here—the necessity of the Grapple-Blast-Switch Loop in rapid combat, the wisdom of saving the RC Missiles for the final prototype, and the chilling realization that your greatest enemy was your closest ally—will define the future of the series.
Outer Heaven has fallen, but the legacy of the Big Boss bloodline and the shadow of the Metal Gear threat have only just begun. Go now, soldier. You have earned your rest.
