Vehicle Combat Strategies — Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Guide

Vehicle Combat Strategies

Engaging enemy vehicles in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker requires a different approach than standard infantry combat. These encounters often pit you against tanks, armored personnel carriers (APCs), and even attack helicopters. Success hinges on understanding their attack patterns, exploiting their weak points, and utilizing the right arsenal. This section will detail effective strategies for dismantling these metallic threats.

General Vehicle Combat Principles

• Prioritize Weak Points: Every vehicle has a vulnerable spot. For tanks and APCs, this is typically the rear hatch or engine compartment. For helicopters, it's often the cockpit or tail rotor. Focusing fire on these areas deals significantly more damage.
• Maintain Distance and Cover: Vehicles possess heavy firepower. Utilize the environment for cover to avoid incoming projectiles. Keep a medium to long distance to give yourself time to react to attacks and reload.
• Exploit Reload Times: After firing their main weapon, most vehicles have a brief reload animation. This is your window to pop out from cover, unleash a volley of attacks, and retreat.
• Stun and Suppress: While not always directly damaging, certain weapons can stun or suppress vehicle crews, creating openings for more powerful attacks. Flashbangs can disorient infantry accompanying vehicles, and smoke grenades can obscure vision.
• Co-op Advantage: In co-op, coordinate with your teammates. One player can draw fire or distract the vehicle while others target weak points.

Recommended Arsenal

Your loadout is crucial for vehicle encounters. Prioritize high-damage explosives and anti-armor weapons.

• Rocket Launchers: The backbone of your anti-vehicle arsenal.
  • M1 RPG-7: Available early, good all-rounder.
  • M202A1 (Quad Launcher): Fires four rockets simultaneously, devastating against weak points. Essential for later vehicle battles.
  • FIM-43 (Stinger): Heat-seeking missile launcher, excellent for helicopters and fast-moving targets.
• Grenades:
  • Grenade: Basic explosive, useful for area denial or chipping away at armor.
  • Smoke Grenade: Provides cover for repositioning or escaping dangerous situations.
  • Flashbang: Can stun vehicle crews or disorient accompanying infantry.
• Support Weapons:
  • Supply Marker: Crucial for resupplying ammunition during prolonged fights. Always bring at least one.
  • Chaff Grenade: Disrupts guided missiles and vehicle targeting systems, particularly useful against helicopters.
• Recovery Items:
  • Ration: Essential for health recovery.
  • Curry: Provides a significant health boost.
  • ZzzzyQuil: Can be used to put vehicle crews to sleep for non-lethal capture, though this is often more challenging.

Specific Vehicle Strategies

Tanks and APCs

These ground-based threats often patrol fixed routes or hold defensive positions. Your primary goal is to hit their rear hatch or engine block.

1. Initial Approach: Use stealth to get behind the vehicle if possible. If not, find sturdy cover immediately.
2. Targeting the Rear:
   • Flanking Maneuver: Circle around the vehicle, using cover to avoid its main cannon. When its turret is facing away, sprint to its rear.
   • Distraction: In co-op, one player can draw the tank's attention from the front while another flanks.
   • Smoke Cover: Deploy a Smoke Grenade to obscure the tank's vision and allow you to reposition to its rear.
3. Firing Pattern:
   • Once at the rear, unleash 1-2 rockets (or a full M202A1 volley) directly into the hatch.
   • Immediately retreat to cover as the tank will likely attempt to reorient or fire.
   • Repeat this process until the vehicle is destroyed or the crew is incapacitated.
4. Crew Capture (Non-Lethal): To capture the crew, you must first deplete the vehicle's health to a critical level using lethal weapons. Once the vehicle is smoking heavily, the crew will often emerge. At this point, switch to non-lethal weapons like the M1911A1 (Tranquilizer) or the Mosin Nagant to put them to sleep. This is often more challenging than simply destroying the vehicle.

Attack Helicopters

Helicopters present a different challenge, often hovering or moving rapidly, making their weak points harder to hit.

1. Seek Cover: Helicopters typically have a wide field of view. Find cover that protects you from their machine guns and missiles.
2. Targeting the Cockpit/Tail Rotor:
   • Stinger Missiles: The FIM-43 Stinger is your best friend here. Lock on and fire. It will track the helicopter automatically.
   • RPG-7/M202A1: If you don't have a Stinger, aim for the cockpit or the tail rotor when the helicopter is hovering or moving slowly. This requires precise timing and aiming.
3. Evading Attacks:
   • Machine Gun Fire: Stay behind cover. If caught in the open, dive and roll to minimize damage.
   • Missiles: Listen for the missile lock-on sound. Deploy a Chaff Grenade to disrupt the missile's tracking, or sprint/dive to evade.
4. Resupply: Helicopter battles can be prolonged. Use Supply Markers strategically to replenish your rocket launcher ammunition.
5. Crew Capture (Non-Lethal): Similar to ground vehicles, deplete the helicopter's health until it's smoking. The pilot will then eject. Quickly switch to a tranquilizer weapon and shoot the pilot before they escape or engage you.