Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a standalone stealth prologue developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami. Treat it as its own compact Camp Omega sandbox, not as The Phantom Pain with every later system already available: the safest early habits are scouting, marking, low movement, quiet neutralizations, and extraction routes planned before you pick up a hostage.
Content warning: Ground Zeroes is rated M for Mature 17+ with blood and gore, intense violence, sexual violence, and strong language. This guide keeps discussion non-graphic and focused on play.
This is not a full walkthrough, all-cassette route, all-XOF-patch route, S-rank route, platform control chart, or transfer/import guide. It is a first-clear and replay-prep guide for the standalone Ground Zeroes release.
Essential Tips
1. Scout Before You Enter the Base
Camp Omega is small enough to study and dangerous enough to punish guessing.
Use binoculars before crossing open ground. Mark guards, watch searchlights, and look for fences, doors, walls, foliage, and patrol gaps before committing to a route. The cleaner your information is, the less you need to improvise after someone turns a corner.
2. Move Lower and Slower Near Patrols
Speed is useful only after you know no one is looking.
Ground Zeroes rewards careful posture. Faster movement is easier to spot, lower stances are harder to see, and enemies react to noise. Walk, crouch, crawl, or stop completely when a guard is close; save dashing for confirmed safe stretches or emergency repositioning.
3. Use Reflex Mode as a Recovery Window
Reflex Mode can save a mistake, but it should not become the plan.
When an enemy spots you, the slowdown gives you a short chance to neutralize that enemy before they alert allies. Use it decisively, then move or hide. If reinforcements are already coming, winning the Reflex moment does not mean the area is safe again.
4. Keep Neutralizations Quiet
Noise is what turns a clean route into a base-wide problem.
CQC, tranquilizers, hold-ups, and other quiet options are better first-clear tools than loud weapons. Non-lethal takedowns can wear off, so do not leave sleeping or stunned enemies in obvious patrol paths unless you are already moving away from that area.
5. Interrogate When the Area Is Controlled
Information is a reward for patience.
Hold-ups and CQC restraints can lead to useful intel, including enemy or target positions. Do this from a safe angle after checking nearby sightlines. Grabbing one guard in front of another is just a louder mistake with extra steps.
6. Open the iDroid From Cover
The map helps, but it does not pause the world.
Use the iDroid for navigation and map markers, but never stand in a road, spotlight, or doorway while doing it. Duck behind a wall, vehicle, crate, or terrain edge first, then place markers or check your route.
7. Take Radio Help Seriously
Calls are part of the toolset, not just chatter.
Radio support can give hints and information, including context while you are watching a target through binoculars. If you are unsure where to move next, pause the push, get concealed, and use the information systems the game gives you.
8. Clear the Extraction Path Before Picking Up a Hostage
Carrying someone removes options.
When you carry a hostage, plan around the fact that your movement and fighting choices are worse. Check the path to the landing zone, remove or avoid obvious guards, and call the helicopter with enough lead time that you are not waiting in the open.
9. Pick Landing Zones by Risk, Not Distance
The closest helicopter point is not always the safest one.
A short route through active patrols can be worse than a longer route you already cleared. Before calling the chopper, think about who can see the landing zone, whether the prisoner route crosses searchlights, and whether the base is already in an alert state.
10. Separate Story Clear, S-Rank, and Collectible Runs
Trying to do everything on the first pass makes each job harder.
Ground Zeroes tracks completion goals such as mission clears, S ranks, cassette tapes, XOF patches, prisoners, and trials. Your first clear should teach patrols and routes. Later replays can focus on rank, all-mission cleanup, or collectibles with fewer distractions.
11. Treat Side Ops as Rule Variations
The map is familiar, but the job changes.
Side Ops and Extra Ops reuse the Camp Omega space with different objectives and pressure. Do not assume the route that worked for the story mission is automatically correct. Scout again, identify the mission-specific objective, and decide whether stealth, extraction, or speed matters most.
12. Keep Platform and Version Details Flexible
Ground Zeroes has standalone releases, bundle releases, ended online services, and patched extra-op history.
Current console storefronts say the main game remains playable offline after online services ended, but leaderboards, bonuses, extra-op access, and platform-specific controls need version checks. Use this guide for durable stealth habits, not as a promise about every platform’s current storefront or import behavior.
Completion Cleanup Priorities
| Goal | Best First Habit | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Story clear | Rescue and extract safely | Learning patrol flow matters more than speed |
| Optional prisoners | Clear routes before carrying | Hostage movement limits your options |
| Side Ops | Re-scout the same base | Objectives and enemy pressure can change |
| S ranks | Replay after learning routes | Rank cleanup is easier when patrols are familiar |
| Cassette tapes | Run a dedicated sweep | Audio collectibles distract from safe extraction |
| XOF patches | Save exact locations for a route pass | Patch collection is completion work, not first-clear survival |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Do not sprint into lit patrol space - Fast movement and poor sightline checks make detection much more likely.
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Do not open the iDroid while exposed - The map does not pause the game, so guards can still find you.
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Do not rely on Reflex Mode for every mistake - It gives you a chance to stop one alert, not permission to ignore patrols.
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Do not carry a hostage through an uncleared route - Your weapon and movement options are worse once someone is on your shoulder.
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Do not leave sleeping guards in obvious patrol paths - Stunned or sleeping enemies can recover or be discovered.
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Do not use loud weapons as the first answer - Gunfire can turn a quiet infiltration into a reinforcement problem.
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Do not mix collectibles with a blind story clear - Tapes, patches, prisoners, and S ranks are cleaner as replay goals.
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Do not assume The Phantom Pain rules apply here - Ground Zeroes is a smaller standalone prologue with its own mission structure.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Scouting | Mark guards and study routes before moving |
| Stealth | Stay low, slow, and quiet near patrols |
| Recovery | Use Reflex Mode quickly, then relocate |
| Tools | Open iDroid from cover and use radio hints |
| Extraction | Clear the path before carrying hostages |
| Completion | Split story, S-rank, tape, patch, and Side Op goals into separate runs |
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8 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.
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