METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE

I recently got this trophy done, and wanted to offer up a few insights that I found, as well as a few guides that I used.

Before going any further, let me just say this: PLAY EVERY DIFFICULTY. Seriously, I know there is the code to unlock all the difficulties from the jump (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, O, X, Start) BUT if you want to go for this legit, then take the time and play through every single difficulty. I can only speak for myself regarding this, but I found that by the time I started Revengeance difficulty, I was a parrying pro, and understanding that simple maneuver will make Revengeance go from a nightmare to completely doable.

The game itself is not that long (8 chapters total, the longest chapter being maybe ~45 mins if you are not rushing), and you will learn all those cool techniques, obtain a crapload of BP, and cut everything that Revegeance attempts to throw at you.

Also, one more thing: MAKE A BACKUP SAVE BEFORE EVERY RANKED BATTLE. Trust me, it will make the playthrough a bit longer, but it is worth it. The last thing you want is to be at the end of a level, get an A rank and watch the game save it (thus making all your progress absolutely meaningless ). Be cautious and MAKE THE BACKUP SAVE.

Now, onto this solution:

A SUMMARY OF “S” RANKS

As the trophy description says, you need to S Rank every mission on Revengeance difficulty. In order to S Rank a mission, you need to S Rank every single ranked battle in said mission. Achieving anything lower than an S Rank, even on just one battle, will result in a non-S Rank for the mission. Seriously, you could have every battle S Ranked except for one that was an A, and your mission results will be an “A” Rank.

Below is the gamefaq guide I used. It was made by Vesperas, and it is more in-depth than anything else I found online (besides an actual video guide ).

http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/960513-metal-gear-rising-rev...

The author details every ranked battle, and what will be required to S Rank it (time, combo, points, zandatsus). READ IT – this was a lifesaver for me, hands down. It detailed where every ranked battle was so I could do as above (MAKE A BACKUP SAVE!!!)

Now, I know the guide will state this, but I just want to reiterate it here: The “No Damage” bonus is not required on every ranked battle. Don’t get me wrong – most battles are a nightmare to get the S Rank without the “No Damage” bonus, but some are well within reach without it. For example, the fight where you wait for the elevator on R04 can be done while taking damage IF you build up a great combo, rip out a few spines, gather enough points (fairly easy with all the items in the display cases ) and keep the fight under 8 minutes.

There are other fights that can be done without the “No Damage” bonus, and they are in the guide, HOWEVER it is a good idea to strive for the “No Damage” at every opportunity: it will make the S Ranks far more likely.

DO NOT think using the Wooden Sword and going for the “No Kill” bonus will help you here, because it won’t. Using the Wooden Sword will take away the opportunity for zandatsus completely, and hinder other categories like points and combos. DO NOT USE THE WOODEN SWORD – this is Revengeance difficulty, and you are bloodthirsty. Remember that. And this brings me to the next item on the list…

GEAR/EQUIPMENT

Before you start your Revengeance run, do yourself a favor and unlock every weapon and customization item. Having options is a good thing. Having every option available, and maxed out, is even better.

Most of this game I used the following:
- Custom Body Red
- Infinite Wig B
- Muramasa blade

There were a few battles where I switched to the Armor Breaker, but I found that Muramasa in Ripper mode does the trick a majority of the time . Of course, you need to be careful in Ripper mode, especially with Custom Body Red – you can take enemies out TOO quickly, and restrict your combo and points categories. There were a few times I had to restart because, even though I had the “No Damage” bonus I still got an A Rank because my combos were shit, and subsequently my points were affected, so keep that in mind.

There are a few points where you will want to switch to Infinite Wig A (Monsoon battle) just so you don’t have to worry about EMP grenades. This is also beneficial in regards to your points IF you slash up the vehicles he throws at you as they all go right to BP.

I did not use the Blade Mode wig at all. It was good on my Very Hard playthrough, however I found it less necessary especially when I needed the high combos on Revengeance.

As I said above in the other category: DO NOT USE THE WOODEN BLADE. I am not going to repeat everything again, just don’t use it.

Lastly, don’t discount the stun blade – it does everything the other blades do, but it can also stun people once in a while. Not to bad, however I only found it stunning people every so often, so I didn’t relay on it very much . And that Muramasa blade is just epic .

If anyone has any questions about any other gear I didn’t mention, please let me know in the comments.

TECHNIQUES

There are some really great maneuvers that the game doesn’t really teach you…at all…. You have to learn them via trial and error OR find some technique list online. The one technique you do learn (Parry) will be the backbone of your combat style. Believe me – mastering this will make the game 1,000 times easier.

There are some other techniques that I found to be very useful, and I will mention them below:

Parry

The tutorial you get from the beginning of the game will teach you the basics of the Parry maneuver, however mastering it can be tricky. Do yourself a favor, start the game on Easy and do not use the parry assist. Play the game on easy and learn the parry the right way. That parry assist will not help you learn how to parry at all – it will only delay your understanding of the parry.

Any attack that is neutral (no color) or shines red can be parried. Any attack that shines gold cannot be parried.

Lastly, in regards to the parry, learn the timing for the PERFECT PARRY. Here is an example why:

Perfect Parry + Muramasa blade + Custom Body Red = SAM 100% to ~40% health with ONE MOVE!!!! Seriously – Perfect Parry on Revengeance difficulty will obliterate most boss’s health – the only problem is you still need the combos and the points, so you could walk away from a boss fight in under a minute and still have only an A Rank . Keep that in mind. (A simple solution is to have Wig B and after a Perfect Parry immediately enter blade mode and hack the crap out of the enemy ).

Launch

I do not remember what the move is called, but I found it extremely useful on several playthroughs. The FORWARD + FORWARD + SQUARE maneuver will get most enemies, and bosses, airborne while doing a good chunk of damage. In regards to boss battles, if you get one airborne, then jump up and initiate blade mode, you can enjoy a slow-mo combo-feast in no time at all .

Lunge

Once again, I forget the official move title, but it is the FORWARD + FORWARD + TRIANGLE maneuver, and if you every played any of the original Devil May Cry games (PS2) then you will recognize this move. It is great for shortening the distance between you and the enemy AND has a tendency to throw some enemies flying .

Heavy Attacks

The first time I used a heavy attack on my Revengeance playthrough was the third phase of the Senator fight. I am not kidding – don’t bother with them. They will make parry more difficult, and to be honest you should have either the pincers or the sai equipped.

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That is all I can think of at the moment in regards to S Ranking Revengeance. Below is a series of Youtube videos from TheSeraphim17 on his Revengeance S Rank run. It is pretty good, except I mostly used it to find the fights I was missing on my previous playthroughs . Not that this guy doesn’t know what he is doing (he is very good) just there were moments where he could have burned through a bit faster (for example, as you watch the prologue he takes out the initial enemies, which is not necessary, and he doesn’t parry the stomp attacks from RAY, which would have taken out the MG’s additional turrets AND done significant damage ). Using the gamefaqs guide in conjunction with the video below will present a very detailed paradigm to follow when going for the Stormbringer trophy.

Questions, corrections and neg vote justifications below.