METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

Firstly, this solution is huge and I use a lot of spoilers here. MGSV:TPP has a total of 50 main story missons, 3 of them have no ratings (2/22/43).

In the following, I listed some general tips for achieving a S-Ranking:

- skip all cutscenes, S-rank is all about TIME (cutscenes add time!)
- be fast and silent (stealth) (extra points for no combat etc)
- turn off reflexmode, you will get 10k extra points in each mission
- to get an S-rank you need 130k+ points in a mission
- don't try to get s-rank on your first playthrough of a mission
- use shortcuts, if you know where a prisoner or enemy is, just go there directly without getting the Intel!
- use your buddies

To unlock mainstory episodes you need to play the yellow side missions.

Unlock Episode 45:

1. You need to have spared Quiet at the end of Mission 11.
2. Quiet is available for the mission.
3. You have Maximum Bond with Quiet.
4. You must have seen the cutscene at Mother Base where the scientist is exiled. (listen Cassette Tapes)
5. You don't use the front "Butterfly" design in your emblem.

You will get the sidemission 150 if you have met these requirements. The mainstory episode 45 starts directly after this side mission.

Unlock Episode 46:

1. Complete all main story missions (excluding 45 and 47-50)
2. Complete all the core Side Ops that are marked yellow on iDroid
3. Listen to all story audio/cassette recordings (they are yellow in color)
4. Upgrade Mother Base

I've put each mission in a spoiler. Furthermore, you will find my strategy requirements and a little hint for the mission in said spoiler.

Prologue (Time 15:07 - Points: 202724)
Requirement: -
Hint: skip all cutscenes and you have nearly automatically a S-Rank

Episode 1 - Phantom Limbs (Time: 05:12 - Points: 197037)
Requirement: -
Hint: Go directly to the prisoner and extract him via NEW LZ, so you get automatically the "skulls" task

Episode 3 - A Hero's Way (Time: 03:25 - Points: 171496)
Requirement: Sniper Rifle
Hint: Use the south LZ and kill the target with your Sniper Rifle from outside of the camp

Episode 4 - C2W (Time: 02:05 - Points: 163757)
Requirement: Grenade Launcher
Hint: Above the camp is a little mountain path, go up there and destroy the 3 station

Episode 5 - Over the Fence (Time: 04:11 - Points: 228045)
Requirement: -
Hint: On the left side of the basis is a crack, use it and you are close to the prisoner, extract him through the hole in the ceiling for a mission task

Episode 6 - Where do the Bees sleep? (Time: 13:32 - Points: 176801)
Requirement: -
Hint: Kill all 4 skulls at the end and you earn 50k extrapoints (use the Killerbee if you want)

Episode 7 - Red Brass (Time: 06:03 - Points: 175319)
Requirement: C 4
Hint: sneak to the house where the meeting is happen, plant c4 and when all 3 targets are in the house, let the c4 explode

Episode 8 - Occupation Forces (Time: 05:35 - Points: 181328)
Requirement: -
Hint: Use the north LZ and go to the outpost in the south, here you'll find a armored vehicle.

Episode 9 - Backup, back down (Time: 15:14 - Points: 201267)
Requirement: C4, Rocket Launcher
Hint: kill all 11 / 11 targets and you'll earn 160k points, 30k more for a S-rank needed

Episode 10 - Angel with broken Wings (Time: 03:50 - Points: 195578)
Requirement: C 4
Hint: use the c4 to destroy the tank and disctract the guard in the jeep, take the prisoner and escape via chopper

Episode 11 - Cloaked in Silence (Time: 04:31 - Points: 184743)
Requirement: -
Hint: with the supply drop method you'll also solve all mission tasks

Episode 12 - Hellbound (Time: 12:13 - Points: 233510)
Requirement: -
Hint: use the second LZ at the bossfight and your chance is higher to escape faster

Episode 13 - Pitch Dark (Time: 07:03 - Points: 216503)
Requirement: Rocket Launcher
Hint: use the east base entrance and sneak first to the control room, then sneak back and blow the red container up from the outside

Episode 14 - Lingua Franca (Time: 02:29 - Points: 280057)
Requirement: -
Hint: Go directly to the prisoner and extract him via chopper, the north LZ is directly at this position (if you call the chopper)

Episode 15 - Footprints of Phantoms (Time: 02:53 - Points: 165841)
Requirement: Rocket Launcher
Hint: You can destroy all 4 Walker Gears from outside the camp with the rocket launcher

Episode 16 - Traitor's Caravan (Time: 03:48 - Points: 237079)
Requirement: Rocker Launcher (if you want 50k extrapoints)
Hint: Ride to the Airport Field and you can extract the Truck before he drives. Killing all 4 Skulls will give you 50k extrapoints

Episode 17 - Rescue the Intel Agents (Time: 03:36 - Points: 195076)
Requirement: -
Hint: the first prisoner in the forest can be extracted via Fulton, the second via Horse or Chopper

Episode 18 - Blood Runs Deep (Time: 16:17 - Points: 177390)
Requirement: Grenade Launcher, Sniper Rifle with Suppressor
Hint: you can kill the first target from outside the camp with the sniper, the escape with the children is hard and they'll only follow you if you are close enough to them. So kill all enemies, then go further with the children. Watch your back at the end since the enemies attack you from behind.

Episode 19 - On the Trail (Time: 03:15 - Points: 186438)
Requirement: -
Hint: use the north LZ and go directly to the meeting point in the mountains

Episode 20 - Voices (Time: 07:31 - Points: 197859)
Requirement: Rocket Launcher
Hint: You can eliminate the Man of Fire with the gas tank and the pool really fast. Wait until the Man of Fire is between the pool and the gastank, then let the gastank explode

Episode 21 - The War Economy (Time: 02:17 - Points: 158043)
Requirement: Rocket Launcher
Hint: Kill the target through the open window from the outside of the Airport field

Episode 23 - The White Mamba (Time: 03:28 - Points: 349868)
Requirement: -
Hint: On the left side from the mission area you can reach the target without any contact with enemies

Episode 24 - Close Contact (Time: 02:59 - Points: 190308)
Requirement: Smoke Grenade
Hint: Go over the right side of the outpost to the tent and use the smoke grenade to extract both prisoners

Episode 25 - Aim True, Ye Vengeful (Time: 03:11 - Points: 173192)
Requirement: -
Hint: use the jeep in the outpost to extract both prisoners at the same time

Episode 26 - Hunting down (Time: 01:59 - Points: 157124)
Requirement: Rocket Launcher
Hint: you can kill the targets from a far distance with a rocket launcher or sniper rifle

Episode 27 - Root Cause (Time: 02:14 - Points: 193478)
Requirement: -
Hint: be fast and use the Truck to escape together with the prisoner

Episode 28 - Code Walker (Time: 12:28 - Points: 225368)
Requirement: Sniper Rifle with Suppressor, Smoke Grenades, Night Vision
Hint: you can run through the section with the sniper skulls, let 1 skull alive for a easier escape

Episode 29 - Metallic Archaea (Time: 02:32 - Points: 174659)
Requirement: D-Walker with Machine Gun
Hint: Use D-Walker with Machine Gun for a really easy way

Episode 30 - Skull Face (Time: 07:36 - Points: 296834)
Requirement: -
Hint: On the left side before you enter the base is a bypass path

Episode 31 - Sahelanthropus (Time: 02:48 - Points: 181604)
Requirement: D-Walker with machine gun, Rocket Launcher
Hint: Torso is a weakpoint as well as the 4 gastanks in the back of the boss

Episode 32 - To know too much (Time: 02:46 - Points: 290990)
Requirement: -
Hint: be fast and don't use the chopper to escape the hot zone

Episode 33 - [Subsistence] C2W (Time: 04:36 - Points: 246628)
Requirement: -
Hint: get a rifle from an enemy and destroy the station in the house with some bullets

Episode 34 - [Extreme] Backup, back down (Time: 10:10 - Points: 182458)
Requirement: EMN-ATB-M21 Mines, C4, Fulton Cargo +2 upgrade
Hint: the best method this time is with mines and extracting some of the tanks

Episode 35 - Cursed Legacy (Time: 02:25 - Points: 192245)
Requirement: Smoke Grenades
Hint: use smoke grenades to knock out the enemies for a short time and hide the extracting of the containers

Episode 36 - [Total Stealth] Footprints of Phantoms (Time: 02:47 - Points: 166265)
Requirement: rocket launcher
Hint: You can destroy all 4 Walker Gears from outside the camp with the rocket launcher

Episode 37 - [Extreme] Traitor's Caravan (Time: 02:45 - Points: 380292)
Requirement: -
Hint: extract the truck at the airport airfield and leave the hot zone, dont fight against the Skulls

Episode 38 - Extraordinary (Time: 02:31 - Points: 153771)
Requirement: Rocket Launcher, Smoke Grenade
Hint: there are 3 locations for the film canister, killing all enemies here is the easiest method

Episode 39 - [Total Stealth] Over the Fence (Time: 04:13 - Points: 386665)
Requirement: -
Hint: On the left side of the basis is a crack, use it and you are close to the prisoner

Episode 40 - [Extreme] Cloaked in Silence (Time: 08:33 - Points: 170209)
Requirement: -
Hint: The supply drop works also here, all you have to do is to look briefly out of cover to force a shot by quiet

Episode 41 - Proxy War without End (Time: 07:19 - Points: 209412)
Requirement: EMN mine, Smoke Grenade, C 4
Hint: all vehicles pass the same outpost on different times

Episode 42 - {Extreme] Metallic Archaea (Time: 05:11 - Points: 195032)
Requirement: D-Walker with machine gun, rocket launcher
Hint: use D-Walker and stay away from the Skulls, they disable all vehicles if you are to close

Episode 44 - [Total Stealth] Pitch Dark (Time: 08:27 - Points: 207753)
Requirement: rocket launcher
Hint: play at 1800 and use the east entrance, sneak first to the control room then sneak back and blow up the red container from the outside

Episode 45 - A Quiet Exit (Time: 10:29 - Points: 174881)
Requirement: ATB Mines, CGM 25 Rocket Launcer, Battle Dress
Hint: 14 tanks is a lot and your best way to destroy all is with the CGM 25 Rocket Launcher and many supply drops

Episode 46 - The Man who sold the World (Time: 12:31 - Points: 186944)
Requirement: -
Hint: you replay the prologue, skip all cutscenes and you get nearly automatically a s-rank

Episode 47 - The War Economy (Time: 02:15 - Points: 158377)
Requirement: rocket launcher
Hint: Kill the target through the open window from the outside of the Airport field

Episode 48 - [Extreme] Code Walker (Time: 06:56 - Points: 210037)
Requirement: -
Hint: Dont fight against the Sniper Skulls, ride through this section

Episode 49 - [Subsistence] Occupation Forces (Time: 04:08 - Points: 255910)
Requirement: -
Hint: run to the 3 vehicle locations and extract all

Episode 50 - [Extreme] Sahelanthropus (Time: 02:05 - Points: 163757)
Requirement: Light tank ZHUK-BR 3, D-Walker, rocket launcher
Hint: Torso is a weakpoint as well as the 4 gastanks in the back of the boss

There's an excellent playlist for S-Ranks by PowerPyx on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRr5L69yg_kGiYcnu_Stj...

As of now, it's not complete, yet. 31 Missions done, but the game came out just yesterday, so it should be complete by the end of this week.

This is not my playlist, i don't want any credit for the work of others :)

Update (03/09/15): 40 Videos online.

Here is a playlist link to an S rank walkthrough of every main mission. It is from a new game and for the most with a limited Mother Base making all but few strategies possible with very minimal equipment/requirements. It also features full commentary to further elucidate strategy.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaOHX8kEkD6o33wF1C8w...

Hope this helps.

There are a lot of great guides here, and it is very thorough already, but I just want to reinforce a few things for anyone struggling, or thinking this is going to be an unpassable mountain for them:

Time is everything.

49 out of the 50 missions I found time alone got me the S rank. Once I played a mission, and understood the objective, I simply restarted and made a B-line to wherever I needed to be. Skipped all cut scenes, bypassed any intel files or interrogations that were designed to spell out the objective, and just completed the mission.

You can abuse checkpoints and still get an S rank easily.

The points required for an S rank is 130,000. The points acquired from not using a checkpoint (i.e. no retries) is 6,000. There is no penalty for abusing checkpoints like in Ground Zeroes, so all you are really missing is the 6k bonus.

Do not concern yourself with mission tasks.

Some of you may be thinking that killing two birds and speed running this shit is the way to go. I can almost garuntee that even the most proficient stealth gamer is going to get annoyed quite easily trying to get all the tasks completed, as well as the mission objectives, while still keeping the time within a range to acquire an S Rank.

If you want to see what that entails, here is a playlist by MaliceNX. The guy is really good (might be an understatement), but watching him on a lot of missions you will see he just barely makes the cut for the S rank. Besides that, missions after you S rank become insanely easy with:

1.) Raiden suit (Obtained by S Ranking all missions)
2.) Stealth Camo (not the P.P. versions, but the one that recharges)

Seriously - all but 4 missions become an absolute cakewalk regarding tasks with these two items alone.

The annoying missions for S Ranking (IMO):

Prologue
Truth
Skullface

About Prologue and Truth:


About Skullface: