Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Walkthrough – Mission 30: Skull Face

Your final infiltration mission is a challenging gauntlet of stealth, where you are tasked with infiltrating a hilltop castle ruin.

Quiet is a valuable ally for this section of the game, as she has multiple sniper perches available and can be repositioned to cover your entry. Be sure to bring your Sneaking Suit, and it's highly advisable to tackle this section at night. The first half of the fortress is relatively easy to infiltrate.

Enter the gate from the left side, avoiding the guards' field of view, and hug the right side of the fortress while staying low.

As long as you remain in cover and darkness, and are mindful of the guards' fields of view, you should be able to advance halfway through the complex without significant trouble.

The real challenge lies in the brightly lit, open plaza just beyond the midway arch. This area is heavily guarded, with numerous security personnel and light fixtures scattered throughout. If even one guard becomes alerted, the likelihood of being spotted is high due to the sheer number of guards present, all prepared to launch a search at a moment's notice.

Your best strategy in this situation is to exercise extreme caution and rely on a bit of luck. Look for the few available points of cover, such as spaces between containers or beneath arches, and make your way gradually toward the perimeter. Move from one cover to the next with great patience, advancing slowly to minimize the risk of detection.

If you find yourself cornered and on the verge of being detected, you can resort to using Stealth Camouflage and make a quick sprint forward. However, doing so will compromise your chances of achieving an S-rank. Still, if your main goal is simply to reach the end, two quick bursts of Stealth Camouflage followed by sprints can get you from the plaza to the finish line.

At the end of the level, you'll finally come face-to-face with Skull Face, who is quite a character. After you catch up to him at the conclusion of Mission 30, he delivers a lengthy speech, revealing more about his motivations and plans.