Metal Gear Solid 2is all about sneaking past enemies undetected. The weapons you find throughout the game’s two chapters, the Tanker and the Big Shell, greatly assist with this task. A lot of the firearms and tools you use will be automatically given to you throughout the story, but there are a few you can miss if you don’t look carefully enough.
This list will detail the best ones and let you know where you can get them, both while controlling Snake and Raiden, assuming Snake even has an opportunity to get them during his gameplay segment.
8M9 Tranquilizer Gun
Non-lethally disposing of enemies was a novel idea in 2001 that older gamers might not have been used to. Metal Gear Solid 2 forces you to acclimate to this idea by giving you only a tranquilizer gun for the opening sequence. When you switch to Raiden, the gun changes location depending on the difficulty.
On Very Easy, it is in the Strut A Dock, the first room you start in. On Easy, it is on the roof of this room after taking the elevator up. On Nomral and beyond, it is in the Strut F warehouse behind a door with no card key lock on the southeast corner of the second floor.
7USP And Socom
Functionally, these two pistols are identical. The only difference is Snake uses the USP, and Raiden uses the Socom. Snake finds his off of Olga after the first boss fight, and Raiden receives his Socom from Snake after they meet in Strut B following the first encounter with Vamp.
The Socom is all well and good, but it’s better with a suppressor. On Very Easy, it is in the same room where you meet Snake, who is going by Iroquois Pliskin. On Normal, you find it in the Strut F Warehouse in the room on the first floor in the southeast corner. You need the Level 1 Keycard first, which Peter Stillman gives you after meeting him in Strut C. You can see it from the room, but you need to crawl through the duct in the opposite room (the one with the Node) to reach it.
6Chaff Grenade
These grenades are extremely useful for dealing with any sort of threat connected to electronics. It disables cameras, Cyphers, and even enemy radios, so they cannot call for backup if they spot you. They are especially valuable in a few particular rooms, like the EF connecting bridge where Cyphers patrol and a guard is looking over the area with Binoculars.
Just remember that they also knock out your radar, meaning the Mine Detector and Bomb Sensor are temporarily useless, too. You find Chaff Grenades throughout the game in various locations, but you can also get them from guards by holding them up at gunpoint and shaking them down.
5PSG-1
You need the PSG-1 sniper rifle to progress through the game, but you don’t receive it from a cinematic. You need to find it yourself. After talking to Richard Ames, who will give you the Level 3 Keycard, you will be directed to the Shell 1 Core, accessed from the Strut D Sediment Pool.
First, head to Strut F and go to the room in the East and toward the middle. The PSG-1 will be in plain sight. In the same room is a vent you can crawl into with the PSG-1T, a non-lethal version of the weapon. You will use the PSG-1 to disable the explosives on the Shell 1-2 Connecting Bridge and then again to defend Emma while she walks across the oil fence.
4High-Frequency Blade
This weapon marks the birth of Raiden’s ninja phase. The High-Frequency Blade is not only deadly, but it can also deflect bullets. You only get to use it during the last segment of the story. Snake gives it to you after finding you naked while inside Arsenal Gear.
You can also make it non-lethal, indicated by its blue color change in the weapon box on the lower-right corner of the screen. It would have been nice if the game lets you use it throughout the rest of Raiden’s story on subsequent playthroughs.
3Claymore Mines
If you played Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation, you know to disable and collect Claymore Mines out in the field by crawling over them. They are not super useful for stealth, but they are a fun tool to play with the enemy AI. You have to watch out not to fall victim to them yourself.
Many of them are on the EF Connecting Bridge. Use the Mine Detector, found in the western area of Strut E down the stairs, to see them on your radar. Also, watch out for mines on the Strut A roof on the gate that opens up on the second time through the area. Additionally, use your Thermal Goggles to spot mines in Emma’s path while protecting her on her walk on the oil fence.
2AKS-74u
After defeating Fatman, you have a conversation with a mysterious cyborg ninja who gives you the level 2 keycard, a cellphone, and an enemy uniform. To complete the enemy disguise, you need to find the AKS-74u in Strut F. Using the keycard you just received, go to the north area of the Strut on the first floor and find the gun there.
On Very Easy, there is a suppressor in the same room. On higher difficulties, you have to wait until after the battle with the Harrier to find it. Once the boss is defeated, cartwheel over the gap on the bridge and put out the fire; the suppressor will be behind the flames.
1M4
The M4 does not have a suppressor and is completely missable. However, it is more powerful than the AKS-74u, making it a valuable tool against bosses and enemy encounters where you have no choice but to blast your way out. Find it in the Strut F warehouse on the upper level in the room to the west.
This room has lasers attached to explosives, so be careful when you enter. Shoot the box with the green blinking light to disable the lasers and grab the automatic weapon. Ammo is not super plentiful for this gun, so use it wisely.
