One of Metal Gear Solid’s ultimate bosses is the massive walking battle tank known as Metal Gear Rex. Rex is one of the tougher boss fights of the game, and little else is more frustrating than repeatedly dying to a late-game boss when you’re so, so close to wrapping up.
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Fortunately, there’s a strategy to fighting Rex: one which might not seem so obvious. You’ll need to be mindful of your distance from the robo-beast, aiming for a perfect sweet spot that we’ll help you find..
Almost too close for comfort
The Metal Gear Rex fight is all about getting up close…but not too close. The rockets Rex fires are incredibly accurate. Stay too far back and maybe you’ll dodge a few here and there, but more often than not you’ll get hit. In addition to taking damage, these rockets will knock you down, slowing the fight and keeping you on the backfoot. But if you’re closer to Rex, the missiles will fly overhead, landing behind you, leaving you in the clear.
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Chaff grenades will screw with Rex’s missiles, mostly causing them to miss you if the timing’s right. However, chaff only works for so long and you can only have so many of them. You’ll find a few in the hangar, but the game takes its time to give you more, and tucks the grenades into distant corners that open you up to get hit by Rex’s rockets. Also, be sure to have your R1/RB/R finger ready to quickly equip and unequip the Stinger missile, as it locks you into first-person mode where you can’t move.
Body Armor helps a ton
You’re gonna take a few hits during the Rex fight (especially on your first or second attempt). Body Armor is found in Nuclear Warhead Storage Building B2 behind a Level 6 Key door, or in the first floor of the Blast Furnace where you heat up the PAL key. If you don’t have Body Armor, make sure you have Rations equipped so as to avoid dying as much as you can.
If you get too close to Rex, you’re in for another world of hurt. Not only will Rex’s stomp kill you in one hit, you also need to be mindful of its machine gun and laser. Also, you risk being unable to effectively aim your stinger missiles at the radome hanging off Rex’s left side.
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The solution, then, for taking out Rex involves staying within a “Goldilocks” zone, if you will, that gives you enough room to:
- Avoid its one-hit kill feet
- Be able to run out of the way of its laser and machine gun
- Avoid being too close as to be unable to aim the Stinger missile at the radome/open mouth
- Remain on Rex’s left side to be able to hit the radome
- Stay close enough so you aren’t repeatedly murdered by its missiles
With that in mind, let’s map this out.
Finding the sweet spot when fighting Rex
Imagine two concentric circles surrounding Rex, one directly underneath it, and the other further away where its missiles typically land. You want to be in between these two circles so that Rex’s missiles fly over you, as they’re easily the most dangerous attack during this fight.
Rex moves around during the battle, so imagine these circles moving too. They’re not always a fixed distance apart as the missiles can travel a bit, so the more you stay in that sweet spot, the less likely you are to be hit.
You don’t always need to wait until the Stinger locks on
The Stinger missile launcher takes a few seconds to lock on to its target. But you can fire before it’s locked on. Given how relatively slowly those missiles move compared to bullets, you are very likely to miss. But if you’re close enough to Rex, you can get off a few effective shots without needing to wait until the Stinger locks on.
After enough damage, a mysterious stranger will show up to lend Snake a hand (after a big speech, naturally). Once this happens, Liquid Snake will open up Rex’s mouth. Now, you can technically use the PSG1 sniper rifle to hit him during this part of the fight, but stick to the Stinger missile if this is your first time.
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