Stage 05: Armory

Get the C4!

Before you enter the Armory, be sure to remove the mine detectors from your deck - you're not going to need them inside the armory itself, as there aren't any mines within. Chaff grenades would be good to bring along, so add two or three of those to your deck if you happen to have them.

Instead, there are a bunch of guards with ceramic armor on, which, as you'll recall, will nullify the first 80 damage they take from any source, forcing you to deal 105 damage to kill them (since they have 25 health). Tough, yes, but not improbable. Most successful attempts to take them down in a single turn will involve using an Action + card to gain an extra action in a turn, then running up behind them and using either two FAMAS cards or a FAMAS and a SOCOM to blow them away. Alternately, you can wait until one of them is standing next to one of the red barrels in the hall and shoot that instead of them - this will do more than enough damage for an instant kill.

Keep in mind as you walk up the hallway here that the red barrels in the hall are not enough cover to protect you from the guard's sight; the second guard at the wester end of the hall will need to be avoided in one of the side corridors, then. It's the third guard that you encounter, though, that paces around in the southwestern corner of the floor, that'll give you the most problems, as he loves sitting in one spot, then abruptly walking, then rotating in place. If you wait on the eastern side of the obstacle for him to come towards you, then turn his back, you should be able to dart out and blow him away. Alternately, he'll be a worthy target for your Cyborg Ninja card when one pops up. When he's gone, walk up the steps to the second floor. If you wish, you can check out the rooms to the west and southwest to find two MGS1 packs, but you'll need to be on guard for more soldiers and cameras as you move around.

Be mindful of laser sensors, as well, such as exist in the small alcove between the northwestern and western rooms in this hallway. Stepping into one will send you into full alert mode. You can bypass them by crawling underneath their lasers.

Armory- Second Floor

The second floor of the armory will be your first introduction to the splendrous wonder of the Gun Cameras. These act like normal cameras - except, you know, with guns and all. Avoid their lines of sight, as they will completely destroy you if they happen to get eyes on you - they can do around 15 damage from the front or 18 from the side, will fire something like 8-10 times per volley, and will add one cost with each successful hit, allowing them to lock you up with high cost totals and get multiple volleys off before you can react. Ouch, in other words. Before you move around up here, it'd be a good idea to make an in-mission save and reload it immediately, to have something to fall back on if things go awry.

Now, if all you want is the C4, then you can easily get it by heading into the southwestern room here; it should be directly across from you if you came up the first steps that you came across on the first floor. Be careful heading in, though, as there's a gun turret on a wall inside. Be sure to cap it with a FAMAS or SOCOM before heading into its area of sight. With it out of the way, then you'll be able to enter the cage that the C4 is in, grab it, then get the hell out of the Armory. You'll have to head back the way you came; down the stairs and down the hall there.

If you want more cards, however, then you can find some by walking north through the easternmost corridor on this level. It'll be difficult to get through without chaff grenades; there are multiple gun turrets watching over the path, as well as a robot patrol bot in the northeastern corridor itself. If you can get through, though, then take the stairs down to the first floor again, you should find two rooms that you can enter. One contains another MGS2 pack, while the other will have an MGS1 pack behind a laser tripwire, so you'll need to crawl to it. If you don't want to get these now, feel free to wait and come back for them later, when you have the keycards required to get through the doors on the first floor that'll let you access them easily.

With the C4 in hand, you can now bust through the wall in the Lower Ruins, so head back that way.