The following is a walkthrough for R-00: Guard Duty, the prologue stage of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. During this chapter Raiden's abilities are limited; even in New Game+, he cannot access the Codec, his inventory, carry any healing items, use Blade Mode to its normal potential, and his health is pegged at 100% regardless of any upgrades the player has.
Walkthrough[]
Once the player assumes control of Raiden, they are introduced to the basics of swordplay. Light attacks are triggered with / X and heavy attacks with / Y. Combinations are possible by pressing one repeatedly or alternating between one and the other. Enemy attacks can be blocked by pressing / X and the analogue stick towards the attacking enemy, and parried (dealing an automatic counter-hit and setting them up for a Blade Mode kill) by timing this so the block is performed just before the enemy's attack would hit.
By holding the L1 / LT button, Raiden enters Blade Mode. Blade Mode allows for precision cuts and in later stages also increases damage. The right analogue stick controls the blade freely, but it is also possible to do horizontal cuts with / X and vertical cuts with / Y.
At this point, Blade Mode has infinite FC (Fuel Cells, the power source for Blade Mode in the game proper), but will only slow down time with a parry or uppercut (light attack, pause, light attack).
Combat in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is divided into unranked gameplay and ranked battles; a results screen appears at the end of a ranked battle. Time for the stage is only counted during ranked battles, with the player free to explore the rest of the time, but being damaged or killing an enemy outside ranked battles will still lose the chapter bonuses for not damage and no kills.
Early on, Raiden fights standard Cyborgs with machetes and grenades, and then a second wave some of whom have assault rifles; neither battle is ranked. Assault rifle enemies will use a laser sight to show when they are about to attack; their bullets can be deflected using the Ninja Run (hold R1 / RB + left analogue stick). These enemies are easily defeated using regular attacks, and drop repair items when killed. On Very Hard difficulty, however, these enemies are replaced:
Wave one: 3 standard Cyborgs, 1 Gekko with TOW missiles.
Wave two: Standard cyborgs with rocket launchers, 2 Fenrirs with Railguns.
These waves are extremely hard since the strong enemies in them must be defeated without the usual ability to cut them into pieces once their armour is compromised.
At any time, the player can exit this battle by cutting the wire mesh section of the barricade and proceeding through it, which will trigger a cutscene.
First RAY fight (ranked battle #1)[]
When control returns, the player is faced with Metal Gear RAY. RAY is the first boss in the game, and is thus relatively easy. It has a surprisingly large number of attacks, with Raiden's distance from it the main factor in determining what it will do. The first battle takes place in a long rectangular arena with parked cars and palm trees, which are quickly destroyed by RAY's attacks. After several attacks, RAY will jump high into the air, to either the middle of the arena or the ends. In this battle it has the following attacks:
Close range:
- Bite: Raiden must be in front of RAY for this attack to trigger. RAY rears back and then snaps at Raiden with its jaws, before delivering a final lunge that buries its head in the ground and briefly leaves it open to attack while it pulls itself out. Doing damage during this vulnerable phase can result in a Blade Mode prompt, which allows Raiden to destroy the armour at the top of RAY's head.
- Foot stomp: RAY raises the foot nearest to Raiden and tracks him with it for a short time before stomping hard on the ground. A red line indicates where it is aimed and a circle on the ground shows the damage radius; for a short distance outside this radius Raiden will be stunned briefly. Easily avoided by moving out of the way.
- HF Blade: RAY unfolds its massive HF Blade and swings it from side to side in front of it. This attack can be parried, or Raiden can avoid it entirely by moving closer to RAY.
Medium to long range:
- Charge: RAY rears back and then runs the length of the arena with its head lowered, dealing damage if any part of its body touches Raiden.
- Cruise missiles: RAY fires a series of cruise missiles from its back with aim and radius lines much like the stomp attack. If any strike Raiden directly they will explode, otherwise they will stick in the ground and explode after a short delay. In this state they can be cut to drop nano-repair paste, which recharges Raiden's health.
- Homing missiles: RAY opens its left "wing" and fires a series of Maverick missiles in a horizontal spread which home in on Raiden. While Boris suggests cutting them in Blade Mode, this is difficult to do without taking damage and it is better to simply avoid this attack.
- Machine guns: RAY's gun turrets pop out and red laser sights appear, followed by machine gun fire which can be deflected with the Ninja Run. RAY can do other attacks while the machine guns are firing.
- Plasma Cannon: RAY bellows and an orange glow appears around its mouth, then fires two beams which pan along the ground. The first is always at Raiden's current position, while the second pans from left to right and is best avoided by jumping.
- Tail whip: RAY turns and swings its tail around, from left to right and then from right to left. The range of this attack is deceptively long, up to half the arena. It can be avoided by jumping, or parried; to parry the attack the player must press the stick towards RAY, not towards the tail. Parrying the attack brings up a Blade Mode prompt which allows Raiden to destroy most of RAY's tail. Successfully doing so will award the player the achievement/trophy "Steel Tail."
Boris instructs Raiden over the Codec throughout the battle, calling out how to deal with most of RAY's attacks. Actually damaging RAY requires that Raiden reduce the health of its body to bring up a Blade Mode prompt and destroy part of the Metal Gear's armour; parrying the tail gives a free attack on it, while the other vulnerable areas are the head after the bite attack and the two feet. Each foot can be attacked for two Blade Mode prompts, the first destroying the lower leg armour and the second destroying the gun turret on that leg.
When RAY's health is reduced to 0.1% it will jump away with Boris telling Raiden to finish it off. As he approaches, RAY will perform a plasma cannon attack before swinging at Raiden with its HF Blade, which is blocked with an Execution (+ / Y+B) prompt. From here a QTE follows, with the player called on to repeatedly press / X, / Y and then / X again to finish RAY off.
The first battle is ranked only by time and damage; the maximum time bonus is +1,000 for completing the battle in 3:00 or less, and a bonus of +1,000 is given for taking no damage. The S rank threshold is 1,000.
Pursuing Sundowner[]
After defeating RAY, the objective changes to pursuing Sundowner through a storm drain. The Ninja Run allows easy traversal of this section, but there is a hidden extra: just before a gate which drops down, a damaged grating is visible. Destroying this and using Ninja Run to slide into it will allow Data Storage #1 to be retrieved. Data Storage devices unlock concept art in the Collection menu on the title screen, and also allow items to be unlocked when a certain number have been collected. Continue onwards, slashing through the bars and head up the stairs.
Second RAY fight (ranked battle #2)[]
RAY returns as soon as Raiden makes it to the top of the stairs. This second encounter takes place on a narrow platform with little room to manoeuvre, making RAY's physical attacks substantially more dangerous. RAY has the following attacks here:
- Bite: RAY rears back slightly and then snaps its jaws, before burying its head in the platform and getting stuck for a moment. Parrying this attack will give an instant Blade Mode prompt if either of the two armoured areas remain.
- Cruise missiles: RAY leaps away from the platform and fires cruise missiles from its back as it did in the first fight. It is more important to cut them before they explode in this battle, due to the smaller space.
- HEMP bombs: If Raiden is standing at the far left of the platform when RAY starts its HEMP rocket attack it will instead drop two salvoes of bombs straight down out of the "wing." These can be cut in Blade Mode and may drop nanorepair paste.
- HEMP rockets: RAY swings its remaining "wing" over to the far left of the arena and opens it up, firing two salvoes of slow-moving HEMP rockets which can be cut in Blade Mode, with a chance of dropping nanorepair paste.
- Lunge: RAY rears back and orange energy gathers around its head before it lunges from left to right and buries its head in the side of the building to the right of the arena, getting stuck for a moment. The left side of the platform is safe, or the attack can be parried like the bite for an instant Blade Mode prompt.
- Machine guns: RAY's remaining gun turrets pop out and fire. If the machine guns on RAY's thighs were not destroyed in the first stage of the battle, they are also able to fire here, especially when RAY jumps away to do the cruise missile attack.
- Plasma cannon: RAY always begins the battle with this attack, openings its mouth wide and gathering energy before firing. The beam now pans across the arena from right to left and then left to right at torso height, and is best avoided by jumping; slashes can be used to gain extra "air time."
- Wing smash: RAY lifts its remaining "wing" and slams it down on the platform. If it hits the right side of the platform, it then fires a single volley of HEMP rockets at Raiden, parallel with the ground.
The main target in this battle is RAY's head, with the first Blade Mode prompt destroying the armour on RAY's jaws and the second the gun turret on the left "wing." Once RAY's health is reduced to zero, it will trigger a QTE; Raiden must use Ninja Run (R1 / RB + left stick) to run up RAY's missiles, then a Blade Mode prompt will appear to destroy the armour of RAY's left shoulder. Following this is a brief sequence running down the clock tower; the far-right is safest, and the gap in the side of the tower does not actually exist in gameplay terms. Once Raiden reaches RAY, a prompt to repeatedly press / X will appear, followed by Raiden cutting the boss in half automatically.
The battle is again only ranked by time and damage; the maximum time bonus is again +1,000 for 3:00 or less, and another +1,000 is given for taking no damage. In addition, an automatic bonus of +1,000 is given for the single compulsory kill in this stage. The threshold for an S rank is 2,000.
Jetstream Sam[]
Following the cutscenes, Raiden will be on a train. Head fowards and over the containers until Sundowner, N'mani and Samuel Rodrigues are visible ahead. Do not jump towards them; instead, drop straight down and look right to find Data Storage #2. Then proceed forwards.
Following the cutscenes Raiden will be in an unwinnable battle against Sam; he has no health bar, and damaging him does nothing. Blocking is ineffective as it only reduces the damage taken rather than mitigating it. It is possible to evade Sam for long enough to force the battle to advance, but pointless since it is impossible to get a no damage bonus on this stage.
Cutscenes mark Raiden being reduced to 50% and 0.1% health, after which Raiden will lose his arm. It is possible to strike at Sam with the sword, but pointless; simply head towards the front of the carriage and wait for Sam to strike Raiden from behind to finish the level.
Trophies / Achievements[]
- File R-00: Status - Closed - Complete the chapter on any difficulty.
- Steel Tail - Cut off RAY's tail during the first battle.
Rewards[]
- Suit (character model) - Beat the level on Very Hard difficulty or above.