Codename Guide

This is a guide on what Codenames are, the requirements for each codename, how weapon takedowns work, and how to get different ranks. Vicboss has its own codename tracker that can be accessed by uploading your save file, without having to manually track every time you use a weapon.

Table of Contents

Introduction

In previous Metal Gear Solid games, Codenames are awards given after completing the game, and are based on your performance (e.g. how fast you completed the game, how many rations you used, the difficulty level you played at, etc.). Codenames in Peace Walker are different; they can be awarded after completing any mission, and the codename you get mainly depends on which types of weapons you have used and whether you have taken down enemies lethally or non-lethally. There are also four special codenames (FOX, HOUND, FOXHOUND, DOBERMAN) that need additional requirements to be met.

Each codename also has a "rank", which can be from 1 - 5. The rank you get depends on how many missions you have completed in both SINGLE and CO-OPS modes, and your amount of Camaraderie. This guide aims to give you a full breakdown of how to get each codename and rank. This GameFAQs guide is a great guide to getting every codename, however leaves some questions unanswered and doesn't always seem to agree with my testing. This guide aims to be comprehensive as well as easy to understand.

Weapon takedowns, which are crucial values for getting codenames, are not shown anywhere in-game. To view these values, as well as viewing a personalized guide on what steps you need to take to get the next codename/codename rank, you can upload your save file to the Vicboss save editor. Vicboss also allows you to edit your weapon takedowns, and edit your codenames and codename ranks, so if you want every codename you can just cheat them in. But where's the fun in that?

Codenames

There are 24 codenames, each with five ranks. You are awarded a codename based on:

1. Your most-used weapon type
2. Whether you take down enemies lethally or non-lethally
3. Your Camaraderie total, which also affects the rank you get

There are six different categories of weapons; short-range (Handguns, Shotguns, Submachine guns), medium-range (Assault Rifle, Machine Gun), long-range (Sniper Rifle), Explosives (Missile Launcher, Thrown Weapon, Placeable Weapon), CQC, and Stun Rod. The individual weapon type with the most takedowns will determine your weapon category and therefore the codename you will get. For example, if you have used Machine Guns the most, you will be in the medium-range category.

Once the game has determined your weapon category and if you focus on lethal/non-lethal takedowns, there are two different codenames it can give you depending on your total Camaraderie. SINGLE codenames are associated with low Camaraderie, CO-OPS codenames are associated with high Camaraderie.

Here is a table showing every normal codename:

Codenames are based on your accumulated takedowns across your entire playthrough, not just the latest mission. There are four special codenames (FOX, HOUND, FOXHOUND, DOBERMAN) that have special requirements in order to achieve them.

Weapon takedowns

A "takedown" is any time where you use a weapon to make an enemy unable to continue fighting. There are four types of takedowns (kill, incapacitation, tranquilization and stun). Incapacitation means leaving an enemy near death by attacking them with a lethal weapon until they fall to the floor, and a red skull appears above their head. Incapacitations, tranquilizations and stun takedowns are combined to get the non-lethal total of each type of weapon. Here are a few examples of each type of takedown:

• Kill - using the M16A1 assault rifle on a soldier until they die.
• Incapacitation - using the M16A1 assault rifle on a soldier until they fall to the ground and a red skull appears above them.
• Tranquilization - using the Mk.22 or Mosin Nagant on an enemy until they fall to the ground and "Z"s appear above their head.
• Stun - using CQC or the Rubber Slug shotgun on a soldier until they fall to the ground and stars appear above their head.

Incapacitating a soldier and then finishing him off with a weapon can give both an incapacitation and a kill. The same is true for incapacitating a soldier, then waiting for him to bleed out and die; you can prevent this by leaving the area or fultoning the soldier before they die. In some missions, performing a non-lethal takedown on a soldier results in a blue skull appearing above them; this means that they will disappear after a short amount of time, useful for missions where you must defeat waves of enemies.

A weapon type's usage total (what determines your most-used weapon) is its lethal and non-lethal takedowns added together (e.g. for a handgun, 100 lethal and 250 non-lethal makes a total of 350 handgun takedowns).

When figuring out what weapon category to give you, the game looks for the highest takedown count of each individual weapon type instead of the total of a weapon category. For example, let's say you had 200 handgun takedowns, 300 submachine gun takedowns and 350 sniper rifle takedowns. Since the sniper rifle has the most takedowns, its weapon category (long-range) will be chosen, despite the short-range weapons having more takedowns in total.

Your most-used weapon type and your lethal/non-lethal balance are separate checks. A lethal weapon can help you obtain a non-lethal codename, as long as the overall balance remains non-lethal; see below.

Lethal vs Non-lethal

You can get different codenames depending on whether your takedowns were lethal or non-lethal. You need more than twice as many non-lethal takedowns as lethal takedowns to qualify for the non-lethal version. Having 100 lethal takedowns and 150 non-lethal takedowns would still get you a lethal codename. Even 200 non-lethal takedowns would still select lethal; you would need at least 201. The other codename and rank requirements must also be met before an award is given.

The calculation is:

Score = incapacitations + tranquilizations + stuns - (2 × kills)

• A score above zero selects non-lethal.
• A score of zero or below selects lethal.

For example, 3,000 lethal and 4,000 non-lethal takedowns give a score of -2,000. You would need another 2,001 non-lethal outcomes, with no additional kills, to cross into non-lethal.

Ranks and Camaraderie

For codename progress, each mission can contribute one completion in SINGLE PLAYER and one in CO-OPS. Some missions are single-player only and do not have a CO-OPS version. To get ranks, you need a certain amount of "completions", which is every unique time you completed a mission in SINGLE/CO-OPS; completing a mission in a mode you've already completed it in does not affect the total completions.

There are 295 required mission/mode completions across all 161 missions. For ranks 4 and 5, you need to complete every mission in each available mode with the required grade. Some missions don't have a CO-OPS version, and some missions don't give grades. Completing all missions only in SINGLE is not enough for rank 3.

The two right-hand columns refer to the amount of Camaraderie needed to get either SINGLE or CO-OPS related codenames. For example, if you have 11,000 camaraderie and 148 completions, you meet the mission and Camaraderie conditions for a rank 1 CO-OPS codename and a rank 2 SINGLE codename. The weapon and lethal/non-lethal requirements still apply.

The SINGLE or CO-OPS variant depends on Camaraderie at the relevant rank; it does not mean that simply completing either SINGLE/CO-OPS missions over and over again awards you the corresponding codename. You do not need to collect each lower rank individually before obtaining a higher one.

If you get over 500,000 Camaraderie, then you will not be able to get a rank 5 SINGLE codename, only a rank 5 CO-OPS codename. This does not lock you out of getting rank 5 SINGLE codenames; you can delete player records in the Comrades list to reduce your total Camaraderie. If you want both sets of rank 5 codenames, aim to earn the SINGLE versions before exceeding 500,000 Camaraderie.

FOX, HOUND, FOXHOUND and DOBERMAN

These four codenames require balanced usage across all 11 individual weapon types, as well as the appropriate lethal/non-lethal outcome, Camaraderie, mission progress and Heroism.

• FOX: non-lethal, SINGLE.
• HOUND: lethal, SINGLE.
• FOXHOUND: non-lethal, CO-OPS.
• DOBERMAN: lethal, CO-OPS.

Balancing weapon usage

The 11 types of weapons are Handgun, Submachine Gun, Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Machine Gun, Sniper Rifle, Missile Launcher, Thrown Weapons, Placeable Weapons, CQC and Stun Rod. The total takedowns for each of these must be balanced to be around the same.

To find the average takedown amount, add every total and divide by 11. Each type should be within 90%-110% of the average. Aim to get each takedown total as equal as possible.

For example, if all 11 weapon types have 100 takedowns, the average is 100 and they are balanced. If every weapon type is at 1,000 takedowns except for CQC which is at 700, the weapons are not in balance.

Raise the lowest types and recheck the tracker as you go. Every new takedown changes both its type's total and the overall average. Its lethal/non-lethal outcome can also change which special codename you qualify for. If you want to collect both lethal and non-lethal codenames, staying near the 2:1 boundary can make switching easier: non-lethal requires more than twice as many non-lethal takedowns as kills, while exactly 2:1 selects lethal.

Additional rank requirements

For special codenames, these requirements need to be met alongside Camaraderie conditions in the ordinary rank table. For example, rank 5 FOXHOUND needs the non-lethal balance, balanced weapon usage, all required S grades, at least 250,001 Heroism and at least 500,001 Camaraderie. Rank 5 FOX uses the same conditions except its Camaraderie must be 500,000 or below.

Notes

1. If you are going for every codename (or just the special codenames), try to keep your weapon usage balanced throughout your playthrough, and start balancing it early. Also try and keep your non-lethal:lethal ratio at 2:1 to easily switch between the two when needed.
2. Extra Ops 038 (Base Defense) is a great mission for farming takedowns, as it features 40 soldiers to defeat that run in a set path and rarely shoot back.
3. Destroying a Kidnapper counts as a Stun takedown for the weapon you used. A good mission to farm Kidnappers is Extra Ops 052 (Eliminate the Kidnappers) as it has 40 of them to defeat.
4. Defeating monsters does not count towards lethal or non-lethal takedowns.
5. Grenade launcher kills (from the Kampfpistole or launchers attached to assault rifles) do not count.
6. Destroying a mech counts as a Stun takedown.
7. When you get a new rank, all of your current codenames do not get upgraded to your highest rank; you'll need to meet the requirements for previously-aquired codenames again to update its rank level.
8. Weapons takedowns and R&D Usage Level are not related; Usage Level is just an EXP system for weapons, not how many lethal/non-lethal takedowns the weapon has.