One of the most memorable aspects of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is its lineup of unique and challenging boss encounters. Each fight is designed to test your mastery of stealth, survival mechanics, and combat strategy in very different ways. With nine major boss fights spread throughout the campaign, you’ll need to adapt constantly—whether it’s outsmarting a sniper, dodging fire, or surviving a battle against a tank.
Here you will find a complete overview of all MGS Delta bosses, their peculiarities, strategies, and rewards you can gain for non-fatality victories.
Ocelot – The First Duel
The fight with Ocelot is your introduction to the style of battles that you’ll have with the Cobra Unit. This is a western-style standoff in front of a forest clearing. Ocelot remains behind the forest, circling cover and firing at you with his revolvers. His biggest liability is when he is reloading; most of the time, he does this in the open, leaving you a clear shot to fire back.
Environmental gimmicks too. Suspended beehives from trees can be blasted to scatter him, but he can retaliate with his own swarm. Bug Juice is a useful defense if the hornets turn on you. Be careful for supply crates and climbable trees around the arena if you’re low on bullets or need a better vantage point.
- Non-lethal reward: Animals Camo.
The Pain – Master of Hornets
The Pain controls groups of hornets, turning them into armor as well as weapons. Diving underwater will blind him, allowing you to attack from behind him penalty-free. His hornet shield can be broken down with steady fire, but grenades are risky—she’ll send hornets to carry them back at you.
At half health, he summons “bullet bees,” which cling and inflict damage at a constant rate until they are banished by your knife in the cure menu. Alternating backstepping and bursts of firepower is the most effective means of wearing him out.
- Non-lethal reward: Hornet Stripes Camo.
The Fear – Acrobat with a Crossbow
This battle takes place in the dense treetops. The Fear will keep jumping from branch to branch and firing poisoned bolts. Cure immediately if poisoned, or else it becomes a very hard battle. He sometimes gets hungry and searches for food—placing rotten or poisoned items is a great trick to trick him.
The Thermal Goggles make his camouflage pointless and enable one to easily see him since he is stranded on twigs. Be on the lookout and go up with caution over traps scattered on the forest floor.
- Non-lethal reward: Spider Camo.
The End – Legendary Sniper Duel
The End is gaming’s most iconic sniper battle, and Delta leaves it intact. The battle is fought on three huge maps, with The End getting around a lot. His tranquilizer gun drains stamina rather than health, so you’ll be dead if you die.
Directional Mic and Thermal Goggles are required for tracking his trail. His banter and his scope glint also give him away. Footprints that he leaves behind every time he moves can be tracked if you are ready to wait for them. You can fire at a distance with the SVD, or sneak up for a hold-up that pays you back with his camouflage print.
- Non-lethal reward: Mosin-Nagant Sniper Rifle (tranquilizer ammunition).
The Fury – Jetpack and Flamethrower
The Fury is obnoxious and merciless, slicing through a black network of corridors with his flamethrower. Fire blocks the path, but you can extinguish it by destroying water pipes. He closes in with his jetpack, so stay in motion at all times.
His suit can be torn apart with a swipe from a knife, increasing the damage he takes from anywhere. Explosive barrels set around the arena can be detonated to release huge amounts of damage. Do this battle as a loop: ambush, run away, reposition, repeat.
- Non-lethal reward: Fire Camo.
The Sorrow – The Ghostly Trial
Unlike the others, The Sorrow is not a traditional fight. Instead, Snake must wade through a river haunted by the ghosts of every soldier you’ve killed. The more blood you’ve spilled, the longer and more punishing the trek. Ghostly beams can be avoided by diving underwater.
Near the end of the river, Snake falls when he comes into contact with The Sorrow’s corpse. The repair is to use the Revival Pill item from your inventory, which brings Snake back to life and kills the encounter.
Non-lethal reward: Spirit Camo.
Colonel Volgin – Lightning Unleashed
Volgin is amongst the worst fights, with a combination of melee skill and ranged electricity. Most weapons won’t work because he has an electric aura, so you have to adapt. The key is to fight him while he gets stuck into animations, like when he is recharging his power in an electricity box.
Finishing from behind or with CQC slams will open up opportunities. Wearing the Raikov mask disorients him, leaving him open for a second. Keep on the move, remain defensive, and pick away when it’s safe.
- Non-lethal reward: Cold War Camo.
The Shagohod – Metal Monster
The Shagohod battle is done in two parts. The first is chase level with EVA driving. Just shoot at the enemy for most of this segment; it’s really more or less cinematic. The second is an arena duel in its entirety.
Here, you let EVA drive while you blast RPGs into the Shagohod’s treads to cripple it. On the ground, fire its exposed core. Volgin then appears for a rematch—follow the same routine of crippling and core shooting until the machine is nothing but ashes.
There’s no immobilizing here without killing it; full-on firepower is your only choice.
The Boss – Final Duel in the Flowers
The most intense action of Snake Eater takes place in a serene but deadly field of white flowers. The Boss uses CQC skills and firearms, and you can only hurt her effectively when hiding. Dress up in the Snow Camo, sneak through the flowers, and fire when she is not aware of your presence.
When she closes in, she’ll employ CQC takedowns. You can parry those with proper timing, but should you fail, she’ll disarm and steal ammo. Keep kiting around, use Thermal Goggles to pursue her in cover, and attack when she least expects it.
- Non-lethal reward: Snake Camo.
