Backup, Back Down is 9th in line and one of the most challenging and unique missions in Metal Gear so far. It is the 15 minutes timer that makes it unique and challenging.
▼Article Continues Below▼
Completing all mission tasks in the first playthrough sounds impossible; even more so because you’ll need the upgraded Fulton for heavy objects extraction. Although you don’t really need a missile launcher to complete the mission, it is more than advisable to acquire it before heading to the mission area. The one thing you need to complete all mission tasks is the Cargo 2 upgrade for the Fulton recovery device.
Obtainable Skills/Blueprints
All of the following are obtained by extracting an enemy soldier or prisoner that has the appropriate skill (scan them with the upgraded binoculars to identify them).
Rebel guerrillas are launching an offensive. Eliminate as many fighting vehicles as possible in order to weaken the Soviets’ reinforcements.
Eliminated an armored vehicle
This is the easiest task. The weak spot of armored vehicles are their domes. Three shots to the dome with a low-grade missile launcher should take care of it.
Eliminated multiple fighting vehicles or gunships
To complete this task, you have to destroy at least 5 fighting vehicles or gunships. You can see their movement and locations on the map.
Eliminated all armored vehicles without receiving a resupply or fire support
Having an upgraded missile launcher and another explosive weapon (and using them properly) is the key here.
Secured the weapon the transport truck was carrying
Almost all trucks and vehicles go toward the Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost. You can find transport trucks there.
Extracted an armored vehicle
The Cargo 2 upgrade for the Fulton recovery device is needed for this objective. The regular Fulton device cannot lift an armored vehicle.
Extracted 4 soldiers searching for the escaped prisoner
The four soldiers looking for the prisoner can be found on the mountain path between outposts #12 and #15, southwest of Wakh Sind Barracks. There’s a place where the rocks arch over the path at the top of the mountain. When they reach it, they’ll split into two groups. If you set an ambush in the high grass nearby, you’re going to have an easy time getting them all.
Extracted 6 prisoners
Here’s where you can find the six prisoners (courtesy of Bant, Marc and Dastro):
One is being driven around in a jeep.
One is in the basement of Wakh Sind Barracks.
Another can be found roaming the mountain path down south.
One is north of the south landing zone.
One is in the trailer north of Lamar Khaate Palace.
Another is by the river to the west.
Extracted 3 tanks
The Cargo 2 upgrade for the Fulton recovery device is required for this objective. If you destroy or fulton all of the armored vehicles, reinforcements will arrive – a chopper and 3 tanks (thanks RSM!).
For those struggling to get an S Rank, destroying (or capturing, but destroying is easier) all 11 vehicles (7 during the timer, plus 3 tanks and a gunship after) is a guaranteed S Rank regardless of Alerts, because you get 160,000 points for those 11 vehicles alone, and you only ever need 130,000 for S Ranks. So just hop on D-Horse with your best Battle Dress and use your best rocket launcher (I used the FB MR R-Launcher Grade 5) and just destroy everything.
No, “north of the south landing zone” is right – that’s where she spawns. You can just turn north and run about 30 meters to find her. If you don’t grab her immediately, tho, she wanders south.
By the way, my prisoner-rescue strategy:
Spawn with a car and d-dog, and make sure you have stealth camo and a rocket launcher. Use the south landing zone.
1. Turn around and run a few meters north to find the first prisoner.
2. Run east from here (go south around the bluff on your east side, it’s easier) and head for the mountain path. You’ll run into a group of 4 guards; use your rocket launcher to kill them quickly. (These are the four you need to extract for another objective, but we’re on a time limit here – you can get them on another run.) Continue into the mountain path and you’ll find the second prisoner just a little bit in, around the first bend. He wanders east if you’re slow.
3. Run back to your car, and take it to the north of the palace. Jump out, strafe around the north end of the palace via the cliff, dropping down behind the two prisoner holding cells. When you get close, pop a stealth camo, then rush in, unlock the door, grab the prisoner, drop them behind the cell (to hide them), and fulton.
4. Head back to your car, hopefully without getting spotted. Head north until you hit the first bridge across the water. You’ll have to rush through Guard Station 12, but dont’ worry, getting spotted is irrelevant – speed is our concern. Hop out just before the bridge, jump into the water and head west – you’ll find the prisoner just a little ways down. He wanders west if you’re slow.
5. Back to the car. Head north, taking the east fork where it splits, and then the bridge across, so you’re on the road to the Barracks. Wait there for the car carrying the prisoner. Get rid of the guards, fulton the prisoner.
6. Head to the Barracks. We’re pressed for time, so we need to rush, so don’t worry *too* much about getting spotted. Feel free to pop a stealth to help sneak your way in if you need it. You need to head to the big structure and drop down to the cells in the basement – the prisoner is in the locked room down there. Fulton them out however (the holes in the ceiling of the big basement room are useful), then rush out.
7. Now the fun part – we need to find *just one* tank to kill. Depending on your leftover time there will be different tanks around, so find whatever’s easiest to reach and go kill it. There should be one coming across the bridge near the Barracks right at the end, so this shouldn’t be too hard.
(Alternately, the tank at the palace leaves really early. You can grab the first prisoner, kill the guards hunting the second, and then rush back in time to kill that tank. Then you can rescue the third prisoner, head back and grab the second that you left behind, and then continue as planned. This is a little slower, but it means you’re not risking failing the mission due to missing all the tanks.)
I found a bug on the Extreme version of this mission. After you take out all of the armoured vehicles and the 3 tanks enter the area, sometimes one of the tanks will run over one of the prisoners wandering in the desert. Has anyone else had this happen?
Encountered a glitch. The prisoner roaming the mountain path with the 4 soldiers looking for him won’t spawn. I find the soldiers, but not the prisoner. I’ve run up and down that path with d-dog several times and he wont show up.
So I have a weird problem. I got the drug developer the first time through, but I am trying to get one with better stats now. Only problem is now it is always two cybernetics specialists and no drug developer. Can she not be reobtained?
It should be noted that I have encountered a glitch where if you use EMN mines to stun the truck carrying the weapon, it disables the objective and makes it unattainable.
Where is the last prisoner? One at each, the palace and barracks, one just north of the southern most start point at the start of the mission, one in the mountain path being chased. Ive scouered the may with DD and have had no luck still. Thanks.
I knew once i posted that i would find em. Just north of the south west outpost… Forget the number, jump in the river and go west to the guy on the bank.
If you take out (fulton or destroy) all the vehicles, the russians will send a gunship and 3 tanks after you. Time will stop. You’ll have as much as you need They won’t know where you are though (gunship will stay at the depot for awhile if you miss it on it’s first pass through), so the tanks CAN and WILL leave the area if you take to long to get to them. My advice is save the truck that is carrying the weapon (it shows up after you get enough into the objective), you can drive right next to a tank and they won’t know it’s you. Then block them off, run and fulton, you should be able to do it fast enough so that you avoid the cannon fire. Tanks don’t follow roads all the time. They go all over.
i guess because you need to take out the tanks withing 15 mins for them to come – just sitting at the exit spot and blocking and capping (use “defecate” for the prisoner and the weapons truck) for 10 mins is easy money and points, but it doesn’t unlock all the challenges – they must be for rampant destruction mode 🙂
This is the easiest task. The weak spot of armored vehicles are their domes. Three shots to the dome with a low-grade missile launcher should take care of it.
For those struggling to get an S Rank, destroying (or capturing, but destroying is easier) all 11 vehicles (7 during the timer, plus 3 tanks and a gunship after) is a guaranteed S Rank regardless of Alerts, because you get 160,000 points for those 11 vehicles alone, and you only ever need 130,000 for S Ranks. So just hop on D-Horse with your best Battle Dress and use your best rocket launcher (I used the FB MR R-Launcher Grade 5) and just destroy everything.
No, “north of the south landing zone” is right – that’s where she spawns. You can just turn north and run about 30 meters to find her. If you don’t grab her immediately, tho, she wanders south.
By the way, my prisoner-rescue strategy:
Spawn with a car and d-dog, and make sure you have stealth camo and a rocket launcher. Use the south landing zone.
1. Turn around and run a few meters north to find the first prisoner.
2. Run east from here (go south around the bluff on your east side, it’s easier) and head for the mountain path. You’ll run into a group of 4 guards; use your rocket launcher to kill them quickly. (These are the four you need to extract for another objective, but we’re on a time limit here – you can get them on another run.) Continue into the mountain path and you’ll find the second prisoner just a little bit in, around the first bend. He wanders east if you’re slow.
3. Run back to your car, and take it to the north of the palace. Jump out, strafe around the north end of the palace via the cliff, dropping down behind the two prisoner holding cells. When you get close, pop a stealth camo, then rush in, unlock the door, grab the prisoner, drop them behind the cell (to hide them), and fulton.
4. Head back to your car, hopefully without getting spotted. Head north until you hit the first bridge across the water. You’ll have to rush through Guard Station 12, but dont’ worry, getting spotted is irrelevant – speed is our concern. Hop out just before the bridge, jump into the water and head west – you’ll find the prisoner just a little ways down. He wanders west if you’re slow.
5. Back to the car. Head north, taking the east fork where it splits, and then the bridge across, so you’re on the road to the Barracks. Wait there for the car carrying the prisoner. Get rid of the guards, fulton the prisoner.
6. Head to the Barracks. We’re pressed for time, so we need to rush, so don’t worry *too* much about getting spotted. Feel free to pop a stealth to help sneak your way in if you need it. You need to head to the big structure and drop down to the cells in the basement – the prisoner is in the locked room down there. Fulton them out however (the holes in the ceiling of the big basement room are useful), then rush out.
7. Now the fun part – we need to find *just one* tank to kill. Depending on your leftover time there will be different tanks around, so find whatever’s easiest to reach and go kill it. There should be one coming across the bridge near the Barracks right at the end, so this shouldn’t be too hard.
(Alternately, the tank at the palace leaves really early. You can grab the first prisoner, kill the guards hunting the second, and then rush back in time to kill that tank. Then you can rescue the third prisoner, head back and grab the second that you left behind, and then continue as planned. This is a little slower, but it means you’re not risking failing the mission due to missing all the tanks.)
Also the location of the prisoner that’s north of the south landing zone is wrong. She’s a little further south.
I found a bug on the Extreme version of this mission. After you take out all of the armoured vehicles and the 3 tanks enter the area, sometimes one of the tanks will run over one of the prisoners wandering in the desert. Has anyone else had this happen?
Encountered a glitch. The prisoner roaming the mountain path with the 4 soldiers looking for him won’t spawn. I find the soldiers, but not the prisoner. I’ve run up and down that path with d-dog several times and he wont show up.
I have the same glitch! This B lvl Drug developer us bringing me down!
So I have a weird problem. I got the drug developer the first time through, but I am trying to get one with better stats now. Only problem is now it is always two cybernetics specialists and no drug developer. Can she not be reobtained?
It should be noted that I have encountered a glitch where if you use EMN mines to stun the truck carrying the weapon, it disables the objective and makes it unattainable.
Climb in the back and take the rocket launcher out of the box
Just wanted to say thanks to all those who added pictures showing where the prisoners were. Couldn’t have found them myself.
a cardboard can stop enemy cars/trucks wither you’re inside it or not
Hey guys they keep killing one of my prisoner regardless if I make him a priority or not. Am I too slow?
Let’s play Metal Gear Solid – The Phantom Pain – Mission 9
from Brigada91
that’s me, use my guide on youtube and you should be fine 🙂
Hi guys i need help extracting the six prisoners
Here you got: http://i.imgur.com/mUkaWly.jpg
If you need more help, I can make a video for that as well.
it seems number 1 isnt around for me. yet no prisoner died or anything
aah apparenly if you miss her she will be far south of the shopper location on one of the first big dunes she will stop.
Where is the last prisoner? One at each, the palace and barracks, one just north of the southern most start point at the start of the mission, one in the mountain path being chased. Ive scouered the may with DD and have had no luck still. Thanks.
Have you picked up the one felling in the river? I forget where exactly but work your way down from the compound in the river and you will find one.
I knew once i posted that i would find em. Just north of the south west outpost… Forget the number, jump in the river and go west to the guy on the bank.
If you take out (fulton or destroy) all the vehicles, the russians will send a gunship and 3 tanks after you. Time will stop. You’ll have as much as you need They won’t know where you are though (gunship will stay at the depot for awhile if you miss it on it’s first pass through), so the tanks CAN and WILL leave the area if you take to long to get to them. My advice is save the truck that is carrying the weapon (it shows up after you get enough into the objective), you can drive right next to a tank and they won’t know it’s you. Then block them off, run and fulton, you should be able to do it fast enough so that you avoid the cannon fire. Tanks don’t follow roads all the time. They go all over.
If you use D-horse to block the road, fulton the armor and then get the “S rank – no trace” bonus, the reinforcing tanks and gunship don’t appear.
i guess because you need to take out the tanks withing 15 mins for them to come – just sitting at the exit spot and blocking and capping (use “defecate” for the prisoner and the weapons truck) for 10 mins is easy money and points, but it doesn’t unlock all the challenges – they must be for rampant destruction mode 🙂