Metal Gear Solid 5 isn’t exactly short of options for approaching its open-ended stealth scenarios. However, encouraging players to use every tool at their disposal can be difficult once they’ve found a loadout they like. To address this, Hideo Kojima introduced the Subsistence rule, allowing players to re-enter previous missions without a specific loadout, forcing them to scavenge weapons and equipment on the fly.
Despite this, some felt the solution didn’t go far enough—at least according to MGS 5 modder mohtalgear. To celebrate the sequel’s tenth anniversary, they decided to take things further, resulting in the Definitive Subsistence Update.
### What Is the Definitive Subsistence Update?
The Definitive Subsistence Update aims to be the equivalent of the Substance and Subsistence updates for MGS 2 and 3. According to mohtalgear’s Nexus Mods description, “Definitive Subsistence adds new content and new meaningful gameplay mechanics that’ll make you feel like you’re playing MGSV for the first time.”
This mod achieves its goal by adding substantially more detail to the existing Subsistence system, along with several other mechanics crucial to how Metal Gear Solid 5 functions.
### Key Features and Changes
#### Overhauled On-Site Procurement
One of the biggest changes in the mod is a complete overhaul of on-site procurement. The Definitive Subsistence Update adds significantly more variety to the weapons players can collect in Subsistence mode. For example:
– Interrogated enemies will drop a random support weapon.
– If questioned a second time, enemies will drop a support item.
– You can now collect an enemy’s sidearm by holding them up.
– Tranquilizer guns can be found out in the field.
– Enemies can wield “every base gun,” including weapons previously unavailable to them, such as grenade launchers.
#### Dynamic Revenge System Revamp
The mod also reworks The Phantom Pain’s innovative dynamic revenge system. Rather than evolving throughout the entire game, the system now evolves during each mission and resets at the end. This means:
– Going in guns blazing at your first checkpoint might result in the next convoy being heavily armed and armored.
– If guards raise the alarm when you’re sneaking, subsequent outposts will have a higher level of awareness.
This change adds unpredictability and challenge, ensuring that every mission feels unique and engaging.
### Enhancing Emergent Gameplay
The overall goal of the Definitive Subsistence Update is to unlock The Phantom Pain’s full emergent potential. By making every mission different and surprising, it avoids players falling into repetitive patterns of play. mohtalgear has showcased the mod in action through a YouTube video, illustrating just how transformative these changes can be.
### Additional Features
Besides the core gameplay changes, the mod adds a few independent features:
– **Hard Mode from Ground Zeroes:** The mod ports over the hard mode from The Phantom Pain’s standalone prequel, Ground Zeroes. This update recalibrates enemy sight ranges, enemy sleep duration, player health, and player camouflage values.
– **Playable Characters Ocelot and Quiet:** You can now play as Ocelot or Quiet, each with unique limitations. For instance, Ocelot cannot dual-wield weapons but can single-wield his Tornado-6. Quiet, on the other hand, cannot interrogate guards—because, as mohtalgear humorously notes, “she’s Quiet.”
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The Definitive Subsistence Update offers MGS 5 players a fresh, challenging, and richly detailed new way to experience the game’s open-ended stealth gameplay. For those looking to dive back into The Phantom Pain with something different, this mod is definitely worth checking out.
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/this-wild-mod-for-metal-gear-solid-5-massively-expands-its-subsistence-system-and-makes-enemies-learn-new-tactics-within-missions-rather-than-across-them/