u/XGamin1

This post was taken directly from this entry: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tAiL_3fg_afQjW9Pzmi1Ua1nZ4Z_xVe0nz_UMBktOMM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.vbe37rfmi3zm

Dwarf Gekkos are notorious for being both silly and highly annoying for certain people, especially during the Mistral boss fight. There also is that one cutscene of them with Mistral in the Blade Wolf DLC . . . 👀

The methods by which to handle them are generally not very complicated, and their annoyance—especially during the early game, in which you do not yet have access to Ripper Mode—stems from the fact that they synergize with other bigger threats. That said, Raiden and Jetstream Sam have different tools in their kits that are almost equally useful in handling these fodder enemies that appear in such large numbers.

AS RAIDEN: Raiden’s best tools against these things are the Ninja Run Attack and the L’Étranger Pole-Arm, though other moves and attacks can be situationally good as well. This fact can certainly make the player appreciate the move more considering how it is too weak for enemies with Desperado-grade armor and is best reserved for this purpose.

• Though it is quite weak when not synergized with Ripper Mode, the Ninja Run Attack not only has very high crowd control but keeps Raiden mobile enough to avoid a decent amount of danger. Drawing the Dwarf Gekkos away from the other enemies or just going aggressively after them and spamming the Ninja Run Attack is usually the way to go for most encounters.
• u/LaggyLefty notes that the L’Étranger Pole-Arm, the Unique Weapon known for its crowd control capabilities, is very good at handling Dwarf Gekkos as well, which follows the notion that the Unique Weapons tend to be useful against their respective bosses/owners. It has two very good moves that should be used against them:
  • On one hand, the Pole-Arm’s initial hits can be constantly canceled with Blade Mode to refresh them without entering into long combos that are hard or inconvenient to escape from.
  • On the other hand, its Plume de l'ange (the attack that many call “the Beyblade attack”) has quite poor damage but very good crowd control in addition to style and fun factor.
• Some additional tools can be used under specific or rarer circumstances:
  • Long combos like the Low Roundhouse and Throat Slicer are only good when there is only one Dwarf Gekko left on the field, helping you to finish the fight quicker.
  • The Stormbringer is not the best option but is more defensive than Sam’s Blender. I would imagine that the Cercle de l'ange enjoys the same benefits as a move that actually gets a bit more praise than the Stormbringer from some players, but this hypothetical needs a bit more substantiation.
  • Blade Mode is a decent way to insta-kill some of them when you don’t yet have access to Ripper Mode. Though it is a common tactic against other enemies as well, u/RiverNest8 notes that the Sliding Tackle–Blade Mode synergy increases the crowd control capabilities of Blade Mode.

AS SAM: Jetstream Sam’s best move against these things is his Piercing Winds, which synergizes exceptionally well with the Taunt, Dash, and Jump—we can call this the weaving method because it looks like he’s weaving in and out of combat. While he has other useful methods of handling them, that is the safest as it allows him to stay mobile.

• There are a handful of steps to the Piercing Winds weaving method, but they are executed very quickly:
  • Taunt the Dwarf Gekkos from a safe position, usually after using his Dash; this should be easy to do due to Sam’s 20% speed advantage over Raiden.
  • After that, use his Backflip or any other method of animation canceling to cancel the Taunt animation.
  • Then, use Sam’s Dash to get him running, and use his Piercing Winds attack to pick off the Dwarf Gekkos one by one. Make sure to hold down his Dash, or you won’t be able to stay very mobile.
  • After each Piercing Winds attack, jab the Jump button (while holding down Dash) so that Sam doesn’t Jump too high. You want him on the floor as much as possible, and you certainly don’t want to compromise his horizontal mobility. Jumping like this negates the cooldown on his Piercing Winds and allows you to immediately start insta-killing the Taunted Dwarf Gekkos one by one again.
  • Rinse and repeat until all the Dwarf Gekkos have been picked off. This method doesn’t have the same crowd control capabilities as Raiden’s method, but it adheres to the philosophy that if you can kill anything quickly enough, you are practically something of a crowd control unit yourself.
  • For a YouTube demonstration on how to do this, visit this link: Metal Gear Rising—How to Handle Dwarf Gekkos in the Jetstream DLC
• There are some other methods that can be useful as well, but they are generally more situational than the method provided above:
  • u/Extension_Problem_77’s method of choice is to Dash away to a safe distance after outrunning the Dwarf Gekkos and using the Storm Front on them. This is a safe method as long as you are not in a tight and crowded space.
  • The Blender would seem like the go-to method of handling the Dwarf Gekkos due to its AoE, but its long windup and prerequisites are problematic due to the very high chance that one of them will grab you before you can perform it.

I'll be making a written guide on it soon, but in testing things out on Hard difficulty (since some enemies function a bit differently on Very Hard and Revengeance difficulties oddly to the benefit of the player), I found that the easiest way to handle the Dwarf Gekkos in the Jetstream DLC is not by utilizing the Blender but rather by picking them off individually and making use of Sam's extremely high mobility. You just have to press the Jump button without holding it down so that Sam suffers practically nothing as far as horizontal mobility goes.

While other AI software like Google Gemini would provide better information pertaining to this game (since it can more easily observe search results from Google itself or something), you should still not use AI to help you with this game. ChatGPT is especially horrid at this task, considering how it’ll look you right in the face and provide you with some of the most inaccurate information about this game as it pertains to gameplay.

Try asking it about the various moves that Raiden has and their functionalities, and see what it provides you with. Hint: it’ll be absolute garbage.

While AI may help you with understanding lore (in which scenario you’d be better off talking to real players of the game anyway) and other things, you should absolutely not use it to help you with gameplay. In their current states, AI chatbots are simply not advanced—or learned, I suppose—enough to compile all the information regarding MGR’s game mechanics and strategies. Ask real players of the game who have a deep knowledge about how it works, what to do in each encounter/chapter, and how to get good ranks. Better yet, you can even use Piggyback’s Metal Gear Rising guide if you’re really trying to get through a section as an S-ranker. Save AI for homework help or something; it makes for a surprisingly effective tutor if you know how to ask the right questions!

The Gekkos fought in the Jetstream DLC are quite possibly the worst enemies in the entire game; they make Mastiffs look like jokes. While GRADs tend to be significantly more of a challenge, these things are not particularly fun to fight due to being enemies that recur more and fight in larger groups. A lot of the key factors of these enemies from which Raiden greatly benefited—and, by extension, from which Blade Wolf moderately benefited—are unfortunately (in a way that is almost unfair) not present in the Jetstream DLC. These factors are, of course, the ability to conveniently bait Gekkos into rushing at you, entering the QTE, and reliably eliminating them from the battlefield—none of which can be relied on in the Jetstream DLC.

Luckily, we have the fallen, a player who has fought Gekkos many a time and who can explain how best to approach their encounters, to help us in our struggle against these semi-mechanical, ethically questionable abominations. Be warned, however, for there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for them. As such, the fallen provides his solutions on a case-by-case basis.

The fallen’s input, revised for clarity:

There are two main tools that you are going to use to handle the Gekkos: Taunting and Perfectly Parrying. The best method, on the other hand, completely depends on the encounter, of which there are four. We will go over each of them.

FIRST ENCOUNTER: The first Gekko encounter is during the first VR mission, in which there are two Gekkos. Because of this, the Taunt method will not be practical. You must use the Perfect Parry Counter method, which we will break down:

• You want to keep an eye out for their rush attack.
• From here, there are two things that can happen: either it continues to rush at you and ram into you, or it jumps high into the sky to stomp you.
  • If it continues the rush, then you complete the QTE normally and Execute it with Sam’s spinning roundhouse kick.
  • If it jumps, then you need to Perfectly Parry it in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION (because it will jump slightly behind you), allowing you to Execute it. The Gekko won’t be able to dodge the Parry since it did a stomp attack, but the caveat is that knowing to Perfectly Parry in the opposite direction is very difficult.

SECOND ENCOUNTER: The second Gekko encounter is optional, and it occurs before the freight elevator.

• This one is a case in which there is a single Gekko which spawns before it’s able to see you. This allows you to use the Taunt method.
  • First, Taunt it behind the wall.
  • Then, prepare a fully charged Rising Gale followed by a fully charged Aerial Charging Slash while you’re in the air; the Rising Gale should already displace you vertically.
  • The combination should stun it and summon the Execution prompt to kill the Gekko. Make sure to fully charge the attacks, or it may not get stunned.

THIRD ENCOUNTER: The third Gekko encounter is in the Japanese garden, which has three of them. This is one of the most annoying mandatory encounters in the entire game, so if you manage to nail it down, you’re in a great spot.

• As you trigger the fight, stand exactly on the middle of the stairs.
• After they start moving, move over to the left of the stairs.
• Perfectly Parry the left Gekko.
• Because of Sam’s large Perfect Parry Counter hitbox, you will be able to hit the right Gekko with the aforementioned Perfect Parry Counter and stun it.
• Line up an Execution kick to destroy as many Gekkos as possible. Killing all three requires a combination of immense skill and luck. However . . .
  • If you only managed to kill one Gekko, you need to use the first method used in VR Mission 1 to kill the two Gekkos left.
• Demonstration of the encounter: https://youtu.be/ASTeI7Agmh0?si=4HpyDRNKSLXqA6da

FOURTH ENCOUNTER: The last encounter is optional, and it consists of two Gekkos before the server room (the room in which Sundowner talks about the nature of children and war in Raiden’s campaign). You should honestly find a way to sneak past them, but I will provide the method to defeat them anyway.

• Start by taunting the first Gekko that’s closest while hiding behind the wall.
• Use the Rising Gale combo previously mentioned and kill it with an Execution.
• The second Gekko is more of a wild card, and I recommend taking it out with the Perfect Parry method.
• Note: the jump attacks are wonky in closed spaces, so it doesn’t jump OVER you because of the tight roof.
• However, the second Gekko does have a habit of starting a relentless sequence of kicks which prevents it from dodging your Perfect Parry Counters, so if it starts doing that, try to Perfectly Parry.

Custom Cyborgs are among the toughest enemies in all of Metal Gear Rising thanks to their extreme resilience, aggression, and chasing speed (unsurprising for enemies that are actually taller than Sundowner if you line up all the character models). Very specific tactics often have to be deployed against them in order to mitigate the threat they pose on the battlefield in groups—whether in variety or the lack thereof.

While it is very satisfying to engage and win in a Parry war with these towering menaces (especially when there is only one of them left on the field), it is often not advised to engage in such Parry wars when you’re trying your best to survive hordes of enemies as well as be efficient. Alongside the Heavily Armed Cyborgs, these guys provide a relatively strong counter to your Parry mechanic when compared to many other enemies. As such, there are better methods by which to hold your ground against these enemies, who unfortunately appear in abundance.

AS RAIDEN: Raiden has a few moves that he can use to exploit the weaknesses of the Custom Cyborg, with some being better than others. While other moves and tools can also be quite useful, none counter the Custom Cyborgs as strongly as the Sliding Tackle–Blade Mode synergy, the Ankle Slicer, the Throat Slicer, and the Head Cracker.

• By far the best method against the Custom Cyborgs is the Sliding Tackle–Blade Mode synergy. In order to utilize this, perform a Sliding Tackle against a Custom Cyborg. He will respond by putting on a parrying stance. Then, enable Blade Mode and cut at his parrying stance a couple of times. This will stun him, leaving him open for an Execution, but only if you have enough FC meter. If you do not have enough FC meter, use the Tornado Slash to quickly gain FC meter back and Execute the Custom Cyborg.
  • u/LaggyLefty (also known quite well as LaggySnake on YouTube) has a great video demonstration of how to use this tactic: How to easily kill Armored Cyborgs - Metal Gear Rising
• If you find that your current situation makes it difficult to farm FC meter with a follow-up Tornado Slash, the Custom Cyborgs are also extremely weak against the Ankle Slicer. Because the Sky High, Sweep Kick, and Thunder Strike unfortunately get easily negated by the Custom Cyborgs, the next best option is to use the Ankle Slicer—which they can almost never block—to trip them. After tripping them, you can either put them through an Ankle Slicer torture loop or use the Throat Slicer, explained below.
• The Throat Slicer is a very powerful combo that can be used against Custom Cyborgs that have been tripped or launched horizontally or vertically. To reduce the cooldown of the combo’s finisher, aim the Defensive Offense forward and repeat the Throat Slicer so long as it is safe to do so.
• u/Giant_Serpent23 points out that the Head Cracker is also a very effective attack against the Custom Cyborgs, as it will always floor them. Their method of choice is to floor the Custom Cyborgs with the Head Cracker, then immediately follow up with some Mid-Air Slices (the Head Cracker will keep you in the air just long enough for you to follow up with air attacks for whatever reason)—the last of which launches the Custom Cyborg into the air, stunning him for an even longer duration. Then, you can use a combo of your choice to whittle down the Custom Cyborg’s defenses.
• Many players also find that some of the Unique Weapons are also very handy for dealing with the Custom Cyborgs. The L’Étranger Pole-Arm, in particular, is good for handling them in crowds. The Bloodlust Pincer Blades, on the other hand, can be charged ahead of time to shut down Custom Cyborg aggression.

AS SAM: Jetstream Sam is arguably a harder counter to the Custom Cyborgs than Raiden is due to the fact that many of his major attacks don’t get negated nearly as easily as Raiden’s. These attacks in question include the Assault Rush, the Jaw Breaker, and his various Charging Slashes.

• The Assault Rush is by far the most convenient way to shut them down when they’re rushing at you since they cannot block this attack (even though they can block Raiden’s Lightning Strike, as u/Giant_Serpent23 spoke of). It also does insane amounts of damage if you’ve Taunted them, but be careful about Taunting them when it is unsafe to do so.
• While it is possible for them to block the Jaw Breaker, they seriously struggle to do so. The Jaw Breaker also does more total damage than the Assault Rush with its two outputs. The Jaw Breaker can also be used to style on them by starting your air combo. However, be careful about ending the air combo with an Avalanche, as there is a very high chance that the Custom Cyborg will instantly rise from the floor to perform a riposte against the Avalanche, even if you’ve cut off their limbs and disarmed them. This is a very annoying bug.
• Only truly useful when there is only one Custom Cyborg advancing towards you, and you’re not already running from them, Sam’s Charging Slashes are a convenient way to instantly kill them. There may be cases where there are two Custom Cyborgs chasing you down, and the Blender would be the best move to use.

u/N0_Horny said the following, recommending a solution to the Parry wars that you may engage in with the Custom Cyborgs: “By the way, if you do get caught in the ‘endless parry exchange’ and want to get out of it—or if you sense someone approaching you from behind—you can do so by canceling the animation with Blade Mode and immediately using Defensive Offense afterward (you'll have about 0.3–0.5 seconds). It's advisable to do two of these, as someone could very well approach you from behind. A second dodge, just in case, will most likely get you back from this potential threat.”

I'll have to discuss this with some other people, but I seem to have figured out a strategy on how to kill the first three Raptors. Mind you, I had to record this multiple times in different trials, so it's not the easiest thing in the world.

Edit: In hindsight, it's not the biggest cheese in the world, but it's a winning strategy for those who aren't seeking to do anything crazy and for those who are trying to get through the game while rejecting the boons of New Game+, an often torturous endeavor for the uninitiated.

Taken directly from: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tAiL_3fg_afQjW9Pzmi1Ua1nZ4Z_xVe0nz_UMBktOMM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.wfizehgehhp6

The input for Raiden's Sweep Kick and Thunder Strike and Sam's Jaw Breaker—particularly on keyboard and mouse, where I see a lot of these complaints—is extremely easy if you use the right technique, which can be relied upon about 95% of the time. The timing is also seemingly more forgiving than DMC’s, considering how I’ve actually found it easier to input these attacks despite DMC’s fantastic Lock-On mechanic helping the player out.

With the keyboard: You have to jab the backward and forward button with ONLY your left middle finger. If you’re facing sideways, don’t hold down the left and right buttons—jab them by lifting the first button before pushing the second button. If you play the piano, hit the keys staccato and really quickly; DO NOT hit the keys legato. Lastly, push the attack button at the same time as the second movement key.

With the joystick/controller: You also have to essentially “jab” the inputs by flicking the backward input and the forward input separately. Lastly, push the attack button at the same time as the second movement input.

Note: Especially in the case of Sam, not jabbing the directional keys to perform the Jaw Breaker will likely result in Sam not being able to output the attack since he seemingly turns around quicker than Raiden.

For the tryhards out there, no-damaging the Senator Armstrong final boss fight is going to require that you do not take damage during the first two phases, both of which will be very difficult to survive if you do not understand the very formulaic solutions to these encounters.

There are two things that you need to remember before we go further: you need to outlast Armstrong instead of worrying about his superficial health bar, and attacking him in Phase 2 is NOT necessary.

Citing from Piggyback’s guide to Metal Gear Rising, u/Extension_Problem_77 has words about the time requirements needed to enter the next phases if you do not want to take damage:

Phase 1:
Easy: 50 seconds
Normal: 60 seconds
Hard: 75 seconds
Very Hard: 90 seconds
Revengeance: 90 seconds

Phase 2:
Easy: 90 seconds
Normal: 100 seconds
Hard: 120 seconds
Very Hard: 140 seconds
Revengeance: 160 seconds

u/Extension_Problem_77: “Also, heavily damaging Armstrong in Phase 1 WILL send you to the 2nd phase faster—but heavily damaging Armstrong in Phase 2 will only make you unable to die (it just sends you to the punching QTE) AFTER getting hit (on difficulties below Very Hard, you can't even die to Armstrong in this phase); so it's better to just keep running away in the opposite direction, and dodge his attacks.”

As far as “running away in the opposite direction” and “[dodging] his attacks,” I happen to have a very good solution to that problem: playing Leap Frog with Armstrong. Jumping around accurately and cleanly is by far one of the best methods of evading Armstrong in Phase 2, and this video is a good demonstration of that: https://www.reddit.com/r/metalgearrising/comments/1pxje1v/playing_jump_rope_with_senator_armstrong/

Stay patient, understand the time requirements, use the methods of evasion with which you are most comfortable, and getting to the final phase of the Senator Armstrong fight will not be as difficult as you once thought it was—just sort-of tedious.