The End

Overview

The End is "The Father of Sniping" and considered to be one of the most interesting bosses in the Metal Gear Solid series. In Metal Gear Solid 3, he is extremely old, being over 100, and is almost constantly sleeping unless he is waiting for his prey. He uses a Mosin Nagant tranquilizer gun against Naked Snake in a multi-area sniper duel. His moss camouflage uniform gives him photosynthetic qualities so that he doesn't need to eat or drink for many days or even weeks by replenishing his stamina when he is in the sun. If the player is stealthy enough, and can sneak up on The End and hold him up three times, this camouflage pattern can be acquired for Snake's use. To acquire his gun, the player must win the boss fight by lowering his stamina completely.

Naked Snake will fight The End shortly after defeating The Fear. When Snake enters the forest, he sees The End praying to the forest for one final sniping duel. Shortly thereafter, he will begin to hunt for Snake. Interestingly, The End is one of the few nonlethal characters in the game; he will only use tranquilizer rounds, which slowly reduce Snake's stamina unless they are dug out with the knife.

There are a few ways to kill The End. Like the other bosses, he can be killed through conventional means such as grenades and firearms, and can optionally be defeated by using tranquilizers to empty his stamina. However, there are also a pair of more unique methods in which he can be dealt with. If the player saves the game after the sniper duel has begun, turns the game off, and wait seven days before playing again, the sniper duel will end in anticlimactic fashion with The End dying of old age. Alternatively, there is a point earlier in the game where Snake will observe The End and other members of the Cobra Unit during a cutscene. If the player reacts fast enough when the cutscene is over, The End can be killed then and there with a well-placed gunshot. When Snake later reaches the location where the sniper duel would have occurred, the game will simply proceed on to the next part of the story without a requisite boss fight. These alternative methods for defeating The End were likely implemented due to the nature of the sniper duel. Hunting down The End requires far more time and patience than the average boss fight and emphasizes the use of strategies that differ greatly from every other section of the game.

Strategy and Tips

• Upon starting the battle, look for a small shed that has ammo and a Dragunov sniper rifle. Although the rifle is not required, it's a very useful weapon to have for both the fight and throughout the game.
• The End can be very hard to find; he can reduce his body temperature, mix into the grass, and go mostly silent.
• To find him, you'll need to use a lot of your gear. Use the Directional Microphone to listen for him; you can hear him breathing, snoring, and saying "This... is the end." If you catch up to him and cause him to run, the Sonar is immensely useful in following him, and the Thermals can help distinguish him.
• Look for the flash from his sniper rifle. If you see a sun glare, you've found him.
• His parrot can be killed. Early in the fight, look around on tree branches for a green parrot. You can then shoot it down and even eat it. This will make The End more aggressive, but also have more trouble spotting.