Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain mother base guide to expand, recruit new staff, customize your base, manage team functions, development and specialist skills.
Why you should bother? Mother Base is the main HQ of the Big Boss and Diamond Dogs located in the Caribbean Sea. It was nearly destroyed by XOF at the end of Ground Zeroes and TPP sees the Big Boss, Kaz Miller, and Ocelot rebuilding it.
While progressing through the game, you will collect resources, expand the MB, and acquire new capabilities to aid you in your missions.
For more help on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, read our GMP Money Guide, Weapons Guide and Equipment Guide.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Mother Base
Before we head in, do note that other players cannot attack Mother Base in the game so you need not worry about that. This guide is designed to provide you an overview of Mother Base in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain:
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Expansion of Mother Base
Early in TPP, you will only have access to the ‘command platform’ of the Mother Base. As you progress through the game, you will be able to expand MB in different directions and acquire different specializations.
However, do note that expansions and specializations will require in-game money and time. Moreover, you can use the Fulton System to send vehicles, weapons, and soldiers to MB.
How to Recruit Soldiers
One of the easiest and certain methods of recruiting soldiers is to kidnap them using Fulton Recovery System ‘FRS’. Once kidnapped soldiers reach MB, they are automatically recruited for the Diamond Dogs.
You can use your gadgets to check soldiers’ stats and see if they are worth it to be a part of the Diamond Dogs or not; this and also because your get limited FRS balloons on a mission.
In addition to this, you can also send in your support team to search the world and look for potential volunteers who wish to be a part of your unit.
Departments in Mother Base
There are different departments inside Mother Base which are occupied by your staff members and companions. Here are different departments and their uses in Mother Base:
Medical Facility
This is where injured soldiers are treated and healing items are processed using collected medical items.
Information Retrieval
This is where building plans and blueprints are formulated. In addition to this, it also contains intel for the areas where the Diamond Dogs are currently active.
Base Development
If you wish to develop MB more efficiently, you need to add some resources in this department. It is in this department where collected resources are further developed.
Support Unit
This is the unit which provides you with FRS, airstrikes, help you translate different languages, provide distractions, and also provide fire support.
Combat Units
This carries all your best fighters and mercenaries. You can send out these mercenaries to find and recruit new soldiers, destroy enemy infrastructure, and many other things.
Research and Development
This is the department where you develop new pieces of equipment, gadgets, and even weaponry. The more staff members you invest in R&D department, the faster your pieces of equipment will get developed.
In addition to this, there are departments which help you improve the skills of your buddies such as Quiet.
Mother Base Customization
Although you have no control over how each extension of MB is built, you can change its colors and some minor changes. In addition to this, you can also change the Diamond Dogs standard emblem to your liking.
Forward Operating Bases ‘FOBs’
FOBs are basically the online extensions of Mother Base and can be built once enough resources have been gathered. You can create one or more FOBs which will greatly enhance resource gathering and other things.
However, unlike the Mother Base, you can infiltrate another player’s FOBs and get infiltrated in return.
While infiltrating, you will be able to steal and fulton supplies, weapons, and so much more. Your biggest target, however, is to reach the central core and exfiltrate without getting caught.
Once a player infiltrates an FOB, the owner is notified and can send in friends, let the AI-controlled security team handle the matter, or go in himself.
Do note that even if a defender is killed, he will respawn as another member of the security unit, but attacker only receives one life and dies permanently; losing everything stolen.
Aerial Command Center
In order to return to MB, you need to visit ACC and access your iDroid. From the ACC, you can choose any available mission or side-ops. Furthermore, if you wish to launch a mission on a different location, you need to access ACC. Lastly, weapon customization is also performed on the ACC and is acquired after completing side-op 109.
Showers and Secret Cinematics
Showers are also available in the Mother Base and can be accessed by Big Boss. Aside from washing away dirt, Big Boss also enjoys some temporary bonuses such as increased HP and reflex mode. Furthermore, you can also trigger optional cut-scenes while you are in MB.
Target Practice
MB also houses seven Target Practice side-ops; each on a deck. You can play them at any time without any fear of failure and as many times as you want. These are typical target practice mission which require you to shoot down dummy targets scattered across the area.
Animal Conservation Platform
In order to use ACP, you need to extract six wild animals and complete mission-7 to mission-10. ACP is not directly connected to MB and is accessed via ACC. Here you can observe different species of animals among other things.
Upgrading Base Facilities
You can upgrade different platforms by adding expansion called ‘decks’. Doing this not only expands your MB, but also increases the staff stationed at each platform. Each platform can be upgraded four times and requires different material and a specific GMP cost.
Team Functions
Each team in the game has different functions which must be unlocked by completing different missions. Following is a list of all functions that different units can perform:
Combat Unit Functions
- Merc Deployment
- Defense Deployment
R&D Team Functions
- Development: Weapon
- Development: Helicopter
- Development: D-Horse
- Development: D-Dog
- Development: Quiet
- Development: D-Walker
- Development: Security Devices
Base Development Unit Functions
- Material Gathering
- Material Processing
- Platform Construction
- FOB Construction
- Automated Security
- Nuclear Development
Suport Unit Functions
- Fulton Extraction
- Supply Drops
- Fire Support
- Bombardment
- Smoke Dispersal
- Sleeping Gas Dispersal
- Chaff Dispersal
- Weather Modification
- Comms Support: Russian
- Comms Support: Pashto
- Comms Support: Afrikaans
- Comms Support: Kikongo
Intel Team Functions
- Information Gathering
- Scouting
- Plant Surveying
- Weather Information
- Security Information
Medical Team Functions
- Aerial First Aid
- Medical Treatment
Security Team Functions
- Base Security
- Base Blockade
Development
Development lets you upgrade weapon, tools, and other items which you can use in the game. Check your iDroid to see whether you meet all the requirements before developing something. Almost every piece of equipment which you can use in the game can be upgraded.
For example weapons begin at Level-1 and are upgraded until Level-6 which is max. When we talk about weapons, you can upgrade weapon in different ways such as rate of fire, range, auto-aim correction, and so much more.
What to Develop First
- Fulton Recovery Device
- WU S. Pistol
- Sniper Rifle
- Decoys
- Primary Weapon
- Rocket Launcher
- Sleeping Grenades and Sleeping Gas Mines
- Support Helicopters
Generic Dispatch Missions
GDM are short missions which can be played at regular rotation. These missions are corresponded to your player level with higher rating offering higher rewards.
Specialists and Skills
Some recruits in the game are called as ‘specialists’ who have different skills. There are two different types of skills; Action Skills and Base Skills:
Action Skills
These abilities become active when the owner is deployed in the field instead of Big Boss.
- Athlete – 20% increased movement speed
- Boaster – disguises abilities and ratings
- Botanist – multiplies medicinal plant harvest by 2.5%
- Climber – 20% increased movement speed while crawling, hanging, or climbing
- Fortunate – injury probability is decreased by 50%
- Gunman – Reflex Mode is increased for 1 second
- Quick Draw – increased weapon drawing speed
- Quick Reload – increased reload speed
- Savage – COC button delivers a devastating punch
- Tough Guy – max HP is increased by 20%
- Vanguard Sharpshooter – N/A
Base Skills
These skills are passive and are activated when the owner is assigned to an appropriate team on Mother Base.
- Anesthesia Specialist – enables the development of tranquilizer round conversion
- Bipedal Weapons Developer – enables the development of D-Walker
- Counselor – PTSD recovery is increased by 3%
- Cybernetics Specialist – enables the development of Medical prosthetic arm
- Diplomat – chances of injuries, illnesses, and PTSD is reduced
- Drug Developer – enables the development of Nanocyanin and Acceleramin
- Electromagnetic Net Specialist – enables the development of EMN-Mine
- Electrospinning Specialist – enables the development of Knife Sneaking Suit
- Gunsmith Assault Rifle – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Grenade Launcher – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Handguns – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Machine Guns – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Missile Launcher – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Shotguns – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Sniper Rifles – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Gunsmith Submachine Guns – GMP required for development is reduced by 3%
- Interpreter Afrikaans – enables simultaneous interpretation of Afrikaans
- Interpreter Kikongo – enables simultaneous interpretation of Kikongo
- Interpreter Pashto – enables simultaneous interpretation of Pashtoon
- Interpreter Russian – enables simultaneous interpretation of Russian
- Masters Gunsmith – allows weapon customization
- Materials Engineer – allows development of Battle Dress and other equipment
- Mechatronics Specialist – allows development of Stealth Camo.PP
- Metamaterials Specialist – allows development of Prosthetic arms
- Missile Guidance Specialist – allows development of Killer Bee
- Mother Base XO – positive morale variations are doubled for all members of Miller’s unit
- Noise Suppression Specialist – allows development of built-in suppressor conversion
- Parasitologist – allows development of Parasite Suit
- Physician – increases the illness recovery by 3%
- Radar Specialist – allows development of Active Sonar
- Rocket Control Specialist – allows development of LLG Mines and Sleep Grenade
- Sleeping Gas Specialist – allows development of Rocket prosthetic arms
- Surgeon – negative morale variations are divided by two for all members of Ocelot’s unit
- Tactical Instructor – allows development of Cargo 2 Fulton
- Transportation Specialist – allows development of E-Stun Decoy
- Trap Specialist – chance to cause PTSD to another teammate
- Troublemaker Unsanitary – chance to render teammates ill
- Troublemaker Violence – chance to injure teammates
- Video Surveillance Specialist – allows development of security devices
- Zoologist – allows development of Bait Bottle
This is pretty much all we have on Mother Base and Forward Operating Bases. If there is something else you would like to know, make sure to let us know in the comments section below!
