Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots/Weapons

As in previous Metal Gear games, all equipment is procure-on-sight, meaning that you must find your weapons in the field, but ammo acquisition has changed in this installment. You no longer have to find certain types of bullets for one weapon, for example, 5.56mm rounds will work for any weapon that fires 5.56mm rounds. You can also buy weapons and ammo from Drebin's Shop, but you can find almost every weapon Drebin has for sale in the field, so save your Points for Custom Parts and Ammunition. Also, if you kill or knock out a PMC Soldier and pick up his weapon and it is ID Locked, you will not be able to use it until you launder it to Drebin, so keep that in mind!

Customizing
An interesting feature in MGS4 is the ability to Customize your weapons however you like. But, be sure the parts you want to buy are the parts you are actually going to use. For example, you don't need to buy a Silencer for your weapon if you are planning on using it to kill the enemy when they have spotted you, you don't need to buy a Laser Sight for your weapon if the weapon is a Sniper Rifle. Certain attachments onto your weapons are not necessary, such as the Flashlight (you have the Solid Eye, which has night vision). The point is, spend your Drebin Points wisely.

Aquistion
You can aquire many weapons and custom parts in the field, even those sold by Drebin. Here's a list of where to find certain weapons:

Note: The weapons listed here are those found with no ID Locks, and the list is not complete as of yet.

Weapon: Stun Knife Category: Melee Location: Equipped at start of game

Weapon: AK-102 Category: Assault Rifle Location: Found near pile of crates at start of game

Weapon: Petrol Bomb Category: Explosive Location: Somtimes dropped by Militia

Weapon: Operator Category: Handgun Location: Given to Snake by MK. II

Weapon: Mk. I Category: Tranq. Gun Location: Given to Snake by MK. II

Weapon: M4 Category: Assault Rifle Location: Given to Snake by Drebin

Weapon: RPG-7 Category: Rocket Launcher Location: Found near entrance to Militia Safehouse

Tips
Well, now that you know the basics, here are a few tips to help you with weapons in the game.
 * Make sure you can hit your target: Don't just fire blindly a the target, get a bead on it, then fire!
 * Know your weapons: Make sure you know how your weapons fire and how to use them to the best of their abilities.
 * Grenades are your friend: Throw grenades to get enemies out from behind cover and to take out large clusters of enemies without wasting ammo.