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.

Acquisition
You can acquire many weapons and custom parts in the field, even those sold by Drebin. Here's a list of where to find these weapons.

Middle East
Note: The weapons listed here are those found without ID Locks found in the Middle Eastern chapter.

Note: The following weapons are those found with ID Locks in the Middle Eastern chapter, and is not a complete list as of yet.

Custom Parts
Note: This is a list of custom parts found in the Middle Eastern Chapter, and it is not a complete list as of yet.

South America
Note: This is a list of weapons found in South America without ID Locks, and is not a complete list as of yet.

Custom Parts
Note: This is a list of all custom weapon parts found in South America, and is not a complete list as of yet.

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.
 * Silencers will save your life: If you need to take out an enemy, for Pete's Sake, use a weapon with a Silencer! Even if there are only a few enemies in the area, those few could turn into many if they detect you because they heard your gunshot.