The End

The End appears in the game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. He is the "Ancient Sniper" of the Cobra Unit.

Current status: Deceased

Born in the early 1860s, The End is over 100 years old during the events of the game, set in 1964. He is a veteran of countless wars, and is considered to be the world's greatest sniper, as he originated all sniping techniques. He is said to never require a spotter, and can stay in the same prone sniping position without moving for days at a time. This is partially because he is an apparent autotroph - the energy provided by the photosynthetic moss that grows inside and outside of his body lets him go long periods without food or water. The End also uses false teeth.

As with the other members of the Cobra unit, his codename signifies the emotion he feels while on the battlefield. Because he is very old and incredibly close to death, he will often fall asleep during a battle. His closest companion, a parrot, will, in this case, wake him up. The parrot acts as The End's "eyes". By killing it, The End finds it much more difficult to track Snake's movements. However, this makes him become more aggressive.

The End is also an expert on camouflage. His uniform consists of actual moss and leaves, and the sniping positions he chooses conceal him well. When in a prone position, he becomes "one" with the area - his body temperature lowers so that it is close to that of the surrounding foliage. This makes spotting him with thermal goggles difficult.

He is armed with a Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle that fires tranquilizer rounds. He also uses stun grenades.

The End battles Naked Snake in a long sniper duel in an area spanning three "zones"--Sokrovenno South, West, and North. It is a thick forest, divided into a river, a plateau, and a clearing.

Eventually, Snake defeats The End. Before he dies, he gives a speech saying thanks to the forest for giving him the strength for his 'final hunt'. Before activating his micro-bomb, he says,"I can return to the forest at last".

The End can be killed on the Warehouse Docks on your first trip. He can be killed with 1 SVD shot if you are fast enough. In order to do so, you must make a detour to the left on the river before reaching the main route. There are only 2 guards to look out for, but the SVD would be in a shed. have it out as the main weapon and enter the main area. After the cutscene, take it out and aim for the end who should be directly in front of you without looking for him.

Another, more interesting, way to kill him (if you can call it killing him) is to reach the End, save the game, then cut the game off. When you cut it back on, change the time on the system 7+ days after the time you encountered him. When you load the saved game, there will be a cutscene where Snake sneaks up form behind him and leans that the End died from "old age".

In an exclusive interview for Japan's Famitsu magazine, Kojima-san revealed that The End's forename is Vladimir.

To Obtain the Moss Camo
First, sneak up on The End from behind very slowly (use the D-Pad to sneak), hold him up by aiming but, as with anyone, do not shoot. He should get on his stomach, and at this point you should aim at his head. He'll shake his head (meaning "no"), point it away for a second and repeat twice more. The third time he'll chuck out the Moss Camo. A flash bang grenade will go off... and the fight should keep going as normal.