Quiet

"Vengeance is what drove me to them... The only language left to me, revenge. "

―Quiet^[src]

Quiet, known to the Soviet forces as Tixij (Russian: Тихий, "Quiet"),^[Note]^[1] was a female assassin during the 1980s. Originally an assassin for XOF, Quiet later defected to Diamond Dogs after being defeated by Venom Snake. Quiet wore a minimal amount of clothing at all times because she could only drink or breathe through her skin following parasite-treatment due to the serious injuries she had sustained while trying to kill Big Boss during the hospital raid; wearing too much clothing would lead to suffocation.

After being defeated by Venom Snake in Afghanistan following a tense sniper duel, Quiet became a prisoner at Mother Base until she was allowed to accompany Venom Snake on missions as a buddy. Her weapons included two lethal sniper rifles nicknamed Wicked Butterfly and Sinful Butterfly as well as the non-lethal Guilty Butterfly.

Biography[]

Phantom Pain Incident[]

See also: Hospital Escape and Phantom Pain Incident

Hospital Raid[]

An elite XOF assassin who took orders directly from Skull Face, Quiet was sent to kill Big Boss, who was going by the name "Ahab." During the hospital raid on March 11, 1984, she had her sights on him and killed the nurse and the doctor in attendance at the hospital during the raid. She told her superior that she hadn't killed her target yet as "the man in the next bed [Ishmael] had seen [her] face." She then tried to kill Ahab, only for Ishmael to fight her off by jumping on her back mere seconds before she could pull the trigger. After fighting Ishmael off and attempting to strangle Ahab, she was pelted with a bottle of medical grade ethanol, allowing Ishmael to light her on fire. However, despite being immolated, she still proved to be determined to try and kill Ahab, resulting in her being doused with another set of chemicals that refueled the fire to an unbearable degree and caused her to fall out of a nearby window.

Ultimately, she survived, although with severe enough injuries to force herself to be infected with a mutant strain of the "the one that covers" parasites used to create the Parasite Unit which managed to repair most of her physical damage, grant her superhuman speed, perception, durability, longevity, phasing and invisibility. It also allowed her to breathe through her skin and take in nutrients via photosynthesis or small showers, effectively removing the need for food, drinking or breathing.

Cloaked in Silence[]

In 1984, Skull Face had Quiet deployed to Afghanistan where she was tasked with eliminating Soviet officers who were against the development of Metal Gear Sahelanthropus. She eventually caught sight of Venom Snake and proceeded to open fire on him, initiating a duel. Although Kazuhira Miller wanted her dead due to being a Cipher agent, Venom Snake, after defeating her in the duel, ultimately decided to apprehend her and bring her back to Mother Base at Ocelot's suggestion.

During the flight back to Mother Base, Quiet uncuffed herself and seemingly escaped from the chopper, although she secretly stayed invisible while still inside the helicopter. Before arriving at Mother Base, the chopper came under attack by a pursuing fighter jet; Quiet then revealed herself, took aim, and fired a single sniper round through the closed cockpit of the enemy aircraft, killing the pilot and saving Venom Snake's life in the process.

Despite this heroic act, Miller still didn't trust her, and gave orders to prevent a landing if Quiet was still on board. However, she effectively surrendered herself into Diamond Dogs custody. Despite Miller's insistence that they kill her due to her being too much of a liability, Ocelot and Venom Snake instead decided to lock her up.^[2] Venom Snake agreed that she might have to be killed if she proved to be too much of a threat to Diamond Dogs' existence, adding that he would be the one to "pull the trigger" should that situation ever arise.

A member of Diamond Dogs[]

While Miller was extremely prejudiced against her, Ocelot was willing to let her prove her worth. Because she was unable to speak English, she could not communicate with any of Diamond Dog personnel. Messages from her often had to be conveyed through actions. During her days at Mother Base, she was cooperative with anything Diamond Dogs requested of her; the only exception was that she refused to wear clothes, and anyone who tried to put clothes on her ended up injured to the point of needing breathing tubes. Ocelot purposely locked her in a cell with a lock which he described as "a joke" to bait her into revealing her motives.

This proved to be pointless as she changed her mind about wiping out Diamond Dogs. Ocelot later suggested Snake take her along on missions to form a bond, hoping it would make her break her silence as she refused any form of communication, even writing. Later on, she snuck out of her cell to accompany Venom Snake on a mission, only to be caught by Miller, who was dead set against the idea. Ocelot, however, decided she could prove extremely useful in the field.

Some time later, Quiet attacked a Diamond Dog personnel for unknown reasons, since she couldn't communicate as to why. Two operatives came to the personnel's aid only to be beaten down by her. Venom Snake intervened and subdued her, with the help of Ocelot, who gave her a sedative. She was taken back to her cell, with Venom Snake telling Ocelot that if she were attempt to escape again, "there [wouldn't] be a third [time]." It was later revealed that she attacked the man in question because he was infected with the Kikongo strain of the vocal cord parasite. After destroying and recovering Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, Quiet stood next to Miller during his speech, alongside the other leading members, Venom Snake and Ocelot.

At some point, she also ended up retrieving a treasured item of the Mbele Squad, a necklace that had formerly belonged to their leader, Shabani, after it had ended up discarded into a vat of chlorine disinfectant (it was implied that Eli had discarded the necklace), although at the cost of having significant portions of her skin burned from exposure to the gas.

Hooded quiet 1 — Quiet during her interrogation.

After undergoing an MRI, it was revealed that Quiet was the assassin who had been sent to kill Snake after he awoke in Cyprus, as they found a Star-of-Bethlehem petal inside the burnt remains of her own lungs. The medical team also discovered that she had a strain of the vocal cord parasite, and the only person who could have applied the strain which had replaced her skin and internal organs, other than Code Talker, was Skull Face. Miller demanded that she be executed, but Ocelot calmed him down, pointing out that if she had been sent to kill them all, she would have done so already. Ocelot also stated that she worked for Venom Snake, as he speculated that she was in love with the legend. At this observation, Quiet merely watched Venom Snake and did not indicate denial.

Venom Snake concurred with Ocelot, much to Miller's chagrin. He deduced that she must have decided not to speak, or even write, English in order to avoid infecting Mother Base with the strain of the parasite inside her. He then freed Quiet from her restraints. After the three men left, Code Talker approached her and spoke to her in Navajo. Replying back in Navajo, Quiet revealed that Skull Face intended to use her as his ace in the hole against Venom Snake and his army by having herself be captured so that she could be taken to Mother Base to infect everyone with the parasite and she had been given the English strain. Explaining this to Code Talker, Quiet declared fiercely that she would never speak English again and risk another pandemic.

A Quiet Exit[]

After a second parasite outbreak occurred on Mother Base, this time due to a mutation of the parasites within the previously infected personnel, Quiet believed she could be a risk despite keeping silent and left Diamond Dogs. She later went MIA in Afghanistan and was captured by Soviet forces. She was forcibly clothed when taken prisoner, which slowly suffocated her and removed her abilities. She tried to escape but was caught and nearly drowned by one of her captors, who then attempted to rape her, removing the pants they put on her.

Now able to breathe once more and her abilities restored by the water, Quiet retaliated, mutilating and slaughtering him and the other soldiers. Venom Snake had been trying to track her down to take her back to Mother Base, arriving just in time to catch the final moments of her escape. Venom intended to free her but Quiet disposed of the soldiers herself, returning with weapons for herself and Venom Snake. The two then worked together to take down a massive tank unit that had arrived in response to Quiet's escape. Unfortunately, she was badly injured by a tank round and knocked unconscious.

Venom Snake attempted to carry her out of harm's way through a fearsome sandstorm. He protected her and prevented Quiet from alerting a nearby convoy of their presence when she regained consciousness. Along the way, while hiding from the overwhelming number of enemies on their tail, he was bitten by a cobra, causing him to lose consciousness, both of them now blacked out and resting behind a rock. Thanks to the sandstorm, they were able to remain hidden and the convoy and patrolling troops moved on. Quiet woke up first when she heard Pequod attempting to contact Venom Snake through his radio, explaining that he wouldn't be able stay at the LZ much longer due to near-zero visibility in the sandstorm. Quiet replied in Navajo, which Pequod didn't understand and thought was just a radio problem. Thus, Quiet had no choice but to reply in English, much to Pequod's surprise, and guide the chopper to their location.

Eventually, Venom Snake was given an antivenom and regained consciousness, but Quiet was nowhere to be found. He went to search for her by tracking her footprints, only finding a cassette tape hanging from a tree branch. He put the tape into his iDroid and began to listen:

"I did not choose to be Quiet. I wanted to express my feelings to you. If only we shared a common tongue. Vengeance was what drove me to them...The only language left to me, revenge. But the words we shared...No, that was no language at all. That's why I...I chose the language of gratitude instead, and go back to silence. I am Quiet...I am...the absence of words."

―Quiet

Afterwards, Code Talker contacted Venom Snake to summarize Quiet's actions and inquired as to why she did not release the parasites on Mother Base. Code Talker stated that "We [wouldn't] hear it from her."

Personality and traits[]

Quiet, as an XOF operative, was an extremely efficient and ruthless individual, viciously murdering two innocent hospital personnel without hesitation or remorse. She was also very dedicated to her job and was willing to do anything to get her mission done, taking the horrific pain of being lit completely aflame for several seconds before finally succumbing to the agony. She also fought as relentless as she could, even attempting suicide, when Venom Snake attempted to capture her. She was also able to withstand continued torture while barely making a sound.

However, she was also quite impulsive, emotive and arrogant. She underestimated her adversaries like Ishmael and Venom Snake, leading to her defeat. She had a tendency to make quick decisions without pondering about the consequences, usually leading her in making bad choices like taking her time to choke Venom Snake out of rage instead of quickly kill him with her knife or jumping into chlorine just to get a child's memento.

Her arrogance can be seen as she use a laser sight during the battle with Venom to mock him, while also humming, unbeknownst to her that despite being effective psychological warfare tactics, these would eventually backfire as Venom would have used them to gain an advantage to fight her.

However, the more time Quiet spent at Mother Base, the more she began to change into a more caring and moral individual. After her capture, she was mostly indifferent and apathetic towards her situation but took an interest in Snake. After developing her bond with Snake while serving as a combat buddy, she developed feelings for him, and in turn became a more benevolent person. Her examples of humanity and compassion included playing with Snake in the rain, lighting Snake's cigar for him for his birthday, staring at him affectionately in the ACC, and even risking her life to save a child's memento.

Regardless, Quiet still had the capability of being a cruel person if she believed it appropriate, attacking two Diamond Dog soldiers, the first for trying to clothe her, the second for being infected with a vocal cord parasite. She was also perfectly willing to kill anyone on Snake's command, and savagely massacred an entire squad of enemies after one of them attempted to rape her after nearly drowning her.

Abilities[]

METAL GEAR SOLID V THE PHANTOM PAIN 20150924013041 — Quiet's medical file, revealing the extent of her injuries.

Before undergoing parasite treatment, Quiet was shown to be a highly skilled combatant and assassin, as she was shown to kill her foes with extreme efficiency and deadly precision. This was best demonstrated with her killing the doctor and nurse without even alerting them beforehand. She possessed huge physical strength, as she was capable of lifting both the doctor and the nurse while using a garrote as well as overpowering Ishmael with minimal effort and being able to throw him away. She demonstrated good knife throwing skills, as she hit Ismael in the shoulder, with the intention of finishing him later. She was also demonstrated to have a strong sense of willpower, as after being set alight by Ishmael, she still tried to continue on to fulfill her mission of killing Venom Snake. It was only when the flames were further fueled that she was overwhelmed by the pain and fell out a window, while beforehand she was unfazed by any of Ishmael's attacks.

After undergoing the parasite treatment, the language of the parasite being English, Quiet developed a large quantity of new superhuman abilities while black markings appeared on her skin, primarily around her eyes. These blotchy markings could vanish and reappear either at will or at a time where she was using her powers and as a response to insults, intense dangers or near death. Similar markings appeared on Code Talker, notably when Quiet first spoke to him in Navajo, his native language.

The mutant strain of the Parasite Unit "the one that covers" parasite that she had in her skin as well as her vocal cords gave very similar abilities to those of the Parasite Unit itself, such as enhanced strength, mobility and speed in exchange for nourishing the parasite. She also had inhuman levels of resilience, tolerance, stamina, durability and a certain degree of cellular regeneration common among the Skulls, allowing her to survive gunfire and explosions unless she suffered repeated injury or was directly hit more than once. Her durability was such that she was able to survive a several foot drop, which was best demonstrated upon her arrival on Mother Base, where, due to Miller blocking off Pequod's heliport to ensure Quiet can't set foot on Mother Base, she simply jumps out and then lands behind the soldiers, causing a slight quake upon landing without any injuries, however in FOBs she dies if she fall from a much lower altitude. She also had slightly less resilience compared to the Skulls as two shots to the head could kill her. Also, her abilities were dependent on her being exposed to water and direct sunlight, the latter of which allowed her to recover almost instantly, even from suffocation. Her own strain also gave the ability to camouflage not only her skin, but also phase in and out of visible spectra, as her clothes can also appear invisible. She could also apparently use some limited form of intangibility, allowing her to escape from restraints while her powers were active. This appeared to be the parasites manipulating her density, mass, or state of matter, allowing her to become partly gaseous. This particular trait was common among the Skulls, no matter the type, and it seemed to allow them to move at greater speeds that humanly possible. Her visual acuity was such that she could spot individual blades on a helicopter when they were at full speed, which could combine with her speed to allow her to even shoot in between them. Ocelot also remarked on her depth perception, saying that both of her eyes were "master eyes" in terms of focusing on a target, or multiple targets. Her strain left her mind intact, rendering her far more effective and deadly than the Parasite Unit themselves.

Due to her injuries, the parasites compensated for her burned epidermis, giving her the ability to "breathe" through her skin rather than her lungs, negating any problems that could come from sway that could be the result of breathing too much while sniping, but also requiring her to wear as little clothes as possible, as covering her skin would suffocate her. While she is wearing a prisoner uniform in Mission 45, she is weakened and she appear pale, sick and dying, with her eyes being bloodshed and her lips have a violet color. However she can still breathing from the skin of the head and her cleavage, and she drowns only when submerged as all her skin don't have any means to gain oxygen.

Although submerging her in water could suffocate her like normal humans, exposure to direct sunlight or air would immediately resuscitate her. As additional aid, the parasites compensated for the digestive organs she lost from her burns, enabling her to "drink" through her skin when showering so long as she did not move too much while in fresh water (saltwater damaging her instead), as well as receiving carbohydrates through photosynthesis, much like The End. She also gained a superhuman perception of space, being able to accurately shoot an unguided bullet with pinpoint accuracy to kill a fighter jet pilot at a great distance and hit him in the head, compensating for bullet drop and wind speed while both the jet and the helicopter she was in were moving at mach speed and taking evasive action, respectively. She later demonstrated this ability to Diamond Dogs when she managed to shoot bullets from a revolver supplied to her by Ocelot through one of their chopper's rotor blades and having the bullet pass through the rotor blades while they were moving, when the latter tried to convince Miller to let her join Big Boss in a mission.

This came at a cost, however; the mutant strain had been implanted with Skull Face's directive to become a lethal contagious form should she ever attempt to communicate in English, and the contagious form would force her to carry out her mission of killing Big Boss regardless of her wishes. In fact, she had the only example of English mating pairs of vocal cord parasites to be carried by a person until Eli infected his island.

Behind the scenes[]

Creation and development[]

Diamond Dogs Mother Base staff

Quiet

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Ability

A++	D	E	C	A++	D

Skill
Vanguard Sharpshooter	Sniper who can pick off targets from long range and carry out covert scouting missions

Quiet first appeared in the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards trailer for The Phantom Pain, where she is briefly seen on fire inside the hospital.^[3] She was later properly introduced in the E3 2013 trailer of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, in which she is described as being "A Sniper deprived of her Words."^[4] In the extended trailer, she is seen being tortured by a soldier and Ocelot via electrocution while having a bag over her head. Quiet's likeness, voice, and motion capture was provided by Dutch model and actress, Stefanie Joosten.^[5]

When asked about Quiet during a interview with Famitsu, Hideo Kojima replied: "In the game, Quiet is the main heroine. Whether she is friend or foe has yet to be revealed so I had to be careful when casting her role. MGS normally has old timers and old guys (laughs). Stefanie is very skilled in action but since she never held that type of gun, we asked her do some training at home." He also told 4Gamer: "With Stefanie, we had to make sure to focus her 3D motion on capturing her facial and body language and not her voice, since Quiet does not speak. She does make small sounds like “ugh” and “ah” though."^[6]

4d68aa283cfd93230e1f70b70a1e4ee11378467692 full — Quiet's 3D model.

On September 6, 2013, in response to the mixed reaction concerning Quiet's characteristics, Kojima clarified exactly what he meant when he asked lead designer Yoji Shinkawa for a "more erotic" character.^[7] Speaking through a translator, he said: "Maybe the phrase 'erotic' wasn't really [the correct word for] what I was trying to say. What I'm really trying to do is create unique characters. One of those is, of course, Quiet. She's a really unique character, I wanted to add that sexiness to her. It wasn't really supposed to be erotic, but sexy." He also said, "You're going to notice [when you play,] but there's limited dialogue with the [Metal Gear Solid 5], and for that reason we really want to show the characteristic from each character. Sexy could be for guys, weapons, vehicles, it's really that characteristic." Shinkawa also weighed in at the Q&A, saying, "From my perspective, it's not just the characters, but often I look at a weapon or a vehicle and think 'That's really sexy.' It's not just the characters, but the mechs and weapons [as well]."

When asked for her thoughts on Quiet's design, Joosten stated, "Of course, I was surprised to see Quiet's outfit at first. But, you know, it fits in the Metal Gear universe, I think. I don't think I'm allowed to say a lot about this, but, well, Mr. Kojima has his reasons for deciding why Quiet [is] wearing what she's wearing. Players will just have to look forward to that."^[8]

On September 8, 2013, Kojima stated, "I know there's people concerning about 'Quiet' but don't worry. I created her character as an antithesis to the women characters appeared in the past fighting game who are excessively exposed. 'Quiet' who doesn't have a word will be teased in the story as well. But once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will feel ashamed of your words & deeds. The response of 'Quiet' disclosure few days ago incited by the net is exactly what 'MGSV' itself is."^[9]

On November 7, 2013, some concept art for The Phantom Pain was leaked on the Tumblr account "european-extreme." One of the concept arts for Quiet strongly resembled Paz Ortega Andrade though Paz was killed in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.^[10] Additional concept art found in The Art of Metal Gear Solid V showed her with blood stains over her XOF uniform, as well as a variant of the above artwork that depicted her with a white lab coat (presumably a disguise she was to wear to gain access to the hospital), as well as her carrying a switchblade knife, and five alternate designs for her, which included one with a thicker hairstyle and accompanied by a dog, one where she carried a Uzi-type machine gun, one that depicted her as dark-skinned as well as possessing an afro, one where she's explicitly topless and has a tomboyish haircut similar to Olga Gurlukovich and to a certain extent Dr. Strangelove, and one that, while overall similar to her final design, was also topless, albeit obscured somewhat by her harness. The latter two also had a cigarette box (misspelled "Tabaco") strapped to her arm, as well as an artwork of her sitting and smoking a cigarette, implying that Quiet during these designs was initially meant to be a smoker.

During the development of The Phantom Pain, a theory circulated online that Chico, due to the trauma of his incarceration at Camp Omega, and the death of Paz in Ground Zeroes, underwent a sex change to become the female Quiet. Konami employees expressed their surprise and humor at the theory in the sixth episode of the English version of Kojima Productions' webseries, Kojima Station, but chose to not confirm or deny it in order to avoid spoilers.^[11] In the ninth episode of the Japanese version of Kojima Station, Joosten addressed the theory, saying that "Quiet is definitely a female, while Chico is a male."^[12]

On September 11, 2014, Kojima Station featured a short clip focused on Quiet. The clip revealed that Quiet possessed the ability to become invisible, shown by her vanishing while escaping from a Diamond Dogs helicopter, only to later reappear behind the soldiers onboard Mother Base.^[13] According to Kojima, her ability and arrival on Mother Base was intended to be an homage to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, more specifically the infiltration entry paths for Solid Snake and Raiden during the Tanker and Plant Chapters, respectively.

On September 18, 2014, during the TGS demo of The Phantom Pain, Quiet was shown to be one of many "buddy" characters available to the player during the course of the game. When arriving at a location set by the player, she would contact the player via radio and hum to indicate that she arrived at the destination. The demo also unveiled more of her abilities, more specifically she also possessed superhuman speed. During the demo, Kojima commented that Quiet had a weakness that tied into the story. He also implied that the full extent of her abilities depended on her bond with the player, and that the player, depending on their actions, might never even meet her at all.^[14] This last bit, however, is not the case in the final version, as the player is required to fight her in order to advance the main story (although she appears in the prologue, this occurs before she becomes "Quiet").

In an interview with Dengeki Online after TGS 2014 ended, Kojima stated that the concept behind Quiet's design was nudity, "a naked sniper," and reiterated his statement that her reason for looking this way would surprise the audience. He also confirmed that Quiet was not Chico. Furthermore, he stated that characters in the game would question Quiet's appearance as well, and reiterated that she had the design for a reason. In a later interview, Kojima confirmed that Quiet would not be the only character with supernatural powers. Finally, he revealed that Quiet and any other AI controlled buddy soldiers would not be played independently of Snake.

The Video Game Awards 2014 Metal Gear Online trailer displayed Venom Snake using similar powers as Quiet to escape being pinned down during combat.^[15]

The Official PlayStation Magazine and Official Xbox Magazine confirmed that Quiet was one of four partners the player could select to accompany them on missions. It also revealed that recruiting Quiet might have the downside of causing low morale among the troops at Mother Base. Furthermore, it mentioned that chatter could be picked up about Quiet and her "bloody trail."

In the first E3 2015 trailer for The Phantom Pain, Venom Snake and Quiet are shown being attacked, presumably by the Parasite Unit, leading to their helicopter crashing, rendering Quiet unconscious, and Snake has to carry her away from the fight. In the second E3 2015 trailer, Quiet and Snake are briefly shown sparring at Mother Base with a knife, holding her own against Snake in melee combat. It was also shown that she had a positive relationship with Snake, as she lit his cigar by shooting it with her rifle, with Snake showing his approval.

According to Kojima's notes in the Piggyback Collector's Edition Guide's art gallery, Quiet's role is that of a strong and impressive character that is nonetheless defined by her failure: Specifically, how she failed to kill Venom Snake twice, with the player being prompted to ponder the implications of this, namely her emotional state and what she wished to accomplish, and whether her motives were truly vengeful in nature. He also explains that the black marks around her eyes portray her inner emotions, particularly her combat vigilance, and inferred that Code Talker has similar marks that appear and signify his emotional state.

There is an unlockable Easter egg where Quiet will sunbathe on Mother Base.^[16] In addition, music constantly plays in her cell. Whether this is torture intended to break her or if there is another reason, isn't elaborated on.

There was a severe glitch in the game where, if Quiet was used for Missions 29 and 42, it would cause the game to crash and potentially corrupt the save data. Konami issued a warning to players that they shouldn't use her in those missions until a solution could be offered. A downloadable patch was later included into the game on September 13th/14th that fixed the issue.

Although Quiet's Mother Base entry does not list any languages, she is confirmed to be fluent in English and Navajo.

Quiet can be seen at the Diamond Dogs ceremony celebrating global nuclear disarmament, in a cutscene that is unlocked once certain conditions are met in the online FOB system.

Naming[]

In the English dialogue of The Phantom Pain, and in the game's official artbook, Quiet's name from the Soviet armed forces is "Tixij" (Тихий, literally "quiet" or "silent" with a masculine declension, and more accurately transliterated as Tikhiy).^[1] In the Russian version of the game, however, Quiet's name is "Molchun'ya" (Молчунья, meaning "silent woman"); she is also referred to as "Molchun" (Молчун, meaning "quiet man") prior to it being revealed that Quiet is female. These names are only used in the game's Russian language subtitles, as the English audio track is used instead of new Russian voice acting, and the "Tixij" line remains in the Russian version, despite its technical inaccuracy.

Gameplay[]

Boss battle[]

Quiet is a deadly crack-shot who can scale small buildings in a single jump; she is more than a match for Big Boss, and defeating Quiet can be a bit of a challenge for an unprepared player. As with most snipers, simply staying behind cover is your best defense. Crawling through tall grass is less effective than against other humans, but serviceable as a last resort.

Quiet does several things that give her position away. The lens of her rifle reflects sunlight. Her gun is equipped with a laser sight, further marking her location. Despite being mute she constantly hums to herself. The player can mark her with binoculars or a sniper scope (or DD, on a repeat playthrough) revealing her health bar and her stamina bar; though if she moves, the marker disappears. Quiet herself is invisible while moving, but when she jumps she creates a black Skulls trail, and as she sprints she kicks up dirt, helping the player track her next destination. Lastly, she will occasionally decide to bathe in the nearby river or a pool in the ruins; this will create a rainbow directly on her location and leaves her wide open to any attack from the player.

Despite her intimidating presence, Quiet is not omniscient. She does not automatically know where Snake is at all times, and with a quick trigger finger the player can get a round off against Quiet before she can do the same. If she does spot Snake, the player only has a brief window to act before she fires. If the player starts to close the distance Quiet can be tricked with a thrown empty magazine -- she will fire at the distraction, giving the player a window of opportunity while she chambers her rifle, but like most enemies she will learn to ignore repeated distractions before long. If Quiet feels her perch is compromised she will leap away when the player draws close and throw a grenade behind herself.

She can also be easily beaten if the player marks her and does a supply drop directly on her. In Mission 11: Cloaked in Silence this will automatically deplete her stamina in two hits. It should be noted that dropping a supply drop on her is much harder in (Extreme) Cloaked in Silence, as she will move before the supply drop lands. A risky way of preventing her from leaving is to jump in and out of cover to keep her distracted until the supply drop lands. It should also be noted that she also takes less damage from the supply drop in Extreme. Another easy way to take her out in Extreme is to call a sleeping gas bombardment and have go at her current position, as it does a significant amount of stamina damage to her. Oddly, despite it qualifying as taking her out non-lethally, it does not achieve the mission task of taking her out non-lethally.

Interestingly, Quiet's AI is completely deaf to all player-made noise until she has seen Snake out in the open at least once; because of this it's possible to sneak into Quiet's first perch and kick her, depleting a huge chuck of her stamina.

Buddy[]

Recruitment[]

Quiet can be acquired as a Buddy after completing Mission 14 "Lingua Franca" and then completing a side mission given by Ocelot after a certain amount of time has elapsed. Upon visiting Quiet in her cell, after receiving the call from Ocelot, Ocelot will inform the player of Quiet's unique physiology and the abilities and disabilities that it entails. Afterwards he will also inform the player that her presence on base is affecting morale and suggests you take her on missions. Quiet can then be selected as a buddy in mission prep.

Overview[]

Depending on her approval rating, Quiet's reaction to the player on the chopper can range from defiant, unfriendly, and cold (at the lowest levels) to affectionate, flirtatious, and friendly (at the highest). Quiet has 2 main abilities, "Scout" and "Attack." As her approval rating goes up, more commands will be unlocked such as "Cover me", which will have her attack all enemies to allow Venom Snake to sneak up or through enemies and "Cease cover" which will cause her to stop shooting. Equipping her with the Guilty Butterfly, which fires tranquilizer rounds, makes it ideal to recruit soldiers as the player just has to hide and let Quiet take them out. The Guilty Butterfly, however, is not powerful enough to penetrate a helmet. This can lead to the soldier being shot at to alert all nearby personnel. Higher ratings will also mean outfits and sniper rifles can be unlocked.

Scout will have Quiet go and recon a location the player has designated and locations of people and military equipment will be marked as she finds them. Once she has completed scouting, Quiet will automatically enter attack mode. In attack mode, she will move to a designated vantage point and her green laser will become visible, either pointed at the player or a target in the center of the player's field-of-view. If the player is not visible from Quiet's vantage point, she will target a random enemy. When commanded, Quiet will shoot any enemy the player designates (via focusing the camera on them and selecting "Kill Target" in the command menu).

Additionally, Quiet will shoot anyone she sees who spots the player. This can make recruiting somewhat troublesome because even if the player manages to grab the target, she can still shoot them in the head if they aren't fast enough, unless the Guilty Butterfly is used. When equipped with the Sinful Butterfly sniper rifle, Quiet can snipe enemy helicopter pilots destroying it instantly. The rifle is so strong, it can penetrate helmets and armor.

As she shoot all types of enemies, including child soldiers and hostile animals like wolves, caution is advised if she is equipped with one of the two lethal rifles, as she could shot a child soldier, leading to a game over. For the Missions "Pitch Dark", including the "Total Stealth" version, "White Mamba" and "Aim True ye Vengeful" it's suggested to equip Quiet with her "Guilty Butterfly" sniper rifle, as to prevent unwanted child deaths.

Quiet has 20,000 health and 5,000 stamina.

Bond level[]

Depending on Venom Snake's bond level with Quiet, her poses in the cell on Mother Base or in the Aerial Command Center can be drastically different. Quiet's bond level can be increased in the following ways:

Action	Condition	Variation
Defeat Quiet with non-lethal weapons during Mission 11.	First time only.	+2
Visit Quiet in her cell.	Once per stay on Mother Base.	+0.5
Quiet is critically wounded.		-2
Retrieve a supply drop ordered by Quiet.	Up to five times per mission/free-roaming sequence.	+0.5
Quiet deals damage to an enemy who is about to detect the player during Reflex Mode, or who shoots them.	Up to five times per mission/free-roaming sequence.	+0.5
Quiet fires following a "Fire" or "Take Aim" command.	Up to ten times per mission/free roaming sequence.	+0.5
Use the command "Cover me"/"Cease cover."	Up to five times per mission/free-roaming sequence.	+0.5
Use the command "Quiet" and Quiet has a reaction.	Up to five times per mission/free-roaming sequence.	+0.5
Quiet completes the reconnaissance of an outpost.	Up to three times per mission/free-roaming sequence.	+1
Quiet completes the reconnaissance of a guard post.	Up to five times per mission/free-roaming sequence.	+0.5
Stare at Quiet in first-person view for at least five seconds while aboard the ACC.	Once per visit.	+0.5

There is a maximum level of 100.

Skills[]

Skill	Requirement	Effect
Fire	-	Quiet fires at the target the player is looking at through the binoculars, or at the target she's aiming at.
Take Aim	Bond: 25%	Quiet locks on the target the player is looking at through the binoculars, or the target she's currently aiming at. She will open fire if the player activates the corresponding command, or if they pull the trigger themselves (such a combined shot can be used to take down enemies wearing a helmet).
Cover Me	Bond: 50%	Quiet fires on sight.
Cease Cover	Bond: 50%	Quiet stops firing on sight.
Shoot this (grenade ricochet)	Bond: 75%	Quiet shoots a grenade that the player tosses to send it flying toward enemies.
Quiet	-	The player talks to Quiet. Her reaction, which the player can see and hear if they look at her through the binoculars, depends on the player's current Bond with her.

Supply drops[]

Quiet can drop supply drops based on what her bond level is with Snake.

Bond	Contents
<25%	Suppressors
25%-50%	Suppressors, primary weapon ammo, secondary weapon ammo
50%-75%	Suppressors, primary weapon ammo, secondary weapon ammo, support weapon ammo
>75%	Suppressors, primary weapon ammo, secondary weapon ammo, support weapon ammo, items

Equipment[]

In order to access Quiet's more advanced equipment, the player must raise her bond level over certain milestones, in addition to purchasing it from the "Development" section on their iDroid.

Requirements	Equipment
Bond: 20%	Guilty Butterfly.
Bond: 30%	Naked (Blood) uniform.
Bond: 40%	Sinful Butterfly.
Bond: 60%	Wicked Butterfly with suppressor.
Bond: 70%	Naked (Silver Q) uniform.
Bond: 80%	Guilty Butterfly with suppressor.
Bond: 100%	Naked (Gold Q) uniform.
Complete mission 40	Gray XOF uniform, Sniper Wolf uniform.

Poses and behavior[]

Quiet's behavior and poses in her cell in Mother Base and the ACC depend on her bond level with the player. These are useful for determining the player's bond level with Quiet.

In the cell:

Bond	Description
<25%	Quiet lies on her belly.
25-50%	Quiet lies on her belly and on her back.
50-75%	Quiet lies on her belly, then on her back, then walks to the edge of her cell.
>75%	Quiet lies on her belly, then on her back, walks to the edge of her cell, then crosses arms, then takes a shower, then plays with the water.

Requirements	Description
Bond: 0%	Quiet remains seated and idle.
Bond: 10%	Quiet looks toward the cockpit.
Bond: 20%	Quiet looks regularly towards the player.
Bond: 30%	Quiet regularly looks backward.
Bond: 40%	Quiet looks at the player and regularly crosses her legs.
Bond: 50%	Quiet regularly lies on her back, stretches and looks at the player.
Bond: 60%	Quiet regularly looks at the player and crosses her legs the other way around.
Bond: 70%	Quiet regularly looks at the player and through the window in front of her.
Bond: 80%	Quiet regularly lies on her belly and looks at the player affectionately.
Bond: 85%	After staring at Quiet for 10 seconds in first-person view, Quiet comes to you and stares at you affectionately.
Stay in ACC for five minutes	Quiet adopts a cat pose.

Outfits[]

Quiet's default outfit is called Naked, but as the player's bond with her increases, they can develop other outfits for her. The outfits the player can develop for her are: Naked (Blood), Naked (Silver Q), Naked (Gold Q) and XOF Uniform (Gray XOF). An alternate uniform called Sniper Wolf can be developed after Mission 42 has been completed.

She has pale white skin, brown hairs and grey-green eyes. During the hospital raid, she appears to wear a peculiar XOF gray uniform, albeit without the patch, wearing it with rolled sleeves and green military gloves. She has a radio near her chest, and red stun grenades on her belt. She has a practical haircut, with her hair being short and arriving just at her neck.

After the Parasite Therapy, her appearance changes. She styles her hair differently, and due to the changes made by the parasite therapy, she is forced to wear clothing that exposes her skin.

In her outfit as a Buddy, she wears a green military glove on her right hand, a black glove that covers most of her arm with "CT-1030100 Anti-Toxic Bio-Chem Garment" written on it, a green harness, a knife, gun holsters and greenish military boots. She wears stockings filled with holes.

Departure[]

Her initial departure can be prevented, if the player uses the Butterfly Emblem, preventing the mission from starting. It does not bring her back after the mission is completed. The player can also choose to kill Quiet after the sniper duel instead of recruiting her, though recruiting her is the canonical choice.

Quiet remains listed as MIA on the Mother Base development menu after Mission 45, although the Piggyback Guide developed in conjunction with Kojima Productions states that she died (presumably from heat stroke or dehydration). When instructed to sing in character for Quiet's final scene, Stefanie Joosten was told that, heartbroken, she would "open her mouth and sing... and die."^[17] The novelization for The Phantom Pain by Hitori Nojima depicts Quiet immolating herself, by pouring flammable liquid over her body and igniting it with Big Boss's lighter, to ensure her parasites cannot spread.^[18] However, in an interview, Nojima revealed that Hideo Kojima told him "[Quiet's] not dead. In the game it's not clear."^[19] In the second interview with The Codec, Stefanie Joosten confirmed that Quiet's fate is left open to interpretation.^[20] Regardless, if this has already happened, the player can just copy the save data to an external drive, delete it and start over to play the full game with Quiet as long as they remember to equip the Butterfly Emblem.

Using the Butterfly Emblem, and keeping Quiet past Episode 46: The Man Who Sold the World will cause conversations between Diamond Dogs recruits on Mother Base to change, with some older members seemingly coming around to her presence on the base. If one plays her departure mission after this, the conversations will revert to their initial versions, and eventually, they will cease altogether.

Reunion: Cloaked in Silence[]

With the release of the Version 1.06 update in November 2015, the ability to bring Quiet back from her MIA status was added to the game. The player needs to complete Mission 11: Cloaked in Silence six times in a row without killing or leaving Quiet, to unlock a special version of the mission titled [Reunion]: Cloaked in Silence. Completing the [Reunion] version of the mission will have Quiet return permanently to Diamond Dogs with all of the equipment she had at the time she left.

However, there are no new cutscenes upon her return; only the original Cloaked in Silence cutscenes will play. After her return, she will remain in Diamond Dogs even if the player replays Mission 45: A Quiet Exit.

Special Events[]

If certain requirements of met, the player can trigger special animations from Quiet.

Dancing in the rain[]

If the player has at least 80% bond with Quiet, she's healthy, and the player has cleared the "OKB Zero" sequence (ie: the player started chapter 2), they will trigger a scene with Quiet and Venom Snake playing in the rain. Oddly, this sequence can be repeated after completing the main story, and reuniting with her, however, it cannot be triggered if the player uses their custom Medic model, and can only be done as Venom Snake.

Shower with Quiet[]

If the player stays outside on missions or side ops for a long time without showering, and come back to base with Quiet as a Buddy, they will trigger an Easter egg animation where Quiet stops Ocelot from pouring water on them, and takes the player to her holding cell to give them a personal shower. The player needs to have at least 60% bonding with Quiet and having completed mission 14 "Lingua Franca."

Happy Birthday[]

Once the player has captured her and if the birthday celebration cutscene is triggered, a special cutscene occurs where Quiet shoots a box of cigars to spell out "HBD" (meaning "Happy Birthday") and fires once more to light Venom Snake's cigar.

FOB Event[]

On July 24, 2018, Quiet has been added as a playable character for Event FOBs, making her the second main character barring Venom Snake himself to be playable during FOBs, the first being Revolver Ocelot.

Is possible to use her abilities like the sprint and turning invisible by crouching. However her jumping abilities are limited, as she jump instead of using ladders. Her slow-mo vision is not usable in-game. Her CQC attacks are quick kicks, capable of putting a guard KO in only one it. Her running speed is faster than compared to other characters like Venom Snake.

Her victory pose when successfully infiltrating an FOB has her clasping the back of her head and outstretching her arms in a suggestive manner, similar to her pose in when interacting with Venom Snake in the rain.^[21]

References in other media[]

While Quiet herself does not appear in the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, the character Whisper the Wolf, while primarily based on Sniper Wolf, had elements of Quiet's character included with her, including her rarely speaking above a whisper.