A suppressor or silencer is a muzzle that dampens the sound produced by a gun when fired. Equipping a firearm with a suppressor is vital to taking down enemies without alerting other nearby guards.
Usage by mercenaries[]
The Militaires Sans Frontières frequently utilized suppressors for some of their firearms, several of which were developed by their R&D team upon procuring design specs.
During the Outer Heaven Uprising, four mercenaries were guarding a room containing a silencer, but they were ultimately dispatched by Solid Snake, who then procured it for himself.
By the time Snake confronted his brother Liquid during the Shadow Moses Incident, he had procured a suppressor for his SOCOM pistol, drawing the weapon on the terrorist leader.
The Gurlukovich Mercenaries used silencers on their AKS-74u assault rifles during the boarding of the USS Discovery in 2007, to ensure that they killed the Marines stationed on the upper decks without drawing attention to their presence. Olga Gurlukovich also utilized a suppressor on her PSS.
Behind the scenes[]
The item first appeared in the original Metal Gear, and its sequel Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, where it is called the Silencer. The item is needed for firing weapons stealthily, as using a handgun or a submachine gun without it will result in an alert being raised even if it is fired in an empty room. In the original MSX2 version of Metal Gear, the player has to defeat four mercenaries in order to acquire the silencer. In the Nintendo Entertainment System version, however, the player can acquire it without incident.
In Metal Gear Solid, the item returns as the Suppressor, exclusively for Snake's SOCOM. In the remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, the M9 pistol is ready-equipped with a suppressor. The ready-silenced M9 also appears in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Suppressors are also available in this game for the USP, SOCOM and AKS-74u.
| Game | Item description for Silencer/Suppressor | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake | 
| |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | SOCOM Suppressor Firing noise is reduced when attached to SOCOM. Equip together w/ SOCOM to attach. Unremovable once attached. | 
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| Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes | [SOCOM Suppressor] Firing noise is reduced when attached to SOCOM. Equip together w/ SOCOM to attach. Unremovable once attached. |
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater introduced the concept of wearing out the suppressors. As a result, the player must collect suppressors and conserve ammo. In-game, Naked Snake can carry up to nine suppressors. Suppressors are available for the M1911A1 pistol, Mk22 tranquilizer gun, and XM16E1 rifle. Similarly, degradable suppressors are utilized in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for the Mk22, XM177E2, MAC-10, and Mk23 SOCOM pistol (available exclusively in the Portable Ops Plus expansion), and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, although the player doesn't collect degradable suppressors, as the suppressor durability is instantly refilled by the time a soldier either leaves or completes a mission. However, the only known weapon variants with a suppressor that is naturally non-degradable is the Makarov PB/6P9 and the MP5SD2, although wearing the infinity bandana will result in all suppressor weapons becoming non-degradable.
In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, suppressors must be purchased from Drebin, but there is a much wider range of compatible weapons. In addition, the Mk. 2, MP5SD2, PSS and VSS have built-in suppressors.