Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater CQC Guide: How To Counter The Boss

Struggling with the final boss fight? Learn how to counter The Boss’s CQC in Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater with this guide. 

Countering The Boss’s CQC in the final boss fight of Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater is tricky. It requires you to carefully observe The Boss’s movements and react to each attack. Learning the parry counter window for the fight itself is challenging, and The Boss makes things even tougher by using different CQC animations depending on Snake’s equipped weapon. The parry window varies for every animation.

Additionally, The Boss performs an additional strike when her health drops below 50%, extending the CQC combo and forcing you to counter another attack. Successfully parrying both CQC’s attacks of The Boss (The initial one and the below 50% health variation) rewards you with the Wax On, Wax Off trophy. If you are having difficulties defeating her or aiming for the trophy, this guide explains how you can counter The Boss’s CQC in Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater. 

Related: Metal Gear Solid 3 vs Delta: Major Differences Explored

How to Parry The Boss’s CQC in Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater

Let’s examine how you can counter all CQC animations of The Boss. Before diving into them separately, here is a general parry mechanic against The Boss. Just before the parry window, you will hear a distinct sound cue with a slight slow-motion effect, which signals the perfect moment to parry the CQC attacks.

Additionally, a red exclamation mark appears above The Boss’s head, indicating she is about to initiate a CQC. To parry CQC attacks, press the CQC button, which is R2 on PlayStation.  

With No Weapon

As The Boss blocks Snake’s attacks, she attempts to perform an elbow strike to his abdomen. You need to press the CQC button when she prepares her elbow to counter the attack, throwing her to the ground.

When she is below 50% health, she performs an upward palm strike following the elbow strike attempt. Press the CQC button when she prepares to thrust her palm to parry the attack. 

With Melee Weapons (Knife/Fork)

When Snake attempts to stab her with a knife or fork, she blocks and counters with a knee strike. Parry her knee strike by pressing the button when she lifts her knee, which slams her to the ground.

During the second phase of CQC (lower than 50% health), she performs a backward slash before Snake throws her to the ground. You need to press the button when she lifts her hand, which allows you to counter her backward slash attack successfully. 

With Handgun

As Snake points the handgun, The Boss attempts to throw him to the ground. You need to press the CQC button right when Snake’s hands are raised above her head. This counters the throw and slams her to the ground. 

During the second phase of CQC, she rolls and quickly gets back up when Snake slams her to the ground. She performs a palm strike right after she gets back on her feet. To counter the second attack, you need to press the CQC button at the moment when she stands up after the roll. 

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