History YMMV / GhostReconWildlands

* WhatAnIdiot: La Plaga is this in spades. Santa Blanca spends billions of dollars of their drug money maintaining a VillainWithGoodPublicity position in the country and does all of its murders of innocents discreetly with a man who dissolves their bodies. So, what does La Plaga do? Torture and murder innocents at random and puts the video on the internet, while regularly bragging about his own criminal activities on social media. No wonder El Sueno wanted to kill him.
** The Bolivian government and UNIDAD in the ''Fallen Ghosts'' story. The CIA and Ghosts presence almost singlehandedly cleared out Santa Blanca where the government all but gave the nation over to them, so what do they do? Hire the private military company [[PsychoForHire Los Extranjeros]] to try to root out foreign influence, who turn around and take over all of the Santa Blanca drug trade and effectively pick up right where the cartel left off, while having a blank check for authority to kill anyone in their path with extreme prejudice which ''does'' get abused. Naturally, the Ghosts have to fix their bullshit -- ''again''.

** Ghost mode takes all of the above UpToEleven. While optional and only netting you cosmetics, you CANNOT afford yourself to die, or be downed. Regular occurances such as trains becomes a nightmare, as the AI cannot wait for the train to pass. Flying planes and helicopters becomes VERY risky, especially in higher tiers. And worse, even OTHER ghost mode players can be risky, due to the possibility of friendly fire.

** The Bolivian government and UNIDAD in the ''Fallen Ghosts'' story. The CIA and Ghosts presence almost singlehandedly cleared out Santa Blanca where the government all but gave the nation over to them, so what do they do? Hire the private military company [[PsychoForHire Los Extranjeros]] to try to root out foreign influence, who turn around and take over all of the Sant Blanca drug trade and effectively pick up right where the cartel left off, while having a blank check for authority to kill anyone in their path with extreme prejudice which ''does'' get abused. Naturally, the Ghosts have to fix their bullshit -- ''again''.

** Random cartel lieutenant spawns are supposed to help you gather in intel for supply raids and unlockables. Unfortunately, even if you have those unlocked/visible, they still spawn. What's worse that they spot you very quickly, and will usually ruin a stealth run for missions and daily challenges. Their spotting, at some cases can alert the enemy of either side!
** If a mission requires you to be on stealth and for some ever reason the player decides to shoot their guns (Like at alarms and Generators) while there are rebels nearby, the rebels can [[UnwantedAssitance aggro the enemy]] and fail the stealth segment. More painful if the mission requires you to not kill any enemies.
** The daily challenges requires the player to be on the extreme difficuly to complete its objectives with certain restrictions. Also, failing said conditions requires the player to redeploy to a certain checkpoint, forcing a restart in some cases.

*** Stealth required missions are a pain when the drone CANNOT be used due to jammers. The player can also be spotted by the random lieuttenant and Unidad patrol spawns, failing the required stealth. Being hunted, however, doesn't fail the segment.

* AmericansHateTingle: The game got flak from the Bolivian government for depicting their country as a corrupt failed state ([[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment according to them]]) and various South American outlets denounce the game for perpetuating the negative stereotype of Latin America being a crime-ridden backwaters region run by drug cartels. The Bolivian government even went so far [[https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/3/14801948/bolivia-complains-to-french-embassy-ghost-recon-wildlands as to file a complaint to their French embassy directed at Ubisoft themselves.]]

** You meet the rebel leader Amaru at the beginning of the game [[spoiler: and as a corpse near the end]]. [[RuleOfThree In Siege,]] we get an Operator named Amaru in Operation Ember Rise.[[note]]Like Nomad above, this Amaru is a different person.[[/note]]

** Unidad helicopters and patrols tend to wear out their welcome fast. Doubly so helicopters. Unidad is a roaming hostile faction that's hostile to both the player and the cartels, but they'll mostly focus their efforts on the player. Because they can spot you while roaming it can ruin stealth if you happen to be by a road when a patrol passes by, and there are also Unidad helicopter patrols that can, for [[FakeDifficulty no given reason]], circle the area where you are, clearly looking for you even if it has 0 reason in universe to suspect you're anywhere in the area and ruin a stealth run by spotting you from the air. They can do this randomly and it can easily ruin any event that has mandatory stealth, such as stealing a helicopter full of supplies.

*** Any challenge clear mission and be undetected/without dying/Damage less/without firing. Thankfully, the AI teammates, rebels, and being hunted doesn't count for the requirements.

* ThatOneSidequest: The rebel radio mission (the ones that improve the Ghosts' mortar support) in the northernmost part of Caimanes is insanely difficult, especially for a region that's rated a mere three out of five skulls. You have to HoldTheLine for very long 2:30 minutes, the radio trailer you need to protect is made of tissue paper and parked squarely in the open with no cover whatsoever, the surrounding area is a nightmare to defend because it offers attackers countless avenues of approach, you can't lay nearly enough mines to block off even half of them, Santa Blanca always attacks from six or more directions at once, and they make copious use of armored vehicles and helicopters. Even with perfect preparation, tank support of your own, a large squad of rebels backing you up, and three capable fellow gamers by your side, making it through this hell is ''a lot'' harder than virtually any other mission-related shootout. It's probably the only instance in the whole game where you'll cheer when a patrolling UNIDAD helicopter spots you and sends soldiers your way, because they're very helpful for distracting Santa Blanca but won't shoot the generator.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad El Sueño]] is the leader of [[TheCartel the Santa Blanca Cartel]] and responsible for turning the once-prosperous UsefulNotes/{{Bolivia}} into a narco-state. Within the cartel El Sueño personally oversees and partakes in the production and distribution of cocaine, the trafficking of children, and the torture and murder of thousands; there are numerous corpses hanging from telephone poles and mass graves found throughout Bolivia. When El Sueño learns that one of his men is an undercover DEA agent, he personally tortures the man for 47 hours straight. His acts of cruelty also extend to even the most loyal of his subordinates; [[YouHaveFailedMe should they fail him in any way]], he would arrange for them to either be tortured, murdered, their loved ones kidnapped and murdered, or all the above. When the Ghosts manage to dismantle his cartel, [[spoiler: El Sueño reveals that he made a deal with their government granting him immunity while he would use them to take down rival cartels and gloats about his victory by throwing at them a recently decapitated head of rebel leader and former ally, Pac Katari.]] With nearly every atrocity committed by the Santa Blanca Cartel being traced back to El Sueño, underneath his [[FauxAffablyEvil religious and charitable exterior]] lies a [[LargeAndInCharge towering]] and brutal egotist, utterly unfeeling to the violence caused by his actions.

** The mission "Flight Plan" for Koani/Boston Reed, you are required to fly a plane to Media Luna. Sounds easy enough right? Nope! You have to pass several [[DemonicSpiders SAM sites, possibly a Unidad base]], and finally a enemy guarded makeshift airstrip- assuming you didn't crash or miss the landing. While it's easy to just restart when you get hit by a AA missile, in [[FinalDeath Ghost Mode,]] you cannot afford being hit by any AA missile.

** Gameplaywise, it is ''VideoGame/RainbowSixVegas'' meets ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' (Or in that case ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'') meets ''VideoGame/FarCry''.

** You meet the rebel leader Amaru at the beginning of the game [[spoiler: and as a corpse near the end]]. [[RuleOfThree In Siege,]] we get an Operator named Amaru in Operation Ember Rise.[[note]]Like Nomad above, this Amaru is a different person.[/note]]

** For the ''Narco Road'' DLC you have the second-to-last El Invisible mission: Your Ghost is knocked out and placed in a Unidad prison, and while Invisible gives you a head-start by unlocking your cell, you now have to fight your way out of the prison...which is swarming with soldiers, snipers, heavy guards, and all sorts of nasty business. Oh, and did we mention you've been ''completely disarmed?'' Good luck finding an armory before you're reduced to swiss cheese. Also,''Narco Road'' is intended as a solo campaign so unless you have friends online, have fun taking on the entire prison by yourself.

* HilariousInHindsight: Operation: Archangel has the Ghosts work alongside Caveira, Twitch and Valkyrie from VideoGame/RainbowSixSiege. The Rainbow operators are impressed with the Ghosts and suggest they should work together more in the future. In the Wind Bastion DLC for Siege, one of the new operators is named [[https://rainbow6.ubisoft.com/siege/en-gb/news/detail.aspx?c=tcm:154-337307-16&ct=tcm:154-76770-32 Nomad]].[[note]] This Nomad however is from Morocco's GIGR/note

** The final mission in the Barvechos province has the Ghosts escort El Pulpo from his hideout to the airport while Santa Blanca is trying to off him. The guy automatically chooses an unarmed, unarmored car for his escape and DrivesLikeCrazy while Santa Blanca sends whole squadrons of armed, armored and fully manned Humvees after him in a high-speed chase that makes it impossible to stop and use your own weapons. One of the only halfway reliable chances (not guarantees. Chances!) of beating this mission at all consists of stealing the Humvee in front of El Pulpo's hideout for your team, then tricking him into boarding an armored SUV you brought along for this specific purpose by damaging all other vehicles in his vicinity beyond usability, and then hoping that he doesn't get stuck on the way to the airport, doesn't do anything else stupid, doesn't get cut down by hostile helicopters once he leaves his car for his personal helo, and that your own vehicle survives the bullet storm long enough for you to fend off the last pursuers. Even setting the difficulty to Easy does little to make this mission less sadistic.

* WhatAnIdiot: La Plaga is this in spades. Santa Blanca spends billions of dollars of their drug money maintaining a VillainWithGoodPublicity position in the country and does all of its murders of innocents discreetly with a man who dissolves their bodies. So, what does La Plaga do? Murders innocents at random and puts the video on the internet. No wonder El Sueno wanted to kill him.

** The [[TheCartel Mexican Cartel]] obviously! The game goes to great lengths to demonstrate just how sadistic and remorselessly evil they are. Making it all the more satisfying when you let [[AssholeVictim them]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil know what its like]] to be on the [[LaserGuidedKarma receiving end for a change]].

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad El Sueño]] is the leader of [[TheCartel the Santa Blanca Cartel]] and responsible for turning the once-prosperous UsefulNotes/{{Bolivia}} into a narco-state. Within the cartel El Sueño personally oversees and partakes in the production and distribution of cocaine, the trafficking of children, and the torture and murder of thousands; there are numerous corpses hanging from telephone poles and mass graves found throughout Bolivia. When El Sueño learns that one of his men is an undercover DEA agent, he personally tortures the man for 47 hours straight. His acts of cruelty also extend to even the most loyal of his subordinates; [[YouHaveFailedMe should they fail him in any way]], he would arrange for them to either be tortured, murdered, their loved ones kidnapped and murdered, or all the above. When the Ghosts manage to dismantle his cartel, El Sueño reveals that he made a deal with their government granting him immunity while he would use them to take down rival cartels and gloats about his victory by throwing at them a recently decapitated head of rebel leader and former ally, Pac Katari. With nearly every atrocity committed by the Santa Blanca Cartel being traced back to El Sueño, underneath his [[FauxAffablyEvil religious and charitable exterior]] lies a [[LargeAndInCharge towering]] and brutal egotist, utterly unfeeling to the violence caused by his actions.

** The final mission in the Barvechos province has the Ghosts escort El Pulpo from his hideout to the airport while Santa Blanca is trying to off him. The guy automatically chooses an unarmed, unarmored car for his escape and DrivesLikeCrazy while SB sends whole squadrons of armed, armored and fully manned Humvees after him in a high-speed chase that makes it impossible to stop and use your own weapons. One of the only halfway reliable chances (not guarantees. Chances!) of beating this mission at all consists of stealing the Humvee in front of El Pulpo's hideout for your team, then tricking him into boarding an armored SUV you brought along for this specific purpose by damaging all other vehicles in his vicinity beyond usability, and then hoping that he doesn't get stuck on the way to the airport, doesn't do anything else stupid, doesn't get cut down by hostile helicopters once he leaves his car for his personal helo, and that your own vehicle survives the bullet storm long enough for you to fend off the last pursuers. Even setting the difficulty to Easy does little to make this mission less sadistic.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: Contrasting the above, the "thunk" sound effect when your bullet hits an enemy a long distance away. It sounds like raw meat hitting a linoleum floor, but it means that you (probably) just scored a kill.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Though the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' ShoutOut is more sad than sweet, it is oddly poignant to hear ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCell Sam Fisher]]'', [[DuelingWorks of all people,]] react morosely to Snake's retirement. It goes to show that the ''Metal Gear'' games were widely enjoyed by players all across the globe, even by some of the people writing one of his greatest competitors. And then just a couple of months later, it turns out that Solid Snake wasn't [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate entirely done]] [[VideoGame/SuperBombermanR after all]].

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Though the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' ShoutOut is more sad than sweet, it is oddly poignant to hear ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCell Sam Fisher]]'', [[DuelingWorks of all people,]] react morosely to Snake's retirement. It goes to show that the ''Metal Gear'' games were widely enjoyed by players all across the globe, even by some of the people writing one of his greatest competitors.

* HarsherInHindsight: The game starts on July 27, 2019 in the then-near future. By then, [[CrapsackWorld El Sueño is ruling Bolivia with an iron fist, using its people for his cartel's upkeep.]] In November that year, the popular leader Evo Morales and his government had to resign amidst disputed election results, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere and fled to Mexico.]] Though real-life Bolivia fares a lot better than in the game, the country still faces an uncertain future.

** The [[TheCartel Bolivian Cartel]] obviously! The game goes to great lengths to demonstrate just how sadistic and remorselessly evil they are. Making it all the more satisfying when you let [[AssholeVictim them]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil know what its like]] to be on the [[LaserGuidedKarma receiving end for a change]].

* MostAnnoyingSound: That awful noise of a sniper rifle bullet striking metal, stone or concrete that tells you you just botched a long-range shot, accompanied by the knowledge that every enemy in the area is about to swarm your position in about fifteen seconds or less. Better start running to another hiding spot.
** Additionally, the sound that plays when you get a game over. It's pretty much the game's way of saying "You [[TheKlutz fucked]] [[TooDumbToLive up]]/[[ArtificialStupidity got]] [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard unlucky]]. We're going to punish you for it, with this sound that you ''will'' get sick of by the end of the game".
** Cartel soldiers essentially only have three or so lines, the most common being "What the fuck are we waiting for? There's gotta be more of us than them! Charge!!". Expect to hear that line ''over'' and ''over'' in a firefight.