Laughing Octopus works in phases - she'll hide and wait for you to find her, then attack. When she's standing in front of you in the beginning, hit her with something hard. If you're trying to kill her, the heaviest hitters are grenades from a launcher and shotgun rounds; if you're trying to tranq her, the non-lethal versions of those (40mm stun grenades and Vortex Ring rounds) work well. She'll launch ink and hide. Use the nightvision mode on the Solid Eye to find her. She'll either be on a wall, in a bin (with her tentacles poking out), or in the rafters above you. For the latter two, she'll be lit up with nightvision - with the former, she won't. Look for her shape in the area that the Solid Eye detects her and let her have it. She may also turn into Naomi's body (lying on the floor) or a larger version of the Metal Gear Mk. II - in either case, shoot at the decoy and she'll take damage.

After you hit her in most cases, she'll go into combat mode and break through windows to try and ambush you. Her main attack is shooting you with a P90 SMG. She'll also lash out with her tentacles. Keep your distance and stay aware of her location. The reason it's good to use shotguns and grenade launchers is that these weapons will knock her down. Sometimes after you hit her, she'll send little bombs after you. Just dodge them or they'll damage you. If she rolls up in a ball and doesn't spray ink, she's going to roll at you - hit her with a grenade or a shotgun shell or she'll do a huge amount of damage. Another tactic to use in combat mode is to set mines and lure her over them by coming at her from the other direction, forcing her to try and flank you. Pick away at her and keep your Solid Eye active and you'll wear her down.

Then you get the Beauty form. If you tranquilized her in the first battle, her figurine will be on one of the beds. Shoot at parts of her suit in this form - with lethal or non-lethal weapons - to wear her down. Don't let her get close to you or she'll drain your health. Tranquilize her in this form to get the "Laughing Beauty" face camo. Either way, you'll get a skullcap after you win to increase your camo index.

Metal Gear Solid 4 Walkthrough