Death Stranding 2: Best Tips and Tricks You Need To Know

Death Stranding 2 will test your patience and skills if you are not aware of its premise and general gameplay. While those who have played the first game would find it easier to grasp the basics and kick off their journey, DS2 has plenty up its sleeve.

This list of tips and tricks for Death Stranding 2 aims to help players get a proper understanding of the gameplay that awaits them, especially helpful for surviving the initial hours and orders. You should also check our Death Stranding 2 Checklist Before Delivery guide to become a master porter in no time.

Death Stranding 2 Tips and Tricks Guide: Things You Need To Keep In Mind

1) Scan Map And Plot Route

Death Stranding 2 allows you to plot your route on the map with markers when you select an order. The map provides a detailed understanding of the natural obstructions that you may face during the mission: rivers, hills, cliffs, enemy territories, BT areas, etc. Always make it a point to carefully review the route you will take. This is valid throughout the game, as later you will be using electronics that can run out of charge without any generator nearby. The plotted route also shows up once you are out in the open when you use the Odradek scan.

Maps will also give you an idea of the upcoming weather conditions. Rain can start floods with the water swelling up, destroying ladders placed across it, and making it significantly difficult to cross. 

2) Cargo Management And General Movement

Death Stranding 1 players will already have an idea about this, but I am repeating it nevertheless — be aware of how you stack up your cargo and how you move about in the terrain in-game. 

The weight distribution and the way the cargo is piled will have an impact on how easily you lose balance. The bigger and heavier stuff should be at the bottom of the backpack, and ladders/PCCs on the shoulders/hips. If you are unsure, Hold Triangle to Auto-Arrange Cargo while in the cargo management screen. 

If you have a tall stack of cargo sticking upwards, you can put down the backpack (Hold Triangle), equip Strand, and tie it up to provide better stability. Make use of Floating Carriers to have an easier time carrying a large amount of cargo. Keep in mind that the item consumes chiral crystals when deployed. You can also ride Floating Carriers.

For movement, be sure to be mindful of the terrain ahead of you. The faster you are going (e.g., sprinting), the higher the chances of tripping over a small rock and losing your balance. You can arrest your fall by Holding L2 and R2. Separately, they help Sam shift the weight left/right, respectively. You can also hold L2 and R2 and tap triangle to redistribute weight. 

A larger cargo weight or heavier physical exertion (sprinting, wading water, etc.) will eat into your stamina bar. A depleted stamina bar will make things more difficult. You can replenish it by consuming from your Canteen, found in the Consumables section of the Weapons/Tools menu.

One thing many forget is that Private Lockers are specific to each location, meaning you can stock up on Metals at West Fort Knot and expect it at the Animal Shelter. 

3) Fast Travel And Cargo

While you can fast travel with DHV Magellan, a certain type of cargo can not be carried in that manner. And completing deliveries with DHV Magellan fast travel will reflect with a DHV Magellan tag at the delivery screen instead of a rating for Sam. Fast travelling with the transponder will send only Sam and items in the weapon rack and utility/grenade pouch. Any other cargo attached to the suit or on the back will be left where you used the transponder. 

Learn more in our Death Stranding 2 Fast Travel guide. 

4) Dealing With Bandits and BTs

Stealth can be your best option to navigate these situations in the early part of Death Stranding 2, especially when it comes to Beached Things.

For bandits and other human enemies, use Dollman or a watchtower to properly scout the dangers that lie ahead. You will be able to mark the number of enemies there are in the cap and track their movement. You can then decide accordingly on how you want to pursue your objective. 

Weapons like Maser Gun (fully charge before taking the shot to instantly incapacitate), Bola Gun (aim for the head to instantly knock out the target), and Tranq Sniper Rifle (aim for the head to instantly knock out the target) can do wonders in the early part of the game. Later on, I found the Grenade Launcher to be really overpowered against both human enemies, mechs, and BTs. 

You should absolutely try to ensure that you don’t inadvertently end up killing a human enemy; otherwise, you will have to dispose of the corpse in Death Stranding 2. Keep in mind, if you don’t clear out an enemy camp in a while, their enemy level will rise, meaning they will be more of a threat. 

For BTs, the first and foremost approach is to crouch (press R1) and move slowly, especially if they are close by. Pay close attention to your Odradek, which will point at the closest BT, and hold your breath (holding R1) to not get detected. You can use Blood Grenades, Blood Boomerang, or weapons with MP bullets to defeat BTs. You can also distract a BT by throwing items and making noise.  

Even if a BT senses you and starts making its way, you can quickly change position to escape. If you are caught and a Catcher arrives, defeating it will clear the area of BT for a while. Alternatively, if you can simply run away from the tar ring without dying, it will have the same effect. Rest assured, there’s no shame in running away from such fights.

5) PCCs, Fabrications, And Structures

You can fabricate weapons and tools at centres connected to the chiral network, with major locations like knot cities having more resources that you can use, and even allowing you to craft vehicles. Each item, be it weapon or tool, weighs and will eat into your cargo carrying capacity. You will need to tailor your loadout based on how you wish to play and the specific terrain that awaits the delivery you are about to take.

Apart from weapons, Blood Bags (extremely important you keep a few handy for every delivery), PCCs, ladders, and climbing anchors are quite important as you make your way across Australia. Also, carry Container Repair Sprays to negate the effect of timefall on your cargo before it is completely ruined.

PCCs allow you to build structures like bridges, watchtowers, postboxes, generators, etc. Each of these has its specific purposes and can be quite useful. Keep in mind, PCCs can be used only in regions that have a chiral network connection and consume chiral network bandwidth. You will have to factor in the kind of structures you wish to build for a particular delivery (watchtower if you are assailing an enemy camp, a generator if you are going for a long haul in a vehicle, or a Timefall Shelter to protect/repair your items and repel BTs).

6) Transport, Roads, And Monorails

Death Stranding 2 allows you to build/repair roads and monorail tracks across Australia to make movement significantly easier. These can be found in already established routes, with your role being to provide the required amount of resources and bring the road/monorail operational. Once they are live, you can use them to quickly go from point A to point B. 

As long as you are driving on the middle lane of the road, your vehicle will not consume any electricity. Since the roads are paved flat without any hiccups or bumps, you can just boost your vehicle all the way through (Lou will surely love you for it). 

Monorails allow you to transport yourself, a large amount of cargo, and your vehicle (with any of its cargo) from one place to another, provided the track in between is completely repaired. During the ride, you can jump off anywhere you want (you may want to reach a specific location north of West Fort Knot). Monorails are a great help in bringing a significant amount of materials from mines to cities. You can also send the monorail without getting on it yourself.

7) Social Aspect and Building For the Community

Building on its predecessor, Death Stranding 2 continues pushing the aspect of social and community building. Structures you create in your world can show up in the playthroughs of other players. If they use/interact with it, you get a notification and likes. They can even upgrade your structure or store materials there.

Similarly, roads and monorails contain this social aspect and community building. Repairing/building these requires a significant amount of materials. But rest assured, you may not have to gather it all yourself. You may end up noticing that you provided a part of what’s required, with someone else providing the rest in the world. And lo behold, the road/monorail is active. Apart from roads/monorails, you should make sure that your fabricated structures are helpful not just to yourself, but can also be helpful to someone else in their playthrough. 

A ladder/climbing anchor in a precarious position, a generator in a far away place or one right outside a prepper/base, safe houses in the middle of nowhere, a watchtower on the edges of the enemy camp, a Timefall Shelter before a BT-infested area, or zip lines in the mountains — all can be useful. You may also find vehicles left by other players in the world that you can make use of.

8) Make Use Of The Corpus And Social Strand System

The Social Strand System shows you updates from preppers, porters, and other NPCs in Death Stranding 2. It’s clearly based on the social media aspect of the popular apps and lets you keep a tab on what’s happening and also react to such posts. These communications can also give you clues regarding events taking place elsewhere in the world (similar to the mail system in DS1). You can bring up the Social Strand System from the Ring Menu in the Ring Terminal. Make sure to check it from time to time to get gameplay clues and hints.

The Corpus is the game’s encyclopedia, containing the Story So Far (link), all missions you have completed, terminology databanks, character descriptions, and more. Story So Far option allows you to have a quick recap if you pick up the game after a while. The databank proves really useful if you mix up terminologies or just want to know what certain things are or who that person is. For example, the Corpus comes in handy when you try to get into the Motherhood in Death Stranding 2 for the first time. 

9) Sub Orders, Lost Cargo, Connections, And Taking A Breather

While you may have an urge to complete Death Stranding 2’s main orders one after the other, do take a look at the sub-orders. These are basically the game’s side missions where you will be tasked to deliver orders, recover cargos, etc. More often than not, these give you delightful rewards for completing, like the Tranq Sniper Rifle and the Otter Hood. 

Completing sub-orders will allow you to connect preppers that are not part of the game’s main story to the chiral network and unlock a variety of gears and items as you build your connections. Delivering lost cargo to their destination is also an excellent way to increase the connection level with a particular location, which in turn can unlock new resources. 

And finally, Sam can just take a breather and rest, even if there’s no base nearby, and DHV Magellan can’t come where you are. Hold circle to sit down and just enjoy the picturesque world of Death Stranding 2. Massage your shoulders, stretch your legs, and listen to any of the songs you have unlocked (because the Music Player is finally a reality in DS2). 

10) Difficulty And Boss Fights

Death Stranding 2 isn’t too difficult. And I say so after having spent roughly 50 hours in-game at the time of writing. You can learn more in our DS2 difficulty levels guide. What I am trying to say is, if you choose Casual or Normal, you don’t have to worry about having too harrowing a time. This becomes especially true when you find structures built by other players, roads already constructed, or monorails already in operation. They can end up making the gameplay a tad too forgiving. To counter this, you can take the difficulty up a notch or turn off the social aspect of the gameplay not to see other players’ structures/items show up.

During BT boss fights, you can find human silhouettes (in lieu of other players) throwing necessary items like weapons and Blood Bags at you. So if you feel you are underequipped when you are tackling a BT, others have got you covered. While you are tackling a boss fight (BT or otherwise), taking a stumble or getting knocked off your feet will damage your cargo and can even scatter it. Bosses in DS2 aren’t particularly difficult, and you will be able to notice their telegraphed attacks and make use of their weak points.

11) Play The Story, Talk To Dollman, And Pay Attention

Death Stranding 2 is a story-intensive game, where there’s plenty going on with several characters involved. Pay close attention to the cutscene to catch what’s happening. You can also consult the Corpus if you miss out on something. Interacting with Dollman in your private room also provides interesting quips from time to time. 

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That’s all we have as the best tips and tricks for Death Stranding 2 players. We provide the latest news and create guides for Death Stranding 2. Meanwhile, you can check out the following Death Stranding 2 articles or catch us playing games on Twitch and YouTube:

• Death Stranding 2 Controls Explained
• Death Stranding 2: All Difficulty Levels Explained
• Death Stranding 2: How to Save Game
• Death Stranding 2 The Motherhood Password Explained