Death Stranding 2 is, conceptually, a game about delivering packages for the betterment of humankind's vestiges. In practice, it's also about sliding boxes onto shelves and receiving little prizes as a thank you—a tranq gun here, new pair of boots there, maybe the odd pair of designer sunglasses. Keep delivering packages to preppers and they'll keep handing out goodies up to a 5-star maximum rating.
In the first Death Stranding, what gear each character unlocked was a mystery until you received it (or looked it up online), but the sequel is surprisingly transparent. The Corpus, DS2's in-game guide, plainly states what gear is left to unlock from each contact. Just open the menu from Sam's Ring terminal, select the Corpus from the left d-pad menu, tab over to "Databank" and find the bio for the character in question.
Scroll down to the bottom of the bio and you'll find a not-so-vague hint at what gear the character has to offer. For instance, here's what my Corpus says about Alex Weatherstone, an early contact on the Mexico map:
"Continue to develop your connection level with him and his facility and you might receive…a component for increasing the tri-curiser's defense."
For the record, "might" means "absolutely will." It's just a matter of completing orders, retrieving lost cargo, and racking up those S-tier ratings to increase Sam's relationship score. I noticed these messages will also update if you've unlocked some of a character's gear, but not all of it. I've unlocked three items from The Lone Commander, for example, but his bio still lists one more I haven't earned yet.
If you are out of gear unlocks with a character—which will usually happen even before you've reached a five star rating—their bio will say you'll next receive "the ultimate showing of their gratitude."
Of course, you can only use the Corpus to peer into the unlocks of characters you've met, so you can't see everything about the future. Thanks to the helpful tips, I realized I overlooked an opportunity to get my favorite returning item from Death Stranding 1—if you love the Sticky Gun as much as I do, head back to Mexico and deliver some orders for The Bokka.
A few other early contacts and what they unlock:
- Old Oz: Backpack ammo pouches
- Alex Weatherstone: Tri-cruiser attachments
- The Artist: Customization colors
- Norberto Puente: An automatic handgun
- Animal Shelter staff: Hologrenades for distracting enemies
I like how these disclosures are handled. They're a little too spoilery for me, but I reckon that's why Kojima Productions tucked them into the bottom of character bios. Most of the time, I'm happy to take random orders and be surprised by new unlocks, but I'm glad I read up on that Sticky Gun unlock, because there's no way I would've gone back to the Mexico map to find out naturally.
As we await Death Stranding 2's inevitable PC port, check out Wes' impressions after dozens of hours with the PS5 version, and my favorite quality-of-life features as a DS1 diehard(man).
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