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All Death Stranding 2 best unlocks and rewards

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All the best DS2 unlocks from raising your connection level are listed here, including weapons and gear

Sam attacks a ghost mech with a ghost blade in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
(Image credit: Kojima Productions)
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The best unlocks in Death Stranding 2 are rewards you get from building up your connection level and reputation with different bunkers and preppers. As you increase the connection, measured in Stars, you'll unlock all sorts of new rewards to enhance your power and abilities in Death Stranding 2. There's plenty of places out there, optional and mandatory, where you can earn these prizes, and if you're going to try and 5-star all of them you'll be working for a long time.

The problem is that not every location offers equally good rewards, and some of them barely offer anything at all (such as if you're trying to appeal to the Parakeets in Rainy's Bunker), whereas there are great unlocks in others. Having gone through all the bunkers and got all the unlocks in Death Stranding 2, here's the best rewards for you to get yourself and where you can find them!

All best rewards and unlocks in Death Stranding 2

What follows is a list of all the best unlocks in Death Stranding 2 you can get as rewards for building their connection level, as well as how many stars you have to get and where. Most of them are found from bunkers in the middle third of the game, though not exclusively.

I’ve broken them up into reward categories and have listed them in the order in which you'll encounter the settlements you need to build the connection with, with late-game settlements coming last:

Weapons

Death Stranding 2 best unlocks

(Image credit: Sony)
  • Blood Grenade Lv2: C1 South Distribution Centre / 3 Stars
    • An enhanced version of the standard Blood Grenade, for no penalty.
  • SL-LW Tranq Sniper Rifle: Lone Commander / 5 Stars
  • LW Shotgun [MP] Lv2: The Musician / 4 Stars
  • Bola Stun Gun: The Inventor / 4 Stars
    • A stealth weapon that can incapacitate most enemies with a single shot, no matter where you hit them. If you need help, here's how to reach the Death Stranding 2 Inventor.
  • Combat Power Gloves Lvl 2: F2 South Distribution Center / 4 Stars
    • Massively increase your melee power at a minor battery cost.
  • Secrets of Pizza-Do Acrobatic Karate: Slamming: Pizza Chef / 4 Stars
  • SL-LW Assault Rifle [MP] Lv2: The Data Scientist / 4 Stars
    • A silenced AR that serves as a powerful weapon in many circumstances.
  • Improved Blood Boomerang: The Aeronautical Engineer / 2 Stars
    • A permanent, cost-free power-up for the Blood Boomerang.
  • LW Seven-Rocket Launcher: F7 North Distribution Center / 3 Stars
    • A massively destructive weapon and one of the most powerful in the game.

Equipment

Death Stranding 2 best unlocks

(Image credit: Sony)
  • Extra Battery Lv4: Heartman's Lab / 4 Stars
    • A backpack addition that grants you extra battery when equipped.
  • High-Capacity Blood Bag: The Motherhood / 3 Stars
  • Bokka Skeleton Lv3: East Fort Knot (F4) / 4 Stars
    • A skeleton that hugely boosts your ability to climb and stay upright, as well as your carrying capacity.
  • Absolute Boots: F5 East Distribution Center / 2 Stars
    • Boots that score highly in all stats with no clear downsides or weaknesses.
  • Backpack Cover Lv2: The Fisherman / 4 Stars
    • A protective seal for your backpack that protects carried cargo from certain effects.

Vehicle upgrades

Death Stranding 2 best unlocks

(Image credit: Sony)
  • Battery Unit Lv2: West Fort Knot (F1) / 4 Stars
  • Off-Roader Armor: The Mechanic / 2 stars
    • Increases the resilience of the Off-Roader.
  • Antigravity Unity (Vehicles): The Mechanic / 2 stars
    • Decreases the weight of the vehicle so contained cargo is less damaged by falls or crashes.

It goes without saying that this guide doesn't cover the default rewards that players earn through simply accessing those settlements, unless they're optional. Basically, we're ignoring any mandatory rewards you'll earn on Death Stranding 2's critical path. Almost all of these Preppers and settlement dwellers are famous faces too, so check out who’s who in the Death Stranding 2 cast list.

Need more help with the world of Sam Porter Bridges? Find out the answer to Death Stranding 2 Tomorrow's Nightmare choice, or check out our answer to the question: Do you need to play Death Stranding 1 before 2?

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

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