Death Stranding 2 has made it way harder to kill people than the original game now that guns shoot non-lethal rounds, but players have discovered a "hidden mechanic" that allows you to use lethal rounds on your guns.
Spoilers to a storyline featuring a minor character in Death Stranding 2 follow.
Death Stranding's world actively discourages killing. If a dead body is left too long, it can trigger a voidout, which has the capacity to completely level cities off the map. In the first game, you would need to take these bodies to a designated furnace to burn them, which has been made easier in Death Stranding 2, as certain outposts have their own furnaces… but it's extremely hard to actually kill anyone in the first place due to weapons shooting non-lethal rounds.
Turns out there's a secret way to use guns to kill enemies in the game, however. On Death Stranding's in-game social media, a user ponders how brigands are able to kill people with their weapons, but shortly after, when you connect the Pizza Chef to the Chiral Network, he sends an interesting message. "Here's a special code for a 'free pizza': hold right to open up the weapons menu then hold L2 R2 and Circle at the same time." Once you do that, you receive a notification stating, "Live fire mode is now active."
There’s a completely hidden mechanic in Death Stranding 2:Only hinted at by one message in the SSS, if you open the weapon wheel, highlight your guns and hold L2 + R2 + O, it will activate live fire mode allowing you to actually take out enemies permanently. pic.twitter.com/Ot4bC9VqXLJuly 2, 2025
Once you deliver the Pizza Misanga item to the Pizza Chef, you discover that ghost mechs have invaded his outpost, and you'll gain access to his Pizza-Do Karate skills. Presumably, this means it was actually the enemy factions that shared the secret to lethal weapons with Sam, based on the previous SSS notice. But now, if you have an insatiable bloodlust, you can kill enemies in Death Stranding 2, if you please; just remember to dispose of the bodies properly, otherwise you'll be dealing with huge craters in the map.
If you're still not sold, check out our Death Stranding 2 review, or feel free to check out our guide to Death Stranding 2's ending explained.
