Death Stranding 2 players discover that they're being penalized for efficiency, as bulk-delivering items rewards you less than handing them in one at a time

A living puppet sits on Fragile's shoulder in a Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot — (Image credit: Kojima Productions)

Death Stranding 2 players have realized that delivering parcels one-by-one instead of in bulk is actually the optimal delivery method, even if it's a bit annoying.

Death Stranding 2 is finally out and is getting praised by fans, alongside an extremely high Metacritic score that's outdone the original game significantly. Naturally, fans are tearing apart every inch of Hideo Kojima's latest game to find every secret and every bit of tech to optimize your delivery runs, and it turns out the most effective strategy is to deliver parcels in the least efficient way possible.

Delivering parcels to a legion of shut-ins is the name of the game in Death Stranding 2, and as you deliver to each outpost, your relationship with them grows via a star rating and you are treated to more gear and goodies to use in your adventures. And like the tactical courier service you are, you'll most likely take on multiple deliveries at once to boost that relationship. Turns out that is the wrong move.

A player on the Death Stranding Reddit has figured out that delivering each separate delivery or bit of lost cargo together actually gives you less of a star upgrade than delivering each bit separately and going through the delivery cutscenes each time. The user went from two-and-a-half stars with La Madre to just under three stars when everything was delivered at once, meanwhile, delivering each bit separately pushed them to just under four stars, which is a significant increase.

PSA For cargo in DS2 and reputation from r/DeathStranding

Of course, you don't need to max out the relationships with preppers to complete the game, but you do get access to advanced tech if you do, so if you want to get some more upgrades, think about doing deliveries in the most annoying possible way. I mean think about it, would your relationship with your postman improve if he knocked on your door for every individual letter?

Be sure to check out our Death Stranding 2 review while you're here, and when you've finished the game, you can read our guide to Death Stranding 2's ending explained.

TOPICS