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LTTP: Finally playing Death Stranding

Sleepwalker

Member
I've tried to play DS many times since release. I always loved the atmosphere, the characters and the premise but could never really sit down to finish it.

This time I'm actually making some real progress it feels like. I just got to mountain knot city for the first time and I'm wondering what should I be doing? Ive mostly skipped all side deliveres and activities so far, the UI is a mess so I never bothered to learn too much about the game systems.

But now the terrain and deliveries are getting more difficult and Ive no clue what to do.

Any pointers? So far I've mostly relied on online structures and vehicles people leave stranded or in garages.

Would also like to know how far along am I in the story, no spoilers tho!
 

Three

Member
Which deliveries?

For most I built a zipline network that meant I avoided all the terrain and zipped around with a floating cargo carrier. For large deliveries roads usually work. For recovery from mule camps, clear the camp first before taking the order.
 
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Sleepwalker

Member
Which deliveries?

For most I built a zipline network that meant I avoided all the terrain and zipped around with a cargo carrier. For large deliveries roads usually work. For recovery from mule camps, clear the camp first before taking the order.


Ive mostly been struggling with the rocky terrain near mountain knot because I dont have it on the network yet, I cant place generators so I cant use the truck. Its also full of mules and BTs.

I havent really bothered with any side deliveries so I guess im also missing equipment upgrades.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Use support skeletons like all-terrain skeleton. Level it at prepper who has it.
Use vehicles.
Take your time. It's ok to attach a train of cargo and just walk
 

Three

Member
Ive mostly been struggling with the rocky terrain near mountain knot because I dont have it on the network yet, I cant place generators so I cant use the truck. Its also full of mules and BTs.

I havent really bothered with any side deliveries so I guess im also missing equipment upgrades.
Mountain knot is initially difficult but you can build a road that leads up most of the mountain before it comes on to the network then go off road in the snow for the rest of the journey to mountain knot. Make sure your truck is
the level 3 truck which has more power
that helps a lot
if the regular level 1 is running out quickly
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Mountain knot is initially difficult but you can build a road that leads up most of the mountain before it comes on to the network then go off road in the snow for the rest of the journey to mountain knot. Make sure your truck is
the level 3 truck which has more power
that helps a lot
if the regular level 1 is running out quickly

Thank you, ill take a look!

Are there any side missions or deliveries I should take my time to go out and do?

As I mentioned before ive only been doing the story missions in the orders for Sam tab.
 

Three

Member
I'm in the same boat, and I'm starting it this weekend.

Anyone with the platinum who has any advice would be appreciated.
I've platinumed it. It doesn't require the hardest deliveries to be completed so it won't help with those which require specific strategies. My advice would be to make the special bridge links (forgot what they're called) with good likeminded players. I built a road network before doing anything else but keep in mind that they require maintenance too so make good use of them while building them. I've found the quickest way to get materials is to finish a ranked event in the top 1% but this may be difficult for most people. You can also use autonomous bots to complete material deliveries to locations then claim the materials. At the beginning material weren't even a mechanic you need to bother with or understand but they become more important later.
 

TexMex

Member
I've platinumed it. It doesn't require the hardest deliveries to be completed so it won't help with those which require specific strategies. My advice would be to make the special bridge links (forgot what they're called) with good likeminded players. I built a road network before doing anything else but keep in mind that they require maintenance too so make good use of them while building them. I've found the quickest way to get materials is to finish a ranked event in the top 1% but this may be difficult for most people. You can also use autonomous bots to complete material deliveries to locations then claim the materials. At the beginning material weren't even a mechanic you need to bother with or understand but they become more important later.

Good stuff thank you. Anything missable that I can lock myself out of that you recall?
 

Three

Member
Thank you, ill take a look!

Are there any side missions or deliveries I should take my time to go out and do?

As I mentioned before ive only been doing the story missions in the orders for Sam tab.
There are a few very useful items that I think are linked to side missions but they're not a "must have" depending on your play style. One of them is the item:
gravity glove
which makes some missions a lot easier. Defeating and clearing areas from BTs is also a lot simpler with this grenade
Custom Hermetic Grenades.
which you get for doing missions at max connection for
Herman Hulst
. If you've met the chiral artist and maxed her connection her gift items
chiral boots
are also very good.
 
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Three

Member
Good stuff thank you. Anything missable that I can lock myself out of that you recall?
I don't think anything is missable in the game. All deliveries are redoable. Just note that one of the trophies requires you complete a set number of premium deliveries at a given difficulty level so if you don't want to repeat the same deliveries play on the harder difficulty from the beginning. You can always change difficulty midgame though if you don't mind redoing some of them at a greater difficulty just for the trophy.
 
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Watching previously barren land become filled with highways, ziplines, structures, and signs from other players is a really cool experience. I hope the second game really expands on this by allowing players to build larger structures and networks that completely alter the landscape, almost like cities.

Thank you Steph, btw you were shit last night and ruined my nba bet.
Yeah I need Draymond to come back so he can slap me around a bit and wake me up.
 
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Kerotan

Member
I'm in the same boat, and I'm starting it this weekend.

Anyone with the platinum who has any advice would be appreciated.
Yeah level up the stations as you go along. Don't just do the main station. Otherwise you'll have an insane grind. Also try do as many S rank deliveries mid way through as possible. Can't remember how you activate them so just Google. Great game.
 

KiteGr

Member
  • I build zip lines on mountain tops. They are visible from anywhere.
  • Doing side deliveries and upping the reputation with each recipient will give you access to updated equipment.
  • I Also build the roads. They make everything more convenient.
  • Playing online is super useful. Like the players who know where to place their stuff to see them more often. Lock the ones that seem well placed on the map. Tools by other players don't eat bandwidth.
  • There are a few hidden clients you activate by sending them their lost targo.
 
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It was a really hard game for me to like the first 3 attempts I made at playing it. I liked so much about it, but it just out-Kojima'd itself for me pretty quickly. Then I tried the last attempt and just took the game at a slower pace and it really became kinda therapeutic in a way. I really enjoyed setting up traveling paths with the ropes and ziplines and navigating the later game landscapes. I really started looking forward to just walking and navigating the environment and taking in the landscape. It's very relaxing almost.

But I don't think you're gonna be able to last much longer if you are gonna ignore too much and not lose yourself to the insane/dumb ass story either. To me, that game is either "All or nothing" kind of thing.


Stick with it if you can.
Mel B Good Luck GIF by America's Got Talent


It builds and gets really cool. But damn, thinking of how long some of those cutscenes are....

giphy.gif
 
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As the poster said above, it just becomes a very therapeutic game. Even on the hardest difficulty, it is not particularly challenging, it just takes a little while to get used to the games mechanics. Pretty much the entire playthrough, I put on a podcast in the background and just mindlessly played. I didn't even attempt to follow the gibberish Kojima story. But setting up connections between regions and building up roads was very enjoyable. Easily the most unique game I have played in the past decade. Really excited what plans Kojima has for DS2 with a bigger budget and longer development time. From a gameplay perspective, he is still a visionary
 

kyussman

Member
Treat the game a bit like real life......the more effort you put in the better the rewards and easier things will get.I did all the side deliveries,upgraded my equipment,built roads and zip lines.....the last third of the game was a lot of fun cruising around the landscapes with ease when without the effort things would have been much more frustrating......you have to enjoy putting the time in though,luckily I loved it....if you're not enjoying that aspect of the game(and many didn't)it will become a drag.
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Just rolled credits. I loved it. Hopefully get news on part 2 soon.


I'd rate around 8.5-9 depending on the day, the beginning drags too much and the UI is a convoluted mess, that 1-2 punch combo is enough to turn many people away from the game as it did me years ago. Im very glad to have revisited it.


Keep on keeping on.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I just started the first game yesterday (I bought the DC on the App Store for $20 and I’m playing it on my iPhone primarily! Lmao), and I am genuinely surprised how much I like the gameplay so far. In that, I don’t hate the gameplay like I thought I absolutely would. That’s been the thing stopping me from even trying the game, because so many people called it a “walking simulator”, and while there’s some truth to that, it’s generally at least a little interesting circumnavigating around sketchy and dangerous spots.

The game runs at a reasonable 30fps with dips on an iPhone 15 Pro, which is kind of bonkers to experience honestly. It’s wild that it runs only a hair worse than a Steam Deck in such a tiny, passively cooled device. Plus the iPhone has such a gorgeous HDR screen.

And it’s a fairly locked 60fps on my M2 Max, at 4K with maxed settings. That chip is an absolute beast, but no one would ever know it since video games don’t exist on Mac. The HDR looks phenomenal on the MacBook, too. It almost makes me wish that Apple cared about gaming even the slightest damn bit. Oh well. On the downside, their MetalFX upscaler is about as good as FSR2.0, so there’s a lot of haloing around objects and fuzziness in motion, if you’re looking carefully. Not nearly as noticeable on the MacBook, but it’s VERY obvious on the iPhone.

But I digress. The gameplay is okay. It’s not great (at least not in the first few hours of the game), but it’s not bad like I thought it would be. And the story is classic Kojima bullshit, which is always a fun ride.
 
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