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The mountains in the later parts of Death Stranding 2 are incredibly hazardous locations that make traversal very, very difficult — the whiteout conditions aren’t the worst thing, either. The biggest problems in the white mountain region are your stamina and oxygen levels. The cold weather drains your stamina faster and the low-oxygen levels at high-altitude will cause Sam to pass out.
To help you survive, we’re going to cover some of the gear you’ll need to climb mountains and stay alive. We’ll split this guide into two sections — gear for Sam to equip to move around mountains more safely, and tools you’ll need to unlock to traverse the mountains faster. After completing the episode, you’ll even unlock a new piece of customization that makes mountain travel 1000% easier. But before then, you’ll need these items.
Gear For Sam
There are various pieces of gear that Sam will need to survive in the mountain regions of Australia. Some of these are so essential, you’ll want to level up the locations to earn them ASAP.
Bokka Skeleton: The Bokka Skeleton is unlocked after adding East Fort Knot to the Chiral Network — so it can’t be missed. This suit is essential for traversing the mountains. It allows you to carry more gear and gives you additional stability while climbing steep ledges.
Solar Generator: Backpack customization unlocked by reaching 2 Stars at Rainbow Valley. This incredibly useful accessory recharges Sam’s battery pack — you’ll need it for the mountains to keep the Bokka Skeleton and more gear fully charged on long treks.
- [Optional] Camel Hood: Custom hat unlocked by reaching 2 Stars at the Pioneer — an optional bunker in the desert north of the Weapons Factory and west of the Motherhood. This hood contains an additional +1000 water, basically serving as a second canteen. Incredibly useful when you run out of water on long treks in the mountains.
Absolute Boots: The best boots in the game are unlocked by earning 2 Stars at the F5 East Distribution Center. These boots have the best traction and a huge condition bar so it takes a very long time for them to break. They’re useful for every situation. Earn them by completing the Sub Order at F5.
- [Optional] Climbing Power Gloves: Useful gloves for carrying gear or climbing mountains, the Climbing Power Gloves Lv. 1 are unlocked by reaching 2 Stars at the Adventurer. You must rescue the lost adventurer in a sub order to progress up to 2 Stars. The gloves allow you to collect cargo at medium-range.
Oxygen Mask: The Oxygen Mask is unlocked by linking the Eastern Environmental Observatory to the Chiral Network. This powerful tool allows Sam to breathe in high-altitude areas without losing oxygen. It costs battery when used, so you’ll have even more reason to wear a Solar Generator.
Thermal Pad: Unlocked by reaching 2 Stars at the Adventurer. You’ll need to rescue the Adventurer through a Sub Order for a second time to unlock this powerful reward. It generates heat when placed on a suit anchor point at the cost of battery power. It prevents the effects of cold weather.
Tools For Traversal
Traversing the snowy mountains is tricky and almost impossible with vehicles at the start of your journey. To get around quicker, you’ll want to stock up with these various tools.
PCC Lv. 2: The PCC Lv. 2 is unlocked automatically as you progress, but you’ll want to bring at least a few on every journey simply to place Zip-Lines and the Cargo Launcher.
Zip-Lines: Zip-Lines can be used to connect a grid of pathways that essentially let you skip from one location to another. At the starting upgrade level, Zip-Lines are connected at about 350m.
- Press [Square / Triangle] when placing a Zip-Line to adjust the arc of the line. You can use this to arc around hills and peaks to more easily connect multiple Zip-Lines together.
Cargo Launcher: The Cargo Launcher becomes much more useful for traversal after you unlock the Aeronautical Engineer. Once you link them to the Chiral Network, the engineer adds the ability to climb into the launcher and launch yourself out of it. You can aim for far-off areas and then glide down to the ground safely in the launcher pod.
Spiked Tires For Slopes: The ultimate traversal tool for crossing mountains, Spiked Tires are a customization option for the Pickup Off-Roader truck that give it enough traction to cross any mountain peak. Basically, once this is unlocked, Sam can freely drive through the mountains instead of walking or using zip-lines. Unfortunately, it can only be unlocked after finishing the main story on the mountain and travelling to the south Australia coast.
- Connect South Fort Knot to the Chiral Network to unlock Spiked Tires for Slopes. Use the Garage and add tires — the spiked tires activate automatically on steep slopes to make climbing them much easier.
And that’s everything you need to survive in the harshest climate of Death Stranding 2.
