If you’ve spent any amount of time trekking across the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Death Stranding 2, you’ve almost certainly stumbled across the coffin board Death Stranding 2 players keep raving about in community forums. It’s not just a random throwaway item, either — used correctly, it can cut your traversal time in half, save you from deadly BT encounters, and even help you haul heavier cargo across rough terrain without breaking a sweat. I’ve put 120+ hours into the game so far, and I now never leave a distribution center without at least two of these stashed in my cargo hold, even for short delivery runs.
What Exactly Is the Coffin Board Death Stranding 2 Adds to Your Toolkit?
The coffin board is a foldable, reinforced composite board that unlocks after you complete the third main story delivery to the Mountain Knot City outpost. Its name comes from its rectangular, closed shape when folded, which bears a striking resemblance to a standard burial casket. Unlike many other late-game tools that require you to grind for rare materials or complete tedious side quests to unlock, the coffin board is available fairly early in the main story, so you can use it for most of your playthrough once you hit the 10-hour mark.
It weighs just 2.3 kg when empty, so it won’t eat into your cargo weight limit too much even if you carry multiple units. A lot of new players write it off as a silly novelty item for sliding down hills, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to its functionality. It’s designed to complement the game’s core loop of traversal and delivery, rather than replace other tools like ladders or climbing anchors, so it fits perfectly into existing loadouts without making other items obsolete.
Top Use Cases for the Coffin Board in Regular Playthroughs
I’ve tested every possible use for this item over dozens of cross-map runs, and these are the three most valuable ways to get your money’s worth out of each coffin board you craft or find:
- High-speed slope traversal: You can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h on 30+ degree slopes, no battery required, unlike the reverse trike that dies halfway up snowy mountains. You can even carry up to 150 kg of extra cargo while sliding without losing balance if you position it correctly on the front of the board. I’ve cut 40-minute hikes down 10-minute slides using this trick alone.
- BT encounter defense: If you get caught by a BT’s grab and don’t have any hematic grenades handy, slamming the unfolded coffin board into the BT’s core will stun it for 12 full seconds, giving you more than enough time to run out of the detection zone. It only takes 10% durability damage per hit, so you can use it for this 8+ times before it breaks.
- Cargo protection during falls: If you slip off a cliff or ledge, holding the unfolded coffin board under your cargo will absorb 75% of impact damage, preventing fragile medical supplies or preserved food from breaking mid-fall. I’ve saved three separate high-priority delivery runs using this trick alone.
The coffin board also works great as a makeshift shelter if you get caught in a sudden timefall storm, too — just prop it up against a rock and it will block 90% of timefall damage to your cargo while you wait for the storm to pass. So don’t write this item off as a niche traversal toy. I’ve used it to get out of more sticky situations than I can count, from sudden timefall storms that washed out my planned route to unexpected BT swarms that popped up while I was carrying a full load of rare repair parts.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using the Coffin Board
Even if you know all the best use cases, it’s easy to mess up and waste the board’s durability or break your cargo if you don’t pay attention to small details. First, never try to slide on wet grass or muddy slopes if you’re carrying more than 100 kg of cargo. The board will slip out from under you 9 times out of 10, and you’ll end up tumbling down the slope with all your gear scattered everywhere. I learned this the hard way on a run to the southern distribution center, when I lost a whole shipment of timefall-resistant cloth because I got lazy and didn’t check the ground condition first.
Next, don’t use the board to hit regular human MULEs. It will stun them, but it will also break in 2 hits, which is a huge waste of resources when you can just use a standard stun baton that doesn’t break after a few uses. Save the coffin board’s durability for BTs and traversal only, and you’ll get way more value out of each unit you craft. The coffin board is not indestructible, either — if you take a hard fall while sliding, it can crack and lose 30% of its durability in one go, so always watch for large rocks in your path when you’re sliding down a slope.
Another common mistake is trying to use the board to slide up slopes, even shallow ones. It’s only designed for downward traversal, and you’ll end up wasting energy pushing it up hill for no reason, when you could just walk or use a vehicle instead. I’ve seen new players spend 20 minutes trying to push a coffin board up a 10 degree slope, which is just a huge waste of time that could be spent finishing your delivery. Also, don’t forget to fold it back up when you’re done using it. If you leave it unfolded and try to climb a ladder or ride a vehicle, it will automatically fall off your cargo and get left behind, and you won’t notice until you’re 10 km away from where you dropped it.
How to Craft and Repair Coffin Boards for Long Runs
Crafting a coffin board is way cheaper than most players realize, and you can make one at almost any distribution center or safe house once you’ve unlocked the blueprint. You only need 15 units of chiral crystal and 20 units of metal to make one, which is less than half the resources you need to build a new reverse trike. If you’re running low on materials, you can usually find abandoned coffin boards left by other players near popular slope routes, thanks to the game’s shared world system. I always pick up any I find, even if they’re at 20% durability, because they’re still good for a few BT stuns or a single long slide down a mountain.
When it comes to repair, you can fix a damaged coffin board using 5 units of metal for every 20% durability you restore, or you can leave it in a shared safe house’s storage for 10 in-game minutes and other players will often repair it for you if they have extra resources. You don’t have to repair it fully to get use out of it, either — even a board at 30% durability will still work for sliding down slopes, as long as you don’t hit any large rocks mid-slide.
If you’re planning a multi-day run across the full map, carry 2 fully repaired coffin boards with you, and you won’t have to worry about running out mid-trip. You can also store extra boards in player-built safe houses along your route, so you always have a backup if one breaks unexpectedly. I keep at least one stashed in every safe house I come across, just in case I show up with a broken board and no materials to craft a new one.
At the end of the day, the coffin board Death Stranding 2 adds to your toolkit is one of the most underrated, versatile items in the entire game, and it’s worth taking the time to learn how to use it properly. You don’t have to be a pro player to get value out of it, either — even if you only use it for sliding down slopes to cut down on travel time, it will make every delivery run feel far less tedious. Next time you’re packing for a delivery, skip the extra unnecessary gadgets and throw a couple of these boards in your cargo hold, I promise you won’t regret it.
