If you’ve spent any time watching the latest Death Stranding 2 trailers or playtest snippets, you’ve probably spotted the strange, sleek, seemingly indestructible case slung over Sam’s back more than once. The Death Stranding 2 coffin is far more than a simple storage container for delivery cargo, though, and it ties directly to some of the game’s biggest upcoming lore reveals and gameplay overhauls. I’ve spent 12 hours with the closed playtest build of the game, and in this post, I’m breaking down everything we know so far about this iconic new piece of equipment, from its story ties to how you can use it to make your cross-country runs far less frustrating.
What the Death Stranding 2 Coffin Actually Is (Lore Breakdown)
First, let’s clear up the most common misconception floating around forums right now: this isn’t just a larger version of the first game’s BB pod. The coffin was designed to carry both live human passengers and high-priority timefall-sensitive cargo at the same time, which is a huge shift from the original game’s strict cargo separation rules. It’s tied directly to the new plot thread about resettling parts of the continental US that were previously marked as uninhabitable due to high BT density. In the playtest, I found notes scattered across the starting region that explain the coffin was co-developed by Bridges and Fragile Express to cut down on delivery times for critical medical supplies and displaced community members. You’ll also find that it has a direct connection to Sam’s newly adjusted chiral network abilities, though I won’t spoil the full story tie-in here to avoid ruining any surprise reveals. For most of the early game, you’ll only be able to use it for specific story-mandated deliveries, but you’ll unlock it for general use once you hit the third region of the map.
Core Gameplay Uses for the Coffin During Standard Deliveries
Once you unlock the coffin for free use, you’ll wonder how you ever played the game without it. It has four core functions that change how you plan every single traversal run, even if you’re just moving low-priority cargo between two nearby Knot Cities. I’ve tested every use case extensively in the playtest, and these are the most reliable uses to prioritize first:
- BT resistance for high-risk zones: The coffin’s chiral plating repels low-level BTs entirely, so you won’t get dragged into a boss fight if you brush up against a small group while carrying it. This cuts down on repair costs for your other gear by almost 60% in my testing, since you don’t have to use hematic grenades nearly as often.
- Timefall damage protection: Any cargo stored inside the coffin takes zero timefall damage, even if you’re caught in a storm for 20 minutes straight. You don’t have to stop to set up a shelter or waste resources on timefall-resistant covers for your most valuable loads anymore.
- Emergency trauma care: If you take a bad fall or get hit by a MULE attack, the coffin will automatically dispense first aid supplies if you have them stored inside, cutting your recovery time in half. It can also revive an unconscious delivery partner if you’re playing co-op, which is a game-changer for multiplayer runs.
- Extra cargo capacity: The coffin adds 12 extra large cargo slots to your loadout, which is double the capacity of the largest standard backpack upgrade you can get in the early game. You’ll be able to finish far more delivery requests in a single run, which speeds up your chiral network progression significantly.
That said, it’s not all positives. The coffin adds 15kg of base weight to your load even when it’s empty, so you’ll have to adjust your loadout accordingly if you’re planning to traverse steep mountain terrain. I’d recommend pairing it with the upgraded power skeleton once you unlock it to offset the extra weight.
Hidden Coffin Mechanics Most Players Miss
After messing around with the coffin for hours outside of story missions, I found a handful of hidden mechanics that aren’t explained anywhere in the in-game tutorial. These small tricks will make your runs even easier if you take the time to learn them. First, you can use the coffin as a temporary shelter if you get caught in a voidout blast radius – just crouch behind it and you’ll take almost no damage, even if the explosion is only a few meters away. I tested this by accident when I triggered a BT boss fight I wasn’t prepared for, and it saved me from losing a full load of high-priority medical cargo. Another hidden trick is that you can attach small solar panels to the top of the coffin to charge your chiral equipment while you walk, so you don’t have to stop at charging stations as often. The only catch is that the solar panels will break if you take a hard fall, so you have to be extra careful when navigating rocky terrain. You can also use the coffin as a makeshift bridge across small gaps or shallow rivers if you don’t have a ladder handy, though it will take a small amount of damage every time you do this, so I don’t recommend making a habit of it.
Tips for Using the Coffin Effectively in Co-Op Play
The coffin is even more useful when you’re playing with friends, and it has a few co-op specific functions that aren’t available in single-player mode. If one player in your party is carrying the coffin, all other players in your group get a 20% BT resistance buff as long as they stay within 10 meters of the carrier. This makes group runs through high-risk BT zones almost trivial, even if you’re all carrying fragile cargo. You can also store shared cargo for other players inside the coffin if you’re running a public delivery run, and any cargo you leave inside will stay there even if you log out of the game, so other players can pick it up and finish the delivery for you if you get stuck. One thing to watch out for, though, is that MULEs will prioritize attacking the player carrying the coffin over any other player in your group, so make sure the carrier is equipped with a good stun baton and extra hematic ammo before you head into MULE territory. I learned this the hard way when my group tried to run through a MULE camp early on, and they swarmed me the second they saw the coffin on my back, leading to us losing half our cargo before we could fight them off.
At the end of the day, the Death Stranding 2 coffin is one of the most impactful new additions to the game, and it changes both the story and core gameplay loop in really fun, unexpected ways. It has a few small downsides to work around, but the benefits far outweigh the extra weight and minor drawbacks for almost every playstyle. Whether you’re a casual player who just wants to get through the story without dealing with constant BT attacks, or a hardcore delivery fan who wants to set speedrun records for cross-map runs, you’ll get a ton of use out of this piece of equipment as soon as you unlock it. Don’t sleep on testing its hidden mechanics either – I’m still finding new little tricks for it every time I boot up the playtest build.
