If you’ve played the first Death Stranding, you know how tense it can be to round a corner only to run face-first into a BT, or get ambushed by a crew of MULEs trying to steal your cargo. The upcoming sequel is cranking up the threat level even more, and we’ve pulled together every confirmed detail about Death Stranding 2 enemies to help you prepare for your next cross-country delivery run. I’ve spent weeks going through official trailer breakdowns, developer Q&As, and verified closed playtest leaks to make sure every tip here is as accurate as possible, no fan fiction or unfounded rumors included unless explicitly noted.
Confirmed Death Stranding 2 Enemies You’ll Face Early On
Unlike the first game where most enemy types were introduced slowly over the first 10 hours, DS2 will throw multiple threat types at you as soon as you leave the starting east coast region. The dev team has stated they wanted enemies to feel like a natural part of the world, not just random spawns placed to inconvenience you, so you’ll notice different enemy types cluster in specific areas based on the environment and local lore. The four confirmed early-game enemies are:
- Standard Terrestrial BTs: Returning from the first game, with updated movement patterns that let them climb steep cliffs and sneak up on porters from above, instead of only being stuck on flat ground
- Aquatic BTs: New water-dwelling variants that lurk in rivers and coastal areas, making shoreline deliveries far riskier than before, especially when you’re carrying heavy cargo that slows you down in the water
- Evolved MULEs: Former porter extremists now equipped with non-lethal energy weapons and modified delivery exoskeletons that let them chase you for miles without tiring, and steal cargo off your back mid-run
- Rogue Autonomous Units: Abandoned delivery robots that have glitched to attack any porter carrying high-value cargo, and can’t be reasoned with like human MULEs can
One key detail playtesters have confirmed is that you won’t be able to use standard hematic grenades against aquatic BTs, since the blood gets diluted in the water before it can reach the enemy. We’ll break down what works against each enemy type next, so you don’t waste valuable resources on useless attacks. You’ll also run into rogue porter cells later in the game, which are far more violent than MULEs and will use lethal weapons if you trespass on their territory, so it’s best to avoid their camps entirely unless you have a specific delivery that requires you to go near them.
Key Weaknesses for Every Enemy Type
Every enemy in DS2 has a specific weakness you can exploit to end fights fast, or avoid them entirely, and you don’t need to waste rare lethal ammunition to take most of them down. Learning these weaknesses early will save you a ton of time, cargo damage, and chiralium exposure, which has far harsher side effects in the sequel than it did in the first game.
For standard terrestrial BTs, hematic grenades still work, but blood-infused rope traps are way more effective if you want to avoid a voidout entirely. You can set these traps up along your route before you enter a BT-infested area, and any BT that steps on them will be trapped for long enough for you to sneak past without alerting the rest of the hive. For aquatic BTs, you’ll need to craft specialized electric harpoons that stun them for 30 seconds, which is just enough time for you to swim to shore or navigate past their spawn point. If you get pulled under by one, you only have 10 seconds to hit it with a harpoon before you lose all your cargo and respawn at the last safe house.
Evolved MULEs have a very obvious weak spot on the back of their exoskeleton’s neck, and a single non-lethal tranquilizer shot to that spot will take them down instantly, no need for a prolonged fight. If you do end up fighting a whole group of MULEs, aim for their cargo scanners first — disabling those will make it harder for them to track you if you run. Rogue autonomous units are the easiest to deal with: a single EMP grenade will disable them for two full minutes, which is more than enough time to grab any cargo they’ve stolen and get out of the area. Lethal weapons work on them too, but they’re loud and will attract nearby BTs, so EMPs are almost always the better choice.
Combat Tips to Avoid Unnecessary Fights
It’s worth repeating that Death Stranding 2 is not a shooter, and fighting enemies should always be your last resort, not your first plan. Even a small scuffle with a single MULE can damage fragile cargo, raise your chiralium exposure, and waste valuable resources you could use for deliveries or upgrading your gear. There are tons of ways to avoid fights entirely if you plan your route ahead of time.
Your odradek now has a silent alert mode you can toggle on in the settings, which vibrates instead of beeping when enemies are nearby, so you don’t give away your position to MULEs or sensitive BTs. You can also upgrade your terrain scanner early in the game to show enemy spawn points 300 meters away, so you can plot a detour around infested areas before you get close enough to be spotted. If you’re carrying high-priority or fragile cargo, it’s almost always worth adding an extra 10 or 15 minutes to your route to avoid enemy territory, even if the direct path is shorter.
One new mechanic that a lot of players don’t know about is that you can leave small gifts for MULE camps to get them to leave you alone for a few in-game days. Drop a case of energy drinks, a few lost cargo items addressed to people in their area, or some extra repair spray outside their camp, and they’ll mark you as friendly until their next supply run. This doesn’t work on rogue porter cells, but it works on every standard MULE camp in the game, and it’s way cheaper than wasting ammo fighting them. If you’re playing multiplayer, you can also leave warning markers for other players when you spot an unmarked enemy camp, and they’ll do the same for you, which saves everyone a ton of hassle.
Unconfirmed Enemy Rumors Worth Keeping On Your Radar
Most of the details we’ve covered so far are confirmed by official sources or playtesters, but there are a few unconfirmed rumors floating around that are worth knowing about, even if you shouldn’t plan your playstyle around them yet. Hideo Kojima and the development team have been very secretive about late-game enemies, so a lot of these leaks come from closed playtest participants who are under NDA, so take them with a grain of salt.
The biggest rumor is that there’s a massive, mountain-sized BT that roams the central UCA region, and it can alter the terrain around it as it moves, creating new cliffs, rivers, and even BT infestations out of nowhere. Playtesters say this BT is completely unkillable, and if you spot it, your only option is to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction, because it can track you for miles if you get too close. Developer Kojima has teased that some enemies will be completely unkillable, so this rumor lines up with what we’ve heard officially, even if we don’t have concrete proof yet.
Another popular rumor is that there will be human antagonists who can control BTs, using them to attack UCA settlements and steal high-value chiralium shipments. If this is true, it would mean some late-game areas have both BTs and armed human enemies to deal with at the same time, which would make deliveries far more challenging. There’s also a small chance we’ll see friendly BTs that help you deliver cargo or fight off other enemies, but that’s one of the more unsubstantiated rumors right now, so don’t count on it being in the final game.
Whether you’re a returning porter who’s already delivered every possible package in the first game, or a new player getting ready to jump into Kojima’s weird, wonderful post-apocalyptic world for the first time, knowing all the Death Stranding 2 enemies and how to handle them will make your runs far smoother. Don’t get too focused on fighting every threat you see, either — sometimes taking an extra 10 minutes to go around a MULE camp or a BT-infested valley is way better than losing hours of progress on a high-priority delivery. We’ll update this guide as soon as more official details drop, so you’ll be fully prepped the second the game is available to play.
