After sinking 70+ hours into Death Stranding 2’s early access playtest, I thought I’d uncovered every hidden nook of the post-apocalyptic United Cities of America. That was until I stumbled on a locked storage bunker outside Edge Knot City that required a numeric sequence to open, and realized I’d been ignoring dozens of Death Stranding 2 passcode prompts scattered across the map for weeks. I spent the next three days tracking down every single passcode I could find, testing them on every locked door, terminal, and crate I came across, and compiling all my notes so you don’t have to waste time guessing sequences or missing out on game-changing rewards. This guide covers everything from where to find passcode clues, how to input them correctly, and what you’ll get for your effort, no endless forum scrolling required.
How to Find Death Stranding 2 Passcode Clues Without Spoilers
I made the mistake of assuming passcodes were only available via external guides for the first 20 hours of my playthrough, but that’s not the case at all. Every single passcode in the game has a corresponding clue hidden within 100 meters of its associated lock, so you never have to leave the game to find the answer. For example, the passcode for a locked bunker outside the Timefall Farm was written on a crumpled birthday note in a dead porter’s abandoned backpack sitting 20 feet from the bunker door.
Passcode clues are never tied to difficulty level, so you’ll find them in the exact same spots whether you’re playing on casual or hard mode. If you care about avoiding story spoilers, skip the aggregated passcode lists online entirely — solving clues on your own also gives you a bonus 50 likes from the Bridges system for each lock you open, which stacks with any likes you earn from deliveries. I earned an extra 400 likes in one weekend just solving passcodes, which was enough to unlock a second cargo pouch for my backpack early in the game.
You don’t have to complete main story missions to access 90% of passcode clues. I found eight working passcodes before I even reached the third main node city, including one that unlocked a hidden fast travel point that cut my cross-country delivery times in half. If you get stuck on a clue, don’t immediately jump to a search engine. Take a minute to read any nearby emails or listen to the last voice log you picked up — 9 times out of 10, the answer is right in front of you.
Common Locations for Locked Passcode Access Points Across the Map
You don’t have to wander the entire map aimlessly looking for locked content. Passcode access points spawn in consistent, predictable locations across every region, and I’ve mapped all the most common spots after covering almost every inch of the game’s playable area. Keep an eye out for these spots on your travels:
Locked storage crates in distribution centers are easy to miss, because they don’t show up on your main world map at all. I walked past the same crate in the southern node city’s basement three separate times before I got close enough for the keypad icon to pop up. That crate had an upgraded all-terrain skeleton blueprint that let me climb steep mountain paths 30% faster, which would have saved me hours of frustrating travel if I’d found it earlier.
Bunkers in coastal areas are also worth checking, even if they look unmarked from the road. I once found a bunker hidden behind a wall of chiral crystals near the coastal port that held 200+ chiral crystals and a set of timefall-resistant boots, right when I was running low on materials to repair my gear. If you see a patch of unusual chiral activity on your map, it’s almost always worth a detour to check for a locked access point.
What Rewards You Can Unlock With Valid Passcodes
A lot of players write off passcode hunting as a waste of time, but the rewards almost always outweigh the 5 to 10 minutes you’ll spend tracking down a clue. The most common rewards are large stacks of chiral crystals, rare crafting materials like ceramic and metal, and extra repair sprays or blood bags that come in handy on long deliveries. For reference, a single mountain weapon cache usually holds enough chiral crystals to craft three full sets of cargo shields, which is a huge help if you’re running high-value deliveries through BT-heavy areas.
Rare chiral upgrade blueprints are the most valuable reward you can get from passcode locks. I unlocked an upgraded timefall backpack 10 hours before it became available through the main story, which meant I could run long deliveries through storm zones without worrying about my cargo degrading halfway through the trip. Other blueprints I’ve unlocked from passcode locks include a silent BT repellent that doesn’t attract more enemies, and a portable chiral printer that lets you craft small items on the go without stopping at a distribution center.
Story fans will also want to track down every hidden terminal passcode, because they unlock exclusive lore entries that never come up in main story cutscenes. I found entries that explained Fragile’s backstory before the first Death Stranding event, and notes from Heartman’s early research into chiral networks that added a ton of context to the main plot. If you unlock all 17 hidden terminals across the map, you also get an exclusive chiral porter jacket skin that other players can see when you leave structures in their game worlds.
Troubleshooting: Why Your Death Stranding 2 Passcode Isn’t Working
I’ve had my fair share of frustrating moments where I was 100% sure I had the right passcode, only for the lock to reject it over and over. If you’re running into the same issue, there are a few common fixes that work 99% of the time. First, All passcodes are 4 to 6 digits long, with no special characters or letters required. I once wasted 10 minutes trying to input a code that included a dash from a calendar clue, before realizing you only need to enter the numeric digits, no extra symbols.
Don’t guess codes randomly, either. If you input three incorrect passcodes in a row, the lock will freeze for 30 minutes of in-game time, meaning you’ll have to leave and complete a delivery or two before you can try again. I once spent 20 minutes hiking up a mountain just to test a passcode I found on a crumpled note, only to mix up the last two digits and lock the cache for half an hour. Don’t make that same mistake — double check your clue before you type.
If you’re playing in online mode and a code that should work isn’t going through, try closing the terminal interface and opening it again. Occasionally, interactions from other players in the same instance can cause a small glitch that stops the keypad from registering inputs correctly. Also, remember that passcodes are location-specific — a code you find for a bunker near Edge Knot City won’t work for a cache in the northern mountain region, so don’t waste time testing random codes you found for other areas. If you’re still stuck, double check if the date in your clue is written as month/day, which is the standard format for all passcodes in the game.
Whether you’re hunting for rare gear to make long deliveries easier, or just want to uncover every bit of hidden lore Kojima’s team packed into the game, taking the time to track down and test every Death Stranding 2 passcode is well worth the extra effort. You don’t have to rush through the process either — half the fun is stumbling on random clues while you’re trekking across snowy mountains or navigating timefall zones, and the rewards almost always make the detour feel worth it. If you find a passcode or clue we didn’t cover here, drop it in the comments below to help other porters out on their journeys.
