death stranding 2: on the beach focuses on the connections that bind us, both through its storyline and gameplay mechanics, but that hasn’t stopped some players from being hilariously antisocial in their creation of speed boost traps. possible spoilers ahead.
in addition to sharing buildings and cargo, death stranding 2 players can leave a variety of signs throughout the world to communicate with fellow porters. some simply convey camaraderie through smiley faces and hearts, while others are used to point towards important landmarks or secrets. the “speed up” sign, however, is a little different in that it causes vehicles to speed boost when driven through. most of the time, the effects of speed up signs are negligible, but a handful of deviants are using them to purposefully endanger other folks’ deliveries.
“i’ve seen some folks putting up speed boost signs down in places that can really screw over a delivery,” a reddit thread posted to r/deathstranding warned shortly after death stranding 2‘s release. “we’re talking directly in the path of giant rocks, cliff drops, etc. be safe out there porters, we’ve got some saboteurs in our ranks! keep on, keeping on.”
it didn’t take long for death stranding 2 players to start sharing footage of these traps. “i swear these signs are a hazard,” one complained recently, accompanied by a gameplay video showing their close call with a couple of NPCs. “holy sh*t bro, i was this close to run over a fellow porter.”
another explained their “breaking point for hating signs in death stranding 2.”
“i was so busy focused on watching my off-roader and every tiny bump (since death stranding 2 seems so much more sensitive) that i missed the ‘you got this!’ sign from my last visit being replaced by ‘speed up.’ no one needs a speed boost at the edge of a rocky drop like that. for anyone wondering, this did cost me the S+ rating, so i reloaded an earlier save.”
it’s so bad that a number of death stranding 2 players are asking for an option to disable signs altogether.
“some of you guys, a lot of you guys, you place really great signs,” one such reads. “i love the little song the cat one plays. i love the warnings. and i’ll even settle for one or two ‘keep on keeping on signs’ at a shelter. this shit has gotten out of fucking hand though. i just got to a new environmental station and there are so many signs I can’t even tell what i’m looking at. add in the griefers that place boost signs where they know it will screw over people with fragile cargo, i’m done with it. please tell me there is a way to just disable signs.”
on some level, it sucks that an experience focused on forming connections across vast distances and rebuilding the world has been overtaken by trolls. but then again, these videos are pretty hilarious, and that’s coming from someone whose also fallen victim to an unseen speed boost and watched as my cargo goes from 100% durability to flashing red and on the verge of breaking. if anything, it’s a testament to the lengths players will go to find ways to mess with each other, even in death stranding 2. godspeed griefers. everyone else… just be careful out there.
tell them i died 