A large part of Death Stranding 2's gameplay revolves around managing your carrying capacity as you ferry packages from one destination to the next. As you do, you'll have to use various items to keep Sam Porter Bridges healthy and protected from BTs and human enemies he encounters along the way. While some items will simply disappear from your inventory once they're used, others will leave behind a 'used' version of themselves. While that might sound pointless, they can come in handy if you keep hold of them. Here's what to do with used items in Death Stranding 2.
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Best Use for Used Items in Death Stranding 2
While used items can just be thrown away to make room for anything else you find on your courier missions, you're best recycling them at a base using the Private Locker Management option at a terminal.
Here, you can select any item that has been marked with the red [Used] label at the beginning of its name, and then choose the 'Recycle' option at the bottom of the screen. Recycling used items will get you useful materials that can be used to fabricate other useful items for future missions. It's worth noting that it isn't just used items that can be recycled. Any item can be recycled, but some of them will still be useful compared to used items.
The following materials can be obtained from recycling items. Which ones you get depends on the item you're recycling:
- Chiral Crystals
- Resins
- Metals
- Ceramics
- Chemicals
- Special Alloys
Keep in mind that you can only have a set amount of each material at any given time. As such, sometimes it might be better to store used items that would give you a material you're already maxed out on, and use them once you've fabricated more items and depleted your supplies a bit.
What Else Can You Do with Used Items?
The only other option players have for used items is to simply discard them while they're out on a mission. Not only does this free up precious carrying capacity for anything valuable you find in the open world (or on a defeated enemy), but it also makes carrying what cargo you do have on you that little bit easier.
The lighter your load, the easier it is to maintain Sam's balance and stamina. The more Sam is carrying, the faster his shoes will wear out, too, so removing unnecessary items to lighten the load has the bonus of extending the life of his footwear that little bit longer, too.
Recycling isn't new to Death Stranding 2, but it's a very valuable mechanic that players should make the most of, so they can always fabricate whatever they might need for a mission without having to go out scavenging.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- June 26, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
