Players are going to be walking a lot in Hideo Kojima’sDeath Stranding. A whole lot. Most of the gameplay, in fact, involves walking. Especially in the early hours ofDeath Stranding, when players haven’t unlocked the bike or the ability to fast travel to major locations, most players' time will be spent wandering around the vast stretches of nature thatDeath Strandinghas to offer.
So where does that leave poor Sam Porter Bridges? He’s got to be tuckered out and worn down by those long treks, withonly product placed Monster Energycoursing through his veins to keep him going. Now just imagine what his boots look like. Thankfully,Death Strandingallows players to change out Sam’s boots so he’s not walking around with tattered rubber and cloth clinging to his feet.
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How Boot Degradation Works
Like most pieces of equipment or vehicles inDeath Stranding, Sam’s boots will degrade or get damaged over time. The green bar at the bottom left of the HUD next to the boot icon will show players just how much Sam’s boots have worn down.
A number of factors can impact how fast Sam’s boots get worn down. His movement speed, the terrain he’s crossing, and sprinting can influence the rate his boots degrade. However, while in certain areas like delivery terminals, Sam’s boots won’t degrade. Additionally,Death Stranding’s fast-travelis a great way to keep Sam from wearing down his boots.
How to Change Boots
Though there are many pieces of equipment and vehicles thatSam can repair inDeath Stranding, players can’t outright repair Sam’s boots. To get Sam a fresh pair of footwear, players will have to craft him an entirely new pair from scratch. Which makes far more sense than just repairing the same dirty shoes every 100 miles or so.
Crafting brand new boots is pretty easy, too. Nearly any safe house has the necessary materials to craft a new pair of boots. Simply find one, activate the terminal, enter the crafting menus, and craft a new pair of boots for Sam. After that, it’s simply a matter of going into the inventory menu and equipping there, or from the sub-menu which can be accessed by holding up on the d-pad.
Additionally, there are a few tricks you can use to make do on the fly when Sam’s boots are too damaged. The conveniently named Sandalweed plant is common enough in the overworld to make for a temporary patch job. Players can also find fresh boots at MULE camps, although there’s a good chance players will also find MULE’s there who won’t be too happy to see Sam. Fortunately, MULE’s don’t pose too much of a threat, especially if Sam is equipped with one of thevarious firearms in the game.
Death Strandingis now available for PS4, and will be available for PC in Summer 2020.
