Where to find the Inventor in Death Stranding 2

An isolated man known as the Inventor offers some of the best upgrades for Sam in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, but you’ll have to find him first.

The Inventor is located on an island on the far North side of the Australia Map. You gain access to it at the start of Chapter 3: Drawbridge. While it isn’t required, you can access this island as soon as you touchdown in Australia, and whether or not it’s worth it to head there immediately is up to you.

In this Death Stranding 2: On The Beach guide, we provide the fastest way to reach the Inventor, as well as a few alternatives for those who prefer to find him organically as they connect Australia to the Chiral Network.

How to reach the Inventor’s Island in Death Stranding 2

As soon as you enter Australia through the Plate Gate, you can open your map and find the Inventor’s island to the far north. It’s a fairly long walk from the Plate Gate, but it’s doable with just a bit of patience, and it doesn’t require any tools.

You will know you’re going the right way once you pass the Special Alloy Mine. Once you make it to the far north of the map, you’ll notice that while the Inventor is located on an island, there’s no bridge or road to reach it. This is the Inventor “puzzle” where you’ll have to use your ingenuity to find a way safely across the tar ocean.

The easiest way to make it across is to walk through the tar ocean using your Odradek scanner to see what is safe to step on. The yellow circles mean that you are in shallow tar, whereas the red ones mean that you can’t safely cross that part. Multiple paths from the coastline are shallow enough for you to walk on, but be sure to continue to use your scanner with L1 to make sure you don’t accidentally walk off a safe path.

You can also use a vehicle here to speed up this process, but at this point in the story, you most likely won’t have one. While using a vehicle is a faster method for crossing the tar ocean, having a vehicle would require more progression, so if you don’t have a vehicle yet, you’re better off just walking through.

Other options include using the monorail or devices that allow you to cross over water, such as the zip line or the Transponder. How you cross this tar ocean will depend on how much of Australia you’ve connected.

How to speak with the Inventor in Death Stranding 2

Making it to the island is only half of the battle. When you arrive, you may find that you can access the terminal, but no one is there to acknowledge that you’re there. The only way to get them to speak with you is to show up with a piece of cargo that needs to be delivered to them. As you play through the Australia map, you’ll come across deliveries meant for the Inventor, and you can even find some along the beach before you cross into the tar ocean.

The exact location of the cargo on the beach can vary, so if you’d rather not explore the beach looking for missing cargo, you can also play the game normally, where a settlement will eventually have deliveries for the Inventor.

It doesn’t matter what package you bring to them, as once you arrive with it, they will acknowledge you’re there to connect them to the Chiral Network. Try to get them something on your first trip to the island, and continuing to bring them cargo will increase your reputation with them. Increasing your reputation with the Inventor gives you the following rewards:

• Level 1: Otter Head
• Level 2: Stun Bomb
• Level 3: Remote Stun Bomb
• Level 4: Bola Stun Gun
• Level 5: Custom Hologram: The Inventor, Patch 63: Otter Hood

Increasing reputation to at least Level 4 is invaluable, as the Bola Stun Gun is hands down one of the best Death Stranding 2 weapons.

For more Death Stranding 2: On The Beach guides, here’s our recommendation on how to change your suit color.