Death Stranding 2 — Best Early APAS Enhancements (By Porter Grade Level)

What to unlock first for delivery, stealth, and combat—plus the fastest routes to farm Porter Grade in Mexico and Australia.

If you only remember one thing about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, make it this: APAS Enhancements (the Automated Porter Assistant System) are your true build system, and they unlock off your Porter Grade—not from arbitrary XP bars. You gain access to APAS after progressing the story into Australia (Order No. 009), and from there every delivery, sneaky infiltration, and fight nudges open different parts of the APAS grid.

Below you’ll find a grade-by-grade roadmap for the best early-game APAS picks for delivery, stealth, and combat, followed by quick farming routes to raise each grade fast.

How APAS & Porter Grade actually work (30‑second refresher)

• When APAS unlocks. You unlock the APAS Enhancement grid in Australia a few hours in, around Order No. 009: Deliver the Chiral Decontaminator to the Government’s Base.
• Five Grade tracks. Your Porter Grade has five separate stats—Porter, Combat, Stealth, Servicemanship, Bridge Link—and the actions you take during orders raise each one differently.
• Memory (skill points). You equip APAS nodes with APAS Memory. You increase your available memory by raising connection levels with facilities (the game even calls them “firmware updates” at rank ups).
• Respeccing. You can reassign APAS nodes freely while connected to the Chiral Network (i.e., in a linked region). Handy when you need to pivot from stealth to combat for a single job.

Tip: New APAS unlocks appear as your grade ticks up. Many early nodes open immediately after APAS becomes available; others require hitting specific grade thresholds (often in 5–10 level steps). Example: you can slot one Stealth enhancement by around Stealth Lv. 8, and two Servicemanship nodes around Lv. 11—so keep those grades climbing.

Best Early APAS Enhancements — by Porter Grade level

Below are the recommendations in the order most players can realistically unlock them. Where the game ties a node to a specific grade level, we note it; where it opens as soon as APAS is available, we list it under “Just unlocked.” Memory costs are included when the press listed them.

Just unlocked APAS (after Order No. 009)

These are the highest‑impact, low‑requirement picks. They’re available as soon as the grid opens and give immediate value on foot and in early skirmishes.

Delivery / Exploration (Porter & Servicemanship)

• Augmented Terrain Scanner (Porter, 40 Memory) — Doubles Odradek scan reach so you spot lost cargo and hazards farther out; a perfect “always on” delivery quality‑of‑life upgrade. Unlocks on completing Order 009.

Stealth

• Augmented Motion Scanner (Stealth, 20 Memory) — Enemies you ping stay outlined longer, making route planning in camps painless. Unlocks with APAS at Order 009.
• Simple Noise Canceller (Stealth, ~60 Memory) — Silences footsteps while crouched; bread‑and‑butter for any infiltration. Unlocks with APAS at Order 009.

Combat

• Improved MP Bullets (Combat, 40 Memory) — Accuracy/power boost for mixed‑particle ammo that works on humans and BTs alike; enormous value early. Unlocks with APAS at Order 009.

Also strong at this tier, if it shows up on your grid:
Instant Cargo Binding (Porter, 100 Memory) prevents your cargo exploding everywhere when you wipe out—great insurance on rough terrain.

Grade ~20 thresholds

Once your Porter and Servicemanship hit their early 20s, excellent foundation perks open up:

Delivery / Stability

• Skeleton Auto‑Assist (Porter, 40 Memory) — Dramatically lowers balance loss when using skeletons; a core pickup for heavy and unstable loads. Unlocks at Porter Lv. 20.

Utility

• Emergency Vehicle Charger (Servicemanship, ~90 Memory) — If your trike/truck runs dry, recharge from suit battery to limp to a generator or shelter. Unlocks around Servicemanship Lv. 20.

Stealth / Combat comfort

• Proximity Scanner (Stealth, ~50 Memory) — Shows silhouettes within ~20 m on your ping, tightening situational awareness in camps, storms, and wildlife zones.
• Aim Assistance (Combat, 80 Memory) — Reticle snaps to targets within weapon‑dependent range; a big help on controller. (Exact unlock varies; grab it when it appears.)

Grade ~30 thresholds

Picks here accelerate routes, uptime, and job throughput:

Battery / Timefall synergy

• Timefall Generator (Servicemanship, 40 Memory) — Recharges suit battery in timefall, offsetting skeleton drain during storms and long hauls. Unlocks at Servicemanship Lv. 30.

Combat pacing

• Faster Scanner Recharging (Stealth, ~40 Memory) — Shorter scan delay means more pings, more intel, and safer movement between hard cover. (Opens in early tiers for many players; if not yet, it tends to show by the 20s–30s.)

Grade ~35 thresholds

Online support / shared world

• Strand Contract Cap Boost (Bridge Link, 20 Memory) — Raises your contract limit, letting more friendly players’ structures populate your world (and vice versa). Requires APAS unlocked and Bridge Link Lv. 35; there are multiple copies of this node.

This indirectly speeds up the game: more roads, generators, ziplines, and monorails from contracted players = faster, safer delivery routes that feed back into your grades with fewer setbacks.

Grade ~40 thresholds

Throughput / grind‑buster

• Faster Order Preparation (Servicemanship, 80 Memory) — Standard orders respawn faster, giving you a steady flow of jobs to farm connection stars and APAS Memory. Unlocks at Servicemanship Lv. 40.

“If you play X, unlock Y” — quick archetypes

• Delivery‑first porter (heavy hauler, speed runs):
  1. Augmented Terrain Scanner → 2) Skeleton Auto‑Assist (Porter 20) → 3) Emergency Vehicle Charger (Svc 20) → 4) Timefall Generator (Svc 30) → 5) Faster Order Preparation (Svc 40).
• Stealth‑leaning runner (clean camps, avoid alarms):
  1. Augmented Motion Scanner → 2) Simple Noise Canceller → 3) Proximity Scanner → 4) Faster Scanner Recharging.
• Combat‑ready courier (brigands & BTs):
  1. Improved MP Bullets → 2) Aim Assistance → 3) consider Battery Efficiency Boost and Instant Cargo Binding from the Porter tree for safer gunfights with heavy loads.

Don’t sweat pathing: APAS grids show prerequisites as lines. You must take connecting nodes to reach a target node—but players report the layout can differ slightly and unlocks appear in different spots based on your personal grade spread. Treat the grid as a web, not a list.

Fastest ways to farm Porter Grade (by category)

Where your grade comes from:

• Porter → successfully delivering cargo.
• Combat → defeating enemies in open combat.
• Stealth → remaining undetected and performing stealth takedowns.
• Servicemanship → returning lost cargo and interacting with clients (liking structures, fulfilling aid requests, etc.).
• Bridge Link → likes/interaction with other players and Strand Contracts (NPC porters can contribute if you’re offline later in the story).

Below are repeatable loops that reliably pump up each track early, with named spots you’ll hit naturally as the story unfolds.

Mexico (early game) — Porter + Servicemanship farms

• C1 South Distribution Centre ↔ The Bokka circuit
  • What to do: Sweep the roads and riverbanks for lost cargo around C1 South Distribution Centre; accept short Standard Orders pointing west and south, and dump any found cargo at The Bokka. Repeat in reverse.
  • Why it works: Lost cargo turn‑ins spike Servicemanship and connection levels, which feed APAS Memory “firmware updates,” while your successful deliveries tick up Porter.
  • Layer on: As you rank up Bokka and other Mexico sites, look for early boots/skeleton unlocks to carry heavier loads safely. (Bokka is an early facility you’ll connect in Mexico.)
• Short‑haul chaining
  • What to do: Stack 2–3 nearby Standard Orders with overlapping routes; use Floating Carriers; prioritize S‑rank drops (intact, on time).
  • Why it works: You’ll rack Porter and connection gains quickly per hour and keep risk low while building APAS Memory.

Australia (mid‑early game) — Stealth + Combat farms

• Heartman’s Lab valley camp (near the Pizza Chef)
  • What to do: There’s a brigand camp in the valley between Heartman’s Lab and the Pizza Chef. Approach crouched:
    • For Stealth: Let Odradek tag enemies, avoid full combat, peel off single targets for silent takedowns, and complete an order to bank the grade increases.
    • For Combat: Let a few spot you, then pick them off one by one from grass and ridgelines.
  • Why it works: Short travel time and consistent enemy density make it easy to repeat; players report multiple Stealth levels in ~10 minutes before turn‑in.
  • Side note: Even avoiding marked combat areas without engaging still contributes to Stealth—useful if you’re rushing deliveries.

“Bridge Link” speedups (any region)

• Build communal infrastructure
  • What to do: Auto‑Pavers (roads), monorails, generators, and other shared structures in trafficked corridors; like other players’ structures generously; deliver shared cargo.
  • Why it works: Likes from other players raise Bridge Link, and your structures’ usefulness compounds as more players pass through. Consider investing in Strand Contract Cap Boost once you’re around Bridge Link Lv. 35 so more friendly worlds overlap with yours.

Resource tip: Need Chiral Crystals to fund roads and generators? You’ll earn plenty organically, but targeting BT activities and facility storage tops‑ups is efficient as you go.

An efficient first 5–8 hours APAS plan

1. Reach Australia & unlock APAS (Order 009). Immediately spend Memory on:
   • Augmented Terrain Scanner (Porter)
   • Improved MP Bullets (Combat)
   • Augmented Motion Scanner or Simple Noise Canceller (Stealth)
2. Run a Mexico → Australia loop focusing on short‑haul deliveries and lost cargo turn‑ins (Mexico) to push Porter/Servicemanship, then farm the Heartman’s valley camp (Australia) to push Stealth/Combat as needed. Bank gains by completing an order after your actions.
3. At Porter Lv. 20, grab Skeleton Auto‑Assist; at Servicemanship Lv. 20, take Emergency Vehicle Charger; at Lv. 30, Timefall Generator; around Bridge Link Lv. 35, pick Strand Contract Cap Boost; and at Servicemanship Lv. 40, snag Faster Order Preparation to accelerate the midgame.
4. Respec on demand in connected regions. Going into a stealth‑heavy camp? Slide points to Stealth nodes. About to truck through a timefall corridor? Lean into battery/timefall perks. You can always revert afterward.

FAQ

• Why does my APAS grid look different from screenshots?
  The layout and order of nodes can vary somewhat between save files, likely reflecting your grade spread and progression. Use prerequisites as a guide; aim for the same nodes, even if they’re in different spots.
• Is Bridge Link worth it if I’m mostly solo?
  Yes. Even a few Strand Contracts and popular routes covered by roads/monorails make deliveries safer and faster. Likes from other players feed back into Bridge Link and indirectly into your APAS Memory via the connection grind.
• What if I’m struggling with gunplay on controller?
  Pick Aim Assistance as soon as it appears on your grid; it adds a reticle snap within effective weapon range. Pair with Improved MP Bullets for a smooth early combat curve.

TL;DR priority list (early game)

1. Augmented Terrain Scanner → global utility for finding cargo and hazards.
2. Improved MP Bullets → combats brigands/BTs with one perk.
3. Simple Noise Canceller or Augmented Motion Scanner → stealth backbone.
4. Skeleton Auto‑Assist (Porter Lv. 20) → keeps you upright with heavy stacks.
5. Emergency Vehicle Charger (Svc 20) and Timefall Generator (Svc 30) → better uptime in storms.
6. Strand Contract Cap Boost (Bridge Link ~35) → more shared structures in your world.
7. Faster Order Preparation (Svc 40) → accelerates the entire APAS grind.