Heartman’s Lab Location Rewards – Death Stranding 2

About Heartman’s Lab

Administrator: Heartman

Heartman was Bridges’ leading Beach researcher and sought to unravel the mysteries of the Death Stranding while supporting Sam on his journey across North America.

Heartman lost his wife and daughter in a voidout that destroyed an entire city. He was undergoing surgery at the time, and his heart briefly stopped in the ensuing chaos. Fortunately, a defibrillator was on hand to bring him back to life.

Heartman is a DOOMS sufferer who is able to access other people’s Beaches, and has visited the Beach countless times in search of his family. This constant Beach travel has given him a ‘heart-shaped cardiomyopathy’, causing his heart to stop every 21 minutes, for a period of three minutes.

A member of Drawbridge, Heartman came to Australia ahead of the crew of the DHV Magellan as part of the APAC advance expedition.

He set up a lab in Australia, from where he has made use of his ability to access the Beach every 21 minutes to map its topography. Excessive stimulation of his heart, however, has caused it to swell, and he requires an automated external defibrillator (AED) to support his enlarged organ.

As part of a collaborative research project, Heartman also brings some water back with him every time he visits the Beach.

He seems different since the UCA was established. Has something changed? Has someone lit a fire in his heart?

There is a simple explanation for the mysterious emails that Heartman doesn’t remember sending and his new habit of sleepwalking: Heartman wasn’t writing them at all; Deadman was.

Aware that his own heart was failing, Heartman asked Deadman to lend him his heart before going to the Beach. He obliged, and Heartman hooked up the heart to his AED, ready to use as back-up. Once they were physically connected, however, Deadman discovered the heart acted as a medium through which he could possess Heartman’s body while it was in a state of cardiac arrest.

On the Beach, Deadman used the chiral network to extract data that would be impossible to come by in this world, intermittently possessing Heartman’s body to share his findings with Sam under Heartman’s name.

With Sam’s safety in mind, Deadman also altered the official records of BB-28 to make it appear as though Lou never existed.

Administrator: The Hydrologist

The Hydrologist works at Heartman’s lab. She originally studied the Earth’s water circulation processes, but after her investigations into the origins of timefall and chiral clouds revealed water was circulating between our world and the Beach, she pivoted her research to focus on these new phenomena.

The samples of Beach water that Heartman has been collecting are absolutely essential for the Hydrologist’s research.

Research into natural hot springs and their relationship to the tar is continuing apace.

Hot springs contain Beach water that circulates between our world and the Beach, and is warmed by tar currents underground. The Hydrologist’s research has further shown that hot springs appear in locations with particularly strong connections to the Beach.

The Hydrologist suffers from DOOMS, as well as a similar form of the twenty-one minute syndrome Heartman has. Rather than her heart stopping, however, her stomach seizes, causing her to vomit. Embarrassed by her condition, she likes to keep to herself.

The Hydrologist was also born with the ability to sense the tar currents and the waves on the Beach. All human beings are formed of 70% water, but the water in the Hydrologist’s body peculiarly resonates with the tar currents and Beach tides. This became more pronounced as she grew older and started to have an effect on her internal organs. This is thought to be one of the reasons for her chronic vomiting.

Every 21 minutes, Heartmanis heart stops for three minutes. The Hydrologist’s stomach operates on a similar cycle, seizing every 21 minutes and causing her to vomit for three minutes. Several other DOOMS sufferers experience a variety of symptoms on a similar 21-minute cycle. Together they have formed a community known as the 21 Minute Anxiety Association, where they meet, talk, and share their thoughts and concerns about the condition.

It was at one of these meetings that the Hydrologist and Heartman first met. They discussed their experiences and, before long, had agreed to combine their research efforts. Hot spring jumping and transponders, not to mention groundbreaking studies into Beach coordinates and the water cycle, all owe their development to that meeting.

The Hydrologist’s daughters also suffer from twenty-one-minute syndrome. Together, the family have conducted numerous investigations into the causes of the condition, and speculated it is connected to the first life-forms on Earth.

Earth’s earliest organisms were formed from various elements in the ancient oceans that steadily combined to produce complex life. One theory suggests that all living things today have some form of internal memory of that process, with the rhythms of the waves and the tides held within us, and through them, the rhythms of the Earth itself.

The Hydrologist and her daughters have posited that DOOMS sufferers are especially attuned to these rhythms.

Rewards: Heartman’s Lab

Each Knot City and Shelter has a five-star reward system, granting rewards and upgrades with every star reached. Gain more reputation by delivering goods. APAS firmware upgrades, bandwidth increases, and Material Allotment increases are granted with every star reward. Shelters additionally offer Sam a place to rest at the 5-Star level.

1-Star Reward

1 – Extra Battery Lv1

An extra battery that can be attached to your backpack to increase Sam’s total battery capacity. It is a relatively large attachment, but the bulkiness is worth it if it means you don’t run out of charge.

The Lv2 and Lv3 versions are more efficient, providing a bigger boost to battery capacity. Lv4 is the final evolution of the extra battery, and while it provides the same capacity as Lv3, it manages to do so while taking up less total space.

2 – Jump Ramp

A structure that propels you forward—and ensures your safe landing. It can be built anywhere within the chiral network using a PCC Lv2.

Use “Triangle” and “Square” to adjust the angle of the ramp during construction.

Upon passing over a jump ramp, pedestrians and vehicles will be imbued with extra buoyancy using chiral particles, allowing them to travel further through the air while neutralising the impact of their landings. Be aware that all buoyancy effects will be lost if you hit an obstacle midair, after which you will immediately start to fall.

Performing a jump near a jump ramp’s gate allows you to jump more energetically than usual. Watch for the command prompt to perform Extreme Skills and extend the distance of your jump even further.

Upgraded jump ramps are more resistant to timefall and natural disasters. When on foot, the added buoyancy they provide allows for more precise posture control when doing Extreme Skills, letting you perform more before hitting the ground.

3 – Safe House

An underground structure where porters can rest and recuperate. Safe houses can be built anywhere within the chiral network using a PCC Lv2.

After building the foundation of a safe house, contribute chiral crystals, resins, and special alloys to complete its construction.

Below ground, a safe house contains a fully stocked private room, as well as a garage where vehicles can be fabricated, repaired, recycled, and customised.

Above ground, safe houses feature a generator, a repair spray dispenser, and a transponder, allowing you to recharge batteries, repair cargo containers, and perform Beach jumps.

Accessing a safe house’s terminal allows you to use its private locker, where cargo can be securely stored, and a shared locker, through which cargo and equipment can be shared with other porters. The terminal also allows you to recycle unwanted items and fabricate new ones (you can recycle and fabricate items at a foundation even if the rest of the safe house is not fully constructed).

Upgraded safe houses are more resistant to timefall and natural disasters.

4 – Cliffhanger by Grimm Grimm – Music

2-Star Reward

Guidepost

A post outfitted with a lamp that automatically illuminates at night. Many porters rely on guideposts to make their deliveries – paths often form between guideposts as a result.

Guideposts change colour daily, producing a spectacular light show that illuminates the night sky.

2 – Extra Battery Lv2

An extra battery that can be attached to your backpack to increase Sam’s total battery capacity. It is a relatively large attachment, but the bulkiness is worth it if it means you don’t run out of charge.

The Lv2 and Lv3 versions are more efficient, providing a bigger boost to battery capacity. Lv4 is the final evolution of the extra battery, and while it provides the same capacity as Lv3, it manages to do so while taking up less total space.

3-Star Reward

Extra Battery Lv3

An extra battery that can be attached to your backpack to increase Sam’s total battery capacity. It is a relatively large attachment, but the bulkiness is worth it if it means you don’t run out of charge.

The Lv2 and Lv3 versions are more efficient, providing a bigger boost to battery capacity. Lv4 is the final evolution of the extra battery, and while it provides the same capacity as Lv3, it manages to do so while taking up less total space.

4-Star Reward

Extra Battery Lv4

An extra battery that can be attached to your backpack to increase Sam’s total battery capacity. It is a relatively large attachment, but the bulkiness is worth it if it means you don’t run out of charge.

The Lv2 and Lv3 versions are more efficient, providing a bigger boost to battery capacity. Lv4 is the final evolution of the extra battery, and while it provides the same capacity as Lv3, it manages to do so while taking up less total space.

5-Star Rewards

1 – Custom Hologram: Heartman

A Hologram of Heartman can now be selected under any Structure Customisation.

2 – Custom Hologram: The Hydrologist

A Hologram of The Hydrologist can now be selected under any Structure Customisation.

3 – Patch 29: Hot Spring

A 1×1 backpack patch that allows the wearer to express their individuality. Serves as proof that you have reached the maximum connection level with the Dowser.

Additional Activity

Heartman’s Spring

A hot spring was dug by the Hydrologist inside Heartman’s lab. Bathing in its warm sulphuric waters has a restorative effect and suppresses any sense of nausea. It also boosts stamina.