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While carrying as much cargo as possible is arguably the most important mechanic in Death Stranding, plays must still arrive at their destination in one piece in order to continue enjoying Kojima Production's unique and fun title. Sometimes, that requires prioritizing defense over carrying capacity in tricky situations.
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That's where Armor Plates come in--they are basically shields that Sam can mount on the shoulder or thigh slots of his suit. The trade-off for equipping them is that players cannot place any cargo in slots taken up by an Armor Plate. Since many consider Death Stranding to be an excellent post-apocalyptic delivery service simulator (and much more), the decision to use Armor Plates can be a tough one, though, as always, it can be better to plan according to one's current task, whether that is a simple delivery or taking down a massive BT.
Where To Find Armor Plates
The player can unlock the design for Armor Plates by connecting with Charles Khan at the Waystation North of Mountain Knot City. The plates will be unlocked after speaking with the upbeat Charles, though, there's a lot more that can be done to improve one's Armor Plates.
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By upgrading them, possibly up to level 4, Armor Plates will get progressively better at protecting Sam as well as becoming much more lightweight and energy-efficient. If one plans to use Armor Plates often, it's highly recommended to upgrade them--especially since it's so easy to do so.
How To Upgrade Armor Plates
Upgrade Level 1
This is the level that players will unlock the design for Armor Plates after talking to Charles. Armor Plates are a small type of equipment and a total of 4 can be attached to Sam's suit--1 on either shoulder and 1 on either thigh. Each plate weighs a hefty 2.5 kilograms, so be sure to not overload one's suit.
Armor Plates soak up incoming bullets from enemy guns but will break if they take too much damage. After an Armor Plate breaks, it will offer no protection but still possess the same weight, therefore players should always unequip a broken Armor Plate and possibly get rid of it.
Upgrade Level 2
Gaining some electromagnetic shielding, Armor Plates can now decrease the damage taken from bullets as well as other sources, like some BT attacks and a bit of fall damage. Just keep in mind that this new upgrade comes with a cost: each time an Armor Plate takes damage, it will drain some of Sam's suit's battery.
Thankfully, the battery recharges slowly by itself in sunlight. To get the level 2 upgrade for Armor Plates, players must reach Connection Level 3 with Charles Khan at the Waystation North of Mountain Knot City.
Upgrade Level 3
Similar to unlocking level 2, gamers can get the level 3 upgrade for Armor Plates by increasing Sam's Connection Level with Charles Khan at the Waystation North of Mountain Knot City--this time needing to reach Connection Level 4.
The only significant difference between level 2 and 3 Armor Plates is that level 3 ones are much lighter at 1.2 kilograms each. Since this is less than half the weight of previous Armor Plates, it's definitely an upgrade worth getting for more defensive players.
Upgrade Level 4
The final upgrade of Armor Plates continues the trend set by upgrade level 3 in that Armor Plates are now much lighter. Each plate at level 4 will only weigh 0.6 kilograms, greatly decreasing Sam's total suit weight when equipped compared to previous levels.
It will take a lot of missions for Charles Khan at the Waystation North of Mountain Knot City to unlock the level 4 upgrade for Armor Plates as it is only attainable at Connection Level 5.
Death Stranding is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.