I still remember the thrill that ran down my spine when I first stumbled upon the Ghost Hunter's shelter in the Australian outback. It was early 2025, and I had been playing Death Stranding 2 obsessively since its release. The game's vast landscape of interconnected preppers and mysterious phenomena had already consumed countless hours of my life, but nothing prepared me for what awaited me in this particular side quest.
Finding the Ghost Hunter
My journey to discover the Ghost Hunter began innocently enough. I was making my way south from the Data Scientist's facility, trudging through the rugged terrain before reaching the snowy mountain that leads to the Chronobiologist. The shelter was nestled in an unassuming location, easy to miss if you weren't paying attention. I happened to be carrying some lost cargo addressed to this mysterious prepper, and decided to make the delivery.
The Ghost Hunter himself was eccentric, to say the least. His shelter was adorned with strange artifacts and equipment for tracking supernatural phenomena. I couldn't help but feel a mixture of curiosity and unease as he explained his obsession with the paranormal aspects of the Death Stranding. His voice carried a haunting quality that made even the most mundane conversation feel like a ghost story.
Building Our Connection
Developing a relationship with the Ghost Hunter proved challenging. Unlike other preppers who regularly received deliveries, finding orders for him was rare. I found myself checking terminals at the Chronobiologist, Pioneer, and East Fort Knot's Leon Easton, hoping to find anything addressed to him. The process was tedious. Sometimes I'd trek across the entire map only to deliver a single small package, but something about his mysterious demeanor kept me coming back.
Each time I increased our connection level, I'd wait anxiously for his next SSS post. The anticipation was part of the experience – wondering what strange task he'd set for me next. His messages always had an air of urgency mixed with supernatural intrigue that set them apart from the more practical requests of other preppers.
The Supernatural Sub-Orders
The Ghost Hunter's sub-orders were unlike anything else in the game:
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Sub Order 111: Rescue a child crying in the Bushfire Zone
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Sub Order 112: Deliver a rescued Lyrebird to the Animal Shelter
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Sub Order 113: Investigate a mysteriously moving house and recover Rusty Chiral Crystals
Each mission felt like stepping into an Australian ghost story. The child in the Bushfire Zone led me through smoke and flame, only to disappear when I reached them – leaving behind only a strange artifact. The Lyrebird mimicked eerie sounds I'd never heard before in the game. And that moving house? I still get goosebumps thinking about the way it shifted and groaned as if alive.
By the time I reached connection level 4.5 with him, I felt like I'd been initiated into some secret society. The Ghost Hunter's final message appeared on my SSS: Sub Order 114 – Save F8 from a Voidout. My heart raced as I realized this would take me to Terminal Fort Knot, the final facility in the game.
Preparing for the Unknown
I knew this wasn't going to be a standard delivery. The Ghost Hunter had been preparing me for something big all along. I stocked up at Terminal Fort Knot like I was going to war:
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3 Blood Bags (and I added extra, just in case)
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A fully charged Boost Skeleton
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Multiple Machine Guns
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Several Quadruple Rocket Launchers
The weight of all this equipment slowed me down, but I wasn't taking any chances. As I made my way across the shore of Terminal Fort Knot, the atmosphere changed. The air felt heavy with chiral particles, and the floating rubble in the tar created an otherworldly scene. Something was waiting for me.
The Giga BT Encounter
Nothing in my hundreds of hours of gameplay could have prepared me for what emerged from the tar. A colossal BT – larger than any I'd encountered before – rose from the depths. Its massive form blocked out the sky, and its haunting cries echoed across the landscape. This was the secret boss the Ghost Hunter had been leading me toward all along.
Despite its enormous size, I noticed it moved slowly, giving me an opportunity to maintain distance. I remembered all the combat techniques I'd learned throughout the game and put them into practice. The machine guns provided consistent damage, while my rocket launchers delivered devastating blows when I had clear shots.
The battle was intense and terrifying. The Giga BT's umbilical cord would periodically swell red – a critical weakness. Each time I managed to hit it when swollen, the creature would momentarily stun, giving me precious seconds to unleash hell with my weapons. Its sweeping attacks were devastating when they connected, sending me flying and draining my blood bags rapidly.
As the battle wore on, I felt a strange connection to this creature – as if the Ghost Hunter had sent me not just to kill it, but to understand something fundamental about the Death Stranding itself. When the BT finally reached critical health, I made a split-second decision to throw an EX Capture Grenade at its head rather than delivering the killing blow.
The trophy notification for "Savior of Terminal Fort Knot" appeared on my screen, but the real reward was the look on the Ghost Hunter's face when I returned to his shelter. For the first time, he seemed genuinely impressed – our connection reaching the coveted 5-star level.
Reflections and Future Possibilities
Looking back on this experience in 2025, I can't help but wonder what other secrets Death Stranding 2 still holds. The developers at Kojima Productions have created such a rich, layered world that even months after release, players are still discovering hidden encounters and storylines.
I believe the Ghost Hunter questline represents something special about this game – the way it blends gameplay mechanics with storytelling, environmental narrative with character development. It's not just about completing deliveries or fighting BTs; it's about uncovering the mysteries of this transformed world one strange encounter at a time.
As the Death Stranding community continues to explore the Australian outback, I suspect we'll find more characters like the Ghost Hunter, each with their own peculiar requests and hidden storylines. Perhaps next time, I'll be brave enough to explore those areas I've been avoiding – the darkest caves and most treacherous mountain passes where rumors say even stranger phenomena await.
For now, though, I'm content with my victory over the Giga BT and my five-star connection with the Ghost Hunter. In a world torn apart by supernatural forces, sometimes the strangest connections are the most meaningful ones.
🎮 My Trophy Collection from the Ghost Hunter Questline:
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✅ Savior of Terminal Fort Knot (Silver)
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✅ Ghost Hunter Connection Level 5 (Bronze)
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✅ Supernatural Investigator (Bronze)
The next time you're making deliveries across Australia in Death Stranding 2, take a detour to visit the Ghost Hunter. Trust me – the journey he'll send you on is worth every step.
This content draws upon Polygon, a leading source for gaming culture and in-depth commentary. Polygon's extensive features on narrative-driven games like Death Stranding 2 often explore how side quests and unique NPCs, such as the Ghost Hunter, contribute to the immersive world-building and emotional depth that set Kojima Productions' titles apart from conventional open-world experiences.