Death Stranding guide: EX grenades

The world of Death Stranding is a high-concept fantasy from the mind of Hideo Kojima. It has everything from otherworldly creatures to interesting scientific theories wrapped up in its political plot, and of course it also has deadly weapons made out of the sweat, urine, and feces of Norman Reedus.

If you have the right materials, you can craft all sorts of weapons to combat the various enemies in Death Stranding. While most of that gear is straightforward and its crafting resources are readily available, there is one particular weapon that is vague and rare: EX grenades.

EX grenades are some of the first weapons you can craft in Death Stranding, and yet their creation and usage aren’t well defined. What are the types of EX grenades you can make and what do they even do? In this guide, we’ll explain.

EX grenades, explained

Every time you visit one of your private rooms throughout Death Stranding, you can take part in various activities, one of which is using the futuristic restroom. Taking a shower or relieving yourself are more than their standard functions: They’re how you create EX grenades.

EX grenades are made up of the bodily fluids and feces of your main character, Sam Porter Bridges. We can’t explain why that is, and the game tries to do some of that explaining with limited results. What we can tell you is that EX grenades serve a purpose.

Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Each of the three types of grenades, made up of either sweat, urine, or feces, can identify and distract BTs. Early in Death Stranding, you won’t have the means to defend yourself against these floating apparitions, so EX grenades will be your first line of defense.

Regardless of which type of grenade you use, when you hit a BT with one, they will temporarily become coated in your byproducts and will understandably get grossed out and will move out of the way.

Since BTs tend to stick to one spot, oftentimes they might be standing directly in the path you want to go down. Chucking an EX grenade at a BT is a great way to move them out of the way without alerting them to your presence.

If you want to stock up on more EX grenades, you’ll have to “create” the crafting materials for them.

EX grenade types

Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

• EX 0 grenades are made out of Sam’s sweat and any chiralium that might be on his skin. Simply get tired and tussle with some BTs to get Sam nice and dirty. Hop into the shower in your private room, and the amount of grime he washes off determines how many grenades you receive after he dries off.
• EX 1 grenades are created with Sam’s urine. To create more urine, make sure to chug some Monster Energy Drink whenever you’re running low on stamina. You could relieve yourself out in the open world or you can use the toilet in your private room and pick the standing option to make grenades. The more urine you have, the more grenades you get.
• EX 2 grenades are made from Sam’s feces. One of the only ways to put solids into Sam’s body is to eat cryptobiotes. You can find cryptobiotes all over the map. Scan for them, and you’ll find them hanging out on the fungal plants in grassy areas. Chow down on several of these by holding left on the D-pad, selecting the cryptobiote option, and consume some. Doing so will replenish any blood you might be missing, and of course the more cryptobiotes you’ve eaten, the more ammo you’ll have for grenades.