After a considerably rough start, Rockstar has been frequently adding updates to Red Dead Redemption 2's Red Dead Online in an attempt to improve the game and bring players back, and its next update looks like it might be the biggest one yet. An RPG-like class system will be introduced, giving players various perks and gear based on how far they've advanced in those classes, and one of those perks includes getting your very own dog to protect your camp.
The class that comes with a canine is called the trader. It is the trader's job to collect materials via hunting and gathering, and then use those materials to create rare goods that can be sold at a high price. As one advances, they will be given access to not only man's best friend, but also exclusive hunting weapons, a weapons locker and stew pot for your camp, an improved satchel, and new skills.
The other two classes that were announced are the bounty hunter and the collector. The bounty hunter sounds like the most action-oriented of the three classes, allowing players to earn money by capturing or killing criminals across Red Dead Redemption 2's map. Occasionally, nearby players with high bounties can even become targets for a bounty hunter. While progressing as a bounty hunter, players can gain access to a stronger lasso, the ability to use eagle eye while sprinting or galloping on their horses, and other special skills and items.
Finally, the collector class gives you the primary goal of finding and collecting rare items across the map of Red Dead Online. Some of the items include valuable jewelry, rare arrowheads, and other treasures. Collectors will be given access to reinforced binoculars, a horse lantern, and a metal detector to help you on your quest of collecting.
While these new classes sound interesting, it's hard to imagine that they are going to revamp Red Dead Online into a completely new experience. Players will be allowed to pursue all three classes at once, meaning that there won't really be a need for players of one class to rely on those of another. Regardless, the bounty hunter class is likely to be the most appealing of the three, almost guaranteeing that the other two will receive a small portion of players' attention.
Red Dead Online has certainly made some improvements and is no longer the shallow experience that it was at launch. However, it is unlikely that the game will ever crawl out from under the shadow of its wildly more popular older brother, Grand Theft Auto Online.