Red Dead Online's First Major Beta Patch Available Now: Here's What To Expect

Rockstar announced its first big patch for Red Dead Online, which is full of new content, as well as fixes and improvements to make the game a better experience.

Fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 have had a long time to wander around its expansive world as Arthur Morgan, and experience it's incredible story and atmosphere. However, while the single-player content has been absolutely stellar (and so lengthy that some of us haven't even made it to the epilogue yet), the multiplayer component has been rather thin in comparison. Now it seems like that's about to change.

Fans have been waiting for the online portion of the game to become a little more robust, as it is less rich than Rockstar's other online world, Grand Theft Auto Online. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a slew of new ways to get your cowboy on.

First off, new daily challenges are being added in, allowing players to earn gold nuggets (the big premium currency of Red Dead Online) as well as XP for completing activities such as hunting animals or finding hidden treasure. There are also new fishing challenges, which offers you the opportunity to prove that you're better at catching fish than your friends. So, if you wanted the chance to brag about catching more smallmouth bass than your friends, Rockstar has got your back.

There will also be some new game modes added in. First are the Target Races, which sound kind of like a murderous cowboy version of Mario Kart. It pits players against one another in a horseback death race, with the goal being to make it to end while simultaneously shooting your fellow racers.

Then there's Fool's Gold, which seems like a kind of King Of The Hill/Capture The Flag game. Competitors will fight each other to wear a suit of golden armor. The person wearing the suit will be hunted down. Whoever kills them obtains the new golden suit and a target on their back. There will also be three new Showdown Modes called Up In Smoke, Spoils Of War, and Plunder. Rockstar hasn't released details about these modes yet, but it's safe to assume that they'll involve horses and murder in some capacity.

New items are also coming to the online cowboy wasteland. The Rare Shotgun and the Evans Repeater will be added in as new weapons, while a wide array of new clothing and emote options will also be available. This is just enough to give your cowpoke the sort of roughneck makeover that they deserve.

Finally, Rockstar has detailed some of the ways that it's looking to improve its online cowboy simulator. It has reduced player visibility on the world map in order to prevent players from being able to track someone down and blast them repeatedly. On top of that, if you make enough trouble, you'll appear as a dark coloured icon on the map, and you can expect bounty hunters to come calling. You can also attempt to "parley" with rival players and posses in order to call a truce, or end a feud in a death match.

Overall these all sound like positive changes designed to make the world of Red Dead Online a friendlier and less lawless place. Plus, if you sign into the game before March 5th, you'll also receive a care package with items like potent snake oils and poison arrows stashed inside. Playstation 4 players will also get exclusive content, like the Jawbone Knife weapon, as well as other bonuses such as new emotes and early access to new modes.

The patch is available to download right now. Hopefully, this is just the start of the influx of new content for Red Dead Online. After all, if it ever hopes to climb out of the shadow of its big brother Grand Theft Auto Online, it's got a long road and a lot of work to do.