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Instead of giving players the ability to increase their overall level, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers three stats that gain experience points independently — Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye. If you're looking to max out your Health attribute as quickly as possible, you'll want to follow a guided routine.
There are several simple ways to increase the health bar permanently, but it's unlikely that anybody will ever accidentally get to maximum health by accident. For those making a wise choice and getting experience in health, these are the best ways to increase your health in RDR2.
Updated on September 14, 2023, by Sean Murray: It takes a lot of hit points to be a cowboy. That's why we've freshened up this here guide with improved formatting to make improving Arthur's health that much easier.
Row Your Boat
Rowing will quickly drain the player's stamina, but some of the best trinkets in the game give benefits to stamina and reduce the drain to the core. Anybody stocked up with supplies that bring stamina to full might want to grab a boat and row around for fun.
Doing this for about ten minutes can actually max out your health core. Anybody frustrated with chasing down elixirs will find that this is a quick way to get to max level, even if it is a bit time-consuming.
If you row a boat over 100 meters you'll earn 20 XP.
Go Fishing
Red Dead Redemption 2 is often thought of as a game to be admired for its story-driven narrative. However, the open-world nature of the game places equal importance on player choices and styles.
Fishing is a great way to build honor, get a food supply going, and, most important to this guide, grant health core experience.
If you catch a fish you'll earn between 10-30 XP, based on the size of the fish.
Use Throwing Weapons and Arrows
When you're not tracking down blackberries, you'll be killing plenty of enemies and animals while playing the game. Players are already incentivized to use arrows and throwing weapons because, unlike the ammo used in guns, this ammunition is retrievable.
Yet there is a second, more elusive benefit to using these weapons. Players will get a moderate amount of health experience every time they register such a kill. For the bandits out there who don't mind picking up some dishonor, these kills do not have to be against registered enemies.
Whenever you land a kill with a bow or throwing weapons, you earn 20 XP.
Get Into Brawls
The brawl experience is so low that it's hard to recommend this as a primary way of gaining health experience. Though it is certainly possible, even if Arthur isn't one of the young pups of the Van der Linde gang anymore.
Theoretically, if somebody really, really wanted to, they could start picking tons of fights in Saint Denis or another well-populated area. These tend to be drawn out, and the law doesn't love fisticuffs, so have a horse and mask ready in case a bystander decides to report the activity.
Win a Fist Fight and you'll gain 10 XP.
Grab Ginseng Elixirs
Despite the prevalence of excellent sandbox games, it is possible to be overwhelmed trying to accomplish every single task in these sprawling worlds. Tracking down every ginseng elixir sounds like a tall order.
Thankfully, that's completely unnecessary. The boost from a single ginseng elixir is the highest experience boost in the game to the health core (outside of completing the challenges). So much so that they actually cease to be effective after getting to level 8.
Drink a Ginseng Elixir, and you'll be awarded 25 percent of the XP needed to reach your next level.
Complete Three Challenges
By performing the above tasks, you'll only be able to increase your health to level eight. If you really want to max out this stat, you're going to have to go back and finish those challenges mentioned above.
Finishing challenges will unlock new gear for you to wear, and once you unlock a complete set you'll be given the ability to reach level nine. For the health attribute, you'll want to complete the Horseman, Sharpshooter, and Weapons Expert challenges in order to unlock level nine.
To reach level ten, you'll have to go even further and complete all nine challenges. This will then unlock level ten. It's certainly not an easy undertaking, but the path toward a maxed health stat is simple enough to follow.
If you're having trouble completing some of the health-related challenges, try leveling up your other attributes. Then, once you have a bit more experience under your belt, come back and try them again. Before you know it, you'll be the healthiest gunslinger in the West.