How are all of you guys and girls finding Red Dead Redemption 2? Are you tearing through the story or taking it slow? I think most people are taking the latter option. I know that I am. I've still not beaten the thing, despite playing it for about a month now. In fact, I'm just about halfway through the game, and that's at a push. One thing that's striking me about this game is just how much depth there is to it. Every single element of the game is a cog in this great interlocking system that forms the overall game. That brings with it a whole host of complexity, and a number of little touches that the game doesn't even tell you about! In this article, we're going to go through 30 of these, which should help you live out that wild west hero lifestyle just a little bit more.
Yes sirree, whether you want to hunt more effectively, mold Arthur into Revolver Ocelot, get rid of bounties without spending a cent, or improve pelt qualities permanently, you'll find info here! Approximately half of these are things I've picked up myself, but the other half I had absolutely no idea about. Have you discovered anything else cool that I've not listed here? Let us know in the comments! Oh, one more thing before we start the article: if you want another way to enhance your gameplay experience, I've got a sensational recommendation: listen to the Dead Man soundtrack while you play. You can thank me later.
30 Use Deadeye To See Animals’ Vitals
So, maybe you're still pootling along in Chapter 2, messing about in the world and trying to drink it all. It's a commendable attitude, it really is, but there are good reasons to carry on. One of them being the Dead Eye upgrades you get through the story. Once you hit Dead Eye level 4, a fantastic ability unlocks: you're able to see animals' weak points as glowing red spots on their bodies. It works on people too! Shoot here to get a clean shot every single time, as long as you're using a strong enough weapon.
29 Spin Your Gun Before Holstering It
You know those scenes in Metal Gear Solid where Revolver Ocelot does all those ridiculous gun spinning tricks? You might not quite be able to get to that level, but if you want to give Arthur a bit of flair, you can spin his guns before holstering them. Tap L1/LB twice instead of once, and Arthur will swing the gun around on his finger before holstering it. Do it after a gunfight to add a whole other level of John Wayne swagger to Arthur's otherwise cold demeanor.
28 Make Your Horse Follow You
Say you're robbing a stagecoach or a train, one thing you really don't want to happen is for you to lose your horse. Trying to make a quick getaway on foot is nigh-on impossible, and can be extraordinarily fatal if you're being pursued by enough lawmen to arrest a whole county. There's an easy solution: just hold up on the D-pad, and your horse will follow you along as you rob and slaughter your way about. Then, when you've got your cash, get off, jump on your horse, and hightail it into the sunset.
27 Save Your Horses
If you're riding off the roads, be careful, and be prepared. There are countless, and I mean countless, ways for you and your horse to come a cropper. Whether it's a high rock that you tumble over, a sharp drop that you don't stop in time for, or a darn tree, they'll all do a ton of damage. If your horse suffers enough damage, it will start to shuffle off this mortal coil, and you can either help them out or revive them. To do this, you need a Horse Revive, which can be purchased from a general store.
26 Cinematic Fast Travel
While you can unlock fast travel fairly early on by upgrading your tent, the game does have a pseudo-fast travel system built in. If you set a custom waypoint on your map, switch to cinematic view, and then set your horse running by holding down X/A, the horse will make its way to the waypoint. You don't need to even hold the button down. You can go and make a cup of tea/coffee if you like, and when you come back, your horse should be at the destination.
25 Analyze Animals
Have you ever had the intensely annoying experience of taking the time to take a perfect shot on an animal, only to be rewarded with a poor or good pelt? It's barely mentioned in the game, but not every animal can give you a perfect pelt, no matter how gentle you are with it. To find out the quality of the pelt you're going to get, equip your binoculars and hit R1/RB to study the animal before taking a shot. One to three pips will appear on next to the animal's name, with three being the highest quality.
24 Jump Straight To The World Map
Do you get a little irritated by having to get to the map via the pause menu? Well, fear not, because you don't actually have to! While the game doesn't tell you this, you can jump straight to the map if you hold down the start button, rather than tapping it to bring up the pause menu. While this only really takes a few seconds off the process of getting there, it's highly rewarding to know, and makes it much less of a faff to look at where you're heading.
23 Get Out Of Menus More Quickly
Following on from the last entry, here's another really handy little timesaver. If you're deep in menus, as it's very easy to be in Red Dead Redemption 2, you don't need to manually back out of each individual one. Instead, the easiest way to get out of them is to simply hold down Circle/B, instead of tapping it. This drags you all the way out of them, returning you to gameplay instantly. Quite why the game doesn't tell you this, I have no idea.
22 You Can Strafe With Your Horse
How do you fancy being able to circle strafe around enemies while riding your horse? If you want to channel your inner 90s FPS protagonist and combine power and maneuverability, you can! All you have to do is hold down Square/X and a direction on the X-axis. Another little bit of advanced equine tactics for you: if you want to do a sharp 90-degree turn, you can do so by holding down R1/RB and hitting a direction on the X-axis.
21 Remove Your Bounty Without Spending A Penny
One thing that actually really winds me up in Red Dead is that when you die, you don't lose your bounty. Come on now. If you're up for a bit of gaminess, there is a solution. Spend or donate all of your cash, go to the local sheriff's office, wherever you have a bounty where you have a bounty. Antagonize him (call him a yellow-belly or something), until he turns hostile. Surrender yourself. You’ll spend time in prison, and your bounty will be gone. You lose all your money if you can’t afford the bounty, but if you’ve got rid of it all, no problem!
20 Tackle And Eliminate Enemies
Fancy being able to end any enemy instantly? There's an easy way to do that. Equip a weapon and charge headlong at an enemy (preferably a lone one, else you'll be blasted to bits). Press B as soon as you hit them to tackle them, knocking them to the ground. In one swift move, Arthur will put the weapon under their chin and cold-bloodedly execute them. I'd recommend doing this with a shotgun for the very best possible outcome, for you at least.
19 Greet People
Greeting people may seem like a small thing, but in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, such small gestures go a long way towards establishing yourself as a pillar of the community. In an era where you could die at any time, for no conceivable reason, simply taking the time to say hello is seen in an extremely good light. Long story short, it raises your honor. Been on a run of terrible deeds recently? Simply give people a cheery wave and your reputation will cheer right up!
18 Replay Missions
Have you noticed that the game gives you a medal at the end of every mission? It depends upon your performance, with higher medals requiring the fulfillment of various criteria, e.g., attaining a certain number of headshots. Got a bronze and want to improve it? You can replay missions at any time. To do so, head into the progress option on the pause menu, then hit story, and select the mission you want to play. Get a gold medal on every mission for ultimate bragging rights!
17 Go Near Water To Find Animals
Do you want to know an easy way to find various animals? The easiest way to track down animals is to go to a nearby water source, and wait. Every animal in the game needs to drink, and if you wait long enough, every animal from the area will turn up eventually. This tip requires patience, as there's no telling exactly when the required animal will turn up, but it beats riding around aimlessly looking for that herd of bison.
16 Get A Schofield Revolver Early
Slight spoilers for the early game here, so proceed with caution if you're still in Chapter 2. If you go to the Doctor's Office in Valentine, have a poke around. Climb up onto the roof via the crates and stay crouched. You'll see a suspicious character go to the back door. Turns out there's a secret O'Driscoll poker game in the back! Hold up the shopkeeper and you'll be able to rob the game. You'll get a good deal of money for it, and there's also a weapon case containing the superb Schofield Revolver.
15 Do The Stranger Mission At Valentine’s Saloon
You know that 'off' little saloon in Valentine? It contains the best stranger mission in the game by far. Called "The Noblest of Men, and A Woman," it tasks you with tracking down four famous outlaws from the old west's more wild days. As well as giving you some really cool background on the world's history, you'll also get several awesome unique weapons that are stronger than most of the game's guns. This includes probably my favorite pistol: Midnight's Pistol.
14 Keep Your Horse Following You
Following on from the earlier tip about having your horse follow you if you're robbing a train or a coach, you can also have them follow you at other times. If you get off your horse to be able to track animals more easily, you can have them follow you through the wilderness. If you want to do this, simply hold down up on the D-pad when you're close to them, and they'll follow you anywhere you go. You can also tell them to wait by holding down L2/LT and focusing on the horse.
13 Enable Iron Sights
Aiming in first person can be a bit of task. The handy, ever-present reticle is a good guide, but it's not too precise. If you need precision, you can flip to that old Call of Duty standby, iron sights, by hitting down on the d-pad when you're aiming. If your weapon has a scope fitted to it, this will also flip to the gun's scope, letting you get even more precise. If you're shooting at long range, knowing this tip is absolutely invaluable.
12 Lasso Large Animals
The lasso is handy for much more than just tying people to train tracks! It's a really really useful tool for when you're hunting. If you see a large or medium-sized animal while on horseback, lasso it. Not only will this let you keep pace with it, but there's another use for it. If you hop off your horse and reel in the horse by pressing R2/RT, you can pull them close enough for you to stab them with your knife. This counts as a clean hit, letting you get flawless pelts every single time.
11 Improve Pelt Quality
How would you like to improve the pelt quality of every single animal across the game's map? There's one thing you need to do. Hunt the legendary buck, and harvest its antlers. Next, take them to the fence, and sell them, then by the trinket that's now unlocked. Said trinket improves the quality of all animal pelts by one pip. Poor pelts stop existing, while good pelts are improved into perfect pelts, which can net you far more cash from the trapper.