Red Dead Redemption 2 is finally out. For the most part, it’ll feel like most of Rockstar’s open world games, but there’s a complexity in Red Dead Redemption 2 that makes managing your time in the Wild Wild West just that little bit more challenging. We’ve put together some tips that we’ve found along the way.
MANAGE YOUR CORES
In Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the most overwhelming things initially is your cores. Arthur has three (Health, Stamina & Dead Eye) and then your horse also has two (Stamina/Health). So basically, you’ve got replenishing bars for all five of these elements, but once these bars run out (whether it be stamina from running too far or using too much dead eye on your enemies), your cores will start to drain. Your cores also drain naturally over time and depending on elements such as Arthur being too cold.
Whilst it’s the replenishing bars that you’ll keep an eye on, they’re actually a lot less important than the cores as the bars replenish. For instance, once you’ve used your stamina bar for your horse, your core will drain almost instantly, killing your horse unless you’ve got a revive substance.
USE THE LEDGER IN CAMP TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND UPGRADES
Something I didn’t realise until a little while in to the game is that you can use the Ledger (finance booklet) in your camp to spend money on things like replenishing ammo, health items as well as upgrading certain parts in camp to make your time easier. This means that you don’t have to visit towns to purchase items (which is useful if you’ve got bounties everywhere).
HUNT EVERY ANIMAL THAT YOU SEE
It’s well worth hunting every animal that you see as it helps upgrade your dead eye as well as things like your health. It’s also worth taking skins and meat back to your camp in order to feed yourself as well as campmates. Pearson will let you know when the camp is low on food, which is why its high time to get out there and start hunting.
DRINK THE CAMP COFFEE AND EAT THE STEW
You’d be silly not to drink the camp coffee to replenish your dead eye core as well as eat the store to replenish your health core every time you visit camp. As mentioned earlier, managing your cores is one of the most important things in the game as they can deplete in a heartbeat. The camp coffee and stew will replenish every few days, so check it every time you’re in camp.
THREATEN WITNESSES SO THEY DON’T REPORT CRIMES
If you steal, or kill someone in the presence of another person, you’ll be notified that a witness has noticed what you’ve done and will report it to the authorities. You’re able to threaten witnesses, which works most of the time, but if it doesn’t you’d be wiser to kill them as it will only add to your bounty (which will grow incredibly quickly with the amount of killing that Arthur will be doing) if you let them run free.
RUN WITHOUT YOUR HORSE OCCASIONALLY
Whilst your horse will be your primary method of transport, it’s actually smart to run on foot occasionally as it will level up your stamina bar and allow you to run for further and further as time goes on. This is useful for when your horse dies, and trust me, that’ll be happening a lot.
KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CHALLENGES
There are nine categories of challenges, and you won’t unlock each category until you do the first one in each category (you don’t know what these are until you do them). These include Bandit, Explorer, Gambler, Herbalist, Horseman, Master Hunter, Sharpshooter, Survivalist and Weapons Export are the nine categories. You’ll unlock special weapons and earn upgrades by doing them.
USE YOUR REMOTE CAMP TO COOK ON THE GO
In Red Dead Redemption 2, you can set up a remote camp which helps in order to cook meat that you’ve caught away from camp. These will help build your cores back up and you know by this point how important it is to keep your cores on high.