Games
Rockstar's new game features a plethora of new lands, hunting mechanics, social features and more. We're here to show you which skills you'll need to master.
Rockstar’s highly anticipated sequel to Red Dead Redemption is here and it may just be their best game to date. As outlaw Arthur Morgan, you have to explore the vast and sprawling lands of the West in 1899 with a world full of people, a thriving eco-system and more choices than ever.
Here's a list of skills you will need to master to become a ruthless cowboy in the new frontier. Check them out below.
1. Criminal Activities
Unlike Jon Marston, the main guy in the last game, Arthur Morgan is very much an outlaw who isn’t looking to redeem his name. Red Dead Redemption 2 offers players many criminal activities that extend beyond the main story and side quests.
If you find yourself getting tired of hunting animal pelts, or playing in a more traditional way, try exploiting the world instead. Criminal activities range from bigger scale bank heists and train robberies, to sticking up horse coaches that are wandering the lands. Based on the location and the kind of people that inhabit it, the type of crimes you can commit will vary. To keep things interesting, players can try to find the best members of their gang to pull off specific activities. Or, if you want to go it alone, there are smaller scale crimes such as holding up stores, or breaking into homes at night.
Arthur Morgan and his gang have the option of taking what they want. Just remember that your crimes will affect the world around you, especially the way people interact and remember you.
2. Be prepared for the consequences
Rockstar have painstakingly crafted a world where every action has a consequence. Kill someone out in the wild? Local lawmen might investigate the crime scene, and look for clues that lead them back to you. Depending on the crime – and if your actions become known – a bounty will be placed on your head, and you will be hunted down by bounty hunters. Imagine being in the middle of an important mission, when you suddenly get ambushed by those trying to bring you down for your past sins.
Even the way you customise your character will create a reaction in the world. Depending on the clothes you wear or the guns you choose to carry, NPCs can change the way they interact with you. If you choose to not shave or bathe, then your character will start to smell, and townspeople will not want to talk to you. If you want to change the way you experience the world, try messing around with all the customisations that are offered to your character.
Depending on the decisions you make in side quests, players on the land will remember your actions. You might kill someone in a random encounter, only to find their family later on, who will want nothing more than to take revenge, or deny you something that you need later in the story. So think about your decision making.
3. Master Dead Eye Progression
Dead Eye now has progressive stages, and can be used strategically in a variety of ways. Players can slow down time like in the previous game, while also painting multiple targets at once for a chain shot. The game's new combat system gives players a lot of choice on how to tackle intense situations, but Dead Eye gives you the tools to slow things down to regain control.
A main feature of Dead Eye is the ability to highlight weak points that will show up in red. So if an enemy has armour, it will give you a marked area where they are vulnerable, and should you hit it it will do the most amount of damage.
This doesn’t just apply to other people, either. For example, if you are in the middle of a robbery and are being chased down by a horse coach, try using your Dead Eye to hit parts on the coach to make it fall apart, or explode if they are carrying gunpowder. This gives players a new dimension to combat and challenges them to find the best way to stay alive.
4. Befriending horses
Like many elements of the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, your transportation is a living, breathing thing that is worth investing in. Having the skill to befriend horses will aid you in finding the right one for your play style, which is important as you'll traverse the map on your loyal steed, which will play a big part in how you perform during missions
Unlike the previous game, you can now bond with your horse and build up a trusting relationship with it, and how you treat your companion will affect the way it behaves. At first you might get a horse that bucks you around and doesn’t listen to your commands but the more you take care of it and spend time together, the more control it will relinquish back to you. Whether you are doing missions on horseback or trying to escape intense situations, you will want your horse to be steady during these hectic moments.
There are a variety of horse types in this game, each one with its own unique traits. The game encourages you to try out different breeds whilst investing in each of them to increase their specific traits at the same time. Some horses are better suited to do certain tasks than others, so as you take on various missions and tasks, try to find the right horse for the right situation. If you ever find yourself struggling with hunting a certain animal or overcoming a specific mission, consider that your transportation might be holding you back.
5. Relationship building
Unlike previous Rockstar games, Red Dead Redemption 2 really embraces community and building bonds with other characters in the world. We may be playing a ruthless outlaw but the protagonist also belongs to the Vander der Linde gang, a tight knit group that sticks together. Throughout the game your gang will be forced to move and set up camp in new locations which will serve as your base that you can build upon the closer you get with your fellow outlaws.
Try building relationships with as many people as you can in camp as befriending people will lead to new side quests and activities being revealed. Your group is full of a variety of different characters with unique personalities and traits so find members that fit into your playstyle as individual characters can lead to specific things being unlocked. You might find one relationship leads to a serious task, while another leads to something more reckless and fun. Your camp also has morale, so make sure you increase it by hunting and bringing back supplies.
Relationships extend beyond the camp as the world is bustling with people to interact with. As you stroll through cities or towns, you can talk to NPCs and engage with them in various ways. Want to be a ruthless bandit? Rob people or intimidate them. You can make a name for yourself in the local towns by committing crimes and fighting with people. Or you can make friends and become well-liked. You will even stumble upon confrontations in the wild and it’s up to you to choose whether you want to engage or walk away. Honing your relationship skill will play a big part in how you shape your character’s moral compass and how the world sees you.
6. Exploration and hunting
As you explore the vast map in the game, you will find that the world is made up of diverse locations such as forest areas, a swamp, dry lands and more. It’s a living, breathing eco-system, full of regional animals that hunt each other and struggle to survive.
If you are by the swamp, you might step into a crocodile-infested area, where the aquatic reptiles are aggressively snapping at your feet. Or in the forest, you might find yourself being stared down by a massive grizzly bear that’s ready to charge you. Learning the land's regions and their unique eco-systems can mean the difference between life and death. Exploration skills will not only aid you in survival but will allow you to become the best hunter possible.
You can explore the map and hunt the traditional way with a bow or gun. But knowing the land can lead you to situations that benefit you as some animals will both be hunter and prey. For example, if you are specifically hunting a grizzly bear, you might find other animals such as wolves attacking it. By staying back and hiding, you can let the other animals chip away at its health before finally stepping in and striking the final blow. Looking for a specific bird pelt? Try killing an animal and leaving the carcass - once the birds come to scavenge, you can aim your bow and strike them down.
You’re encouraged to both fear and embrace nature by using it to your advantage. Sometimes it pays to be an aggressive hunter but being patient and letting nature take its natural course can also yield you big rewards. Use the land and the animals to your advantage as it could make all the difference when trying to get pelts.
7. Brawls and weapon combos
Much of the combat has been re-worked in the new Red Dead but it still largely revolves around weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Having the skills to know the best way to throw punches or fire your gun will keep you riding into another day, but – more importantly – knowing which combat skills to utilise in specific situations will be the difference between putting down your enemy and taking a bullet.
The hand-to-hand combat bears more weight and focuses on punches, grapples and takedowns. Bobbing and weaving to evade enemy strikes and learning when to throw punches or hold back is important in making you a strong fighter. You can also block hits by holding up your arms or kicking someone away from you. Grappling people and taking them down to the ground is also essential – this can be done from behind, too, so make sure to use this skill well when the enemy isn’t looking.
There will be a variety of weapons to choose from, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Rockstar have gone to great lengths to make each weapon have its own feel. Things such as kickback and reloading will play a big part in which weapons you will want to use. If you find yourself needing precision in medium-range combat, you might have your pistol in one hand for headshots, whilst wielding a shotgun in the other for hitting closer enemies or to take down multiple people at once.
There are also rifles, which can be used for long distance shooting. Knowing how to shoot your gun will only take you so far so finding the right weapon variation that best suits how you play will improve your overall combat.
8. Collecting and selling goods
With an expansive world comes a thriving marketplace and learning to be self-sustaining is a core component of the game. As an outlaw exploring the land, you will need to find ways to upgrade your weapons or to buy new items – and whilst completing missions or stealing money is an option, you will also want the skills to have your own way of generating money.
Hunting for pelts and finding items while exploring is a good way to make money. Due to the variety of animals in the game, you will have plenty of options to find new or rare pelts, and going to different regions to hunt unique animals will give you a diverse inventory of goods to sell once you are back in a town. There is also an upgrade for your horse so that they can carry all the loot that you’ve gathered from the wild.
In every town or city, there will be a general store that is willing to exchange your pelts and items for currency. Whilst there are many options when it comes to making money that don’t involve selling goods, doing this also feeds back into your camp and helps to build it up whilst also allowing for weapon upgrading. In the Wild West, being self-sufficient is key to survival.
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