Bout' to dip into Red Dead Redemption 2?
Well saddle up, because it is a doozie.
Here are some things we wish we knew before we started playing.
For one thing, the first few hours are almost entirely linear.
Don’t worry about it and just enjoy the ride.
After the introductory segment it’ll be very clear to you that the map has opened up.
That’s where things get interesting.
When the game opens up, you don’t need to sprint anywhere or do anything, and Red Dead
Redemption 2 won’t nag you about what to do next.
Time is not of the essence.
You have options.
If you want to head to the yellow circles on your map and take on missions, you’re
free to do so.
If you want to explore or hunt or see what’s going on in camp, that’s cool, too.
Play the game at your own pace, pay attention to what’s around you, and just generally
behave in a way that seems like Arthur would behave.
There’s no rush.
During the intro of Red Dead 2 you’ll have a couple gunfights that will leave a ton of
bodies scattered on the ground.
Your AI buddies will tell you to hurry up.
Ignore them and PILLAGE!
Yes, you should loot everybody on the ground.
You’ll come away with a little spending money and plenty of extra ammo once the map
opens up.
Maintain this mentality through the rest of the game.
When things quiet down, take a few seconds to loot any bodies, as well as the environment
around you.
If you haven’t looted a body it will show up as an black X on your radar.
Also, uh, check the chimneys.
For some reason people hide a ton of money in chimneys.
You may feel like you’ll want to upgrade to a better horse right when the map opens up.
Fight that urge.
The horse you start with will essentially be as good as any other horse that you can
find early on in the game, save for slightly different stats.
The more you use that starter horse the better your bond will be, increasing your horse’s
stamina and, more importantly, its love for you.
There will come a time, much later in the game, when you can find Elite horses.
These are super expensive, and offer better maximum stats, but again, they won’t come
into play for quite a while, so don’t worry about it.
The expanse of map you have access to after the prologue is enormous.
But it’s not infinite.
It will be very clear that there are certain areas you just shouldn’t go.
Blackwater, and basically anywhere southwest of Blackwater, are marked as
Wanted Dead or Alive on your map.
You can try to go there, but you won’t last long.
Deep into the story, more areas will unlock, but don’t try to mainline the story thinking
you’ll be able to fill out the map in just a few hours like you could in GTA 5.
In Red Dead 2 it can take dozens and dozens of hours to do that.
Seriously.
Be happy with what you got for now.
Dead Eye is particularly tough to refill naturally.
You basically have to get kills without using deadeye.
Thankfully there’s a much easier way: chewing tobacco.
It’s a commonly found consumable on various bodies in Red Dead 2 and will instantly top
off your Dead Eye ring.
Hopefully you’ll be done playing by the time the downside of chewing tobacco becomes apparent.
Early on you’ll be given the option to spend money on upgrading your camp.
It’s a nice thing to consider long-term, but short-term don’t stress about dropping
a ton of cash here.
The upgrades that you unlock are useful but far from mandatory for the first ten hours
of the game and you’d be better off making sure you’ve got enough walking around money.
During missions it’s always good to make sure you’ve got the proper equipment.
You can customize your weapon and item wheel when standing next to or riding on your horse,
and it’s a good idea to focus on versatility.
If you’ve got a bow for stealth kills, maybe think about bringing a repeater rifle as a
backup in case things get really hairy.
Ditto for your items.
Bring provisions and tonics that’ll help you top off your various stats, and make sure
you don’t need to buy or craft more before you head into dangerous territory.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly:
take in that natural splendor.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most visually impressive games ever made,
and there are incredible vistas at every turn.
Every once in a while we’d recommend you sit a spell and just bask in it.
Pard'ner
Hey everyone! We're gonna have a bunch more Red Dead stuff coming at you real soon on the main channel,
also on the Polygon Guides channel, we're gonna have a lot more explainers going through
how the core system works, stuff like that.
So definitely check out that, it's already live now.
Otherwise, enjoy Red Dead!