Top 9 Helpful (Spoilerless) Tips for Red Dead Redemption 2

Staying in line with the hype for Rockstar's new Red Dead Redemption 2, which was released earlier today, we've compiled a list of the top 9 tips to help you enjoy your time in the American Wild West to the max!

1. Check the player menu. You can check the numerical conditions of Arthur's cores by heading into the player menu of the pause screen and selecting "Arthur". Here you can see how quickly Arthur's health, stamina, and Dead Eye attributes regenerate and which conditions are ideal for buffing these cores. You also are able to see in percentages how much of the core and its available time is remaining.

2. Jump on side quests ASAP. The side missions in Red Dead Redemption 2 are full of content and interesting encounters. These events are only available for limited amounts of time, however, but through these interactions you are sure to experience some of the most narratively-rich and heartfelt moments from the game, which you could miss out on if you focus purely on the main story.

3. How to quick access the map. At first glance, it may seem that the in-game map can only be accessed via the start menu, but you can actually quickly pull up the map by holding down the start button on Xbox and options button on PS4.

4. Be sure to manual save. The game features an autosave function, but as a Rockstar game, anything can happen. From a wrong NPC choice, to a murderous killing spree of innocents, it's always nice to know that you can go back to a simpler time when bad (or just plain interesting) decisions weren't yet made.

5. Don't buy guns. As enticing as it is to buy that awesome-looking Lancaster Repeater, it's better if you save that money for customizing it later one when the game rewards you that gun for free. As you progress through the story, the game will provide you almost every gun for the cheap price of $0.00, and after you've obtained said gun, then you'll want to customize with things like sights and rifling to improve its performance with your well-saved cash.

6. Make use of the Fences. Fences, those who will buy stolen goods from you, are available after a certain mission in the game and they are more than happy to purchase the goods that you may or may not have taken without permission. If you've got some particularly sticky fingers or are the robbing and heisting type, Fences become one of your best friends when it comes to making money. Just be sure to not have a bounty on your head else these fine folk will refuse to do business with you until you've paid it off.

7. Watch your weight. Depending on what Arthur eats, how often he eats, and the physical exercises he engages in, his body type will reflect your choices. With three body types to consider: underweight, average, and overweight, Arthur's stats will see changes in accordance with each type, each with their own pros and cons. In being underweight, Arthur will get a boost in stamina at the bost of taking extra damage. With being average, Arthur's health and stamina cores will remain even. If you find yourself indulging in the pleasures of food and Arthur becomes overweight, he will take less damage but at the cost of having less stamina. Moreover, Arthur's demeanor and posture will reflect his current body build.

8. Take time to upgrade Dutch's lodgings. When you upgrade your main camp for $220, you'll not only improve your Honor Rank, you will also inspire Arthur's gang members to contibute more to your earnings so you'll have less pressure on you and more time to enjoy or focus on other activities. Doing so also unlocks the option to get the map upgrade.

9. Buy the map upgrade ASAP to unlock fast travelling. Once the main camp is upgraded, the map upgrade becomes available for $325. This upgrade allows you to fast travel from camp - and as we've seen, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a gigantic map, so any form of assistance in traveling is more than welcome.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was developed and published by Rockstar Games as the pre-sequel to 2010's Red Dead Redemption, and released on October 26, 2018 worldwide for the Xbox One and PS4.

Author: BChan

Life-long gamer and connoisseur of all things anime.