Rockstar’s critically acclaimed title Red Dead Redemption 2 presented fans of the franchise with one of the most captivating and immersive levels of visual fidelity and a story that is bound to be remembered. But then there’s the not-so-memorable online mode, Red Dead Online which is still kicking it, but is it any good?
Red Dead Online is pretty good, considering the content it offers newcomers and the diverse activities players can engage in. It becomes an increasingly dull experience after you’ve unlocked everything and completed the major CO-OP story missions due to the lack of fresh content.
If you still haven’t tried out Red Dead Online and are itching to dive in, here’s everything you need to know.
Ultimate Guide To Hunting in Red Dead Redemption 2
Roles in Red Dead Online
With the Frontier Pursuits Update, players can now select predetermined paths to curate their very own character. You can opt to either become a Moonshiner, a Bounty Hunter, Naturalist, a Collector, or a Trader. There are 5 roles in the game and here’s what we know so far about them.
Bounty Hunter
Becoming a Bounty here is pretty much akin to the Red Dead Redemption SingleplayerExperiece. You’re tasked to seek out bandits and bring them in to obtain monetary rewards. Rockstar adds a new Legendary Bounty every Tuesday that offers Bonus Rewards. One thing to keep in mind here is capturing Bounties alive with a Lasso can net bigger rewards.
Trader
You can additionally opt to become a Trader, selling skins, furs, and meats throughout the West. For this, you’ll need to take up Cripps on his offer to start up your very own trading business. But with big business, come thieves looking to rob you, so you’ll need to fortify your base of trade and planning.
Collector
As a collector, you’re tasked to find loads of hidden treasures and trinkets scattered across the world. You’ll work for Madam Nazar, the fortune teller, and scout the entire map, looking for treasures that have no other use but to be sold. Eagle Eye will play a great part as a Collector.
Naturalist
The Naturalist Role is useful if you want to make easy money. All you have to do is sedate animals and little critters and sell them to Harriet.
You’ll have to go far and beyond to look for animals that you would otherwise normally ignore in the Red Dead World. You can carry up to five samples from each animal. So, you can pretty much carry all your eggs in one basket and make a single trip to Harriet.
Moonshiner
If you want to make some idle money in the long run, the Moonshiner Role is pretty much your best bet. The net profit is a lot more than what other Roles usually offer. You’re tasked to help Maggie Fike become the shine queen once again.
You get a small shack to start. Buy some ingredients easily available in a general store and hand them to your cook. It’ll take an hour to cook and you can complete other Moonshine missions to unlock new flavors. The only tedious aspect is delivering the moonshine without spilling any.
Multiplayer Modes
There are loads of multiplayer modes to try out for Red Dead Online and can be easily accessed through the multiplayer menu. The Showdown series allows 16 players to partake in battle while Showdown Series Large accommodates up to 32 players. There are a few game modes you can participate in listed below:
Most Wanted: Most Wanted is a deathmatch mode with an interesting spin where players are tasked with eliminating players at the top of the leaderboard. The higher the player on the leaderboard, the more points you get and the more the enemy gets for putting you down.
Shootout: Shootout is your run-of-the-mill free-for-all or team-based deathmatch mode.
Make it Count: Make it Count is Red Dead Online’s interpretation of the Battle Royale Genre. 32 or 16 Players are dropped into an area that shrinks over time. You’re equipped with either throwing knives or a bow with limited ammo. Be the last player standing to win.
Name Your Weapon: You get more and more kill points depending upon the weapon of your choice. The higher the skill bar for a weapon, the more points you get.
Guns
Red Dead Online features a curated selection of guns for players to enjoy but unlocking these goodies all comes down to your rank and purchasing power. RDR Online offers some incredible weapons for players to go through.
Repeating Shotgun
The Repeating Shotgun, starting at around 434 dollars can be yours at Rank 11. It’s by far the most OP gun in the entire game. The Repeating Shotgun holds 6 slugs at a time and offers incredible accuracy albeit its punchy nature. It excels in close-quarters and mid-range fights.
Bow
Albeit less intimidating than the Repeating Shotgun, the Bow costs 124 dollars and is unlocked at Rank 10. But don’t be fooled by its backward nature. Just pair it with Dead Eye and this silent weapon becomes incredibly dangerous in the right hands. It’s OP when it comes to taking out enemies stealthily in Hostile Territory game modes.
Semi-Automatic Pistol
This nifty little beast can be yours for a whopping 537 dollars at Rank 22. It’s pretty destructive paired with Dead Eye and its ridiculous fire rate. This gun excels in Team Shootout modes. It’s accurate, reloads pretty fast, and is the 3rd most expensive gun in the game.
Bolt Action Rifle
The Bolt Action Rifle is an insta-kill weapon provided you have the raw-input accuracy to handle it and nail shots. It’s ideal for players that like to obliterate enemy front lines from a distance. It’s much more effective in larger settings and the shoddy reload action and time makes it difficult to excel in close-range encounters.
CO-OP Story Mode
Players will be queued with 2 or 3 others in missions featuring multiple quest lines. The Honor System from RDR2 comes into play once again and the outcome all comes down to your Honor Level. Along with these co-op missions, you’ll encounter Strangers in Free Roam Missions. As mentioned before, the Honor System will affect how these encounters and interactions play out.
Microtransactions
Akin to the infamous Shark Cards of Grand Theft Auto Online, Read Dead Online introduced its very own currency termed gold bars. Gold Bars are available in bundles of 10, 20, 50, and 99 Dollars. The more you spend on a package, the better the discount per gold bar.
Tips
Red Dead Online has no doubt, lingered around for a long time now but many players still find it difficult to just hop right in. There’s a lot of getting used to so here are a few quick tips. Make sure to create the right character before hopping into the game as it’ll cost you some money.
Pick the right horse in the first co-op Story Mission as it’ll be your default steed throughout the entire Online experience. If you ever get into a gunfight, avoid gunfire with the dive ability. And when in close-quarters situations, tackle enemies to gain the upper hand. If you’re looking for some XP and cash, your best bet is free-roam events.
Red Dead Online Might Be Ending Soon
With really small content drops, it’s been pretty apparent to veteran Red Dead Online players that Rockstar is busy focusing its resources elsewhere *cough cough GTA VI*. While Rockstar still delivered irregular content updates and bug fixes, the content pretty much falls short of what we’re given in Grand Theft Auto Online.
Even Rockstar Games has finally put the final nail in the coffin and stated that they’re winding down development for Read Dead Online.
It was revealed in the September Update that Rockstar planted a small Thank You note and Goodbye message to all the Red Dead Online players in the credits as they’re focusing all their resources on the next iteration of Grand Theft Auto.
Servers
While it seems like Red Dead Online might shut down in the future, that might not be entirely the case here. Unlike most modern games that host their servers which can later be shut down, Red Dead Online follows a Peer to Peer connectivity (P2P) system where users host their servers.
That might mean some longevity even after Rockstar ceases future bug fixes and updates for Red Dead Online as a whole, as players eager to play still Read Dead Online may continue to do so in the future with their very own P2P servers.
And that’s pretty much all you need to know about Red Dead Online. Currently, servers are active and the game still features a thriving and loyal userbase but it isn’t as populated as it once used to be. Rockstar might put an end to RDR Online but chalk it up to speculation. As long as P2P is in place, Red Dead Online is bound to keep kicking it in the future.
Red Dead Online is currently available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Windows PC