Red Dead Online is the premier multiplayer mode available for the phenomenal Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s similar in style and gameplay to Grand Theft Auto Online, albeit with an old-school paint job, fewer flying bikes, and more of a grind, honestly.
Overall, Red Dead Online is a massive experience with a lot of nuances, plenty of side jobs, and more than a little confusion to contend with. You’ll want a few Red Dead Online tips to help you get a jumpstart!
What is Red Dead Online?
Before we dive into a few multiplayer tips, let’s define the game for newcomers.
Red Dead Online, first and foremost, is an open-world multiplayer mode set in the same game world as the expansive single-player campaign featuring Arthur Morgan and company.
Once you head online, however, you’ll note a few changes. Well, more than a few. You’re playing as a nobody, whom you create and customize early on, and then must find your place in the Wild West.
You’ll gain access to countless side jobs, heists, hideouts to attack, and businesses to run, like moonshine operations.
The downside to Red Dead Online, unfortunately, is in its grind. Developer Rockstar took the grind from Grand Theft Auto Online to the extreme here.
Red Dead Online Tips for All
Your Horse Matters, But Not Like You Think it Does
In a game centered around relaxing, wide-open expanses across the Wild West, fellers often focus far too much on the price tag of their horse instead of the quality of their horse.
You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on the “best” horse in Red Dead Online. I repeat you do not need to spend your hard-earned in-game cash on a fancy mount.
Yes, your horse matters. But its price tag does not. If you spend time bonding with your horse, via feeding, grooming, etc, then you’ll increase its cores over time. The key core to increase is its total stamina pool. You want the largest stamina pool imaginable, and that comes from bonding, not cash.
Don’t Skip the Story Missions
Like the single-player campaign in Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online features a number of entertaining story missions to complete. Here, you’ll interact with cooky characters and brazen outlaws; it’s a fun time.
But more so than a good time, the story missions in Red Dead Online affect your honor rating. The first three feature moral choices that will set your character on a path to the dreaded outlaw or honorable denizen of West Elizabeth.
Your honor rating matters online. It affects the story you experience, which branches in either direction depending on your honor.
Invest in Treasure Maps
How many of us genuinely spent time tracking down treasure in Red Dead Redemption 2? If you went for a 100% completionist run, then yeah, you likely did. But that’s rare.
In Red Dead Online, treasure maps come every five levels, and they’re worth your time and energy.
Every treasure map you complete provides around $100 and one and a half gold bars, on average, though the actual reward varies depending on the map itself. As you may know, gold bars are tough to come by online, so stock up with these relatively simple missions.
Focus on Bounty Hunting
If your goal in Red Dead Online is to amass cash and gold, then focus on bounty hunting.
Once you have a horse and some weaponry, focus on accumulating the gold necessary to invest in the Bounty Hunter Role. It’s 15 Gold in total, but you’ll earn that back in no time whatsoever.
Like the main story mode, bounty hunting proves a welcome distraction. It’s a simple side gig involving tracking down wanted criminals, filling gangs with lead, and hogtying the bounty before delivering them to the local jail.
For your efforts, you’ll be paid handsomely.
Free Roam Events = Quick Cash
While roaming the world in Red Dead Online, you will inevitably stumble upon free roam events. These are usually PvP matches, which certainly isn’t everyone’s bag.
However, if you partake in free roam events, you’ll net yourself a hefty sum in both cash and experience points.
Even if you perform poorly, you’ll find your bank account padded a touch more.
Have Fun!
Seriously, when it comes to Red Dead Online guides like this one, folks often spout the meta. They want to teach new players how to earn the most money in Red Dead Online in the quickest, most efficient manner imaginable. And hey, that’s fine if that’s the type of player you are.
But here’s the thing, Red Dead Online arguably features one of Rockstar Games’ most intricate, most immersive game worlds of all time. It’s simple to lose oneself in the brightly lit streets of Saint Denis at night, or to trek into the mountains to hunt deer, or to ride from Valentine to Annesburg with a posse.
Red Dead Online is what you make it, and if you feel like roleplaying, then, by all means, enjoy yourself. Get into your character, get into the game world, and have fun!
We hope these Red Dead Online tips helped you get a headstart!