Red Dead Redemption 2

[Dweller_Benthos]

Nice, that is exactly the encounter I had with them, that wagon with one live and two dead people in it though I didn't get there fast enough to save the last person. But not knowing the value of the horse, or really what to even do with another horse at that point in the game, I just looted everyone, tossed their bodies in the river to eventually be taken over the waterfall, and left the horse and wagon there. I know I remember the horse looking a bit worse for wear, but it was night and I had no idea you could even have two horses or trade horses or anything as it was very early in the game and I knew almost nothing lol.

[Art Blade]

 

[Art Blade]

WEAPON: THE BOW

For some time now I've changed my weapons preference: Whenever possible, I use the bow now.

Two of the arrow types are surrogates for other weapons:

a regular arrow is as powerful as a repeater and obviously even better than a pistol or revolver.
An improved arrow is as powerful as a long-scoped sniper rifle.

In practical terms, to kill bandits or wolves, a regular arrow works. I haven't tried it on a cougar yet but that should w0#k, too Regular arrows tend to stick in the target so you can pick them up when looting or skinning.

For the big stuff like a grizzly, an improved arrow works.

Of course improved arrows kill just anything but silly as it may sound, the arrows typically penetrate the target and strand somewhere behind it, can be even a few yards. The problem is that even though arrows on the ground are flashing just like dropped weapons, they're so small that most of the time you don't see them. Best practice is to remember the direction you shot from and then follow that direction past the target and move around in that area, I have been able to retrieve the majority of the improved arrows and most of the regular ones. I even found improved arrows a couple of yards away sticking in a tree

Small game arrows tend to get lost for some reason.

Also, the varmint rifle and small game arrows are not the same regarding hunting. Meaning, you'll ruin small game with a varmint rifle shot and small game arrows won't kill anything bigger than small game.

Legendary predators like that huge Bull Gator (alligator) that may shrug off a long-scoped rifle shot.. I deal with them by using just one dynamite arrow. Boom, done. Actually fire arrows are perhaps even better because they burn the animal to a crisp without ruining the legendary skin or pelt and you can retrieve a fire arrow, funny as it is. I killed a couple of legendary animals with fire arrows. Same goes for poison arrows, you can retrieve them but I don't use them on animals because of the cruelty. I use them on bandits like the Murfrees As a side note, you cannot retrieve poisoned throwing knives. They'll use up the poison and turn into conventional throwing knives that you can't even pick up if you've already got 8 throwing knives. Completely useless. The poison arrows stay poisonous after retrieving them, fire arrows can be reused, too. Dynamite arrows quite obviously get blown to pieces so they're single use only.

Having said all that, I'm equipped perfectly well with just a bow (with all types of arrows stocked up to the max, hehe) and if needed, a varmint rifle. I may use the M1899 pistols dual-wielded if there's a mass-shooting going on but the last couple of bandit hideouts with around 20 bandits coming after me I managed to deal with using just the bow

I like the bow because it's silent. Good for my own ears and for my horse (doesn't cause panic like gunshots) and it's practical regarding anything in the game within earshot like animals or people because they won't go mental. Which is cool for stealth kills and for hunting.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah I like the bow but since I don't have access to the higher tier arrows yet it's just the regular ones. Nice to know they are as good as a gun in some cases.

What was that western-themed game a few years ago? I completely forget the name but a few of us played it. I used the bow a lot in that game as I recall.

[PZ]

I kind of remember that game, but do not recall the name. AB will remember 

[Art Blade]

I don't know what game you're remembering but I think you guys are referring to Assassin's Creed III when you play as Ratonhnhaké:ton aka Connor.

As to RDR2 arrows, you've got access to virtually all arrows in chapter 2 already so if you haven't got them, I strongly advise you to play Single Player for a change and craft some arrows. The first thing you should do is start a camp fire to craft items, go to the ammo section and there hit the key that shows ALL recipes even if you don't have the ingredients or pamphlets/recipes for them. Check your arrows and likely you're only missing ingredients. If you don't know the recipe it will state that at the bottom of the list and you can easily perform an online search for locations where to find the pamphlets to unlock them. As the game progresses, you can buy tons of pamphlets from the fence if you can't be bothered to search the world for pamphlets but the fence is always kind of late compared to finding pamphlets on your own. I think the ONLY arrows you cannot get "early access" to are the explosive dynamite arrows.

[Art Blade]

a regular arrow works. I haven't tried it on a cougar yet

Now I have, and it works. The arrow went through the cougar's head and it looked like in a comic book, the feathers and part of the shaft on one side and the remaining shaft with the tip on the other side of the head Obviously it makes retrieving arrows so much easier

Strange how until very recently I always thought I'd have to use improved arrows on wolves and cougars.. but you do need improved arrows for massive animals that also mention it in their description. What does w0#k, however, if it doesn't mention arrows but a repeater, then regular arrows w0#k and if it mentions rifles of any kind, improved arrows w0#k.

[Art Blade]

during this second playthrough I've done so many things differently and at the time more efficiently that I've kind of lost count by now. However, here's yet another shortcut, two birds with one stone kind of thing.. look closely and I think you'll understand.

being clever
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Spoiler

15 fish needed for the Survivalist Challenge #10 and 13 of them are also available as legendary fish and there happens to be a side quest to catch all of those legendary fish. Why the hell not combine them?

Channel Catfish
Northern Pike
Legendary / Smallmouth Bass
Legendary / Sockeye Salmon
Legendary / Chain Pickerel
Legendary / Bluegill
Legendary / Lake Sturgeon
Legendary / Bullhead Catfish
Legendary / Longnose Gar
Legendary / Muskie
Legendary / Perch
Legendary / Steelhead Trout
Legendary / Rock Bass
Legendary / Redfin Pickerel
Legendary / Largemouth Bass

[Dweller_Benthos]

Nice fish. I like when you can combine two quests like that, whether they planned it that way or it just happened, makes a nice bit of game to figure out and implement.

About the arrows, I had completely forgotten you could craft ammo of any kind. I just grabbed what was available off the ammo wagon and didn't look into it any further.

It wasn't Assassin's Creed, I never played that game, it was a definite old west themed game, I'm pretty sure there was an original and a sequel. You were the typical old west style cowboy, you and your brother were semi-outlaws, and your brother's wife, maybe? But you did the typical open world stuff and then went to specific places to do story missions. Next time I'm rummaging around in my old game storage, I'll see if I can find the box and jog the old memory. But I recall using the bow quite a bit in that game, even shooting down birds with it.

Don't need to look, it's on the old boards, Call of Juarez: http://www.openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?board=73.0

http://www.openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?action=media;sa=media;in=1787

[PZ]

That is a huge fish! I don't think I did much of anything with the legendary animals.

You nailed it with that game, D_B  I could not recall the name but when I remember the scenery, and when I went to the old site and took a look, that is definitely the game.

I forgot all about that game until you mentioned it, forgot that I had it, but do remember enjoying the scenery.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Reading what I wrote there about it, it seems like I didn't enjoy it too much, how the memory is weird, as I seem to recall having a good time with it. Maybe I'm only remembering the high points which were few and far between the not so high ones?

[PZ]

Could be - I wrote on the old site that it was only worth a single play through because it is linear.

[Art Blade]

AHhh, PZ, you slipped in that post

****

On the one hand I found CoJ in the archive but didn't read any of the old posts. I remember that it wasn't "a big deal" here and I think it was nothing compared to other titles. Because I don't recall reading a lot of CoJ back in the day, I simply dismissed it as an option. On the other hand, nothing else matched the description "Western" except ACIII which I knew PZ enjoyed, at least the exploring bit at least and I think hunting to some extent. Good you answered your own question, D_B

As to RDR2 and the fish:

Meanwhile I completed both lines at the same time: I completed the survivalist challenge and caught every legendary fish. Saved me a lot of time because essentially, I would have had to do the same run around the map twice, one for each of those "missions."

Something strange about the legendary fish quest: during my first playthrough it ended with me using the new spinner trying my luck and before the spinner hit the water, a cutscene/loading screen took me across half the map, from the river in the desert into the mountains, straight to Arthur's grave. During my 2nd PT nothing happened, the spinner hit the water and I caught a random fish.

Makes me wonder, which one of the endings was broken?

[fragger]

I played some of COJ, but there was one part where I had to out-draw some guy and I could never beat him. You had a kind of "holster view" and you had to draw your gun when some kind of prompt appeared (or when the other guy drew or something) and you had to be crazily quick about it. It seemed insanely difficult and I could never get past it, so I gave up.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Oh yeah I recall that quick draw mechanic now, it seems you had to click the mouse button then move the mouse forward and back really fast or something, then in a VATS or dead eye type view, target the guy? Something like that anyway. Yeah there was some good things about the game as I remember more about it, like the main section of the game was an open world, though limited, and you'd go to a certain spot to start a story mission that was mostly linear. Though I think the second game had more open world stuff than the first one, but I may be confusing the two into one memory.

Anyway, back to Art's fish, that is weird about the cutscene triggering, might be because of the way you did the second play through with limited time as Arthur? Something wasn't set in the game code for that scene to trigger at that time, who knows. Maybe eventually I'll get to that point in the story but it won't be anytime soon I don't think.