Red Dead Redemption 2

[Art Blade]

Today I had a funny experience with an O'Driscolls camp and a grizzly bear. Not far from Wallace Station, to the West from there, is an area Binn loves, a valley with a creek and lots of blue flowers, like a blue carpet at times. Close to the station is a bear hunting ground, specifically a grizzly hangs out there. However, in that area there's occasionally a small camp with 4 O'Driscolls. On my way to the big gang hideout farther to the West, I noticed them and for one of my challenges, I killed them with a tomahawk I had to retrieve and use 4 times. After another challenge over at the big camp (kill 15 enemies with a long-barrelled sidearm) I saw that small camp again on my way back, they had respawned which was quite nice of them.

For my challenges (those that I want to play with Arthur and those that I just happened upon and why not, if there's an opportunity) I had to kill unaware enemies from behind with a bow so I killed one and ran away, waiting for the remaining three to cool off so I could take another go at them. Then I heard a bear quite close to their camp and I decided to let the O'Driscolls see me so they'd start to shoot and perhaps attract the bear. Invitation per gunshots, so to speak. Thing is, I had another challenge going that required me to skin, not necessarily to kill, three bears, black or grizzly. I had one black bear so far that had come almost to the front door of Strawberry's stable. And that's why I thought, hey, this is probably bear #2, maybe those muppets could soften him up for me, expecting the grizzly to kill them all but even if not, I could still get the bear skin for my challenge.

So they started to shoot and the bear started to roar louder and more often until the gunshots and the roaring started to blend and merged into a sound stew of shooting, yelling and roaring. Then the shooting stopped but the guys were talking loudly so I went over and killed them, with a repeater. Time for bow games was over, at least for now. Then I looted the whole area, including the bear (it did count for my bear challenge) that those three had actually killed. Rather quickly, I might add. And in the middle of their camp, too They actually did the dirty w0#k for me and I could just reap what they sowed.

thanks, guys. Bye for now..
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[Dweller_Benthos]

Nice w0#k, that is, getting other people to do it, lol!

I'll have to check what breed my horse is, it's the one I got from the stables I think, I don't think it's the one from the Adler ranch but could be.

[PZ]

That's a funny story (and a great open world technique). Hearing the yelling/roaring in the background would keep me chuckling in the background 

[Art Blade]

thanks, guys

PZ, it didn't last long enough to chuckle but I was grinning when I "planned" it out. Like, hearing the bear, making the connection: bear-camp-me, with emphasis on the camp between the bear and me, and then the idea to lure him into the camp for whichever result, either the bear mauling the bandits or the bandits killing the bear or even both.. that made me grin but I didn't have much time to enjoy it because at the time I was threatened by both the bear and the bandits and trying to make it w0#k which I didn't know that it would. When the roaring and yelling and shooting finally did take place, I was indeed grinning but the mini map showed first 4 then 3 red dots and that meant, whatever was alive up there was still a threat to me.

I had time to enjoy it in retrospect after killing the bandits and seeing the bear carcass when screening the camp site. My very first thought there was, however, "*bleep*.. please let that camp fire not have ruined the bear carcass," because he was really close to it. Only after seeing the prompt to skin him was I relieved.

So, it's funnier for you guys to read (and for me to write about) than it actually was when it happened.

You know, I had tried stuff like that before, like letting pursuers ride through a field of alligators or leading a wolf pack chasing me through a populated area, but it never worked. The predators never reacted to AI people. But this time, a very aggressive and already agitated bear close to shooting bandits.. that did w0#k

[nex]

This free open world is so, SO convincing and immersive, I've racked up over 1,270 hours playing it, MOSTLY in free roam.

That's quite some time Art, but I'm beating you with 2,162 hours in GRW

[LowPolyOWG]

Don't forget about his GTA V playtime

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah for a game he doesn't really like, he sure spent a lot of time in it. 

[Art Blade]

nex, if I am not very mistaken, you got your game May 17, 2017 and racked up your 2,162 hours since then. That's 1024 days. I got RDR2 December 5, 2019 and racked up my 1,333 hours since then, in 92 days. You do the maths.

And LowPoly, ah, those 5,031 hours in GTAV.. since April 14, 2015 and I haven't even touched it since January 2019. And as Dweller said, I didn't even like it much

So indeed, beat 5,031 hours, nex.

[Art Blade]

I found a different Sweet Poor Thing, and it's for the first time, ever. Like, in almost 1,300 hours of gaming.

Different as in, this time it's a Nakota race horse with completely normal stats but a similar (not same) kind of coat damage and mane/tail style as the original SPT. I don't think that it's any different from a normal Nakota except for its looks. Oh, this horse doesn't have that much of a burnt face, it's actually looking almost nice.

OK, I found a third type, an Appaloosa with 2/2 stats, that was dragging a wagon with bodies. Near the trapper again. Apart from not wanting a first contact with the Murfree Brood just yet, I couldn't even get the horse for a proper picture because it was night, I couldn't even see clearly whether or not it had a damaged coat but I did recognise that weird kind of numnah (what a weird name for a saddle blanket, lol) they're using and well, it was a Murfree wagon after all. So I couldn't ride it to a stable because, tragically, when I cut it free, the wagon ran her over as it was a downhill path and the horse had prevented it from rolling down as long as the horse was attached to it. However, a 2/2 stats isn't as cool as my original SPT with 3/3 and that means, it's not such a cool find.

But still.

Three different horse breeds that those Murfrees are using.. I wonder, are there even more? All with damaged coats? We'll see. As long as I keep trying to avoid any first contacts, I keep running into them once in a while and then reload a previous savegame. So chances are that I'll see even more of their horses

[BinnZ]

I already told you guys about my firsy days in online, and gave some tips about the startup period. Let's say, your first 30 hours there, more or less. By then you should have a decent horse, a proper weapon loadout and maybe an above average saddle. However, I think the game starts to become really entertaining once you reached that point, more or less, and start 'buying' those roles. I want to tell you guys something about it, for what I know of my own experience, I bet can be useful to you IF you ever start playing online. There's up until now 4 roles; Bounty Hunter, Moonshiner, Collector and Trader.
The most appealing to me seemed the first (15 gold bars to acquire); I liked the idea hunting bounties and the stuff that you can unlock seems really nice. I also bought a Moonshine Shack (25 gold bars) and maxed both roles rank-wise. You can reach up to rank 20 and getting higher you unlock useful stuff you can buy and get improvements to your satchel, some role specific features like less attention from the cops when delivering moonshine, better sellers, quality shine etc. and an improved lasso, preventing bounties from breaking free.
First some quick info about the roles, so you may have an easier choice once you get your first 15 gold bars together.

Mounty Hunter:
The name says it all; you hunt for bounties and get paid. It's a lot like in single player, but generally speaking, the payout it a lot less. There's plenty though, many more than in SP and you can repeat them as often as you want. You pick them from any bounty board near a police station or train station. They pay you dollars and gold, but like I said, the amount is horribly little. You can also find bounties that consist of multiple targets; 2 brothers or even a whole gang of 6. There's 3 difficulty types, and more difficult bounties should pay out better, however it's a shitty pay anyway, so it doesn't really matter much.
In fact, all that matters, is one woman: Etta Doyle. She's one of the legendary bounties. There's 10 in total, and the hunt for them starts in a dedicated empty session (with you, and maybe your posse members if you start it together). You can start legendary bounties from any board, but if you have just completed one you have a cooldown timer of, you guessed it, 48 minutes.
These legendary bounties are fun missions, without timers and quite a bit of freedom in how to reach your goal; a live bounty on the back of your horse or inside your prison wagon. They pay out good. The longer you take to complete them, the higher your payout will be. A bit like the contact missions in GTA. But lets not waste too much time on descriptions and get straight to the most important info: Etta Doyle. She's a mean bitch riding a gang of mean bitches. And they are being lured to a Cornwall factory where they think is a big prize. All there is though, is you. Hiding in a tunnel. You have to wait for them to search the area. They all look alike, but time will reveal what's the real Etta. Once you know, run over and tie her up with your lasso. Funny enough, and very welcome, the rest of the ladies will all run off without spotting you if you catch her at the right moment. Then you just put her on your horse, ride to the police station around the corner, and if you like you wait there until half an hour has passed for maximum payout; should be 225 dollars and half a bar of gold.

~Another important tip / trick that is good to know for online, but specifically in this mission if you want to wait for half an hour, is the catalogue. In Online you can always browse the catalogue, and have stuff delivered what you order there at both your camp and any post office. When you're browsing the catalogue, the game won't ever kick you for idling. Same as watching TV in GTA

Moonshiner:
You have to buy a moonshine shack and do a couple of story missions related to the moonshine shack boss, a half burnt old lady, to have your operation running. It's passive income. You buy a batch of malt, wait for it to become shine and then sell it. There's a lot to talk about, but I'll cut the *bleep*; most important is that it is a good steady income as soon as things w0#k properly, which is basically when you ranked up to 20. It will also unlock you the best horse yet, a Norfolk Roadster. In the beginning it can all be pretty unpleasant sometimes, but just remember it will be getting better once you unlocked the better stuff and get to rank 20. And it will pay. At full upgrade etc. you will get a price of 245$ for a full batch and that happens every 48 minutes, if you started one paying 50 for the malt, that is.
One thing is important; choose your location wisely. Not all locations are very nice, because some have nasty delivery roads. I picked the one in Grizzlies first, that was a bad choice. Now I have one near Blackwater, which is pretty okay.
One more thing about moonshining; you have the option to upgrade your shack with an underground tavern. It's very nice, with a band if you pay a little extra, and it reminds a lot of the night club in GTA. You can dance, drink, fiddle the violin, it's fun.

Collector:
You meet a mysterious, gypsy looking woman, with a shop on wheels. She will sell your the collector role. Once you paid 15 gold bars, you will be able to find collectible items. They vary from special booze bottles to golden rings or special flowers and playing cards. There is a website. Where you can find all the actual locations for the available spawn locations: [url+https://jeanropke.github.io/RDR2CollectorsMap/]Collectors map[/url]
Uzi told me this is the best way to get rich quickly. But it can be a tad boring. You have to check the map, go to the indicated areas, and find the stuff there is. It's easy to find them, just use your eagle eye ability and they will glow with a golden cloud above them (like gator eggs in SP). They even produce a little sound, so finding them is peanuts.
But because I already did so much searching and collecting in SP, I was really done with that. I didn't want to go for it again, in online, so it will definitely be the last role I will start with.

Trader:
This is a pretty cool one and I will get it soon. It means you go hunting for wild animals, which you bring you Cripps, the 'Pearson' of online camps, and once you collected a load you can sell it. Fully maxed out, each load will pay you 650 dollars and some gold, while posse members all get 300 dollars and some gold for helping with the delivery. It's a bit comparable with the Special cargo in GTA, but the hunting is of course totally different. You can pick what you want, and where you want, and 3 star animals will give more product. So it's quite comparable to the hunting we did for the trapper and Pearson in SP.
Important though, is that your camp spawns near a place where there's lots of wild life. Like the open fields west of Blackwater, or my favourite Little Creek valley.
I think this role delivers the best and most relaxing game play, and decent payout. Will tell you more about this role soon.

~

One last thing about online, regarding horses. I have the idea that bonding with horses takes longer in online than in single player. You have to obtain the same amount of points to fully bond with it, but you will progress less fast. That might have to do with lots of things, but one thing I noticed; while riding you can't just constantly pat it; only when it's agitated, you make a shisshing sound to calm it, that's it. Horses also seem generally more easily agitated than in SP, but that might be due to my playing style; to begin with, I usually bought a new horse once I got max bonding level with the current horse. That had to do with my haste to obtain the last achievement I had to unlock in the game; own 5 consecutive horses in Online. (you can own up to 10 horses, but you have to buy the stables, which also have a nice price tag)
Apart from me not riding much with level 4 bonded horses (which means indeed that they react cooler to predators or enemies) I also am the type of player who always rushes into where the action is. So I don't approach threats from a distance, carefully patting my horse to keep it calm, I run and gun through it and then find out my horse got so skittish it throws me off or runs way

That's it for now, more info will follow

Edit: I haven't said anything about the Outlaw Pass. The game offers you to become a Wheeler and Rawson club member. You will get unlocks and stuff like gold bars, money, discounts and treasure maps when you purchase it. It costs 40 gold bars, but the game hints you will be able to gain 'up to' 40 gold bars as well ranking up. Once you start playing Online, you will start ranking up in the club, whether you're a member or not. Some things will be unlocked even if you don't own the pass, others remain locked until you buy the pass.
The fun part is; this outlaw pass has a limited durability, of one year (or half a year?). And that (half) year will expire March 10th 2020. I already ranked up to 100 (=max) so if I purchase the pass, I will instantly unlock all the *bleep* that there is to unlock. So I get my gold back, and some money, and some cool features. I haven't really dug into all the *bleep* that is being unlocked by the pass yet, but it's worth a try, I think. I am currently at 32 gold bars, so I have 2 more days to collect those last 8. I think it's doable. But it requires a little haste in certain things... well. you know me
Oh, and March 10th there will probably be released a new outlaw pass, for the next year. It will be pass No 3. So we PC players already missed out on the first one, but we do have access to the second, me if I am quick enough racking up gold. And then with the third comes even more stuff

[BinnZ]

I got it! The outlaw pass. I managed to rack up enough gold this morning, and with a tad of fear I decided to get the pass. I knew I wouldn't have enough time to rank up to 100 outlaw so it was a risk, but still decided to do it. It worked! I instantly got all the unlocks, items and discounts donated!
So there was my 40 gold back, and 200 dollars, and 3 treasure maps leading to another 4 gold bars and 350 dollars or something. And some cool outfits, a free Husky for the camp and many more

[Art Blade]

nice!

what I don't know is what the "story behind it" really is. My guess is that that pass you got had to be paid in gold which is hard to get and that pass can be bought with gold which, supposedly, other players pay real money for in order to buy it and you, instead, worked hard to earn it?

^ just noticed your added info as per edit, in your previous post. Well done

[Art Blade]

finally, bad Arthur managed, all 10 bandit challenges are now completed, something I didn't want do do while still on my first playthrough. This one is different, and doing the bandit stuff with Arthur is easier because.. his sins will die with him, no need to abuse John for that. AAAAaaand it's DOOOoooone

[Dweller_Benthos]

I split my time between the story and online and honestly I'm finding the online stuff more interesting, even with the odd player who decides to kill me with no provocation like one did while I was out hunting and waiting for Binn to come back so we could do a mission. But really, that's only the second time so far getting killed in free roam, which is much better than in GTA in an equivalent time played, so there you go. And if I'd remembered to go back into defensive mode that probably wouldn't have happened.

I think I also got some of the things from the Outlaw Pass that Binn was talking about, I think it said something like it was free for a few days or something like that. I know I got a couple of the treasure maps which boosted my gold and money quite a bit, got me enough to buy the bow and since I already had fire arrows gifted to me for a holiday bonus or something, I wanted to use them. Got a few kills in a king of the hill free roam event from them, I think, though I'm still way in the hole in the kill/death ratio on those. I don't mind getting killed in those events, if you join one, it's to be expected, it's the free roam players that annoy me a little when they are just out to kill people. For the most part I haven't had much issue with that honestly, at least not enough to make me quit online. I even one time killed someone quite by accident, we were both racing opposite ways on a narrow road and came around the same corner at the same time and us and our horses crashed into each other, killing everyone involved. Was kinda funny really. I chose the "parley" option from the death notice which I take to mean, you don't want to be aggressive after that, so we both revived our horses and went our separate ways. I actually didn't even see where he went, he was gone by the time I got back to my horse.

As to story mode, I did swap out my horse I had been using which was a thoroughbred, for my walker, but since it's not as bonded with me yet, still a little hard to control. The thoroughbred is much faster and has double the acceleration, but it's skittishness around predators makes it not worth using much.

[Art Blade]

enjoy your online time, then

As to SP horses, I told you I nicked a rare Dutch Warmblood (that can later be bought for 100 odd $ if your honour is maxed out with Arthur although can never get 100% honour) and as far as I can tell, the stats are the same, 3/3 acc/sp and good stamina/health when bonded to level 4. At that bonding level, I have to admit, she's been astonishingly cool. I used her a few times, won a race and she really didn't react at all when I killed a gator from horseback (well, fair enough distance between us) and a snake not too far away. I also happened to use her during a massive shoot-out, she didn't flinch.

So.. either buy her (I think unlocks in chapter 3) or, much easier and cheaper, get her from the "Prospector" (gold washer) when you see him, found him not far from Horseshoe and another time in that valley Binn loves so much, not far to the west from Wallace station.