Topic: Red Dead Redemption 2 OT

@johncalmc Fair enough. Many thanks again. You’re a gentleman and a scholar. I won’t inundate you with more questions (for today). 😋

@Th3solution I’m only repeatedly dying on gunslinging missions as I suck at those so much.

Just started playing this and I'm liking the characters so far but the controls and aiming feels very cumbersome. Any suggestions for aiming settings? Also, I don't like that you have to replay the entire mission just to get a gold medal. There should a checkpoint for when the fight starts instead of having play the entire mission.

I was wondering if Im doing something wrong, ive put in over 40 hours of gameplay. Im lucky if I stumble upon a mission every 3-4 hours,Ive done 14 missions so far,and yet only on chapter 2, with only 23% progress,and 14 % story.

@WanderingBullet The medal thing was in GTA5 too and just seems utter nonsense as you don't know the goals beforehand and they're such random goals too.

@hulkie How do you mean "stumble on" missions? Most story missions seem to unlock fairly organically. I'm probably on the same amount of game time as you and still on chapter 2 as well. The "total progress" bar is a bit weird though as it has such arbitrary goals to consider something complete. Doing a handful of random encounters ticks that off as complete for instance.

@Thrillho Oh, I didn't know that GTAV had it too. I only spent a few hours on GTAV's campaign because I didn't care for the characters and also I really didn't like the controls.

@WanderingBullet I just play with full manual aim and it feels... normal. Auto-aim is something innatural to me, as steer assist in a racing game.
Medals are based on time too, here the reason you are forced to play the entire mission. Being fast to reach a destination or to use the lazo is as important as shooting.

@andreoni79 Wow, did you managed to get 80% accuracy during the wolves section near the begining?

@Th3solution No worries, I live to give.

While I didn't go for the medals in GTA V, I think they're a good idea and give extra incentive to replay missions once you've finished the game.

After I've finished RDR 2 I might go back through the missions one by one to see if I can get all the golds and also to enjoy the story again without having to go through the open world.

@WanderingBullet At the moment I'm ignoring the medals and I'm not replaying missions if I missed the gold. I just restarted the game yesterday because I had the "missing people" bug and I can assure all that now that I know the controls the game feels way better. Now I'm curious to see how good I was in that section...
Personally, I always give priority to realism; I don't like when collecting trophies alter my perception of how the game should be played.

@andreoni79 Gotcha. For me, it's so much about the trophies, personally I find the aiming in this game is just not fun.

@WanderingBullet I think it's because gunfights are rare. I can immediately use the "L1 - R1 - stick to the right" combo to pick up the binoculars as soon as I see an animal since there are plenty of them, but when I'm caught into a gunfight I still get lost. At the moment the best tactic is to hide myself as soon as I feel danger, then I start thinking at buttons...

I’m starting to really warm up to the game now and feel more comfortable in its world and with the controls. It’s still pretty overwhelming, but I’m starting to have a similar feeling that I had with Bloodborne earlier this year. I was rather discouraged and confused about that game for several play sessions also, but once things ‘click’ then it’s hard not to think about the game all day and crave getting back into it.

I still have gameplay mechanics I’m learning and I’m definitely a noob in the world. Despite the horse riding being amongst PlayStation’s finest, I’ve managed to nearly kill myself and my horse a few times having him galloping full speed on a chase, only to smash into a unnoticed stump or boulder. Thankfully the poor guy has got up each time and isn’t lame yet.
Speaking of, I’ve yet to come across the preorder bonus materials. Anyone know when in the game those become available? Again, I’m still moseying slowly through Ch.2, doing side activities and exploring learning the world. I’m assuming there is a progression point where those bonus materials, including a new horse, will become clearly available?

I had my first quick draw duel last night and the game threw those controls at me so fast I died quickly with a thrown knife in my chest. I was successful on repeat, but it was only out of blind luck. You’re supposed to gradually press R2 to ready your weapon then... press it and it just fires? I’m not sure because I just mashed a bunch of buttons and it fired and killed the guy and I’m not sure which one did it! 😅

I’m not sure if this is my GOTY yet, but one thing is for sure — I have a list of ‘deserted island’ games that I’d take with me if I was stranded on an island and this is definitely one of them. The world is so vast with so much to do that it could keep one busy for ages.

@Th3solution You can get the pre-order horse once you visit a stable for the first time as it’s available for free from there. The name was slightly different to what it was called in the pre-order pack which confused me slightly.

I have no idea where I get the special gun I supposedly unlocked in GTA online though.

@Thrillho Okay, Cool. I assume that’s also when you’re able to start keeping the horses you steal or “borrow” from people 😉.
I wasted time bonding with the stolen horse at the beginning of Ch 2 and I think it is intended to only be a temporary horse.

@Th3solution I still ride that stolen horse. We've been through so much already together. It's not the best horse, but it's my horse.

That's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's really amazing how much you actually get attached to your horse. Knowing it might die on any mission (which is permanent), caring for it and naming it, makes the bond feel way more real than it should be.

I loved my horse Roach in The Witcher 3 and (no spoilers) there are some pretty strong story beats with him as well, that in a way make you care for it. But that's mostly because of the horse's role in the story. In RDR2 that bond is stronger, because you chose the horse yourself.

Just another way in which Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterclass in game design.

Regarding replaying missions, is it pointless to loot items when you're playing them? I mean, you don't get to keep them, right?

@Kidfried A bad thing happened to me regarding the horse but I won't spoil since it was related to an even, not just a random accident... Just be careful!

@Kidfried Yes, Agro comes to mind from Shadow of the Collosus as well. She never said a word, but I formed a closer bond to her than almost any other game character I can think of. * sigh *