Finally finished chapter 4, and I think I did literally everything as far as missions go. Every bounty, stranger and side mission.

Progress shows I've done 52% of the story as I start chapter 5, and I'm 220 hours in to it! That's cool, to find so much to do and ways to spend time when not pursuing the story line. I said earlier in this thread that folks who can role play a bit and conjure up their own objectives will get the most out of this amazing game world and I like to think that's what I've been able to do. Without spoiling too much (is there a expiration on spoilers?) I think I could get a lot more game play out of the end game when things, shift.

There are a number of collection type objectives, some of which I've ignored (dino bones, dream catchers) and some I've done sparingly (skin animals, cigarette cards,etc). But I want to do Zoologist, which means studying every one of the nearly 200 animals in story mode. I'll need to be sure to find all in Chapter 5, as these may be unique to this island and I won't have a chance to come back. And I suspect this will be something to propel me through any time I spend in the epilogue.

I played this game before, and I'm coming near the point where I stopped, around the time that Arthur starts to decline. Looking forward to what's new, and finally getting a chance at the bigmouth bass. I will also complete the legendary fish and animals strands, but I need access to West Elizabeth with no bounty. I've taken all I can get to, aside from the catfish. Speaking of hunting.... I've been after a perfect panther. And I've been skunked. I've spent about two weeks of in-game time hunting for it but I just doesn't spawn. It's not just that I've not seen it, because if it was in the area at least I'd see signs, like his trail using the sight. I've watched videos. One dude plops down a deer carcass and some predator bait and the panther walks out like 20 seconds later. For me, nothing. Is this chapter-locked or something?

This is a great game.

I checked my Steam account today.

RDR2 is 50% on Steam now..

Also the ultimate version.

Is there a big difference?

I don`t know if it is in my ally, but probably worth getting?

No difference for story mode/single player. The ultimate edition includes some RDO bonuses like outfits and horses, and you won't see this unless you play Red Dead Online.

Whether you would like it is another question of course. For me its the best game of it's sort we've seen, but you can see through this thread that it's not for everyone. But it's so diverse, so many things to see and do, that I'd have to think there's something it in it for everyone. I could see some not caring for the Rockstar set piece main story missions, but I have fun with them.

There's no accounting for taste so you'd have to just play it and see. I think there's enough in this thread to form an opinion, but you'll have to play it and see. At half-price I reckon it's well worth it.

Good post DBond and good point about the no accounting for taste. I'll give my own example with the Mass Effect games. For me those represent the pinnacle of what a story-driven sci-fi RPG should be but I know several people who never bothered to try them out because the sci-fi setting with aliens, space travel, futuristic tech, etc. just doesn't do anything for them.

Sounds good.

I think I will go for the standard version since i don`t often play online.

I need a break from ED grinding and I have got some problems with my feet that keep me away from racing right now so it could be good timing to try it out.

Let us know what you think if you give it a go.

Chapter 1 is a bit linear, and then the game opens out in chapter 2 when you reach Horseshoe Overlook. Don't give up in chapter 1

Thanks for the tip.
Will do.

Can you literally play the whole game in first person?

How is the field of view? Is there a decent slider, unlike GTA 5, to expand the FOV to acceptable PC FPS standards?

No worries mate, I hope you get on with it. If you pull the trigger.

If you want to play in first person, the V key will get you there. I do, except on the horse when the camera switches to third person, and it happens automatically as I mount and dismount. I don't think many players choose first person though.

I prefer third person as its designed as a third person game but the fps is cool that it was added. I seem to recall on the PS4 I used it sometimes just to try it out but I don't think the fov was as good as it could be. On pc it may be different though.

Don't forget this game is just great for relaxing and exploring too. The environment and sound design is second to none and they really capture a feel for nature that many games don't quite achieve. The horses are the best animated and feel around. Just riding around on horse back can be quite therapudic and pleasant.

Dbond, If you know,

The answer to your spoiler question, Coot, is....

Sorry Blastman, I missed this. Yes you can play it entirely in first person, and FoV is adjustable, but players complain that the range is too narrow. For me, the view is a bit too restricted when on horseback, like I cannot see down to check if we are about to step off a cliff, so I use third person for that, but I could opt to stay in first person if I wanted to. Evidently there are mods to give more FoV options?

Another time first person worked against me is during a mission. We were making an escape in a wagon, and my job was to keep the pursuers from jumping on to the wagon. But one was so close that I could not depress my view enough to get a shot so I had to switch to third person to give him the good news.

Thanks for that detailed description DBond. I'll try to remember or come back here to check if I get my second play through started soon.

It turns out that there are nine unique animals in Guarma, four snakes, four birds and an iguana. I was able to study all of these within about an hour and a half, so that's done. All were found quite close to camp, just a matter of sweeping the scene with the binoculars, and one or two were found in flight. So with those studied the rest of the missions on the island came quickly and I'm back on the mainland. Sort of an odd chapter, number five. Quite short and linear, a clear contrast to the rest of the time in the game. I wonder if this was originally meant to be bigger?

I wish the Guarma mission was longer too. I seem to remember thinking it was too quick. It would have been nice to have more island to explore and maybe a couple of fun, unique missions such as sneaking around at night in a storm around the military fort. Also being able to paddle around in a small boat and fish in that "Caribbean" setting would have been cool. Sort of a mini camp scenario and bring back food. Maybe even have a cool "Old Man and the Sea" mission where you can go way off shore and fish for a huge swordfish and bring him back in homage to the book. I think I saw a video where someone figured out how to get back to the island but if it was real it was likely some sort of glitch work around or something.

Yes, and I'd imagine that when Rockstar sketched it out it was more expansive than what we got in the end. It's a diversion I suppose, mixing it up a bit. It's not bad, but the nature of it -- the length and linear game play -- feel a bit out of place for me. It's over quite quickly, I probably wasn't there but three hours or so. So in the end it's fine, but the weakest chapter for me.

I'm now in chapter 6 and have passed the point I reached in my previous run, so from here on out it's all new to me.

It's just a game, but as I've alluded to, Arthur's declining condition affects me. The coughing, the draining cores, the weakness and the episodes where he passes out. The pointlessness of continuing when the end is near. It was enough to make me put the game aside the first run, but this time I am pressing on and I think it makes sense at this stage to just push straight through the main story to reach the epilogue where I can get back to free-roam with no fate hanging over me. I understand that most of the content can be continued as John, so I'll leave a few side missions for him I think.

Arthur Morgan is probably the best protagonist in video game history.

A few images I've captured along the way.

Arthur Morgan




Beaver Hollow camp




Self reflection




Poker is a good way to pass the time during a rain storm. Valentine saloon








A storm's brewin'




A new day

Coot didn't I see a reply here yesterday? Must have deleted it?

I'm nearing the very end of chapter 6, just two or three missions to go. I rarely spoil this sort of game for myself, but I did look up what carries over to the epilogue. Most but not all is the answer, though I'll not spoil it for others who may be starting out. I suspect many players look things up beforehand so they know what to expect, and spoilers only affect a few. A player following a guide has no room for complaining of spoilers in forum post, right? But generally I've avoided any narrative clues, and it's just mechanics that I look up. Even so I know the remainder of chapter 6 will be heartbreaking.

Obviously I am full of praise for RDR 2, and it just keeps getting better. I already thought this was the best PC game, and that was before everything that happened in chapter 6. Just phenomenal and it deserves its success.

When the story comes to an end and I move in to the epilogue I have a few loose ends to tie up. I've been focusing on filling out the compendium, particularly the animals. There are 178 to study and I've found about 145. I don't know which I am missing, and how many of these are native only to the areas of the map I cannot access yet. Well, I could look it up I reckon, but I'll save that for when I'm totally frustrated, and would rather just find them all on my own. We'll see how that goes. Not too many left, but then again these are all the ones I have not found, and there's a reason for that. Like that #%&*$# panther.

The epilogue will also allow me to hopefully finish the legendary animal and fish chains and that's the plan. Not too keen on completing the other stuff. Many challenges just don't appeal to me, like kill three birds of prey with a tomahawk. I've approached this game the entire time with a certain role playing vibe, and indiscriminately killing a magnificent bird like an eagle to complete some random challenge runs counter to the Arthur I've fashioned. Yeah, it's just a game, but I think this approach has had a big effect on how I view my experience.

It's one of those games where I wish I could play it again for the first time, but alas...

Same here. I would like to experience the game anew as well. Its a lot of fun when a new, big game and world that you've been looking forward to for years starts up for the first time and its mostly a mystery.

Yes indeed.

I finally finished RDR 2. What a ride. I still have unlimited time in the epilogue awaiting, but I got 246 hours out of the story with Arthur Morgan. I found so much to do, or invented things to do, and honestly it could have been a lot more. Or a lot less I suppose.

And I have a big part of the map left to explore, Blackwater (where we went briefly during the story) and New Austin which I've seen nothing of. It's cool to put this much time in to a game, and still have so much left to discover. As I talked about before, I first played through to chapter 6 in my Epic version, then started anew on Steam. So between the two runs I have close to 500 hours in Red Dead Redemption 2 without having seen a third of the map! I'm looking forward to new things.

As for the game, I have no choice but to say it's the best I've played. The game world, story, characters, voice acting!, graphics, authenticity, sound design, music, pacing and well, just about everything, are superb. I've played many, many PC games down the years, and none have left me more impressed than RDR 2. It's perfectly suited to me, and I think I'm quite a ways from being done with it.

Arthur Morgan is without a doubt my favorite character I've played in a game. Rockstar did an amazing job, and the voice actor, Roger Clark, did too. I'm out of superlatives, and that ending. Man, what a trip, Unforgettable experience for me. I look forward to the game that's good enough to knock RDR 2 off the perch.