Red Dead Online - What We Know So Far

There wasn’t much talk or even marketing with regards to the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2. All we know that it’s coming after release. The open world western’s been out for a month now, and just like that we have Red Dead Online’s beta starting this week, and the first wave of players forming a posse to do whatever they want in the world will be the owners of Red Dead Redemption 2’s Ultimate Edition. What can you expect from Red Dead Online? Here’s what we know so far.

[All of the information regarding Red Dead Online is based off a leak via IllogicalMods through Twitter. Details on the similar leaked information can also be found here by gtabase.]

Every game instance can host up to 32 players

There can be up to 32 players roaming the game world and can form a posse of up to 8 players. This is for the beta and could change when it fully launches.

There are currently 5 confirmed game modes

We have the typical game modes like team deathmatch and to no one’s surprise - a battle royale-type game mode.

Most Wanted: a free for all game mode that’s all about raking up the kills to be the top player in the leaderboard. The player with the most kills receives a bounty on their head, a mechanic that seems to serve as a way to comeback from a game.

Make it Count: Rockstar’s take in the battle royale mode, of course. There will be shrinking circles involved, and a set weapon given to each player. For example, one map will have just a bow available. The last man standing wins.

Name Your Weapon: seems to be another free for all game mode with a set of weapons available. You earn points depending on the weapon of your choice.

Team Shootout: simply the typical team deathmatch game mode.

Hostile Territory: an objective-based game mode tasking teams to capture zones to build up points. It seems you can win the moment one team captures all zones.

Races: there will be horse races with three different types. One type is a point to point race on certain maps, some race maps will have laps, while other maps task players to race through checkpoints in any order.

There will be missions and they can be played solo

We are talking about missions with moral choices that could affect the outcome, which will affect your online character’s Honor rating, similar to what’s found in the single player campaign.

Here’s a list of missions uncovered by the leak:

Highly Illegal and Highly Immoral: Marshall Davies asked you to meet him near Van Horn. He is on the trail of Alfredo Montez and he wants to finish things.

Honor Among Horse Thieves: Horley suggested you go to see Clay Davies, a horse thief, to learn the ins and outs of the horse-rustling trade.

If the Hat Fits…: Horley directed you towards the Blackwater police chief in Pike’s Basin. A conman and outlaw is on the loose. Whether or not justice will be done depends on your Honor.

Kerosene, Tar, and Greed: Horley thought you should offer your services to Samson Finch near Dewberry Creek. Industry is in his crosshairs. He has a job to do and a score to settle.

Kill Them, Each and Every One: You were told to meet Horley and Mrs. LeClerk south of Armadillo. The man who killed her husband may be holed up nearby.

Love and Honor: Horley told you to call on the Tumbleweed Sheriff. A young woman has been taken by a gang of outlaws and her husband is concerned. A moral decision will be required.

There are Strangers all around Free Roam

So far we’ve encountered a good amount of Strangers, which acts as a way to give missions to players. These missions occur inside the Free Roam map, which means that rival players can actually disrupt your mission if they want to. For example, one mission tasks you and your group to bring a stagecoach to a certain location. Other players can actually rob it.

Apparently, there’s a timer as to when you can get another mission from the same Stranger.

There’s two types of currencies in Red Dead Online

Cash works exactly how it does in the single player campaign. The other is gold bars, which serves as a premium currency that can be bought with real money. Players can spend gold for special cosmetic items, unlocking items, and even reset your honor meter. You can’t buy gold just yet, but it will be available via the game’s in-game store, which is still unavailable.

During missions, you not only earn cash but gold nuggets. When you earn 100 gold nuggets, it turns into 1 gold bar, suggesting that people can buy stuff at the in-game store with enough grind. And from the looks of how missions go, it’s going to be a painful grind.

Public Beta schedule

Want in on the beta for Red Dead Online? As mentioned at the start, owners of the Ultimate Edition of the game get first dibs, which starts today, November 27. For the rest, here’s when you can start playing:

November 28 - all players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26.
November 29 - all players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26 to October 29.
November 30 - all owners of Red Dead Redemption 2 can play Red Dead Online.

The start times for each day is as follows: 8:30 AM EST / 5:30 AM PT / 9:30 PM GMT+8

That’s what we know so far. We will update this post when more gets revealed in the coming weeks.

If Grand Theft Auto Online is any indication, this is just the beginning and you can expect Rockstar Games to fully support the online portion, filling it with cosmetic content and new ways to keep their player base engaged.

We enjoyed our time with the single player campaign of Red Dead Redemption 2, and you can read what we think about it right here.

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