There are a lot of ways to make money in Red Dead Online which is a nice change from the fact that when it was in Beta, there was only a few, but the best way to rake in some of those sweet, sweet greenbacks is still by going hunting. It's been the go-to moneymaker since day one, and even if you're riding from one point on the map to another one on the other side, killing everything you come across along the way, you're still going to make some serious bank.
But if you want to fill your pockets and weigh down your faithful nag with more skin than an episode of Game of Thrones, then you're going to need to put some time and effort into it. In this guide, we look at the essential things you must do so that each time you venture out into the wilderness, you're going to come back laden with hides.
Red Dead Online: 10 Tips For Successful Hunting
Use Eagle Eye
You may think that this would be a no-brainer, after all, Eagle Eye is one of the core mechanics when it comes to hunting, but you'd be surprised at how many people only ever use it when it's dark. It's understandable to a point when you're out on the open stretches of land that make up Rockstar's huge map then you can see for miles in either direction during daylight, but if you venture into the forests, you really can't see the wood for the trees. Clicking Eagle Eye into action in these situations can be the difference between you bagging that rare animal or missing it altogether.
Venture Of The Beaten Track
As stated in the intro to this guide you can pick a starting point on the map and travel all the way across it to a finishing point and make a decent amount of cash just killing everything you come across but if you're serious about getting some high-quality skins and some rare animals then you're really going to need to venture into the wilderness. Whenever you come across a stretch of land that looks as if man/woman has never set foot upon it, then be like Captain Kirk and boldly go. You never know just what you'll find.
Learn To Love Your Bow
No, that's not a euphemism, get your mind out of the gutter. The bow is your best friend when it comes to hunting, and you're going to need to be able to wield it in such a way that the Green Arrow would be jealous. It's essential to become deadly with this piece of equipment because killing an animal with is liable to give you a much better quality skin than if you pump about 12 rounds into it and better quality means more money.
Know When To Carry A Big Gun
Now that you know a lot about the bow (thanks to the information provided above), there are times when a set of arrows won't do the trick. I mean, look at that bloody thing, will you? Can you honestly say that when that bear comes steaming out of the darkness at you, you're going to be able to take it down with a few well placed moments of archery? No, you're not. In times like these make sure you have a very big gun to hand with some very big bullets or else you're going to end up as lunch.
Don't Ignore The Little Guy
It's very tempting to go after the big game in Red Dead Online such as bucks, bears, and alligators and while that is all well and good, you really shouldn't forget about the varmints that make up a vast chunk of the wildlife. They might not be as enticing as something as big as your horse, but everything that you kill is worth money. If a jack-rabbit is in your sights then shoot the s.o.b. Hell, even skunks are worth a few dollars to any butcher that you visit as long as you've got a few in your satchel.
Dress For The Occasion
The first thing you should do when you've got yourself a few greenbacks in your wallet is to invest it in some winter weather clothes. The reason behind this is quite simple; if you want to make some hard cash, then you need to get yourself up into those damn mountains and hunt. Not many people do, and that means that pretty much anything you find up there is rarer than a unicorn turd and will fetch a tasty price when you bring it back down to the cities and towns.
Get Some Bait But Use It Properly
There are two kinds of bait in Red Dead Online that can be used to attract animals to their doom, one is for predators, and the other is for herbivores, and if you just put it down anywhere, you want then your kill will magically appear before you, pooping out rainbows. That's a load of hogwash, but it does seem to be how people perceive these items to work. What you need to do is to figure out where the animals are or are going to be before you put the bait down and with a little time and practice this is something that will become second nature to you and will stop you having a fit every time you waste bait, and nothing shows up.
The Same Goes For Cover Scent Lotion
Like the bait before it, you need to be careful when using cover scent lotion. Not that you're liable to burst into flames or anything if you put it on too early, but the fact that doing so is just a waste. You need to keep it for those moments when you are hunting animals that could kill you only by looking at you or are likely to freak out at just a single whiff of a human being and bolt, never to be seen again. So, yeah, there's no need to be splashing that stuff on like it's aftershave.
Sell Everything
Unless you're really into crafting and cooking yourself up some exotic birds with seasoning, then there is no reason for you to visit a butcher to sell your wares and walk away with anything other than an empty satchel. All you need to survive in the Wild West is enough cooked venison to help replenish your cores, say about ten chunks should do it, which you should only restock on when you're nearly out. Everything else you have from your kills should be flogged to a butcher whenever you reach civilization.
Be Patient
Hunting can be a frustrating experience in Red Dead Online, one that can occasionally see you go for quite a while without having anything to kill and skin, but you have to be patient. There's no point going off half-cocked and throwing a hissy fit just because you haven't managed to do anything in the last 20 minutes; it's like waiting for a bus. Nothing happens then three come along at once. If you put the time and effort in then Red Dead Online becomes the perfect hunting simulator and just like in real life, sometimes that means doing nothing but twiddling your thumbs for the best part of a day.