Guide for Red Dead Redemption 2 (2024)

Red Dead Redemption 2 has 90 Challenges. There are 9 Challenges Categories, each consisting of 10 challenge tasks: Bandit, Explorer, Gambler, Herbalist, Horseman, Master Hunter, Sharpshooter, Survivalist, Weapons Expert.

You can complete these at any time, none of them are missable. You should start working on them early in the game to minimize the grind later on. Challenges are also needed for 100% Completion! You have to do all of them. They aren’t too difficult, more like tutorials of everything you can do in the game and a bunch will come naturally without trying.

Only after completing one tier the next task will unlock. So you must complete the first task to unlock the second, then the second to unlock the third and so on. Below are the required tasks:

Bandit Challenges

1. Hold up 5 townsfolk - This can be done by simply approaching some townsfolk, locking onto them by holding choosing the 'Rob' option, and successfully robbing them
2. Rob any 2 coaches or return any 2 stolen coaches to the Fence - The earliest Fence you can unlock is one at Emerald Station, east of Valentine. When travelling you must steal 2 coaches and return them to the Fence - you will also get some money for this challenge. You can find 2 coaches by riding around the surrounding area of the Fence.
3. Rob the cash register in any 4 shops in one day - I think Saint Denis is a great location for this challenge because of the number of stores to choose from (Avoid the Gunsmith as he will return the favour by pointing a gun at you and potentially shoot you).
4. Rob any 3 coaches or return any 3 stolen coaches to the fence in a day - This is the same as Challenge 2, you just have to do it within a day.
5. Amass $250 bounty in one state - I did this by hiding on the rooftops of Saint Denis and powering my way through the police that charge my way. You will amass a bounty of $250 fairly quickly by killing law enforcment.
6. Steal 5 horses and sell them to the Horse Fence at Clemens Cove - The horse fence is located just north-west of Rhodes and will purchase any horse you bring him. Simplyy steal 5 horses from riders, barns or carriages and bring them to the horse fence.
7. Rob $50 worth of cash and valuables from townsfolk and travellers - Aim to hold up formal looking townsfolk as these hold the most valuables. Saint Denis is a great place to find people in suits that are usually carring a lot of cash!
8. Steal 7 wagons and sell them to the Fence at Emerald Ranch - This is the same as the 2nd challenge in this list but you must target wagons. These can be found in the surrounding roads of Emerald Ranch, you just have to ride around the area and wait for them to spawn in.
9. Hogtie someone and leave them on the railroad 3 times - Aim your lasso and hogtie your victim. Stow them onto your horse and ride to the nearest railroad. Place them onto the track and simply wait for the 'Choo-Choo-Splat'
10. Complete 5 train robberies without dying or being caught - The best way to get onto a train is to purchase a train ticket and travel a journey. Upon your arrival, simply wait on the train for a few moments and it will begin to take off again. After a short while you have to sneak along the carriages and hold up some passengers. Escape with you're happy with your take and ride away from the train.

Explorer Challenges

Complete 3 Treasure Map Hunts for all of these challenges.

1. Find a Treasure Map
2. Find a Treasure
3. Find a Treasure
4. Find a Treasure
5. Find a Treasure
6. Find a Treasure
7. Find a Treasure
8. Find a Treasure
9. Find a Treasure
10. Find a Treasure

Jack Hall Gang Treasure

Head over west of Flatneck station and north of the railroad;

This stranger will give you the map for $10, or you can rob him. I suggesting paying for it as we are aiming to have a high honour.

The first location is Caliban's Seat, located south of valentine - It's noticeable from 2 large peaks that are fairly obvious to spot when you're heading to the location -

When you arrive you will notice that Caliban's Seat is one large peak. Head south of this peak, opposite where we are in the image above. From here, walk up the peak until you reach the grassy area on top. Once on top, walk forward and head right, there will be a steady slope that hugs the side of the peak which you can walk across. This slope carries all the way along the park - but be careful of 2 gaps which you'll have to jump across. When you reach the end of this slope, there will be a hole in the side of the rocks. Search this hole to find the 2nd map.

The second location is Cotorra Spring, which is north of Fort Wallace.

Head to this location and you will find a few rocks scattered around. Find this rock, identifiable by its flat top and it's closest to the geysers of the north-east.

Search beneath this rock formation for the 3rd map . . .

This location is the easiest to get to in my opinion, my only suggestion is to have maximum stamina!

Head to O'Creagh's Run which is north-east of the map. You need to get to the small island in the middle of this lake, identifiable by the large tree on it.

Once you've reached the island, search for an open green patch of land on the south-east side of the island. Here you can find a small rock, search beneath it to uncover 2 gold bars that you can sell at the fence!

Poisonous Trail Treasure

Credit: Foofighter288

High Stakes Treasure

Credit: Foofighter288

Gambler Challenges

1. Win 5 hands of poker: simply win the pot at Poker a total of five times.
2. In Blackjack, double down and win the hand 5 times: Double down means, you draw only 1 more card in Blackjack. Best to do it when you start with a high number or a figure at the start of the round. It is obviously pretty random if you will will but that’s the point of gambling challenges.
3. Win 3 games of Five Finger Fillet: The easiest way is to defeat the first round opponent all the time. You can reset the opponent to lower level by visiting another location FFF game. The first round opponent is the easiest, since you will only have to press 2 different buttons switching between them all the time. It could be either + , + or + .
4. Bust one poker opponent out in each location (Flatneck Station, Saint Denis, Valentine) – To bust out the oppoenent out you will have to be the one who sends him home after he goes all-in. You can save before entering the table and simply go for a all-in, if you bust someone out, proceed to the next location, if not just reload the save file and go hail-mary with an all-in again.
5. Win 3 rounds of dominoes without drawing any tiles against 2 or fewer opponents: You will have to find a game of dominoes where 2 or 3 people sit at the table when you arrive there. I found a game like that in Saint Denis. Just like most of the Gambler challenge this one is completely random. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to draw any stones. It simply depends on which piece your opponent places. My only tip would be to try to keep a stone with each number at least once in your possesion to be able to counter everything. Obviously you will still have to hope for the best once you are left with only 2 or less tiles.
6. Beat the Blackjack dealer in two locations (Rhodes and Van Horn): Shouldn’t take longer than five minutes. You only have to win twice. You will win at some point, there is no chance of not winning in blackjack at least once, since at some point you will get a 21 from the get go.
7. Beat the five finger fillet player in every location (Strawberry, Valentine, Van Horn) – Just head to each of the location and defeat the easy first round opponents there.
8. Win three hands of Blackjack with three hits or more – This one is extremely annoying and luck based. Honestly you could say this challenge is a total waste of time. You will have to draw something between 18 and 21 with a total of 4 cards on your hand and hope that the dealer isn’t better than you. Good luck… you will need it.
9. Win three games of dominoes in a row – It is better to do it at the same location 3 times in a row if you don’t feel like learning all the rule sets for each domino game. The one I found to be the most interesting one, but also the one you have to pay the most attention to, is the one where you get points every time the edges of the game equal a number which can be divided by 5. So if there is a 6 on the left and you have the chance to place a 4 on the right, you will be granted 10 points. Simply choose the type of domino which you like the most.
10. Win three hands of Poker in a row – Gambler challenge which is a bit luck based as always. The method which worked for me, was raising at the start of Turn and Flop and then placing a big bet at the third betting round. Three times in a row the opponent folded after I went crazy on my bet. It is annoying but still not as bad as challenge number 8.

Herbalist Challenges

1. Pick 6 Yarrow
2. Pick and eat 4 species of berry
3. Craft 7 items using sage as an ingredient
4. Pick 5 mushrooms and feed them to your horse
5. Craft 9 items using Indian Tobacco as an ingredient
6. Pick 15 different species of herb
7. Craft and use 5 special miracle tonics
8. Use oleander to craft 6 poison weapons
9. Pick one of each species of herb:

(Credit: Gaming with Abyss)

10. Season and cook all 11 types of meat - Set up your campsite and choose to Craft/Cook. Highlight the meat and use the d-pad to select the seasoning you want to use. The choices for seasoning are: Minty (Wild Mint), Oregano, and Thyme (Creeping Thyme).

The 11 meats you need are:

Exotic Bird Meat, Pork, Plump Bird Meat, Big Game Meat, Prime Beef, Succulent Fish Meat, Game Meat, Flaky Fish Meat, Crustacean Meat, Mutton, Venison Meat

Horseman Challenges

1. Kill 5 rabbits from horseback: Rabbits often run across roads, always run into them with your horse. When you see one, chase after it. Rabbits spawn very frequently south of Valentine and around Flatneck Station.
2. Jump over 3 obstacles in 15 seconds: Just jump over some fence or small rocks.
3. Ride from Valentine to Rhodes in less than five minutes: With some horse stimulants this is very easy as they allow you to refresh stamina instantly (they can be bought from Stables).
4. While mounted, drag a victim for 3300 feet using your lasso: Find a random person on the road or ride into town and lasso anyone. Can be a normal villager, doesn’t have to be an enemy. Keep them lassoed and ride for 3300 feet (1000 meters). The person is allowed to die, just keep riding.
5. Trample 5 animals while on horseback: Just run over any 5 enemies. Pheasants work great for this because they are slow and easy to hit. You find them around Rhodes, especially south of Rhodes near the southern end of the map.
6. Ride from Strawberry to Saint Denis in less than 9 minutes without touching any water: You are not allowed to ride through puddles of water, just follow the train tracks and ride over the train bridge south-east of Saint Denis. You should get one of the best horses and also buy horse stimulants at Stables to refresh stamina instantly on the go.
7. Kill 7 enemies from horseback without dismounting: Just ride into any town and start shooting people until the law arrives. The lawmen count as enemies (unarmed villagers don’t count).
8. Kill 9 predators from horseback: The very best way is to kill alligators. There are lots of them in the south-eastern most edge of the map, in the swamp area south-east of Rhodes. East of Shady Belle (your chapter 4 gang camp).
9. Ride from Van Horn to Blackwater in less than 17 minutes without touching any water: This you can’t do until having reached the Epilogue of the Story because at Blackwater you’d get shot on sight before this point. The trick is again to do it without riding through water. Ride over the train bridge south-west of Van Horn, then the train bridge at Flatneck station, then ride all the way to the west of the map — west of Strawberry ride across a small wooden bridge at “Owanjila Dam” that leads to the Blackwater region. You should have the map uncovered beforehand so you know where you’re going. There is more than enough time but be sure to buy some Horse Stimulants from Stables to refresh Stamina on the go.
10. Break every wild horse breed:

Master Hunter Challenges

1. Skin 3 deer
2. Collect 3 perfect quality rabbit pelts
3. Track 10 different animal species using your binoculars
4. Call an animal and get a clean kill 5 times
5. Skin 3 black or grizzly bears
6. Kill 5 cougars with your bow, then skin them
7. Use bait to lure and kill both a herbivore and predator
8. Catch 3 fish without using a fishing rod
9. Catch an opossum playing possum
10. Find and kill the legendary panther “Giaguaro” . Giaguaro is probably the most difficault hunt as the panther will sneak up on you and likely kill you very quickly. It’s located southeast of Rhodes, directly east of Braithwaite Manor and south of Bolger Blade.

Head to the location and make a manual save! The Panther will leave clues like other animals so it's worth using your eagle eye frequently and using a dead eye stimulant so you can catch Giagruaro.

Sharpshooter Challenges

1. Kill 3 flying birds
2. Kill 2 different species of animal in the same Dead Eye use
3. Kill 5 flying birds while on a moving train
4. Kill someone at 80 feet away with a tomahawk
5. Kill 6 animals without switching or reloading your weapon
6. Kill someone at least 660 feet away with a long scoped rifle
7. Get 7 headshots in a row
8. Disarm 3 enemies without reloading or switching your weapon
9. Shoot 3 people’s hats off in the same Dead Eye use
10. Kill 3 flying birds with 3 consecutive long scoped rifle shots

Survivalist Challenges

1. Catch 3 Bluegill fish
2. Hand 5 animals into camp or trapper
3. Kill 5 animals with a varmint rifle
4. Craft a dynamite, fire, improved, poison, and small game arrow
5. Catch a fish in the Bayou from a riverboat and while standing on train tracks
6. Kill a scavenging animal while it is feeding a corpse 5 times
7. Kill 8 small game animals with consecutive shots, using small game arrows
8. Craft a homing tomahawk, improved tomahawk, volatile dynamite, and volatile fire bottle
9. Catch a fish that weighs at least 19lb
10. Catch one of each type of fish throughout the world

Weapons Expert Challenges

1. Kill 3 enemies with a knife
2. Kill 3 enemies in 10 seconds using only throwing knives
3. Kill 3 birds of prey using only a tomahawk
4. Kill 10 enemies with a shotgun using crafted ammo
5. Kill 5 mounted enemies, using 1 throwing knife per kill
6. Kill 4 enemies at the same time with a single stick of dynamite
7. Kill 4 consecutive enemies by throwing and retrieving the same tomahawk
8. Kill 15 enemies using a long-barrelled shotgun
9. Kill 9 unaware enemies from behind, using the bow
10. Kill a grizzly bear without taking damage, using only throwing knives

That’s all 90 Challenges to do in RDR2.

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