As December 2018 kicked into gear, Red Dead Online rolled into town, seeing Rockstar move slightly away from the stunning solo player world of Red Dead Redemption 2, to place a bit more focus on the multiplayer scene. Since that time numerous updates and feature additions have hit Red Dead Online – and now we are hearing of even more.
Come February 26th 2019, Red Dead Online Beta players will be seeing a host of new features, improvements and enhancements hit the game world, with a new Law and Bounty system, weapon balancing and mini-map amendments the major changes.
Details direct from Rockstar are as follows:
Player Visibility
As part of our response to community feedback on how to minimize certain types of destructive player behavior, we’ve made some changes to the way player blips will appear on the map.
Firstly, we’re reducing the visibility of blips over long distances – your map position won’t display to other players unless you are nearby (within 150 meters) and if you are slightly further away you will only appear when firing your weapon. Players in other towns or regions, for example, won’t be visible. This prevents players from being repeatedly targeted across the map at long distances.
We’re also introducing a new system that highlights overly aggressive players. If your style of play becomes more hostile, your map position (and the position of your Posse members) will become more visible to other players with a progressively darkening dot that incrementally shifts from blue to dark red. Your visibility increases through bad deeds such as attacking and killing other players or their horses outside of a structured mode, Free Roam Mission, event or competition, and the shorter the time between bad acts, the more your visibility increases. Shift back to a more righteous path and your visibility will fade over time.
We’re also introducing Posse-wide Parleys and improving Feuds. You’ll soon be able to initiate Parley that applies to your attacker’s entire Posse after just a single kill. Alternatively, if you’d rather challenge your opponent, you can initiate a Feud, Posse Feud or Leader Feud after one kill, quickly turning a dispute into a timed mini-deathmatch for rival players to fight out amongst themselves in Free Roam, earning points for each kill on the opposing player.
Bounty Hunters & Law Balancing
At the same time, players who have racked up high bounties will have a chance to be beset by NPC Bounty Hunters who will attempt to kill them and collect their reward.
Criminal behavior will have bounty values and honor consequences that scale based on the severity of the crime. For example, killing another player can incur a higher bounty, while assaulting townsfolk or animal cruelty could give you a lesser bounty if the crime is reported, while lower level crimes like looting and ransacking will only decrease your honor.
If your bounty exceeds a certain threshold and Bounty Hunters take notice, you will be wanted dead and alerted to their pursuit. The higher your bounty, the greater your value and the more difficult the pursuit becomes for you and your Posse.
Daily Challenges
We will also be adding a variety of Daily Challenges to take on across the Red Dead Online Beta. Complete individual objectives that cover every aspect of life on the frontier to earn Gold Nuggets and XP. Challenges will range from foraging for herbs, selling items at a Fence, hunting and skinning animals, clearing hideouts, winning Feuds and so much more. These Daily Challenges will continue to expand and evolve over time bringing specialty challenges and rewards, streak bonuses and more.
Other Fixes and More
Your feedback has been invaluable so please keep it coming. In addition to these updates we are planning to address several additional changes based on community feedback received thus far – select weapons will be re-balanced including the Varmint Rifle, which will have its accuracy brought more in line with other longarm weapons ; voice chat will be reduced to work at closer proximity, and while fixes to horse cargo are numerous and ongoing we plan to introduce some improvements to making pelts and carcasses more persistent after death or respawning.
Further details surrounding the Feb 26th update will be detailed next week, with Rockstar promising a whole ton of exciting new ideas in the weeks and months ahead. Before then though, you may well still wish to head into Red Dead Online to play in a Posse. It is this which will bring additional benefits like earning increased XP in Free Roam Missions and Free Roam Events, with the next week seeing you earning twice as much XP.
Edit: Further details have now been confirmed as follows:
New Clothing and Emotes
A wide range of new clothing to further customize your character – from the snake adorned Diamondback Hat to the fur trimmed Rutledge Vest – is also on the way with new Outfits, Jackets, Boots, Coats, Gloves, Hats, Vests and more. In addition to all the clothing that will be available for purchase at your leisure, keep an eye on the shops and the Catalogue for unique special items that will come and go. A variety of new Emotes is also on the way – featuring everything from greets to reactions and taunts.
New Gameplay
New additions will include the Fool’s Gold Free Roam Event, where players will compete to control an equal parts gaudy and protective suit of Golden Armor. Fight to take down the armor wearer to earn points and claim it as your own, then turn the tables and earn points for kills while wearing the armor.
Competitive Challenges gets a fresh catch with Fishing Challenges. Fishing Challenges are broken out by type, opt in to the challenge and you’ll receive all the equipment necessary to compete including the rod as well lures and bait specific to the challenge type, whether it’s crickets for a river challenge, crayfish for the swamp or worms for lakes. Then head to an appropriate body of water to take part – also, you’ll be made safe from the nuisance of trigger-happy outlaws while you are taking the challenge. Catch the highest weight total of fish to win.
Also on the way are three new Showdown Modes where players and teams compete to capture and deliver bags, steal loot from each other and survive. Stay tuned for more details around Up in Smoke, Spoils of War and Plunder. Races will also see a new variation with Target Races where players shoot targets from horseback to pass checkpoints as they race along a track to the finish line.
New Weapons
B.D. and Co. is turning out the high grade, high capacity Evans Repeater rifle. The Rare Shotgun is D.D. Packenbush’s latest variation of the powerful double-barreled longarm. Sporting an antique style faded brass finish and an artfully adorned stock. Both weapons will be available via the Wheeler & Rawson Catalogue and local Gunsmiths.
New Clothing and Emotes
A wide range of new clothing to further customize your character – from the snake adorned Diamondback Hat to the fur trimmed Rutledge Vest – is also on the way with new Outfits, Jackets, Boots, Coats, Gloves, Hats, Vests and more. In addition to all the clothing that will be available for purchase at your leisure, keep an eye on the shops and the Catalogue for unique special items that will come and go. A variety of new Emotes is also on the way – featuring everything from greets to reactions and taunts.
If you haven’t yet played Red Dead Redemption 2 on Xbox One or dropped into the Red Dead Online Beta, then you don’t know what you’re missing! Make sure you see to it… pronto!
