i finally bought the game (and spider-man) after several months of waiting since it's release. i am now on chapter 2 and i have no clue what the hell im actually supposed to be doing
Okay, I'm just gonna give some basic, overall tips.
1) Get the White Arabian. It's located by Lake Isabella up in the snowy mountains which also has one of the legendary animals by it. The White Arabian is incredibly fast, has great stamina, and health, and is easily one of the best horses in the game. You can obtain it by breaking it in. There's a really fast way to do this. Just shoot it. Seriously. Just shoot it until it falls down, get off your horse, and stab a horse revive into it, get on it, and then break that fucker in. This works because the breaking minigame's length depends on how much energy the horse's stamina bar has. A newly revived horse is weak, and tired af, and can be broken in less than fifteen seconds.
Make sure to pack a set of winter clothes, at least two horse revives which can be bought at the Stables, and make sure to save before entering the area. I forgot to do the first part on my first attempt and it backfired horribly. Also, be careful. Wolves can and will spawn up there, and there is a chance for a random encounter with some guy having to be saved by them. Wolves will spook your horse and get you thrown off if you're not careful, so always make sure to have you gun drawn, and ready as you get up there.
Lastly, other Arabians are available, but they are much, much more difficult to get imo. The Warped Brindle is located in horrible terrain on a cliff near the Wapiti Reservation, and it can and will run directly towards that area, and despawn. The Red Arabian is located south-west of lake Owanjila which is located by the town of Strawberry, and it is in a location were a ton of random encounters can happen, bears can spawn, and the terrain is an utter nightmare to navigate. The Black Arabian can be obtained via a random encounter I described a few pages back, but this is entirely random and can take for fucking ever.
2) There is a Perlino Andalusian a.k.a a pinkish-white warhorse you can break-in near the waterfall by Brandywine Drop located in the northeastern part of the map by Annesburg. It's got amazing health, and a usually (see my prior post on horse temperaments) courageous temperament which makes it fantastic for battle, and hunting. The only problem is that its by a cliff right next to a waterfall, dead smack right in the middle Murfree Brood country, and it's
constantly fucking raining. This one's gonna be hard to get, but it's worth it if you don't have the preorder warhorse because it has the exact same stats as it.
3) Keep the Black Shire. Not only is he the most badass looking horse in the entire game, he's also the only one of his kind. All the other shires are brown or grey. If you sell him, you can't get another one. Also, he's programmed to always have a courageous temperament which makes him great for battling and hunting.
4) Always shoot before entering a covered bridge. Gangs like to hide out at the sides of them and ambush you. Shooting through the bridge first gives them away.
5) You can keep more than one pelt on your horse at a time. I know that sounds really obvious, but I literally went through my entire first playthrough not knowing that.
6) Make sure to change your clothes before you enter into camp if you went hunting so other gang members won't comment on you being covered in blood and gore.
7) Learn how to craft poison, and improved arrows ASAP. They make hunting much easier and rewarding because you get better pelts by using them.
8 ) Hunt the Legendary animals. You can do this in no particular order, but you have a chance to start with the Legendary Bear during the same mission you get the Black Shire. I recommend getting the bear, and then immediately getting the Legendary Buck because you can craft the Legendary Buck Antler trinket that raises the chance for better pelts. Legendary pelts are perfect no matter what so feel free to use whatever ammo you want on them.
9) Sell Legendary pelts to the trapper, and perfect pelts to both the trapper and to Pearson because they'll craft special items and upgrades for you.
10) Do the horse races. There's are random encounters with people who will challenge you to horse races, and if you beat them, you unlock better stats for your horses, and the ability to bond with them faster. Also, the NPCs will have really great horses you can steal from them afterward like the Brindle Thoroughbred.
11) Make sure to upgrade and donate to the camp so the gang members will be nicer, donate more, and so you can upgrade fast-travel, and other stuff. Most importantly, so Susan won't bitch at you every time you step foot into camp.
12) Don't sell items unless you know you can't craft with them, or they're not item requests from other characters. Not doing so can lock you out of trinkets, and talismans which can buff your stats, and the latter can prevent you from completing the requests.
13) If you suddenly hear someone shouting about a pox, or you suddenly see a lynched man swinging from a tree,
do not stop. It's a trap by the Murfree Brood (although the latter can happen in the swamps in which case it's the Night Folk), and they will gun you down.
14) Do not run back to camp if you're being chased by lawmen, bounty hunters, or other gangs because that will lead to a game over.
15) Bond with your horse because that'll make it braver, raise its stats, increase the range of its response to your whistling. Also, having a full-bonded horse with you during the last mission will make the entire thing much better
16) Make sure to feed, properly cloth, clean, groom, and rest Arthur. It'll keep up his health, stamina, and deadeye meters. Also, the guy's gonna be going through absolute hell, so you can at least try to keep him as comfortable as possible.
17) Donate food to the camp, or else people will be mad at you, and so you can get honor. Apparently, Arthur is the only one who feeds the camp despite there being at least six other people more than qualified to do so.
18 ) There's a mission where you have to either break into a place to steal a wagon, or just steal one on the road.
Please, for the love of god, just steal one on the road because it is a million times easier.
19) If you want raise honor fast, just go to Saint Denis and start greeting people.
20) Chapter 5 is fucking awful, and you'll want to rush through it as quickly as possible, but it takes place in a location
you can never go back to and has plants and animals you can only find there. If you don't scan them,
you can't get 100% completion. So even though you probably want to get this chapter over as soon as possible, and the entire location is an utter bitch to navigate, please take the time to scan all the wildlife, and floral life there.
EDIT: THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET EVERY PLANT AND ANIMAL TO GET 100% ANYMORE SO DON'T WASTE MORE TIME ONE SHITTY OLD GAUARMA THAN YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.
Edit: Bonus tips that are also very important.
21) Pay attention to what your horse is doing. If its suddenly panicking for seemingly no reason, that means its usually seeing something that you aren't, and is trying to warn you. This could range from either an unseen predator, to a dead body, to an ambush. This can and will save you on multiple occasions, so make sure to do it.
22) Speaking of horses, there's a hidden trinket you can get in a secret location located near the very farthest eastern part of the map that raises the speed you bond with them. It's the Sharktooth trinket, and it's located in a shipwreck northeast of Annesburg. Go to the area with the rock covered in ancient runes, and then up that cliffside, and then keep going along the edge of that area. You can only get to the shipwreck on foot since you have to cross narrow slopes, and do some light platforming so be sure to hitch your horse somewhere close, and safe.
23)
DO. NOT. Do the last sidequest involving Hamish and Buell until the epilogue. You will not be able to keep Buell otherwise.
24) Last thing about horses. They can swim, and they can swim with you still riding them. They can't do this for very long, but they can do it, and it will save your ass at least once in the game.
25) You can quick-fire if you tap the right trigger button. I discovered this on accident when I tried to talk to a lady, accidentally hit the wrong button, and completely blew off her head with a point-blank sawed-off shotgun blast to the face. It was really fucking funny.
26) Enemies can bleed out if you shoot their limbs off.
27) Make sure to not have incendiary rounds equipped when you're robbing a house. You will regret it.
...and finally, and most importantly,
28 )
DO NOT. I REPEAT, DO NOT. GO TO ABERDEEN PIG FARM UNTIL THE SECOND TO LAST MISSION OF THE MAIN STORY. THIS IS SUPER FUCKING IMPORTANT. DO NOT GO THERE UNTIL THE SECOND TO LAST MISSION OF THE MAIN STORY.
WHEN YOU GO THERE, JUST LET IT HAPPEN. LET THE SCENE PLAY OUT. EAT THE STEW, WAKE UP, AND JUST FINISH THE MAIN STORY. DO NOT GO BACK TO THEIR HOUSE UNTIL THE EPILOGUE. I KNOW YOU'LL REALLY WANT TO GO BACK THERE BEFORE THEN, BUT DON'T. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. YOU'RE GONNA BE FINE.
ONCE YOU GET TO THE EPILOGUE, GO BACK THERE, KILL THE FUCKERS, AND THEN LOOK BEHIND THE PAINTING OF THEIR MOTHER, AND THERE YA GO. I JUST SAVED YOU SO MUCH FUCKING TIME. YOU'RE WELCOME.
Edit 2: I didn't think I'd ever have to say this because I myself didn't even know this was possible, but...
29 )
Don't upgrade the camp during Chapter 1. Again, I didn't even think this was possible considering how the entire chapter is based around getting the fuck out of the freezing mountains, but lo-and-behold, it apparently is because someone who just got the game told me that's what they had been doing and was wondering why the fuck all the other gang members were mad at them.
Don't do it. Wait until Chapter 2 to do camp upgrades. The gang is gonna be pissed no matter what during Chapter 1 because they're stuck up in the cold-ass, snowy mountains, and they will keep telling you they wanna leave because why the fuck would they wanna stay up there? No amount of upgrades is going to make them happy until at least Chapter 2 so don't even bother upgrading until then.
Edit 3:
30)
CHRIST ALMIGHTY YOU CAN CHANGE THE FISHING CONTROLS. JUST GO INTO SETTINGS, SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND YOU CAN CHANGE IT SO ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS HOLD DOWN A BUTTON TO REEL IN FISH. YOU DON'T HAVE TO KILL YOUR THUMBS AND CONTROLLER. WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME SOONER?!?!
USE THIS KNOWLEDGE, AND SOME RIVER LURES YOU CAN GET AT LAGRAS AND GO FISH SOCKEYE SALMON FROM O'CREAGH'S RUN BY FISHING ON THE DOCK BY HAMISH'S HOUSE. THEN GO TO SAINT DENNIS OR RHODES AND YOU CAN SELL THEM FOR $5.31 A PIECE AND NET YOURSELF OVER $500 DOLLARS BY SELLING THE MAX AMOUNT YOU CAN CARRY.
Tl;dr-The temperments on horses in RDR2 and RDO are based on both rng and the overall size of the horse, and nothing else. So while it is possible to get a courageous Arabian, and a cowardly Turkoman, it is very unlike given how much the size factor of the horse plays in.
