Rockstar teased it last week, and now they’ve delivered their latest big update for Red Dead Online. This particularly update revolves around the new Naturalist Frontier Pursuit, which allows players to unwind by studying and hunting plants and animals. The new role comes with seven new Legendary Animal species to track down, a wilderness camp, Naturalist-specific free-roam events, and more. You can check out a quick trailer for the latest Red Dead Online update, below.
Of course, the update comes with a new Outlaw Pass to work through. Here’s a quick teaser…
Here are your notes for Red Dead Redemption 2/Red Dead Online update 1.20:
New Red Dead Online Content
- The world of Red Dead Online continues to evolve with a new Frontier Pursuit featuring a unique path and activities to help you carve out a life for yourself on the frontier.
Naturalist:
- The new Naturalist Specialist Role opens a new path around tracking, studying and hunting animals. Naturalists get access to a new role progression, gameplay and several items. To gain access to the Role, visit the Welcome Center in the town of Strawberry to purchase the Sample Kit from Harriet Davenport to get started.
- Seven new Legendary Animal species, each with three different subspecies, have been added to Red Dead Online. Some subspecies can be found in the open world by purchasing maps from Harriet Davenport, while sightings of some rare subspecies may become available from Harriet as you progress through the Naturalist Role.
- Cougar
- Fox
- Boar
- Beaver
- Wolf
- Bison
- Elk
- Two new Naturalist Role related Free Roam Events have been added to Red Dead Online, and will become available via invites as you progress through the Naturalist Role:
- Protect Legendary Animal: Work with other players to free and escort a Legendary Animal species from Poachers
- Wild Animal Tagging: Cooperate with others to sedate and tag a certain number of animal species within the time limit
- Both Harriet Davenport and Gus Macmillan have set up stores in several locations across the world of Red Dead Online. Visit Harriet’s Naturalist Store to progress the Naturalist Role, purchase special tonics, and hear about unique missions to participate in. Alternatively, drop by Gus’ Store with animal provisions to craft new clothing items, trinkets and more.
- New missions to rescue animals from Poachers have been added to Red Dead Online. These can be started by talking to Harriet Davenport, and may appear dynamically throughout the world once you progress through the Naturalist Role.
- The Wilderness Camp has been added to Red Dead Online, unlocked by progressing through the Naturalist Role. This allows players to create a temporary campfire at a nearby location in the open world, with the ability for up to four players to sit, cook, craft and rest.
- Five new Dynamic Events have been added across the world of Red Dead Online for players to discover
- New sets of Weekly Collections from Madam Nazar have been added for Collector Role players, which can be sold for an additional bonus
- Several new Daily Challenges have been added to Red Dead Online in both the General Challenge and Role Challenge categories
- Several new Awards related to Naturalist, Moonshiner and Collector Role content have been added to Red Dead Online
- The Wheeler Rawson and Co. Club is available. Club membership is automatic and free, giving players rewards as they play during the Membership period from July 28th through October 19th, 2020.
- The Outlaw Pass No. 3 is available through the Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Catalogue for even more perks and rewards. Everything you unlock during the Membership period from July 28th through October 19th, 2020 and acquire during that period will stay with you permanently. Visit the Benefits section of the Pause menu for details on Reward and Offer availability.
- New items and variations of Clothing and Outfits have been added for male and female characters in Red Dead Online. These can be purchased from various places, including the stores of Gus Macmillan, Madam Nazar, General Stores and the Handheld Catalogue.
- Several new Tonics have been added to Red Dead Online, which can be unlocked and purchased at Harriet’s Naturalist Store by progressing through the Naturalist Role. These allow the player to control their weight loss and gain, increase resistance against weather effects and more.
- Several Animal Trinkets have been added to Red Dead Online, which provide some permanent benefits to player stats. They can be purchased from Gus’ Store by trading Legendary Animal provisions.
- Several new Crafting Recipes have been added to Red Dead Online, which can be unlocked and purchased at Harriet’s Naturalist Store by progressing through the Naturalist Role
- One new Horse breed with six coat variations has been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through Naturalist Role rewards:
- Gypsy Cob
- Several new items of Horse Equipment such as Saddles and Saddle Bags have been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through Naturalist Role rewards
- Two new weapons have been added to Red Dead Online, and can be purchased from the Gunsmith or the Handheld Catalogue:
- Elephant Rifle
- Improved Bow
- Three new weapon variants have been added to Red Dead Online, and can be purchased and applied from the Gunsmith once unlocked:
- Varmint Rifle – Naturalist Variant
- Improved Bow – Horned Variant
- Improved Bow – Wooden Inlay Variant
- Several new weapon modifications have been added to Red Dead Online, and can be unlocked through Club Rewards and Outlaw Pass Rewards:
- Components – Grip/Stock – Burled Grip
- Styles – Metal Material – Tempered Steel
- Styles – Engraving Material – Coloured Enamel (Red/Blue/Green/Yellow)
- Styles – Wrap Material – Cloth (Sage/Cobalt)
- The Advanced Camera has been added to Red Dead Online, purchasable from General Stores or the Handheld Catalogue. As well as improved manoeuvrability and the ability to use filters, it can be used to identify animals in the Animal Field Guide. Additional filters can be unlocked through Outlaw Pass rewards.
- One new Hairstyle each has been added for male and female characters in Red Dead Online, as well as the addition of new Hair Accessories for female characters. These can be purchased and applied through any Barber.
- Uncombed Balding (Male)
- Tangled Locks (Female)
- Six new Emotes have been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through various means. They can be purchased from the General Store or Handheld Catalogue:
- Take Note
- Confident Dance
- Formal Dance
- Thanks
- Rock Paper Scissors
- Beat Chest
- One new walk style has been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through Outlaw Pass Rewards:
- Four new Camp Flags, one new Cripps Outfit and one new breed of Camp Dog have been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through various means. Once unlocked, these can be purchased from the Wilderness Outfitters at your Camp.
- Three new Photo Studio Backdrops have been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through Outlaw Pass Rewards.
- Four new Photo Studio Poses have been added to Red Dead Online and can be unlocked through Outlaw Pass Rewards.
PlayStation 4 Early Access Content:
- Legendary Gabbro Horn Ram
- Legendary Chalk Horn Ram
- Legendary Rutile Horn Ram
- Three Fossil Collections
- Woodcote Poncho
Balancing and Improvements in Red Dead Online Accessibility Improvements
- Adjusted colors and transparency of threat indicators on the Radar minimap to improve visibility for different display brightness and in-game lighting conditions. This change has also been made in Story Mode.
- Holding the Circle/B button to exit the Pause Menu from any screen is now quicker, matching the speed of Catalog and Shop Menus.
Gameplay Improvements
- ‘Buy Max’ and ‘Buy Max Carried’ options have been added to several consumable items in Shop Menus and the Catalogue for quicker purchases. The ‘Buy Max Carried’ option only considers held inventory space and not postbox space to prevent large accidental purchases.
- Cooked Meat is now displayed in the Provisions section of the Item Wheel for quicker access
- Improvements have been made to the Wardrobe system to allow more combinations and removals, including the ability for female characters to remove shirts while wearing corsets
- Players can now Mercy Kill an animal that is bleeding out. This ability can be unlocked through the Naturalist Role.
- Aim Assist options within the Settings Menu can now be changed while in a Red Dead Online session, but effects of this change will not apply until the player joins a new session
- Reduced the chance of ragdoll when a player’s horse starts sliding due to a steep slope in Red Dead Online
Matchmaking Improvements
- Matchmaking improvements have been made, reducing wait times and the chance of empty Showdown Mode lobbies after selecting a Showdown Playlist from the Landing Page. If no suitable matches are found, you may load into a Red Dead Online session while Showdown Mode matchmaking continues in the background.
- The system for Showdown Mode teams has been improved, making it more likely for Posse Members, Parties and Friends to be placed on the same team. In extreme cases, some group members may be placed on the opposite team to make sure teams are balanced and gameplay is fair for all.
- Continued improvements have been made to network error handling when dealing with poor connections between players, which should eliminate or reduce the frequency of these errors: 0x20010004, 0x20001006, 0x40003002, 0x54553100, 0x99300027
Role Improvements
- Moonshine Recipes can now be pinned to the Player Log Menu, allowing quicker access to check required ingredients
- A ‘Guest List’ has been added near the door of the Moonshine Shack Bar, allowing the owner to quickly invite nearby players
- Updates have been made to the randomization of Collectibles, including new locations for items dug up using the Pennington Field Shovel
Improvements – Story Mode
- The Weapon Locker from Red Dead Online has been added to Story Mode, allowing players to remove any unused weapons. It is available for use at the player’s camp from Chapter 2 onwards.
Daily Challenge Balancing
- The following changes have been made, along with Menu improvements:
- With the introduction of the Naturalist Role, up to 15 different Role Challenges will be provided each day, depending on current progression through each Role
- A player can now complete a maximum of nine different Role Challenges each day, with the remainder being locked for the day once reaching this limit
- The existing Challenge Goal for ‘7 Daily Challenges Completed’ has been replaced by two separate Challenge Goals – One for completing seven General Challenges per day, and another for completing nine Role Challenges per day, with each providing additional Gold rewards
- The streak system remains unchanged, and completing either a General or Role Challenge each day will keep the streak active
Economy Balancing
- Alligators now provide two different types of provisions when skinned depending on the size of the animal and sell for different amounts at the Butcher. The new Small Alligator Skin item can be stored on horseback like other pelts.
- ‘Free Weapon Component’ vouchers can no longer be used to purchase Variant skins for weapons at the Gunsmith
If you want to know about every single fix and tweak included in RDR2 ver 1.20, you can get the full, unabridged patch notes, right here.
Red Dead Redemption 2/Red Dead Online are available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. The latest patch should be downloadable right now.
