Red Dead Redemption 2 Beginner's Guide: Cores, Horse Bonding, Honor and Camp

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1. Don't rush the first chapter The game opens with a fairly linear chapter in the snowy mountains. It teaches riding, hunting, aiming and interaction options. The missions act as tutorials; read the tip boxes in the corner of the screen, they pay off later.
2. Bond with your horse Your horse is your most important companion. According to the wiki, riding, feeding, brushing, calming and patting build your bond, which goes up to level 4 and slightly boosts the horse's stamina and health. Pat it with G while riding, or dismount and open its command list with right click to brush it.
3. Scan with Eagle Eye When not aiming, press Caps Lock or middle click for Eagle Eye. The wiki says it highlights animals, plants, tracks and items you can pick up, and costs no resources. Use it constantly while hunting and foraging.
4. Contribute once camp opens up In chapter two the gang settles into a new camp and the world opens. Donating money and valuables to the camp ledger lets the camp buy upgrades; the wiki notes the three icons in the top right show first aid, ammunition and food levels. Bringing game to the camp cook raises the food supply.
5. Eat, sleep and dress for the weather Empty cores mean slow meter regeneration. Refill them by eating from your satchel and sleeping at camp or in a hotel. According to the wiki, extreme heat or cold drains the health core far faster, in about 10 minutes; wear heavy clothes in the mountains and light ones in the desert.
6. Invest in a horse and saddle The starting horse is fine early on, but stables sell better horses and tack. The wiki says saddles and stirrups slow how fast your horse's stamina and health cores drain. If a valued horse dies the bond resets, so carry a Horse Reviver.
7. Save when you sleep The game autosaves frequently, but keeping your own save is a good idea. You can save when sleeping in your bed at camp, in a tent at a campsite you set up, or in a hotel room. You can also set up camp in the wild from the F4 item wheel.
8. Explore side content Question marks and white dots on the map are strangers and random events. People asking for help by the roadside offer small but memorable moments you won't see in story missions, and raise your honor.

• Spur in rhythmAccording to the wiki, pressing the speed key in time with your horse's gallop keeps its stamina from draining. Mashing the key wears the horse out, and once stamina runs out it can throw you. Patting your horse also restores some stamina.
• Keep your horse cleanThe wiki says a horse that isn't cleaned drains its cores 25 percent faster. Brush a muddy horse from the right-click command list or take it to a stable.
• Witnesses mean bountiesAccording to the wiki, if a witness reports a crime you get a bounty; if they're persuaded or bribed before reporting, no bounty is issued, though honor is still affected. Check who's around before doing anything shady in town.
• Pay off bounties at the post officeA bounty sends bounty hunters after you in that region. Clear it by paying at the region's post office or train station. Walking into towns while wanted causes constant trouble.
• Honor has real consequencesThe wiki says high honor brings shop discounts, from 10 percent at rank 2 up to 50 percent at the top ranks. Low honor lets you loot better items from bodies. Honor also changes some story scenes and Arthur's outlook.
• Trigger Dead Eye while aimingPress Caps Lock while aiming to slow time and mark targets. According to the wiki, Dead Eye grows to five levels as the story progresses, with manual target marking arriving at level 2. Activating Dead Eye also refills your current magazine.
• Use the right ammo for clean peltsWhen hunting, check the animal's quality (stars) with Eagle Eye and match your ammo to its size. The wrong ammo ruins the pelt and lowers its value. After skinning, stow the pelt on your horse and get it to a trader before it spoils.
• Maintain your gunsRevolvers and rifles get dirty with use, lowering accuracy and damage. Clean them with gun oil from your satchel or the weapon menu; it's cheap and easy to forget.
• Fast travel from camp and campfiresAccording to the wiki, once you buy the map upgrade by Arthur's bed at camp, you can fast travel to set locations from camp and from campfires you set up in the wild. Trains and stagecoaches also shorten long trips.
• Watch your weightArthur's weight changes if he eats too little or too much. The wiki says an ideal weight makes cores drain 15 percent slower. Eat regularly without overdoing it.

• Rushing the story: much of the world lives in side content, and some side stories close off after certain chapters.
• Neglecting your horse: a dirty, hungry horse with a low bond tires quickly and spooks easily.
• Breaking the law in front of witnesses: even a small brawl can set bounty hunters on your trail.
• Leaving cores empty: with an empty health core your meter barely regenerates, and you go down fast in tough fights.
• Wearing the wrong clothes for the weather: heat or cold empties the health core within minutes.
• Never contributing to camp: without camp upgrades, conveniences like the fast travel map stay locked.

This guide was written for version: This guide reflects the current PC version of story mode as of September 2026. Keys are the default PC bindings and can be changed under Settings > Controls > Keyboard and Mouse. Numbers come from the community wiki.

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