Red Dead Online: How Specialty Roles Work In Frontier Pursuits

Online is finally here (two weeks before summer ends), and with it comes the most requested feature ever, the ability to change our horrid looking avatars. Oh right, and roles! Three to be exact: Collector, Bounty Hunter, and Trader.Here’s a quick breakdown of how all three play. You can also take a more detailed look at the three new Specialist Roles in Red Dead Online on our wiki page. If you want to actually see these roles in action, check out the video on the top of this page.

Bounty Hunter

Bounty hunting is pretty much exactly what you would expect. First, you’ll need a license to become a bounty hunter, which will set you back 15 gold. Towns will then have wanted posters for you to look at, and after selecting a bounty, a marker will be added to your map indicating where your target is located. Sometimes they’ll be part of a caravan or they may be nestled in a camp filled with bodyguards. Most bounties seem to be able to be completed solo, but there are a few posters that require multiple fugitives to be brought in. You’ll either need a stagecoach or a posse to take those on. Your goal is to bring in your mark dead or alive. Alive will of course net you more of a reward, but if they do die, the body is still worth bringing in.

Bounty hunting is serious business!

Collector

To become a collector, you’ll need a Collector’s Bag, which can be purchased from the traveling Madam Nazar. Just like the Bounty Hunter License, it’ll set you back 15 gold bars. Unlike the bounty hunter role though, becoming a collector is going to drain your bank account quick, at first. To begin the hunt, you’ll need a map which can be purchased from Madam Nazar. The map reveals search locations to help you find the various collectibles. Be prepared to ride around a lot, or take advantage of fast travel (which will of course set you back even more, cash wise).

The items you collect can be sold individually or as a full complete set for even more cash. To get a complete set though, you’ll need to return to Madam Nazar several times, since the maps she sells you only give locations for a few items. You can’t buy multiple of the same map to save you on the return trip, but fortunately you can buy all of the maps for the various collectibles, which should keep you busy for awhile. Until you get items like binoculars or a metal detector, you’ll have to rely on the physical signs of where an item is hidden, such as a dig spot. But you’ll also get other cues as well, such as a jangling sound and your controller will also vibrate to indicate you’re near the item.

“Hm, what’s for lunch today?”

Trader

Cripps has finally decided to make himself useful by starting the Cripps Trading Company. He of course requires an investment from the player to purchase a butchers table, which surprise surprise, costs 15 gold bars (unless you’re on PlayStation 4, then you get it for free).

This role seems to be the most passive of them all. Instead of actively seeking out treasure or bounties, you’re instead just supplying Cripps with animals parts you acquire from hunting. These items include things like ram horns, skins, or feathers — pretty much anything except for the meat itself. Turn these in at the butcher table to make sure the supplies and materials are stocked to continue production.

That’s pretty much it. You’re just waiting for the goods to stock up, which happens while you’re off completing other tasks. Once Cripps has created enough goods, you’ll then make deliveries using a wagon. Your starting wagon is fairly small, and can only deliver 25 goods at a time. Luckily, as you rank up, you’ll be given opportunities to purchase bigger wagons. Also, the more goods you deliver at a time, the more money is earned.

The deliveries is where the actual risk comes in. Short deliveries are the safest, but of course grant less rewards. All a small delivery asks of you is to travel a fairly short distance, pick off some bandits once you’ve arrived, and make the delivery. The long-distance deliveries however are a bit riskier. Not only is the distance much further, but it also disables defensive mode, making you vulnerable to other player attacks.

“My Lyft app said this was a Prius…”

Of course, the actual biggest risk of all isn’t bandits, player characters, or trains. Oh no, it’s the servers themselves. I decided to take on one of the bigger deliveries, and at first, it all seemed to be going well. It took around 10 minutes to travel the entire map. When I finally arrived at the camp, sure enough I was met with bandits I needed to take down. Simple enough. Except, as I was shooting my last bandit, I was hit with the dreaded “Alert: You’ve been disconnected” screen. I log back in, and lo and behold, it was like I had never even taken on the mission. Luckily, my goods were still in the camp, but this is just my warning to traders out there, failing a delivery could be totally out of your control.

Remember, we have a more detailed look at the three new Specialist Roles in Red Dead Online on our wiki page, so if I were you, I’d definitely give it a peak!
Mark Medina is a Features Producer at IGN who’s been cowboy’n up lately in Red Dead Online. Follow his rootin’ tootin’ adventures over on Twitter. Yeehaw!