Long awaited Red Dead Online: The Naturalist update adds new role, legendary animals, more

Rejoice Red Dead fans, the long awaited Red Dead Redemption 2 update is finally rolling out.  A good portion of the online player-base has been a little salty as Grand Theft Auto Online has been on the receiving end of numerous updates and enhancements recently, but now it’s time for some new Red Dead Online adventures.

Red Dead Online: The Naturalist brings a whole new wildlife-focused role, legendary animals, new gear and weapons, a new Outlaw Pass, an advanced camera feature, additional free roam events, role-specific missions and a plethora of bonus benefits for PS4 players and Twitch Prime members… and more.

See the trailer, screens/art and the announcement below.

Red Dead Online: The Naturalist screens/art:

Red Dead Online: The Naturalist:

Track, hunt and study the wonders of the animal kingdom in Red Dead Online?s latest Frontier Pursuit, The Naturalist. Explore diverse locales, encounter majestic new Legendary Animals, and forge your own path as you choose whether to use these findings to learn new skills or bolster your resources and material gains.

Accomplished conservationist Harriet Davenport is looking for adventurers with an affinity for wildlife to help her track down specimens and further her extensive knowledge of the animals of the five states. Pursue these fascinating creatures in the wild, then cautiously sedate them to obtain samples for Harriet and be equitably rewarded.

At odds with Harriet?s mission to understand and preserve wildlife is the retired big game hunter Gus Macmillan, who will compensate you handsomely for your hunting skills. If your tastes favor fine clothing made from animal hides over the conservation of the natural world, Gus provides a wide range of options from the hauls you deliver. Be warned though, Harriet will take notice of your poaching activities if you try to play both sides of this quarrel.

Assisting Harriet Davenport in her Naturalist efforts by obtaining samples without killing will earn unique rewards while tracking these creatures. Use the new Sedative Varmint Cartridges with the Varmint Rifle to sedate and sample, and savvy Naturalists can use Animal Reviver to ensure vulnerable animals are not left prone and endangered.

Delivering animal parts, skins, and hides to retired hunter Gus Macmillan will get you high quality garments and other unique items with special benefits. Take advantage of the notorious sportsman?s crafting and tailoring skills to obtain Legendary Animal Coats and other apparel, along with Animal Trinkets that bestow certain advantages.

Visit the Welcome Center in the town of Strawberry to meet up with both Harriet and Gus – and document your findings with the new Animal Field Guide – a compendium featuring the abundant species found across all of the frontier?s distinct habitats. Tracking, photographing, and sampling animals will add their information to your Animal Field Guide and progress you along the Naturalist role.

As you build out the Animal Field Guide and continue through the Specialist Role you will open up a range of new items, skills, and gameplay to explore. Everything from a new Naturalist focused breed of Horses, to bespoke clothing and accessories, to new Tonics and Tonic Recipes. These include personal Weight Loss and Weight Gain Tonics, Animal Revivers and special Tonics that mitigate weather effects or increase your ability to sneak up on potential animal subjects.

You?ll also learn new skills like Mercy Kills and the ability to pitch Wilderness Camps, and open up the opportunity to work with Ms. Davenport to stop the proliferation of nefarious animal poachers by raiding their encampments and liberating caged animals.

Legendary Animals

As your Naturalist activities progress, you?ll start to encounter Legendary Animals ? these distinctive creatures can be discovered both in Free Roam and through Animal Sighting assignments commissioned by Harriet. Using the Legendary Animal Map as a guide, you?ll learn the locations of their native habitats and then follow information in the Animal Field Guide to locate each one ? ultimately deciding whether to obtain samples for Harriet and earn precious rewards, or poach them and have Gus turn their hides into ostentatious apparel for your wardrobe.

Explore the world now to find Legendary Cougars, Foxes, Boars, Beavers, Wolves, Bison and Elk ? with more Legendary Animals emerging throughout the frontier in the weeks to come.

New Advanced Camera, Weapons and Free Roam Events

To aid in studying animals or even just for hobbyists with a keen eye, a new Advanced Camera is available from the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue, allowing for increased mobility along with an improved suite of camera features that includes a set of filters. There are also new weapons, including a customizable Improved Bow and the Elephant Rifle, made for taking down especially large animals.

The Naturalist also features a pair of new animal-based Free Roam Events.

Legendary Animal Protection

Work together to defend a Legendary Animal from poachers as it migrates across the frontier. But don?t get too close to it while doing so, or you may be seen as a potential threat.

Wild Animal Tagging

Join up with other players to sedate and tag animals from certain species in order to obtain samples and discover a bonus Legendary Animal, while also dealing with potential poachers.

The Outlaw Pass No. 3

The Wheeler Rawson & Co. Club and The Outlaw Pass return with a host of special new items to unlock. As always, the Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Club is a free and automatic membership, as you progress through the Club Ranks you will unlock perks along the way.

Upgrade to The Outlaw Pass No. 3 for even more. Get up to 40 Gold Bars, alongside a bountiful assortment of Offers and Rewards ? including access to unique Outfits, Weapon modifications, Camp Upgrades and much more. There are 80 Ranks to unlock with the new Outlaw Pass, which is available through October 19th. Visit the website for more details.

Additional Updates

You’ll meet all sorts of new folk along your travels in Free Roam, including other hunters tracking prey, and some that might request your assistance or even those who have met an untimely demise as a result of their efforts. Also look out for crashed wagons along the pathways and roads, which may include abandoned valuables ? or in some cases an inebriated driver looking for assistance.

New Clothing & More

The Naturalist also includes new Specialist Role themed and general Daily Challenges, new Awards, a collection of new Clothing, Hairstyles, Hair Accessories, Emotes, the ability to store cooked meats in your Item Wheel, and much more. A Weapons Locker has also been added to Camp in Story, allowing Arthur to remove chosen Weapons from the Weapon Wheel.

Today’s update also brings over 250 fixes, balancing adjustments, and general improvements to Red Dead Online. These include solutions to address camp and animal spawn issues, improvements to matchmaking and team sorting methods for Showdown lobbies, and more. Read the full patch notes here.

Benefits, Offers & Rewards

Double Rewards and Payouts

Now through August 3rd, all budding Naturalists will earn 2X payouts on Tier 3 Legendary Animal Samples and Whole Carcass Sales. Plus, completing various Naturalist aims over the course of the next four weeks will grant you additional benefits:

• Become a Naturalist and get a Reward for a free Role Accessory, Outfit or Emote
• Sedate and sample any animal and get the Gila Monster Camp Flag
• Complete a Legendary Animal Sighting Mission and get a Reward for a unique colorway of the Farnholme Double Bandolier
• Pitch a Wilderness Camp and get a Reward for a Treasure Map

New Bonus Offers and Rewards 

• Offer for 30% off any Novice or Promising Item in the Naturalist Role
• Reward for 2,000 Naturalist XP
• Reward for Free Sedative Varmint Cartridges
• Reward for a Free Legendary Animal Pheromone
• Offer for 30% off a Revolver
• Reward for a Free Ability Card

 Be sure to always visit the Social Club Events page for a rundown of all the latest special bonuses, and you can also always see your current active Offers and Rewards at any time either via the in-game Benefits menu or at the Offers and Rewards section of the online Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue.

PlayStation 4 Early Access Benefits

Red Dead Online players on PlayStation 4 will receive special free gifts along with new early access bonuses:

Free Gifts:

• 10x Sedative Varmint Cartridges
• 5x Animal Revivers
• 5x Blending Tonics

Early Access Bonuses:

• Woodcote Poncho
• The Legendary Gabbro Horn Ram
• Legendary Chalk Horn Ram
• Legendary Rutile Horn Ram
• Three Fossil Collection sets

Twitch Prime Benefits

Twitch Prime members who linked their accounts to the Rockstar Games Social Club and claimed their benefits on Twitch Prime can visit the Offers & Rewards section to claim Rewards for the Legendary Katata Elk Animal Coat, along with a trio of new Naturalist Rewards and ongoing additional bonuses: 

• 5 Free Legendary Animal Pheromones
• 6,000 Naturalist XP
• Free Wilderness Camp
• Offer for 50% off a Camp Dog
• Offer for 50% off a Tent
• Offer for 50% off a Vest below Rank 15
• 10x Special Health Cures
• 10x Special Snake Oil
• 10x Special Miracle Tonic
• 10x Special Bitters

If you already have a Social Club account and a Twitch Prime subscription and haven’t claimed your benefits, you can do so by visiting https://twitch.amazon.com/prime/loot/reddeadonline.

More to Come

In the weeks ahead, look for even more new Legendary Animals to track along with new gameplay updates, additions to both Gus Macmillan’s Store and the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue, new Fossils for Collectors to find and deliver to traveling saleswoman Madam Nazar and more.