PowerPyx

Home » Game Guides » Red Dead Redemption 2 » Red Dead Redemption 2 Challenges

Red Dead Redemption 2 Challenges

by 74 Comments

Red Dead Redemption 2 has 90 Challenges. There are 9 Challenges Categories, each consisting of 10 challenge tasks: Bandit, Explorer, Gambler, Herbalist, Horseman, Master Hunter, Sharpshooter, Survivalist, Weapons Expert.

You can complete these at any time, none of them are missable. You should start working on them early in the game to minimize the grind later on. Challenges are also needed for 100% Completion! You have to do all of them. They aren’t too difficult, more like tutorials of everything you can do in the game and a bunch will come naturally without trying.

Only after completing one tier the next task will unlock. So you must complete the first task to unlock the second, then the second to unlock the third and so on. Below are the required tasks:

Bandit Challenges

  1. Hold up 5 townsfolk
  2. Rob any 2 coaches or return any 2 stolen coaches to the Fence
  3. Rob the cash register in any 4 shops in one day
  4. Rob any 3 coaches or return any 3 stolen coaches to the fence in a day
  5. Amass $250 bounty in one state
  6. Steal 5 horses and sell them to the Horse Fence at Clemens Cove
  7. Rob $50 worth of cash and valuables from townsfolk and travellers
  8. Steal 7 wagons and sell them to the Fence at Emerald Ranch
  9. Hogtie someone and leave them on the railroad 3 times
  10. Complete 5 train robberies without dying or being caught

Explorer Challenges

Complete 3 Treasure Map Hunts for all of these challenges. See Red Dead Redemption 2 Treasure Map Locations & Solutions.

  1. Find a Treasure Map
  2. Find a Treasure
  3. Find a Treasure
  4. Find a Treasure
  5. Find a Treasure
  6. Find a Treasure
  7. Find a Treasure
  8. Find a Treasure
  9. Find a Treasure
  10. Find a Treasure

Gambler Challenges

  1. Win 5 hands of poker: simply win the pot at Poker a total of five times.
  2. In Blackjack, double down and win the hand 5 times: Double  down means, you draw only 1 more card in Blackjack. Best to do it when you start with a high number or a figure at the start of the round. It is obviously pretty random if you will will but that’s the point of gambling challenges.
  3. Win 3 games of Five Finger Fillet: The easiest way is to defeat the first round opponent all the time. You can reset the opponent to lower level by visiting another location FFF game. The first round opponent is the easiest, since you will only have to press 2 different buttons switching between them all the time. It could be either :x: + :square: , :x: + :triangle: or :x: + :circle: .
  4. Bust one poker opponent out in each location (Flatneck Station, Saint Denis, Valentine) – To bust out the oppoenent out you will have to be the one who sends him home after he goes all-in. You can save before entering the table and simply go for a all-in, if you bust someone out, proceed to the next location, if not just reload the save file and go hail-mary with an all-in again.
  5. Win 3 rounds of dominoes without drawing any tiles against 2 or fewer opponents: You will have to find a game of dominoes where 2 or 3 people sit at the table when you arrive there. I found a game like that in Saint Denis. Just like most of the Gambler challenge this one is completely random. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to draw any stones. It simply depends on which piece your opponent places. My only tip would be to try to keep a stone with each number at least once in your possesion to be able to counter everything. Obviously you will still have to hope for the best once you are left with only 2 or less tiles.
  6. Beat the Blackjack dealer in two locations (Rhodes and Van Horn): Shouldn’t take longer than five minutes. You only have to win twice. You will win at some point, there is no chance of not winning in blackjack at least once, since at some point you will get a 21 from the get go.
  7. Beat the five finger fillet player in every location (Strawberry, Valentine, Van Horn) – Just head to each of the location and defeat the easy first round opponents there.
  8. Win three hands of Blackjack with three hits or more – This one is extremely annoying and luck based. Honestly you could say this challenge is a total waste of time. You will have to draw something between 18 and 21 with a total of 4 cards on your hand and hope that the dealer isn’t better than you. Good luck… you will need it.
  9. Win three games of dominoes in a row – It is better to do it at the same location 3 times in a row if you don’t feel like learning all the rule sets for each domino game. The one I found to be the most interesting one, but also the one you have to pay the most attention to, is the one where you get points every time the edges of the game equal a number which can be divided by 5. So if there is a 6 on the left and you have the chance to place a 4 on the right, you will be granted 10 points. Simply choose the type of domino which you like the most.
  10. Win three hands of Poker in a row – Gambler challenge which is a bit luck based as always. The method which worked for me, was raising at the start of Turn and Flop and then placing a big bet at the third betting round. Three times in a row the opponent folded after I went crazy on my bet. It is annoying but still not as bad as challenge number 8.

Herbalist Challenges

  1. Pick 6 Yarrow
  2. Pick and eat 4 species of berry
  3. Craft 7 items using sage as an ingredient
  4. Pick 5 mushrooms and feed them to your horse
  5. Craft 9 items using Indian Tobacco as an ingredient
  6. Pick 15 different species of herb
  7. Craft and use 5 special miracle tonics
  8. Use oleander to craft 6 poison weapons
  9. Pick one of each species of herb: See Red Dead Redemption 2 All Plant Locations Guide
  10. Season and cook all 11 types of meat

Horseman Challenges

  1. Kill 5 rabbits from horseback: Rabbits often run across roads, always run into them with your horse. When you see one, chase after it. Rabbits spawn very frequently south of Valentine and around Flatneck Station.
  2. Jump over 3 obstacles in 15 seconds: Just jump over some fence or small rocks.
  3. Ride from Valentine to Rhodes in less than five minutes: With some horse stimulants this is very easy as they allow you to refresh stamina instantly (they can be bought from Stables).
  4. While mounted, drag a victim for 3300 feet using your lasso: Find a random person on the road or ride into town and lasso anyone. Can be a normal villager, doesn’t have to be an enemy. Keep them lassoed and ride for 3300 feet (1000 meters). The person is allowed to die, just keep riding.
  5. Trample 5 animals while on horseback: Just run over any 5 enemies. Pheasants work great for this because they are slow and easy to hit. You find them around Rhodes, especially south of Rhodes near the southern end of the map.
  6. Ride from Strawberry to Saint Denis in less than 9 minutes without touching any water: You are not allowed to ride through puddles of water, just follow the train tracks and ride over the train bridge south-east of Saint Denis. You should get one of the best horses and also buy horse stimulants at Stables to refresh stamina instantly on the go.
  7. Kill 7 enemies from horseback without dismounting: Just ride into any town and start shooting people until the law arrives. The lawmen count as enemies (unarmed villagers don’t count).
  8. Kill 9 predators from horseback: The very best way is to kill alligators. There are lots of them in the south-eastern most edge of the map, in the swamp area south-east of Rhodes. East of Shady Belle (your chapter 4 gang camp).
  9. Ride from Van Horn to Blackwater in less than 17 minutes without touching any water: This you can’t do until having reached the Epilogue of the Story because at Blackwater you’d get shot on sight before this point. The trick is again to do it without riding through water. Ride over the train bridge south-west of Van Horn, then the train bridge at Flatneck station, then ride all the way to the west of the map — west of Strawberry ride across a small wooden bridge at “Owanjila Dam” that leads to the Blackwater region. You should have the map uncovered beforehand so you know where you’re going. There is more than enough time but be sure to buy some Horse Stimulants from Stables to refresh Stamina on the go.
  10. Break every wild horse breed: See All Wild Horse Breed Locations Guide)

Master Hunter Challenges

Also see » All Animal Locations

  1. Skin 3 deer
  2. Collect 3 perfect quality rabbit pelts
  3. Track 10 different animal species using your binoculars
  4. Call an animal and get a clean kill 5 times
  5. Skin 3 black or grizzly bears
  6. Kill 5 cougars with your bow, then skin them
  7. Use bait to lure and kill both a herbivore and predator
  8. Catch 3 fish without using a fishing rod
  9. Catch an opossum playing possum
  10. Find and kill the legendary panther “Giaguaro” (Location Screenshot)

Sharpshooter Challenges

  1. Kill 3 flying birds
  2. Kill 2 different species of animal in the same Dead Eye use
  3. Kill 5 flying birds while on a moving train
  4. Kill someone at 80 feet away with a tomahawk
  5. Kill 6 animals without switching or reloading your weapon
  6. Kill someone at least 660 feet away with a long scoped rifle
  7. Get 7 headshots in a row
  8. Disarm 3 enemies without reloading or switching your weapon
  9. Shoot 3 people’s hats off in the same Dead Eye use
  10. Kill 3 flying birds with 3 consecutive long scoped rifle shots

Survivalist Challenges

  1. Catch 3 Bluegill fish
  2. Hand 5 animals into camp or trapper
  3. Kill 5 animals with a varmint rifle
  4. Craft a dynamite, fire, improved, poison, and small game arrow
  5. Catch a fish in the Bayou from a riverboat and while standing on train tracks
  6. Kill a scavenging animal while it is feeding a corpse 5 times
  7. Kill 8 small game animals with consecutive shots, using small game arrows
  8. Craft a homing tomahawk, improved tomahawk, volatile dynamite, and volatile fire bottle
  9. Catch a fish that weighs at least 19lb
  10. Catch one of each type of fish throughout the world

Weapons Expert Challenges

  1. Kill 3 enemies with a knife
  2. Kill 3 enemies in 10 seconds using only throwing knives
  3. Kill 3 birds of prey using only a tomahawk
  4. Kill 10 enemies with a shotgun using crafted ammo
  5. Kill 5 mounted enemies, using 1 throwing knife per kill
  6. Kill 4 enemies at the same time with a single stick of dynamite
  7. Kill 4 consecutive enemies by throwing and retrieving the same tomahawk
  8. Kill 15 enemies using a long-barrelled shotgun
  9. Kill 9 unaware enemies from behind, using the bow
  10. Kill a grizzly bear without taking damage, using only throwing knives

That’s all 90 Challenges to do in RDR2.

For more guides, check out our full 100% Completion Guide & Red Dead Redemption 2 Wiki & Strategy Guide.


Share1
Shares 1

Comments

  1. Will you have tips to do these challenges at some point? Most look pretty cut and dried, but a few look like they may be tricky, like catching a fish without a rod.

    Reply

    • Yup, this page will be updated with tips later on 🙂
      In the meantime I’ll link to existing guides e.g. working on treasures right now.

  3. How the hell did you manage to beat Gambler Challenge number 8?
    “Win three hands of Blackjack with three hits or more”
    It seems sooo random and luck based, it drives me mad. Wasted 2 hours already and haven’t had a single hand with 3 hits without going over 21. And split doesn’t seem to count as an additional +2 hits. Is there some easy solution I’m missing?

    Reply

    • I caught a fish with my hands. I waded out and used the shore to stop the fish from swimming away. it was up in the mountains and was a big samon

    • “Catching” fish without a rod is easy. Long before I got to this challenge I’d found dozens of fish on river and lake bankss, mostly pickerel, and also in a couple of the caves. You just pick them up. In chapter 4, I found 2 gar washed up on the banks near the back of the camp, where the drowned graveyard is. Under the tracks going into St. Denis, I found another 2 just sitting there.
      I’ve also found salmon and muskie the same way in the Grizzlies.
      In shallow water, you can run around and chase them onto the shores too. Did that with rock bass and blue gill in Lemoyne and a muskie in the Grizzlies. There’s a way to “cheat” when fishing as well:
      Stay as far away as you can from the water when fishing. Most of the time when you throw them back, they won’t make the water, but it will count as if they did. You get the honour bonus and the fish just die.
      My third and final fish for this challenge was a northern pike I caught and “released” this way.
      I was after blue gill for bait and ended up with a dozen pike, bass and pickerel
      dead at the waters edge before I got what I wanted. I picked up the pike first when I was done and it counted toward the challenge.

  6. Anyone knows the location of the fourth species of berry, Wintergreen berry?
    I have Blackbery, Red Raspberry and Evergreen Huckleberry but I never see Wintergreen berry.

    Reply

  7. I cannot find the 4th berry to eat to complete the second herb challenge. I’ve been looking for winterberry for so long. Where did you find it? I’ve been North of Annesburg.. I can’t find what it looks like or anything! Please help!!

    Reply

    • I found the Winterberry Northwest of Annesburg. It was under the Roanoke Valley name on the map, west of Deer Cottage, on the left side of the river. The plant itself was rather small.

  8. How to do:
    Ride from Strawberry to Saint Denis in less than 9 minutes without touching any water?

    I did in 8min, with stopwatch on mobile. I did not touch any water. Or the rain counts as water aswell?

    Reply

    • how to do this in 8 mins? My thinking is to follow the train tracks, not sure how much time it would take.

    • Follow the train track after you come across it from Strawberry. Half way through you will come to a bridge. if you go under your likely to be ambushed by bandits. use the horse stimulants to fortify the horses stamina when it runs out and keep repeating. follow the red trail you marked all the way to Saint Denis.

  9. So do these continually track as you play the game? For example catch one of each type of fish – do you need to recatch everything once this challenge unlocks?

    Reply

  10. Random tip for “Survivalist 6”, the animal you kill doesn’t actually need to be feeding on a corpse, you can use predator bait and kill the animal whilst it is eating it, the bait counts as an animal feeding on a corpse.(you do need to kill the animal in one shot though otherwise it won’t be eating when you kill it with a follow-up shot)

    Reply

  11. I cant complete master hunter challenge 7. I cant seem to aquire the gritty fish meat for the potent predator bait. Ive caught small fish and kept them in my satchel hoping they would decay, but the fish don’t. Any suggestions?

    Reply

    • Small fish need to be broken down in your satchel to produce meat. Longnose Gar make gritty meat as well, but you need a big one, choose cook and if it’s big enough, when you get asked to cook another, decline and you’ll get a raw piece in your satchel.
      You break down small birds and animals for parts the same way, but if you get perfect carcasses, always keep one for the hunting requests later.

  13. Is Horseman 10 missable?
    Because you can only find one Arabian in the wild (the white one). And if you already have that one… well… bad luck

    Reply

    • This is an interesting observation. I don’t know the answer as of yet, but will investigate this asap. My guess would be that if you sell the Arabian or kill it, it respawns in the wild? That would be the worst game design of the year if the 100% completion is missable because of a horse. Nothing else for 100% is missable so I doubt this is.

    • Oh no, I have the white Arabian right now. I hope this isn’t missable. Has someone done this yet?

    • I’ve asked reddit and it seems the Arabian is indeed NOT required.
      Can’t confirm myself, still have to go from VanHorn to Blackwater.

    • I hope that’s true, I’m still on Horseman 8. I don’t want to kill or sell my Arabian for this.

    • You absolutely for a fact do NOT need the Arabian for this challenge. If you tap <- on your d-pad then go to the challenge and select it you'll see the list of horses needed to complete it.

    • Theres 19 horse species in the game. 9 arent needed and an arabian is one thats not needed.

    • I got my white Arabian and 2 epilogue foxtrotters and turkemon dark bay in chaoter 2. I hate the arabian but took it cuzvit was there in st Denis but every single horse on hourse challenge 10 I just completed all show up in one spot. Stay a few days in the field outside hanging dog ranch and a group of horses and 1 valuable horse spadn daily…. so I got all mine. And one day at a time awoke for mustang,America paint,walker,and the hardest but did spadn were both mustang and allpolossa.. and I just took my binoculars found hourse to out trusty springfield. Put one in middle of horse. Followed it till I fell reddened and jumped on with less fight now grant you bye chapter 2 3 mission I had the legends of east satchel 99 gold bars 3 million dollars all legendary animals killed except 3 I had to wait for chapter4 early black water and lion and theres a trick to keep trmporafly getting the 3 talismans to light up and get the alligator talisman to appear kn you tikl you actually kill it…..

  15. I would also like to know if this is missable, since I broke the Arabian early in the game. Thanks in advance!

    Reply

  16. Honestly can’t see me getting platinum in this game because of these challenges. Like for one I have no idea how to play blackjack so I feel useless in those areas. Plus the skin and study every animal is so mundane when there’s such a huge variety of animals in the game

    Reply

    • Skin every animal and study every animal are different trophies. Normal playthrough gets you enough studies/skins to satisfy the requirement for 100%

    • Find one, chase it till it plays dead – then shoot it. Easy. Hardest bit is finding one of them.

  19. Horseman challenge 10 I can confirm that Arabian is not needed, the description is a little off, it’s every wild horse breed and it gives you a handy list to see what you have broken (unlike rest I’m looking at you herb 9!), most can be found on the plains west of emerald.

    Possum challenge if you go east at night from camp 1 across rail tracks always have possums spawning there, chase it till it falls over pretending to be dead, shoot it then!

    Reply

  20. I have done the jack hall gang and Poison trail treasure maps and i have my explorer challenge at level 7. I have done the first two parts of the torn treasure map series and so neither of them counted towards my explorer challenge progress. I am still in chapter 3 so I can not finish it, but does this mean that I have to do the high stakes treasure map to get level 10 explorer?

    Reply

    • I did the High Stakes Treasure Map completely and it counted so yes you have to do it. I don’t know if there is a 4th treasure map chain.

    • I completed explorer 10 in chapter 2. I have only just aquired the first torn map, near the end of chapter 4. Jack Hall, High Stakes, Poisonous trail and Chicks one off loan shark mission were all i needed, map wise. You find random gold bars in exploration too and the feather/finger puzzle should count.

  21. How d hell do I catch this opossum when it plays dead? As soon as I hold square 2 pick it up it just wakes up n runs away

    Reply

  22. Off topic but useful to know: (Full Horse Speed and Acceleration cores in Yellow)

    If people are looking to fill the third speed bar to yellow on a Horse just win random point to point races against a person challenging you. After a few wins your horse get’s the last bar filled in yellow and has maximum potential if equipped with the right saddle.

    Reply

    • Challenge 8 is the worst. Draw 3+ cards in blackjack… and win.
      For no9 play at the camp, you can back out if you’re about to lose and it should NOT reset your chain.
      For no10, go all-in right at the start. AI has a high chance to fold. Reload if it fails.

    • manual save not working, willl reset back to 0/3. For Gambler challenge 9, u can press EXIT, if about to lost and won’t reset.

      Gambler challenge 10, just bet ALL-in, got high chance all player fold.

    • Edit: 8 i easy, just spam X while watching a movie and you’ll get it eventually. Challenge 9 however…

    • 9 was the WORST. I did it afer epilogue so the camp idea wasn’t an option, but after hours and hours of trying different options, playing Fives in Saint Denis had the highest success rate and the shortest game times.

  24. I am having an insanely hard time with Survivalist Challenge 9. I already caught all the legendary fish before I started this challenge. I can not find a non-legendary fish that weighs 19 pounds anywhere. Is there a good spot to catch it anywhere? I am only getting fish that way 14 pounds maximum.

    Reply

    • I had the same problem as you. Try the small lake/pool where the legendary moose was/is. There’s a lot of big muskies that can get you close. I eventually got one that was 19 pounds EXACTLY. Good luck friend

    • First fish I caught after getting the fishing rod was a 19lb 5oz muskie in the Grizzlies east, from a small bridge over a creek. The lakes tend to be full of 14lb ones, but you’ll catch big ones there after a few attempts. Longnose gar at the back of Shady Belle or the outskirts of St Denis are also often 19lb +.

  27. I just want to thank you for all of your videos and help for this long and not so easy RDR 2 game. You have made playing so much easier/smoother.

    Reply

  29. Okay for those of you that are struggling I will dispense some knowledge about GAMBLER CHALLENGE 9 which I found out and after looking at pretty much every guide + comments here is how you cheese it which I discovered by accident because after the same opponent played the same 5/5 tile 4 games in a row I got up and shotgunned the guy in the face. Very satisfying. Anyway

    If you’re going to lose a game and you know your going to lose leave the table and then buy back in. This will cause the game to end prematurely and force a new round which will prevent the game being counted asa loss.
    Your welcome

    Reply

  30. Omg I can not get the 3 hits or more for Blackjack! IT’S DRIVING ME NUTS! Can someone PLZ help me!?

    Reply

  31. For sharpshooter 7 , just go to valentine and shoot those sheeps heads .They are located few metres from the horse trader.

    Reply

  32. For weapon expert 2, just go to valentine and throw 3 knifes at those at the poker table. It is the easy way out.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *