Red Dead Redemption 2 Beginner Tips
Get the Expensive Camp Upgrades First
During my early hours with Red Dead Redemption 2, I made a big boo-boo by not paying more attention to the camp ledger and the upgrades I could get for it. This is one of the core mechanics of Red Dead Redemption 2, and one of the very best beginner tips I can impart from my hours of play.
Basically, the camp serves as your home base. Take good care of it, and it’ll reward you well. Once you’ve got your camp set up at Horseshoe Overlook in chapter 2, you’ll be informed that you can start donating money or items to the camp funds.
Next to the money box, you’ll also see the camp ledger, which lets you purchase crucial upgrades that will enhance your gameplay experience and make things go a little smoother. When you interact with the ledger, you’ll see that the first two pages are allocated to medicine and provisions.
These are cheap, and it might be tempting to get those upgrades early on, but I recommend holding off.
Flip to the third and fourth pages, and you’ll see that you can upgrade your ammo reserves, as well as general camp lodgings. The first lodgings upgrade is for Dutch and it’ll cost you a few hundred dollars.
This is expensive, but it’s one of the best upgrades to get first in Red Dead Redemption 2 because it encourages other gang members to donate more as well. This means that you’ll be filling up the money box more quickly, and it’s great in the long run.
Another good upgrade to get can be found on the fifth page, where you can spend another couple hundred dollars on leather working tools. Purchase these, and Pearson will be able to start crafting satchel upgrades for Arthur.
He’ll only be able to craft stuff with perfect animal pelts, which can be hard to get, but if you hand him perfect pelts, he’ll also save them for future crafting use. This means that you don’t have to get all the required perfect pelts in one go; just hand them over as you get them, and you’ll be good.
With the leather working tools, Pearson can also craft cosmetics for camp decoration, if you’re into that.