Red Dead Redemption 2 starts you off with a pretty modest inventory. Money is pretty hard to come by, and although you do start with a set of guns, the sooner you can add to your collection, the better.
As it turns out, there’s a way to get yourself a nice free gun early on in the game – so if you’re looking to be the best in the West, read on, cowboy…
As Chapter Two begins and Red Dead Redemption 2’s huge open world offers itself up to you, there’s plenty of options for you. Continue the story, explore, or pick up some side quests.
What you want to do first however, is head out of camp to the road south of Caliban’s seat. Just by the river you’ll spot a poor soul who’s only gone and gotten themselves bitten by a snake.
All you have to do is give this gentleman a health cure to stop the poison from killing him – and be quick about it, because he does actually just die right there if you don’t help him out.
It should be noted that the payoff isn’t immediate. Freshly cured, your man will head off leaving you with nothing but honour points to your name, but don’t gun him down in a blind rage. Patience is key here.
Wait a few days, and you’ll find your new friend sat outside the gunsmith in Valentine. He remembers that time you stopped him dying out in the wilderness alone, and he was a big fan of when you did that.
As a result, he allows you to choose one free weapon from the store’s catalogue. Obviously, some weapons will be locked till later in the game, but you can get yourself a nice new pistol or rifle.
The moral of this story is that you need to help everyone you see in Red Dead Redemption 2, because it can pay off in ways you didn’t see coming. You can also just shoot everyone you see. Up to you, really.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.