Things Only True Red Dead Fans Understand

The Red Dead Redemption franchise has earned a loyal fanbase through its innovative storytelling and gorgeous graphics. The opportunity to live out your very own Wild West fantasy, without having to worry about pesky things like actual tuberculosis, has given gamers exactly what they were looking for. And with the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, the fan community is only continuing to grow.

With such an immersive game that allows players to make their own story in online mode or indulge in battle royale in the Gun Rush Mode, players have no shortage of RDR content to keep them satisfied. And even the main game in RDR2 has great replay value. Between hidden Easter eggs and side stories that are easy to miss on your first playthrough, fans are still devoted to the Red Dead Redemption games. But with this sprawling community comes a few things that all fans can relate to. Whether it's frustration with certain mechanics or just annoyance over a particular character, here are a few things that only true Red Dead fans will understand.

Honor is a funny thing in Red Dead Redemption. If you want to maintain good standing with the NPCs you interact with, it's important to keep your honor high. In order to do this, you'll most definitely want to avoid committing any crimes that could land a bounty on your head. But sometimes bad things happen, and people make mistakes. In those instances, players can at least rest assured that they can pay their bounty off in order to get a clean slate once more. But a clean slate can only last so long when you accidentally hit the wrong button.

All Red Dead Redemption players know that one of the worst things you can do, after dropping a large sum of money to pay off your own bounty, is to accidentally get into a fight because your finger slipped. While having a conversation with an NPC, it's easy to accidentally hit or even kill them. In fact, this mistake happens so often, that the RDR community has made a running joke out of it.

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Red Dead Redemption 2 was the elusive Gavin. Players have searched high and low trying to locate the NPC who very well may not even be in the game, but no one has succeeded in finding him. Many have speculated that Gavin doesn't exist, given the fact that no one can find any reference to him in the game's files. But there are still those who hold out hope that with a patch or update, Gavin will be found. 

If you happen to run into an NPC named Nigel, you'll be introduced to the maddening mystery. Nigel will ask you if you've seen Gavin, and even though he's adamant that his friend is missing, no one has seen any sign of his existence. Many have speculated that Nigel is actually crazy, and Gavin doesn't exist. Others think Nigel may have killed Gavin. And still others think Nigel might actually be Gavin. But no matter what you believe, one thing is certain: we may never find Gavin, and we just have to be okay with that possibility.

Saint Denis is a town that holds a special place in the hearts of Red Dead Redemption fans everywhere. On the one hand, people like the easy access that the town provides for many necessities. But on the other hand, the people of the town can be a bit obnoxious in their programming. It seems like these NPCs are created to purposefully get in your way, call you out for things they perceive as inappropriate, or be just plain loud.

One of the most distinguishing features of the residents of Saint Denis, however, is their intense hate for speed. It seems that no matter how gingerly you ride through town, there will always be an NPC there to tell you to slow down. Nevermind the fact that you're in a road that's supposed to be designated for riding a horse at a decent pace. These residents will yell at you from shop fronts and porches alike to let you know that they're disappointed in your velocity. At least there are ways to take care of them if you don't care about a bounty on your head.

Maintaining high honor in Red Dead Redemption 2 is a bit of a balancing act. It's obvious that you'd like to have high enough honor to make your playthrough easier. But sometimes the easiest way to get things done isn't really the most honorable. Luckily for players who may have dabbled in some morally grey areas, there are ways to build your honor back up. 

Sure, it seems like the best way to do so in any real-life situation would be to act like a hero. In Red Dead Redemption, this translates into sparing others who may have slighted you or helping those in need. But this can also translate into doing a lot of fishing. Because it turns out, catching and releasing fish builds up your honor as well. So instead of having to go out and interact with NPCs in order to maximize your honor, all you have to do is relax and shoot the breeze near a river. Even if it doesn't make much sense, any true RDR fan knows that if you're low on honor, you break out the rods.

Arthur Morgan is a man on a mission towards redemption. With this goal in mind, he tries to right wrongs and become a person who helps others. This is never more evident than when you visit camp, where there's a box to donate money for food and supplies. Arthur, being the good person he is, often donates to keep the camp running smoothly and his gang happy. But it sometimes feels like no matter how much you give, it will never be enough.

If players neglect the camp donation box for a short period of time, everyone will notice. And we mean everyone. Susan will tell you that she hasn't seen you put anything into the box for a while. And even Dutch will comment on the fact that you haven't been donating enough to keep him and the gang happy. This completely flies in the face of something being a "donation" rather than an obligation. If Susan had it her way, you wouldn't play the game at all and would, instead, constantly donate all of your funds to the camp.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a gorgeous game that is not only narratively intriguing, but visually stunning. This is even more evident when you use the cinematic camera. In this view, you get wide shots of the scenery as you run majestically through the wilderness. Of course, the faraway angles have also led to some interesting equine accidents as well. And once the gaming community realized how funny these horse accidents were, they gained instant fame among RDR2 fans. 

Fans of the Wild West game can all unanimously agree that it doesn't matter how serious a player you are, you will always laugh at a character being tossed like a rag doll over their horse as they run straight into a tree. The juxtaposition of these idyllic views and the horrific accidents are comedy gold. And even if you're the most intense RDR2 player imaginable, with a full backstory and persona for your character, you'll still get a good chuckle out of your noble steed being flummoxed by a tiny rock. 

There is one question that permeates the mind of every gamer in every game: "If there is a dog, can I pet it?" This has become so important that there's an entire Twitter account dedicated to this question: CanYouPetTheDog will let gamers on Twitter know if the dogs found in any given game are capable of getting what they rightly deserve. Maybe it's because they're man's best friend, but no one can resist giving a happy dog some love.

The fact that you can pet the dogs in Red Dead Redemption 2 means that you can be easily distracted from your goals. It doesn't matter if you were on your way to rescue a captive, rob a bank, or return to the camp where you're being told you haven't donated enough money: a lone dog in a town will always make you dismount to let it know it's a good boy. This is a well-known fact among the RDR community. And anyone who pretends they don't pet every dog they see in RDR2 is either heartless, or lying.

Horses are an integral part of the Red Dead Redemption experience. Some might use them merely as modes of transport, but most players have acknowledged that they build up a special bond with their horse. But as much as you may love your noble steed, there is one unfortunate truth: horses in Red Dead Redemption are far too easy to kill.

Accidentally running over a tiny rock and launching your horse headlong into a tree is just one of the many ways you can easily and accidentally dispose of your trusted companion. Because horses are so vital to completing Red Dead Redemption, you'll ultimately need to replace any horse that dies under your care. And as much as you don't want to switch loyalty between horses quite so quickly, you know that for practicality's sake, it's better to find a replacement and move on. Because of this, Red Dead Redemption fans have come to accept that by the end of the game, they will have killed far more horses than they actually own when the credits roll.

If there's one quote from Red Dead Redemption 2 that is burned into the memories of players everywhere, it's Dutch saying that he has a plan. And even though fans know that the likelihood that Dutch has a workable plan is slim, it doesn't stop the NPC from swearing up and down that his plan is the thing that will save the gang in the end. In fact, Dutch says this so often that it's become somewhat of a joke in the RDR2 community, prompting compilations of the numerous times Dutch says those exact words. 

The problem with Dutch and his supposed plans is that they always seem to end in chaos. Either the plan wasn't very good to begin with, he changes it halfway through, or he never actually had a plan and is now improvising to save face. But no matter what the reason is behind Dutch's inaccurate insistence that his plans are the best, it's safe to say that no person in history who's ever had a good plan has needed to reassure people so often that they did.

When Red Dead Redemption 2 was announced, fans of the first game were ecstatic to be able to delve back into their favorite Wild West game. And with every trailer that was uploaded leading up to the game's release, fans only became that much more enthusiastic. All fans, except, of course, PC users. 

RDR2 has been out for almost a year now, and PC users still haven't gotten the port that was promised. While there has been speculation that the "Bonair" project leaked by Rockstar is actually the PC version, there still hasn't been any solid confirmation. So while everyone else in the gaming community is learning more about Arthur Morgan and playing the online Gun Rush mode, PC players are trying to come to terms with the knowledge that it may be a very long time before they get their own version of RDR2. At the very least, the long wait is an excellent lesson in the art of patience.