RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 - "Chronological" Mission Order

[jimmyoneshot]

3 hours ago, Aklis said:

So I've been thinking about The First Shall Not Be The Last in Chapter 2 and it just doesn't line up. At the end of Americans At Rest, Dutch tells Arthur to get himself cleaned up and then join Javier and Trelawney, essentially implying that you should set off after them ASAP. However, the mission only seems to unlock after you either complete another mission or you sleep once (even if it's just until Evening that same day), and it's quite a long ride, so the possibility of getting to Blackwater on the same day as you did Americans At Rest seems a bit of a stretch. On the other hand, the boys have evidently been there at least overnight since they've set up a tent and everything. In other words, you kind of have to ignore Dutch's whole "get there ASAP" for it to even remotely make sense.

 

Hello Aklis. Yep you're right it does seem urgent but the delay also suggests something should be done in the meantime, likely to justify why the guys have camped there overnight and have already scouted the place once already when Arthur gets there i.e. Javier saying "Place is crawling with Pinkertons, bounty hunters and pictures of Dutch and Hosea". The way Dutch says "Clean yourself up. Join them when you're ready" suggests this too like he means "clean yourself up and then whenever you have dealt with whatever business you have to do join them".

 

Definitely seems like it should go on the day after Americans At Rest based on all this especially with Trelawny returning from a patrol as soon as Arthur gets there. If we left it a few days it would be weird that Trelawny has been scouting every day and just by chance Arthur arrives on the day that Sean is being moved ha. And on the other hand if we did it on the same day it would also be weird that the guys have set up a tent in such a hostile area unless they needed to so they could camp overnight.

[Dan_1983]

3 hours ago, Aklis said:

So I've been thinking about The First Shall Not Be The Last in Chapter 2 and it just doesn't line up. At the end of Americans At Rest, Dutch tells Arthur to get himself cleaned up and then join Javier and Trelawney, essentially implying that you should set off after them ASAP. However, the mission only seems to unlock after you either complete another mission or you sleep once (even if it's just until Evening that same day), and it's quite a long ride, so the possibility of getting to Blackwater on the same day as you did Americans At Rest seems a bit of a stretch. On the other hand, the boys have evidently been there at least overnight since they've set up a tent and everything. In other words, you kind of have to ignore Dutch's whole "get there ASAP" for it to even remotely make sense.

 

You don't need to get there on the same day. The next day is fine. After a bath at the hotel, I set off towards Blackwater as rescuing Sean should be priority over anything else and I camp on the banks of the Upper Montana River and cross to meet Charles and Javier in the morning.

[Chicken Sauce]

Just want to put up an appreciation post for the people who have been responding to me as you guys have helped me with my realistic play through 

 

thank you jimmyoneshot, Dan ,Brandy Nova, and anyone else (sorry if I let any of you guys out)

[JonnyTNT7]

12 hours ago, Dan_1983 said:

After a bath at the hotel, I set off towards Blackwater as rescuing Sean should be priority over anything else and I camp on the banks of the Upper Montana River and cross to meet Charles and Javier in the morning.

The only reason I don’t do this is that we, the player, haven’t been formally introduced to the mechanics of camping yet. I don’t like to camp out until after finishing Exit. That’s why I ride towards Blackwater, but stop off at Flatneck on the way to deal with Swanson. By then, it’s getting dark, so I might as well sleep in camp and set off in the morning. 

[Chicken Sauce]

Anyone know what time each mission starts at in chapter 1 and 2

[jimmyoneshot]

4 hours ago, JonnyTNT7 said:

The only reason I don’t do this is that we, the player, haven’t been formally introduced to the mechanics of camping yet. I don’t like to camp out until after finishing Exit. That’s why I ride towards Blackwater, but stop off at Flatneck on the way to deal with Swanson. By then, it’s getting dark, so I might as well sleep in camp and set off in the morning. 

I agree with this 100%. It feels like Exit is certainly the camping tutorial plus Hosea says the gang are in Valentine and that Swanson found something down at the train station so they fit very well on the first day and it makes sense for Arthur to make use of the mechanic of sleeping in his own bed at camp one time before camping out too in my opinion.

[Dan_1983]

Chapter 4 question. Where on earth do we fit in all the mayor's missions?

 

 

13 hours ago, JonnyTNT7 said:

The only reason I don’t do this is that we, the player, haven’t been formally introduced to the mechanics of camping yet. I don’t like to camp out until after finishing Exit. That’s why I ride towards Blackwater, but stop off at Flatneck on the way to deal with Swanson. By then, it’s getting dark, so I might as well sleep in camp and set off in the morning. 

Sometimes I stay in the hotel and head for Blackwater in the morning. Sometimes I stay in camp. Usually after Americans at Rest in camp, you get Dutch asking you to help Strauss in the future (or as I see it, manipulating Arthur in doing so).

[Aklis]

I feel pretty weird just straight up ignoring Hosea wanting to go hunting for days.

[luckycanadian95]

On 7/9/2021 at 11:24 PM, BrandyNova said:

Hey @CH14R1 here's the list I have, mostly from Jimmy  

 

CHAPTER 2

- Who Is Not Without Sin

---------------------------------------

- Americans At Rest

---------------------------------------

- First Shall Be The Last

---------------------------------------

- Polite Society Valentine Style

---------------------------------------

- Money Lending and Other Sins 1 - 2

---------------------------------------

- Good Honest Snake Oil

- Paying A Social Call

Something interesting just happened to me in chapter 2. Mary's letter arrived right after "paying a social call" while following this mission order. I think usually it happens later after doing some missions with Hosea. Anyone else have this occur? It feels a bit early in the chapter to do "we loved once and true". Maybe Arthur would be afraid to open the letter and ignore it for a bit?

Edited August 14, 2021 by luckycanadian95
abbreviated quote

[luckycanadian95]

On 8/12/2021 at 12:04 PM, BrandyNova said:

Note that some folks like to do the mission "Who is Not Without Sin" (checking on Swanson) after "Americans at Rest" to kill time, but I don't like that since it negates the urgency for me.   I do "Without Sin" on the first day of Chapter 2, then "Americans at Rest" on day 2.   I like getting the dialogue by Dutch to go into town to check on the boys, too 

Same here, I always start off chapter 2 doing "Without Sin" -> "Americans at Rest" -> "First Shall be Last"

[luckycanadian95]

2 hours ago, Aklis said:

I feel pretty weird just straight up ignoring Hosea wanting to go hunting for days.

Yeah the "Hey Arthur!" gets pretty annoying after awhile. But if you go hunting with him earlier, you just end up ignoring others with more urgent/important business. Plus the only horse you'll likely be able to afford is the Morgan (which is cute and all but yeah). They should have unlocked this mission later, or at least put Hosea in a less conspicuous place. I think someone here mentioned a theory that Exit Pursued was pushed forward to give players quicker access to pre-order exclusive horses

[jimmyoneshot]

3 hours ago, luckycanadian95 said:

Something interesting just happened to me in chapter 2. Mary's letter arrived right after "paying a social call" while following this mission order. I think usually it happens later after doing some missions with Hosea. Anyone else have this occur? It feels a bit early in the chapter to do "we loved once and true". Maybe Arthur would be afraid to open the letter and ignore it for a bit?

Ye the letter arriving is triggered by completing 2 missions - Money Lending 2 (even just 1 debt) AND Paying A Social Call. After that it appears in camp.

 

However there is a weird thing I've seen multiple times where Grimshaw approaches you after completing just Social Call without also completing Money Lending 2 and does her dialogue about one of the girls seeing "Mary Gillis sniffing about" which she only really should do once the letter has arrived because usually Grimshaw doing this dialogue causes the letter icon to show on the map. This may be a clue that order wise Social Call should be the last of the 2 missions that are needed to unlock the letter.

 

It's also worth noting that Polite Society should really be done before unlocking the letter too and also be done before Social Call because the letter literally mentions the events of Polite Society and when Grimshaw mentions one of the girls seeing Mary Gillis she must mean in Valentin and Polite Society was the girls first trip into Valentine.

[luckycanadian95]

4 minutes ago, jimmyoneshot said:

Ye the letter arriving is triggered by completing 2 missions - Money Lending 2 (even just 1 debt) AND Paying A Social Call. After that it appears in camp.

 

However there is a weird thing I've seen multiple times where Grimshaw approaches you after completing just Social Call without also completing Money Lending 2 and does her dialogue about one of the girls seeing "Mary Gillis sniffing about" which she only really should do once the letter has arrived because usually Grimshaw doing this dialogue causes the letter icon to show on the map. This may be a clue that order wise Social Call should be the last of the 2 missions that are needed to unlock the letter.

 

It's also worth noting that Polite Society should really be done before unlocking the letter too and also be done before Social Call because the letter literally mentions the events of Polite Society and when Grimshaw mentions one of the girls seeing Mary Gillis she must mean in Valentin and Polite Society was the girls first trip into Valentine.

Oh weird, so in that case you get the dialogue early but not the letter. I'm pretty sure Grimshaw mentions the letter too so that's definitely a mistake. But yeah makes sense about the order of those missions. Thanks 

[jimmyoneshot]

2 minutes ago, luckycanadian95 said:

Oh weird, so in that case you get the dialogue early but not the letter. I'm pretty sure Grimshaw mentions the letter too so that's definitely a mistake. But yeah makes sense about the order of those missions. Thanks 

No problem Canadian. It's why my usual start is something like:-

 

Americans At Rest > Without Sin > First Shall Be Last > Polite Society > Money Lending 1 - 2 > Good Honest Snake Oil > Exit Pursued > Social Call

[luckycanadian95]

52 minutes ago, jimmyoneshot said:

No problem Canadian. It's why my usual start is something like:-

 

Americans At Rest > Without Sin > First Shall Be Last > Polite Society > Money Lending 1 - 2 > Good Honest Snake Oil > Exit Pursued > Social Call

Nice, love that order. Any particular reason for Exit Pursued before Social Call? I remember people used to play it after A Quiet Time because of the bonds dialogue

[Dan_1983]

5 hours ago, Aklis said:

I feel pretty weird just straight up ignoring Hosea wanting to go hunting for days.

Yes especially as he is right near the hitching posts and hitching your horse at any post usually gets him shouting out at you. 

 

I don't think Arthur would ignore him, seeing as Hosea is the one person he loves and respects the most.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Dan_1983

[BrandyNova]

On 8/10/2021 at 4:56 PM, Dan_1983 said:

I've only managed to catch Cleet once using an exploit I saw on YouTube. 

I'm finally able to catch him consistently, close to the arch that leads into the courtyard where 3 people are standing.   No exploit!   I have to time the melee button just right to tackle him and start the cutscene.  I really like being able to tackle him this early, rather to face all those brats!  Here's a video.

 

 

On 8/10/2021 at 2:20 PM, jimmyoneshot said:

I know exactly which one you mean and my solution like you is to go almost straight there too but even that also feels weird because it then seems like Arthur has only just left Dutch very recently. I honestly think this might be a mistake by Rockstar. I really can't imagine Arthur and Dutch staying overnight in Saint Denis making sense in the story. They should have just locked the timer at 5pm while Arthur is in Saint Denis this first time like they did during Chapter 3 when you go to Rhodes for the first time to do American Distillation.

 

Another weird example of this is on the day of Icarus and Friends in Chapter 5/6. No matter what time we meet Sadie in the bar as soon as the cutscene finishes time gets set to 5am in the morning and it's dark outside which seems really weird. Then as you get to the baloon time switches to about 4 - 5pm and locks at that until the O'Driscoll attack at which point it carries on normally so the mission ends at about 7pm. I think it is likely that they meant to lock time at 4pm - 5pm as soon as the mission starts but someone put am instead of pm and it screwed it up ha.

Hey @jimmyoneshot,  here's another timing issue.  It seems like the next mission, "Angelo Bronte, A Man Of Honor", should start immediately after "The Joys Of Civilization" which ends for me about 10:00 am.  If Arthur rides directly to meet up with Dutch and John in front of Bronte's house, that's about 10:30 am or so.   However, upon exiting Bronte's house (going off to the cemetery with John) the clock advances to 9pm.   This is really annoying.  It is a very clear time shift from morning to night with no logical explanation in the story.   There are plenty of side quests Arthur could do before meeting Dutch and John, but that just doesn't seem realistic, since there's nothing more important than rescuing Jack.   It is also annoying because several of the quests are on the way (the lady asking for donations, Brother Dorkins, etc, depending on the route) which I just have to ignore.  That said...   Dutch does say he has to fetch John (who I assume is still at camp).   But since camp is fairly close by, this might be a delay of an hour or so at most?  Still doesn't give me any satisfaction about the obvious time jump while at Bronte's.

[Chicken Sauce]

anyone know what time the aftermath of genesis starts

 

it would be good if someone could answer soon as I want to finish this chapter

Edited August 15, 2021 by Chicken Sauce

[luckycanadian95]

2 hours ago, Chicken Sauce said:

anyone know what time the aftermath of genesis starts

 

it would be good if someone could answer soon as I want to finish this chapter

Most likely early morning, some time before Old Friends.

[Chicken Sauce]

Lucky Canadian do you know the exact time

[BrandyNova]

2 hours ago, Chicken Sauce said:

anyone know what time the aftermath of genesis starts

 

it would be good if someone could answer soon as I want to finish this chapter

You have a choice when to start that one.   I started it right after Arthur got up, after listening to Dutch and Hosea, the morning after arriving at Colter.   But you can also choose to do other activities first, like talk to the boys, seek out Davey's grave, etc, in which case you could start at a later time.    You could even do Old Friends first, and do Aftermath the next morning, though I don't (food first, then O'Driscolls, is my priority).

[Chicken Sauce]

Brandy nova I mean when you start the missions what is the time is, is it 10am or 11pm etc 

[luckycanadian95]

14 minutes ago, Chicken Sauce said:

Lucky Canadian do you know the exact time

Exact times are tricky. Like Brandy said there can be flexibility in your choices. Not always enough evidence for a single "correct" answer. In this case, during chapter one, I'm pretty sure the clock is frozen and won't advance until you complete missions, so you don't have to worry about getting the wrong time for now.

Edited August 15, 2021 by luckycanadian95

[Dan_1983]

6 minutes ago, Chicken Sauce said:

Brandy nova I mean when you start the missions what is the time is, is it 10am or 11pm etc 

It's a morning mission that ends at midday. Perfect to fit before Old Friends. 

[BrandyNova]

7 minutes ago, Chicken Sauce said:

Brandy nova I mean when you start the missions what is the time is, is it 10am or 11pm etc 

As Dan said, if you start in the morning, it ends midday.  Missions in this chapter are a lot more linear.

[Chicken Sauce]

Two questions

1. In between what missions in chapter 2 should Arthur do chores

 

2. Before what missions should Arthur shave his beard in chapter 2, and what level should I shave it to, or should it fully be shaved. Also what haircut should he have ( I think his normal)

[jimmyoneshot]

4 hours ago, Chicken Sauce said:

Two questions

1. In between what missions in chapter 2 should Arthur do chores

 

2. Before what missions should Arthur shave his beard in chapter 2, and what level should I shave it to, or should it fully be shaved. Also what haircut should he have ( I think his normal)

1. I just do a couple of chores whenever there is time to waste/spare however I like to do all the chores on the first day before leaving to do Americans At Rest because it lets you hear a few unique conversations that happen at that time in camp. I class the first day as a way to get to know all of the camp mechanics like this:-

• Coffee = Arthur gets coffee from Hosea at the start
• Stew = I grab a bowl of stew at the start of the Chapter because a few other gang members seem to be eating here
• Chores = I do all the chores in camp while listening to the conversations that take place at this time (Dutch happy with how things are, Sadie harassing Kieran, the girls complaining about working, Hosea and Lenny discussing their leads, Abigail consoling Sadie about her husband, Hosea telling John to rest for a few days, Micah pointing his gun at Arthur)
• Shave = I shave just before heading to Americans At Rest
• Donating food = When in Valentine I buy a piece of meat from the butcher and donate it to Pearson
• Changing Clothes = After Americans At Rest Arthur is covered in dirt so I change clothes back at camp before heading to Without Sin
• Donating Money = During Without Sin I rob the witness and donate whatever he gives me
• Cooking/Crafting = At the end of the day I cook and eat one of the pieces of meat that Arthur starts the Chapter with and sometimes craft tonics from the herbs Hosea gives you at the start of the Chapter
• Sitting by the campfire, drinking etc = I do this with the gang members just before bed
• Sleeping = I sleep in Arthur's bed for the first time

2. Arthur's default hair at the start of the game and in the trailers/media/artwork etc is the Right Parted Style and is length 3 (3 white rectangles) and is at length 4 when Chapter 2 starts. His beard in most of the trailers/media/artwork etc is either Length 1 (clean shaven) or Length 2 but at the start of the game it is Length 3 and then Length 4 when Chapter 2 starts at which point the game tells you that your "beard is getting long".

 

So I like to keep his beard between Length 1 - 3 at almost all times and the only time I let it grow is at the end of Chapter 3 when Arthur leaves it to grow himself for a while. Then I get it shaved to Length 1 for a later mission which Arthur needs to tidy himself up for. As for the hair I get it cut to length 2 - 3 once in Chapter 2 before seeing Mary and then once in Chapter 4 when Arthur needs to tidy up. But I'd say it's entirely up to you what style you want.

Edited August 15, 2021 by jimmyoneshot

[jimmyoneshot]

16 hours ago, BrandyNova said:

Hey @jimmyoneshot,  here's another timing issue.  It seems like the next mission, "Angelo Bronte, A Man Of Honor", should start immediately after "The Joys Of Civilization" which ends for me about 10:00 am.  If Arthur rides directly to meet up with Dutch and John in front of Bronte's house, that's about 10:30 am or so.   However, upon exiting Bronte's house (going off to the cemetery with John) the clock advances to 9pm.   This is really annoying.  It is a very clear time shift from morning to night with no logical explanation in the story.   There are plenty of side quests Arthur could do before meeting Dutch and John, but that just doesn't seem realistic, since there's nothing more important than rescuing Jack.   It is also annoying because several of the quests are on the way (the lady asking for donations, Brother Dorkins, etc, depending on the route) which I just have to ignore.  That said...   Dutch does say he has to fetch John (who I assume is still at camp).   But since camp is fairly close by, this might be a delay of an hour or so at most?  Still doesn't give me any satisfaction about the obvious time jump while at Bronte's.

Ye that's another one ha. I think it is hard to tell to be honest because I think daylight wise late in the day 6 - 7pm looks pretty similar to midday so even though time is set to 10am in the story it is likely meant to be a bit later just before night if that makes sense. You can do sidequests in the meantime but like you said most of them seem very strange to do at this point with the exception of drinking at the bar for Artists's Way Part 1. I like to save Brother Dorkins until after Jack's party because at that point Swanson always comes over and tells you about him in the morning and he fits in great just before seeing Mary I think.

[jimmyoneshot]

On 8/14/2021 at 4:36 AM, luckycanadian95 said:

Nice, love that order. Any particular reason for Exit Pursued before Social Call? I remember people used to play it after A Quiet Time because of the bonds dialogue

 

It actually helps with the letter problem because as soon as you complete Social Call the letter appears at Arthur's tent which is unavoidable but if you do Exit Pursued, return with Hosea and then do Paying A social Call then the next time you return to camp after that Grimshaw will tell you about Spines rather than mentioning the letter. I then head straight out and do Spines overnight (with Charles Hunting on the way) before returning with Hosea and doing the Ellie Ann Swan bounty to take up the daytime and then Quiet Time > Blessed Are The Meek after which point I camp out then return to read the letter. So basically this:-

 

Spoiler

- Americans At Rest

- Who Is Not Without Sin
---------------------------------------
- First Shall Be The Last
---------------------------------------
- Polite Society Valentine Style ( After 1pm )
---------------------------------------
- Money Lending and Other Sins 1 - 2
---------------------------------------
- Good Honest Snake Oil
---------------------------------------
- Exit Pursued ( Return )
---------------------------------------
- Paying A Social Call
- ( Grimshaw reminder about Spines Of America )
- < Charles - Hunting >
- Spines of America (Return with Hosea) (After 8 - 9pm and wait until Day)
---------------------------------------
- < Bounty Hunting - Ellie Ann Swan >
- ( Grimshaw reminder about We Loved Once And True 1 )
- A Quiet Time
---------------------------------------
- [ Valentine Dr Robbery ]
- Blessed Are The Meek
- ( camp overnight )
---------------------------------------
- < Lenny - FFF >
- We Loved Once and True 1
- Money Lending and Other Sins 3
- Pouring Forth Oil 1
- < Javier - Home Robbery >
- ( camp overnight )
---------------------------------------
- We Loved Once and True 2 - 3
- *Pouring Forth Oil 2 ( Skips at this point )
- ( Stay in hotel overnight )
---------------------------------------
- Pouring Forth Oil 3
- Fisher Of Men
- Pouring Forth Oil 4
---------------------------------------
- American Pastoral Scene
- Sheep and the Goats
- ( camp overnight )
---------------------------------------
- Strange Kindness

 

Another thing to note is that Paying A Social Call unlocks Quiet Time but during both missions Dutch is in completely different clothes so doing them both in the same day feels weird. Having Spines available in between helps break the 2 missions up onto 2 days which doing Exit before Social Call allows.

 

So basically I'm dodging the letter and dodging Dutch 

[BrandyNova]

5 hours ago, Chicken Sauce said:

Two questions

1. In between what missions in chapter 2 should Arthur do chores

 

2. Before what missions should Arthur shave his beard in chapter 2, and what level should I shave it to, or should it fully be shaved. Also what haircut should he have ( I think his normal)

20 minutes ago, jimmyoneshot said:

1. I just do a couple of chores whenever there is time to waste/spare however I like to do all the chores on the first day before leaving to do Americans At Rest because it lets you hear a few unique conversations that happen at that time in camp. I class the first day as a way to get to know all of the camp mechanics like this:-

• Coffee = Arthur gets coffee from Hosea at the start
• Stew = I grab a bowl of stew at the start of the Chapter because a few other gang members seem to be eating here
• Chores = I do all the chores in camp while listening to the conversations that take place at this time (Dutch happy with how things are, Sadie harassing Kieran, the girls complaining about working, Hosea and Lenny discussing their leads, Abigail consoling Sadie about her husband, Hosea telling John to rest for a few days, Micah pointing his gun at Arthur)
• Shave = I shave just before heading to Americans At Rest
• Donating food = When in Valentine I buy a pic of meat from the butcher and donate it to Pearson
• Changing Clothes = After Americans At Rest Arthur is covered in dirt so I change clothes back at camp before heading to Without Sin
• Donating Money = During Without Sin I rob the witness and donate whatever he gives me
• Cooking/Crafting = At the end of the day I cook and eat one of the pieces of meat that Arthur starts the Chapter with and sometimes craft tonics from the herbs Hosea gives you at the start of the Chapter
• Sitting by the campfire, drinking etc = I do this with the gang members just before bed
• Sleeping = I sleep in Arthur's bed for the first time

2. Arthur's default hair at the start of the game and in the trailers/media/artwork etc is the Right Parted Style and is length 3 (3 white rectangles) and is at length 4 when Chapter 2 starts. His beard in most of the trailers/media/artwork etc is either Length 1 (clean shaven) or Length 2 but at the start of the game it is Length 3 and then Length 4 when Chapter 2 starts at which point the game tells you that your "beard is getting long".

 

So I like to keep his beard between Length 1 - 3 at almost all times and the only time I let it grow is at the end of Chapter 3 when Arthur leaves it to grow himself for a while. Then I get it shaved to Length 1 for a later mission which Arthur needs to tidy himself up for. As for the hair I get it cut to length 2 - 3 once in Chapter 2 before seeing Mary and then once in Chapter 4 when Arthur needs to tidy up. But I'd say it's entirely up to you what style you want.

This is pretty much exactly what I do, too.    

 

 

1. I don't do many chores after the first two days, unless I need to kill some time before my next mission.   I do "Without Sin" on the first day, which is a late afternoon mission, so I take the time to do chores all morning, and enjoy the conversations around camp.   The second day, I do "Americans at Rest", which again is an afternoon mission, so I do a few chores that morning as well.    I also go hunting for Pearson, which I do close to camp using bow & arrow.    Hunting is really useful to allow important events to trigger that require Arthur to leave camp beforehand (not to mention to get materials for those all-important satchels!)   Later, after I've earned enough money, I donate food I purchase from the butcher.   In Chapter 3, I rarely go hunting for Pearson or do chores at all anymore.  

 

2. In this playthrough, I try to stick with what Arthur's preferences seem to be for beard and hair:

- The fact that his beard is only at level 3 in Colter at the start of Chapter 1, after being on the run for weeks, indicates to me that Arthur prefers his beard between 1-2.   This playthrough, I kept it at 2 until just before seeing Mary in Chapter 2, when I gave him a clean shave to 1.  

- We know Arthur doesn't like long hair, since he gives Sean grief about it, and again because of the length of his hair at the start of Chapter 1.   So, I try to keep his hair about 3-4 in Chapter 2 & 3.   His hair grows slowly, so I only needed to cut his hair once in Chapter 2, just before seeing Mary for the first time.  It had grown to level 4-5 by then, so I cut it back to 3.    However, after his "special guest treatment" with Colm in "Blessed are the Peacemakers" in Chapter 3, his hair grew out to 7 (max without tonic) during his recovery. ( I didn't want to return to Valentine after the bank job, so I had let it grow to 4-5 just before Peacemakers.)   With all the excitement at the end of Chapter 3 and then rescuing Jack, he wouldn't have the opportunity to cut his hair again until a couple days into Chapter 4 at least.   I might cut his hair before seeing Mary again in "Fatherhood and Other Dreams" in Saint Denis.   But in this playthrough, he might not feel like getting quite so cleaned up for Mary (she criticizes  him about that in fact), so I will probably leave his hair long, with a level 2 beard, until Trelawny cleans him up in "Fine Night of Debauchery".  I like the transformation.   

But really, as Jimmy says, the style and length are up to you!   In one playthrough, I grew his hair out to 10, and left his beard at 2.  He was really gorgeous, but not the Arthur I wanted to capture this time around. 

 

Jimmy mentioned a lot of great stuff - I love the campfire stories and try to make it there each night I'm in camp - there is always something interesting going on, whether it be someone's tale about meeting Dutch, or their doubts about the gang's current situation, or just music and songs from Javier, Pearson, etc.  Always relaxing and great for immersion!  There are also great conversations going on in the background most evenings, like Micah getting rejected by Mary-Beth, which I enjoy very much too.