Confessions of an RDR2 hermit

[clone45]

I love RDR2 online.  When I get home from work, I look forward to pouring myself a drink, firing up the PS4, and venturing out in the wilderness.  And I really get sucked into it. I'm focused like a zen monk. All my worries from the day are pushed aside for a moment as I take on my role as a grizzly, balding hermit with an untidy beige jacket and a crazy walk cycle.  I look like a wild man; someone who brushes elbows with society as rarely as possible. I would bathe, but the world simply doesn't allow it. Better off, I suppose. I also haven't cleaned my guns, ever.

 

Somehow I own a thoroughbred horse named "Jalapeno" because, you know, "She's spicy!"

 

I'm level 40-something.  I don't do any Rockstar missions, battles, or contests.  I'm just not interested in the multiplayer battle aspects of RDR2.  I have taken an interest in the collector and trader roles, which I'm around level 11 or 12 in both.

 

I took a long vacation from the game previous to the release of the frontier pursuits.  It was simply getting too repetitive. But worse still, there was no meaning to it. I had my varmint rifle, a shotgun, and a rifle with a scope.  That was enough for hunting. And I'm really not looking to extend my wardrobe, which really cut down on costs. So I quit for a while, with $2,000 or so sitting around.  I kept an eye on the YouTube videos posted by Hazzard and Pineapple, but those started becoming a bit depressing. During this time, Rockstar had dropped off the face of the earth.  Exciting news would equate to a gifts of flaming arrows or something.

 

Frontier pursuits pulled me back in.

 

For the past few weeks I've spent a lot of time with Cripps back at camp.  I've hauled so many carcasses back to camp that I'm surprised that there's any fauna left.  I especially like how Cripps "drops the mic" and walks away after giving me a mission. Good stuff.  Or how he was in some circus. Or how his father was unsupportive. Or the story about the mute who talked in his sleep.  I can't help but wonder when Cripps will take to the bottle again. His claims of being happier than ever make me suspicious.  Know what I've been collecting, Cripps? Antique alcohol. Just saying.

 

And I've been passively collecting trinkets for Madam Nazar.  I don't have the patience to complete a collection, a fact that she's constantly reminding me of.  I've purchased the demon-possessed metal detector and the disappointing fancy binoculars.  In the real world, I've been thinking of changing my telephone ringtone to the spooky jingling sound of nearby treasure just to freak myself out during the day.

 

Most recently, I've unlocked the hunting wagon.  That, along with all of the other recent purchases, has essentially nuked my savings.  I've unlocked the large delivery wagon, but I'm $700 or so short from purchasing it.

 

This brings me to now, and I have some grievances to air.  

 

What's going on here?  Am I'm making money with the goal of making more money?  And if so, why was I richer before all of this? I was making plenty of money catching 5.4 lb Sockeye Salmon below Cumberland falls.

 

What's the use of all this grinding?  I have no fundamental need for this money in-game.  It seems that I'm grinding so that I can grind in more and unusual ways.  Me, and I would assume that my character, are feeling a little bit unfulfilled.  The only person who seems to be happy about all this is Cripps.

 

Rockstar has probably spent millions of dollars on this game, so to think that they'd listen to my personal feedback is highly unlikely.  But I have to try because I love this game. Rockstar, please give me a reason to grind. I'm in it for the game world. Give me something to strive for.  Give me rare loot drops, or rare animals that only show up every week or so. Give me access to cult robes so that I can start a cult. Change the season throughout the year.  Something!

 

Don't make me go to a stable to get my hunting wagon, haul that wagon out hunting, only to sell my carcasses to Cripps and eventually make a delivery run that pays out about an equal amount of money as my fishing runs - but with much more risk.  Give me a purpose!

 

Thanks for listening,

Bret

Edited October 25, 2019 by clone45

[smokeless6]

Interesting and entertaining post clone.

 

When RDR 2 was first released on Epic I bought it, and to this day it remains the only game I've ever pre-ordered, even if was by about 12 hours. I loved it, and soldiered on through the early technical issues, especially crashes to desktop and mouse issues. I was confident R* would fix it and they did. RDR 2 is the finest PC game I've played -- a very long and distinctive list it is, too -- and in my view the best-designed video game ever. When all facets of video game design, from soundscape, to writing, to graphics, mechanics, story and more are considered there is no game we've seen that is better designed. In my view, of course.

 

I played for a couple hundred hours, all of it in first person even, aside from riding the horse. The narrative, main story and side missions are great, but I found in RDR 2 the best of the open worlds. Authentic, beautiful, believable, diverse and alive. Folks who can role play a bit, who can forge their own objectives, will get the most out of this game. And I took advantage, always off on my own lark. distracted by things shiny and dull, and hey, I wonder what's down this path. As good as the writing is in RDR, as good as the story arc is, I seemed to find the best in this game when it was just me and my horse out on our own, stirring it up. Hunting, fishing, exploring, cracking open shack doors with my muzzle in the lead. There's something warmly rewarding about catching a couple of fish at sunset, setting up camp, frying them up and sleeping under the stars. When dawn cracks, there's my horse standing expectantly. Break camp down, brush, feed and off we go for the next thing.

 

I imagine spoilers are still a concern so I'll try to skirt around it. In that first Epic run I made it to chapter 6, but Arthur's condition affected me, my enthusiasm for forging ahead. Pointless, it felt in a sense. So I set RDR 2 aside, just for a bit, every intention to continue, in a day or two, you know? But that became a year. When RDR 2 was released on Steam I bought it again and started anew. This gave me a chance to do it all over again. Slow it down, use the time at Horseshoe Overlook and Clemens Point to take in all the game has to offer, and not feel so compelled to advance the story and see what Rockstar has in store for me next. That can wait, and full marks to the devs for designing a game so exquisitely paced, or maybe more accurately, designing a game which allows the player to find his own pace so effortlessly.

 

This time I set the game aside in chapter 4. Just a couple days that became another year. During that spell I kept thinking I should get back in to it and about a month ago I picked this run back up. This time I am forging ahead and am nearing the end of chapter 6.  I plan to spend time in the epilogue, especially to get Zoologist, the remaining legendaries, and see the parts of the map I have not. What then?

 

My experience with GTA 5 runs parallel. That was a game that I picked up on a lark. I was looking for a new one to play and I kept thinking "something like GTA". I had played San Andreas years before and it just didn't click for me. When Rockstar added first person mode to GTA I thought let's give it a go. And I loved it. The game play, the satire, the music, it all clicked for me. Played through story mode twice but still wanted more, which led me to GTAO. My first exposures to that were awful. But there was a saving grace, private lobbies. I could remove the worst of what GTAO has to offer while enjoying the best. This allowed me to level up, get some kit and skills, and then return to open in a better place. Honestly, without invite I would have dropped it. But it shepherded me through the early stages, and I could get my gangsta on in peace.

 

And now with RDR 2 I'm nearing this same crossroad. What to do when the epilogue no longer holds me? RDO intrigues me, but there's no private play right? Does it even matter? Is it GTA public in the old west? Have the player location dots been removed? Bah, I'll need to look at it, as I've ignored it for a long time. But I enjoy reading "there I was" posts like clone's.  These are best for giving me a sense of whether it's for me. Not sure it is, and not sure I'll find out. Clone's post may be applied to me in the end too, but maybe it all comes back full circle to role playing and forging your own objectives. Perhaps that's enough to propel me through. Grinding's not my game really, but if it can be shrouded behind compelling free-roam play of my own design maybe there's something in it for me. Or I could just start the story over, and stay at Horsehoe Overlook for as long as I want.

 

Hey clone, I'd be interested in more posts about how you're spending your time in RDO. Good stuff, mate.

Edited September 7, 2022 by smokeless6

[smokeless6]

I just realized this thread was bumped by the spammer and is actually three years old. Oh well.

 

clone probably won't be adding to it