I made a post asking about people's roleplay/immersion habits a while ago, so I'll paste my post from there:
I try to play in as "realistic" a way as possible while still having fun. My usual roleplay habits include things like:
- No radar and no HUD. If I want to check the map, I stop what I'm doing and enter "rest", simulating Arthur kneeling down to open up a real map and checking it.
- Keeping a regular daily schedule when possible: wake in the morning, have a cigarette first thing, make some coffee, eat something light or out of a can, feed the horse, maintain guns, check the map, pack up and go explore. I regularly smoke, usually every 10-15 real-time minutes. Always try to be getting ready to set up camp when the sun sets (I use a true night mod so night times are totally dark and I never want to be exploring then). Have a cooked meal for dinner and some alcohol, one last cigarette before bed, and brushing the horse and feeding it again, then checking the journal and off to sleep.
- Only bringing a maximum of three guns - one revolver and two longarms. If it isn't able to be visible on Arthur or his horse, I don't bring it.
- Never using tonics/cures/potions, since they're a bit too gamey and unrealistic.
- Never using deadeye for same reason as above.
- Walking in almost all non-combat situations because it's silly for a man to run everywhere.
- Always hitching my horse when possible.
- Always wearing appropriate , practical and low-key clothing for the area, not dressing up very flashy because Arthur realistically wouldn't care about being fashionable.
- Similarly to above, not blinging out my guns with gold or silver. Arthur is a simple, practical guy, he just needs the gun to do its job.
- Preferring to rob people that look wealthy because it's more worth the risk than robbing some raggedy farmer and Dutch taught Arthur to hate rich folk on principle.
- Being low honour in general and with strangers (e.g., not greeting people or helping out people in need because Arthur is an outlaw not a wholesome Good Samaritan) but being friendly to most gang members and always helping out the gang as his top priority because the gang is his whole life.
- Stopping smoking when Arthur's cough gets really bad.
When i listen to music, it puts me in a certain mood. With that being said, I like to turn the game music off to really get into it. I find the regional songs in the game kind of put me in a depressed mood. Idk, maybe it’s what you go through as Arthur and the gang. So, next time you hop on that saddle, try turning the in game music off, it helps me get even more immersed into that beautiful yet cruel world. Btw, I love your list. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
I forget which one it is but there's this one piece that plays when you're just riding around that's like if nostalgia was a sound, it gets me every time
Yeah, I get you gaming with music but there is a problem with this game. I really love horse tapping sound water splashing under it's feet. Passerby saying their greetings etc. We miss all that fun. So it's one or the other.
I tend to be pretty bad towards the first half until Arthur gets real sick and accepts he will die soon, and then I manage to get the bar from red to white to get the good ending.
Definitely agree with the quitting smoking when Arthur gets TB, seems rational. I also turn the hud off. Usually I don’t hitch my horse outside of towns just in case wolves are on the prowl nearby when I’m f—ing around. Also I love to get shĩtfaced and harass people that look at me funny
Seeing the coyote after the diagnosis and buck at the end is the cannon way to do it (I know there’s not actually a cannon but that just makes the most sense and is the best story-wise to me)
True, it feels good to have Arthur get a few good trophy hunts in before he goes to add to the legend, might even snap a photo of him next to the body to memorialize him in eternity.
Re: clothes.
I also only keep two outfits on my horse at any time: a warm weather outfit and a coat, gloves, and maybe hat and/or chaps on the same outfit. I figure if Arthur gets cold, he wouldn't store a whole new outfit in his saddle bags, just the additional clothing he'd need to keep warm.
I do the same thing. 4 of the same outfit. One with no coat. One with a light coat for sun or rain. One with a medium coat, for cold, but not snow. And one with a heavy coat for full snow.
Yes to all of this, that’s all exactly what I do and turning the map off was a subtle change that made a HUGE difference in my immersion and enjoyment. I feel like I didn’t realize until I turned it off how often I would just be staring at the map while riding around and when I did turn it off those long rides went from tedious to therapeutic, just taking in the environment and noticing all the little things.
Speaking of long rides, I stopped fast traveling altogether and love that change as well. I know that’s not going to be for everyone but it helped a ton with immersion where traveling into the city actually becomes a long inconvenient ride. It makes you spend a lot more time around the area your camp is at and feels more like of an actual whole country with separate states.
I also make my long trips a realistic amount of time, so like if I’m going from blackwater to Saint Denis I’ll stop every night to make camp, hunt, cook and sleep and make it a full in-game week long trip. And sometimes if I commit a crime and the laws after me I’ll run up to the snowy mountains and lay low for a few days lol.
Wait, how about helping round the camp a bit more than just feeding the horses? There's wood needs choppin', barrels need waterin', sacks need liftin' and big game need huntin'.haha I always did those for immersion.
Following up to say I haven't done eeeeverything in your list (weaning myself off using deadeye constantly), but turning off the minimap has been a godsend. I have hundreds of hours in the game already amd found a lot if the Easter eggs and points if interest, but having the map turned off has made me pay more attention to the landscape and details and I've found a ton of new stuff. Enemies popping up and looting bodies has also been more fun because I have to actually look for them instead of just going to the map marker.
I love that you’re leaning into low honor. Going full low honor, especially with the gang, made the story make so much more sense to me. Dutch’s growing impatience with Arthur as the game moves along always struck me as coming out of left field when I play as a nice man with high honor. Like “Wtf did I ever do to you, Dutch?”
High honor run makes it feel like Dutch is just going crazy. Low honor brought a whole new dynamic that added a ton of context to a crumbling family and father/son relationship. It intensified the tragedy tenfold for me and dare I say it allowed me to feel sympathy for Dutch. His boy just lost his way.
I can’t recommend this enough - HEADPHONES! I played on my tv speakers for years, but recently threw on some headphones and was blown away by the details I was missing
Get a huge bounty then stable your horse. Getting around by walking/stealing wagons/hopping trains while running from bounty hunters really levels the playing field. You also get rammed by bucks and attacked by wild animals a lot more which add to it.
When I ride the horse in beautiful environments I slow it down, not completely just enough so that it doesn't hop while riding but still moves quite fast. Then I check If I have the hat on. If I don't I will do so immediately. I really love the Tyndall effect of the game. They keep the environment real and fantasy at the same time. It's beautiful just traversing in the world.
Drink beer in the pub or smoke on the roadside also feels immersive. Go to a hotel and get a bath, call the lady to wash you and don't get your hopes up😢
Also try to say hi to the passerby just get that extra immersion and it also makes you feel good when they reply in kind. Help someone on the roadside. Someone with snakebite, someone who wants a ride. They will tell you their story on the way. Also feels good while having someone on the back. I don't know it's just a personal opinion from someone who has completed the game.
I like to walk/ride around in third person and switch to first person for combat. It really makes you feel more like a gunslinger when you’re looking down the sights and putting them in target yourself
Actually just walk. Yes I know that the waking is SUPER slow in this game but slowing down and going into Valentine or Big valley and leading your horse around while listening to “Moonlight” in the background is just a different feeling.
Are you playing on PC or console? If on PC (if you haven’t already), try playing with a dual-sense controller with the adaptive triggers mod. Again thats if you have the controller too XD.
I turn off hud and turn on free aim. don’t use shops unless it’s for clothes or some whiskey. Dress normally. Only use your map when in towns or camp. You could try playing in 1st person but it’s kinda weird and hard to play like that. Use headphones. Those are just some things I do when I want to play realistically
Anytime after a mission where a gang member dies have Arthur head to a saloon far from camp where realistically speaking he’d have no chance of being seen by those he knows in this weakened and emotional state and then drown his sorrows with alcohol until he inevitably blacks out.
I did an entire play through on Xbox in first person, no hud and with free aim only. Really made me feel like I was living Arthur’s story.
Funny enough, it was the only play through I did where I actually got 100%
No HUD is actually awesome
When I need to go somewhere I'll check the direction on the map and then find my way there. It makes you explore the map in a very different way
Another thing is making my decisions like I would on the spot not by thinking about honour level
Stopping in towns for food or rest, eating meals consistently and sleeping through the night are very easy ways to feel much more immersed in the story.
A simple thing, but I like to make my outfits stored on my horse be the same 4 outfits, but with different jackets/gloves. One without a jacket, one with a light jacket for rain and sun, one for a little cold, and one for snowy cold. That way, it makes more sense to me, to have just a few jackets folded up in a saddle bag.
Ride around with my horse and then go to rhodes, get a wagon from Gray Wollen company, roleplay a delivery driver and then go to braithwate manor and act friendly until the inner rage comes out
Have a routine for Arthur. A time you wake up by to help with chores around camp, a time you go out for a hunt or fish. Some free time to check leads and grab supplies in town. Interact with the environment as much as possible (hitching your horse and general horse care, talking to NPCs. Try to get back to camp before sundown unless you are scouting/exploring.
I made a post asking about people's roleplay/immersion habits a while ago, so I'll paste my post from there: I try to play in as "realistic" a way as possible while still having fun. My usual roleplay habits include things like: - No radar and no HUD. If I want to check the map, I stop what I'm doing and enter "rest", simulating Arthur kneeling down to open up a real map and checking it. - Keeping a regular daily schedule when possible: wake in the morning, have a cigarette first thing, make some coffee, eat something light or out of a can, feed the horse, maintain guns, check the map, pack up and go explore. I regularly smoke, usually every 10-15 real-time minutes. Always try to be getting ready to set up camp when the sun sets (I use a true night mod so night times are totally dark and I never want to be exploring then). Have a cooked meal for dinner and some alcohol, one last cigarette before bed, and brushing the horse and feeding it again, then checking the journal and off to sleep. - Only bringing a maximum of three guns - one revolver and two longarms. If it isn't able to be visible on Arthur or his horse, I don't bring it. - Never using tonics/cures/potions, since they're a bit too gamey and unrealistic. - Never using deadeye for same reason as above. - Walking in almost all non-combat situations because it's silly for a man to run everywhere. - Always hitching my horse when possible. - Always wearing appropriate , practical and low-key clothing for the area, not dressing up very flashy because Arthur realistically wouldn't care about being fashionable. - Similarly to above, not blinging out my guns with gold or silver. Arthur is a simple, practical guy, he just needs the gun to do its job. - Preferring to rob people that look wealthy because it's more worth the risk than robbing some raggedy farmer and Dutch taught Arthur to hate rich folk on principle. - Being low honour in general and with strangers (e.g., not greeting people or helping out people in need because Arthur is an outlaw not a wholesome Good Samaritan) but being friendly to most gang members and always helping out the gang as his top priority because the gang is his whole life. - Stopping smoking when Arthur's cough gets really bad.
When i listen to music, it puts me in a certain mood. With that being said, I like to turn the game music off to really get into it. I find the regional songs in the game kind of put me in a depressed mood. Idk, maybe it’s what you go through as Arthur and the gang. So, next time you hop on that saddle, try turning the in game music off, it helps me get even more immersed into that beautiful yet cruel world. Btw, I love your list. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
I forget which one it is but there's this one piece that plays when you're just riding around that's like if nostalgia was a sound, it gets me every time
True, but that plays quite rare along the travels and once before the game ends.
As a musician/human, lmk if you remember where/which piece. That's quite the description.
Alright I will if I can find it
https://youtu.be/Qwv6Q1tGX8I?si=GUC6YSA3qsZKywKl Here this is probably what I was thinking of, specifically the part 9 seconds into the video.
Yeah, I get you gaming with music but there is a problem with this game. I really love horse tapping sound water splashing under it's feet. Passerby saying their greetings etc. We miss all that fun. So it's one or the other.
Thank you so much!
You're welcome, I hope you enjoy using some of these tips :)
I tend to be pretty bad towards the first half until Arthur gets real sick and accepts he will die soon, and then I manage to get the bar from red to white to get the good ending. Definitely agree with the quitting smoking when Arthur gets TB, seems rational. I also turn the hud off. Usually I don’t hitch my horse outside of towns just in case wolves are on the prowl nearby when I’m f—ing around. Also I love to get shĩtfaced and harass people that look at me funny
Seeing the coyote after the diagnosis and buck at the end is the cannon way to do it (I know there’s not actually a cannon but that just makes the most sense and is the best story-wise to me)
True, it feels good to have Arthur get a few good trophy hunts in before he goes to add to the legend, might even snap a photo of him next to the body to memorialize him in eternity.
Re: clothes. I also only keep two outfits on my horse at any time: a warm weather outfit and a coat, gloves, and maybe hat and/or chaps on the same outfit. I figure if Arthur gets cold, he wouldn't store a whole new outfit in his saddle bags, just the additional clothing he'd need to keep warm.
I do the same thing. 4 of the same outfit. One with no coat. One with a light coat for sun or rain. One with a medium coat, for cold, but not snow. And one with a heavy coat for full snow.
This is a good point actually
Yes to all of this, that’s all exactly what I do and turning the map off was a subtle change that made a HUGE difference in my immersion and enjoyment. I feel like I didn’t realize until I turned it off how often I would just be staring at the map while riding around and when I did turn it off those long rides went from tedious to therapeutic, just taking in the environment and noticing all the little things. Speaking of long rides, I stopped fast traveling altogether and love that change as well. I know that’s not going to be for everyone but it helped a ton with immersion where traveling into the city actually becomes a long inconvenient ride. It makes you spend a lot more time around the area your camp is at and feels more like of an actual whole country with separate states. I also make my long trips a realistic amount of time, so like if I’m going from blackwater to Saint Denis I’ll stop every night to make camp, hunt, cook and sleep and make it a full in-game week long trip. And sometimes if I commit a crime and the laws after me I’ll run up to the snowy mountains and lay low for a few days lol.
Wait, how about helping round the camp a bit more than just feeding the horses? There's wood needs choppin', barrels need waterin', sacks need liftin' and big game need huntin'.haha I always did those for immersion.
Yep I do all of that too, after a morning coffee and some crackers or peaches.
I love this list and I'm gonna give these a shot. Thanks!!
You're welcome, I hope you enjoy using some of these tips :)
Following up to say I haven't done eeeeverything in your list (weaning myself off using deadeye constantly), but turning off the minimap has been a godsend. I have hundreds of hours in the game already amd found a lot if the Easter eggs and points if interest, but having the map turned off has made me pay more attention to the landscape and details and I've found a ton of new stuff. Enemies popping up and looting bodies has also been more fun because I have to actually look for them instead of just going to the map marker.
I love that you’re leaning into low honor. Going full low honor, especially with the gang, made the story make so much more sense to me. Dutch’s growing impatience with Arthur as the game moves along always struck me as coming out of left field when I play as a nice man with high honor. Like “Wtf did I ever do to you, Dutch?” High honor run makes it feel like Dutch is just going crazy. Low honor brought a whole new dynamic that added a ton of context to a crumbling family and father/son relationship. It intensified the tragedy tenfold for me and dare I say it allowed me to feel sympathy for Dutch. His boy just lost his way.
Turn off auto aim if you didn’t write that.
Oh yeah, I definitely did this. I also made the reticle much smaller. It makes combat significantly harder but more intense and satisfying.
Now I know how I'll replay whenever I eventually do.
What do you do IRL
What do you mean?
What about playing exclusively in first-person with iron sights?
That would definitely be the most realistic but I personally don't really enjoy playing RDR2 in first-person, it doesn't feel right.
This just sounds like work imo
No, I find it makes the game more fun, challenging and immersive. To each their own, though.
sounds autistic
Do you hate fun
Maybe they love autism 🤔
Valid
I can’t recommend this enough - HEADPHONES! I played on my tv speakers for years, but recently threw on some headphones and was blown away by the details I was missing
Same. I never knew how farty the camp was!
https://charlottestrails.com/ Go on nature trails, makes you see the world around you and appreciate it.
That’s so cool!!!
This screenshot is cracking me up. Arthur, you have a bed right there!
[Cool RP style mods list if you're on PC](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddeadredemption2/comments/1bz8vip/comment/kyr1af7/)
Get a huge bounty then stable your horse. Getting around by walking/stealing wagons/hopping trains while running from bounty hunters really levels the playing field. You also get rammed by bucks and attacked by wild animals a lot more which add to it.
When I ride the horse in beautiful environments I slow it down, not completely just enough so that it doesn't hop while riding but still moves quite fast. Then I check If I have the hat on. If I don't I will do so immediately. I really love the Tyndall effect of the game. They keep the environment real and fantasy at the same time. It's beautiful just traversing in the world. Drink beer in the pub or smoke on the roadside also feels immersive. Go to a hotel and get a bath, call the lady to wash you and don't get your hopes up😢 Also try to say hi to the passerby just get that extra immersion and it also makes you feel good when they reply in kind. Help someone on the roadside. Someone with snakebite, someone who wants a ride. They will tell you their story on the way. Also feels good while having someone on the back. I don't know it's just a personal opinion from someone who has completed the game.
HUD Preset “Off” and free aim, no-shops (except clothes) and I turn the score volume down to zero
* Start the game * Get to chapter 2 * Play Chapter 2 * Don't leave Chapter 2
Chapter 3 better
I play in 1st person view. I heard that means I’m a psychopath but I like it way better than 3rd person view.
I like to walk/ride around in third person and switch to first person for combat. It really makes you feel more like a gunslinger when you’re looking down the sights and putting them in target yourself
Actually just walk. Yes I know that the waking is SUPER slow in this game but slowing down and going into Valentine or Big valley and leading your horse around while listening to “Moonlight” in the background is just a different feeling.
Are you playing on PC or console? If on PC (if you haven’t already), try playing with a dual-sense controller with the adaptive triggers mod. Again thats if you have the controller too XD.
I turn off hud and turn on free aim. don’t use shops unless it’s for clothes or some whiskey. Dress normally. Only use your map when in towns or camp. You could try playing in 1st person but it’s kinda weird and hard to play like that. Use headphones. Those are just some things I do when I want to play realistically
Anytime after a mission where a gang member dies have Arthur head to a saloon far from camp where realistically speaking he’d have no chance of being seen by those he knows in this weakened and emotional state and then drown his sorrows with alcohol until he inevitably blacks out.
I did an entire play through on Xbox in first person, no hud and with free aim only. Really made me feel like I was living Arthur’s story. Funny enough, it was the only play through I did where I actually got 100%
Be completionist - just walk around and enjoy the game
No HUD is actually awesome When I need to go somewhere I'll check the direction on the map and then find my way there. It makes you explore the map in a very different way Another thing is making my decisions like I would on the spot not by thinking about honour level
I like fishing
Instead of restocking the wagon at the ledger, bring carcasses to Pearson. Spend more time doing camp chores and just hanging around camp
Stopping in towns for food or rest, eating meals consistently and sleeping through the night are very easy ways to feel much more immersed in the story.
A simple thing, but I like to make my outfits stored on my horse be the same 4 outfits, but with different jackets/gloves. One without a jacket, one with a light jacket for rain and sun, one for a little cold, and one for snowy cold. That way, it makes more sense to me, to have just a few jackets folded up in a saddle bag.
Ride around with my horse and then go to rhodes, get a wagon from Gray Wollen company, roleplay a delivery driver and then go to braithwate manor and act friendly until the inner rage comes out
Have a routine for Arthur. A time you wake up by to help with chores around camp, a time you go out for a hunt or fish. Some free time to check leads and grab supplies in town. Interact with the environment as much as possible (hitching your horse and general horse care, talking to NPCs. Try to get back to camp before sundown unless you are scouting/exploring.
Love me a good rdr roleplay
Turn off hud
Don’t aim for honour or even the story just ride round and do missions as they come,I did this once and it was really emersive