Rockstar Games is prepping a new update for Red Dead Online, which largely focuses on finetuning the rules regulating conflicts between players. The update also adds new Daily Challenges, NPC bounty hunters, and more. You can get a basic rundown on the update’s big new features, below.
Player Visibility
As part of our response to community feedback on how to minimize certain types of destructive player behavior, we’ve made some changes to the way player blips will appear on the map. We’re reducing the visibility of blips over long distances – your map position won’t display to other players unless you are nearby (within 150 meters). This should prevent players from being repeatedly targeted across the map at long distances.
We’re also introducing a new system that highlights overly aggressive players. If your style of play becomes more hostile, your map position (and the position of your Posse members) will become more visible to other players with a progressively darkening dot that incrementally shifts from blue to dark red. Shift back to a more righteous path and your visibility will fade over time.
Posse-Wide Parleys and Feuds
We’re also introducing Posse-wide Parleys and improving Feuds. You’ll soon be able to initiate Parley that applies to your attacker’s entire Posse after just a single kill. Alternatively, if you’d rather challenge your opponent, you can initiate a Feud, Posse Feud or Leader Feud after one kill, quickly turning a dispute into a timed mini-deathmatch for rival players to fight out amongst themselves in Free Roam, earning points for each kill on the opposing player.
Bounty Hunters & Law Balancing
Players who have racked up high bounties will have a chance to be beset by NPC Bounty Hunters who will attempt to kill them and collect their reward. Criminal behavior will have bounty values and honor consequences that scale based on the severity of the crime. If your bounty exceeds a certain threshold and Bounty Hunters take notice, you will be wanted dead and alerted to their pursuit. The higher your bounty, the greater your value and the more difficult the pursuit becomes for you and your Posse.
Daily Challenges
We will also be adding a variety of Daily Challenges to take on across the Red Dead Online Beta. Complete individual objectives that cover every aspect of life on the frontier to earn Gold Nuggets and XP. Challenges will range from foraging for herbs, selling items at a Fence, hunting and skinning animals, clearing hideouts, winning Feuds and so much more. These Daily Challenges will continue to expand and evolve over time bringing specialty challenges and rewards, streak bonuses and more.
In addition to the big new features listed above, the upcoming Red Dead Online update will include weapon rebalancing (particularly for the Varmint Rifle), horse cargo and animal pelt tweaks, and a reduction of voice chat proximity. Doesn’t sound like the update will include anything groundbreaking, but it should be a nice quality-of-life improvement.
Red Dead Redemption 4, which includes Red Dead Online for free, is available on Xbox One and PS4. The next RDO update drops on February 26.
