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Red Dead Redemption 2 co-op guide: Get more from online multiplayer
How to team up with other players and get the most out of the online experience.
Whilst the Red Dead Redemption online beta is still in its infancy, there are still plenty of opportunities to team up with friends or strangers and get into all kinds of trouble together. There are a few ways to get things started in co-op, so we’ve got some tips to help you buddy up and make the most out of Red Dead Redemption 2’s multiplayer.
After you’ve created your character and finished a couple of arbitrary story missions, Red Dead Redemption 2 allows you to team up with a group of friends or join up with random players to take on missions together, PvP matches via the Series Showdown, or generally just cause mischief in the sprawling plains of the late 19th century America.
There are a lot of different ways to get things started, so we’ve put together some tips to help you enjoy the online experience.
Teaming up with people is a joy
© Ford James
The quickest route to friendship
Teaming up with people is a real joy, and there’s a fair number of things to do, but how do you get started? Before you even load into the online mode, you can select Posse Up from the main menu – this will allow you to jump right in with friends and start an online session straight away.
Diving straight into co-op
The quickest way to get stuck into the co-op elements of RDR2 Online whilst in-game is by clicking left on the D-pad. From there you can join a Posse or create your own, invite friends or view any invites you’ve received, and join a PvP match from the Series Showdown playlists.
Posses explained
Posses are the best way to play with your friends, and after clicking left on the D-pad you can start getting people together for story missions or take on Hideouts within the world.
There are two types of Posses in RDR2 Online, each with their own benefits, but scrolling down to Posse in the Free Roam menu will initiate the opportunity to form them. You can also view various Posses that have already been formed and join one, but some are Private Only and won’t let you be a part of them.
It's a good idea to turn off friendly fire
© Rockstar Games
Select strangers
To personally handpick strangers to join your Posse, you can head to the Players menu after clicking left on the D-pad to select anyone on your server. This is good for when a Temporary Posse has disbanded after the Posse Leader has left the game and you still want to band around with other members of that group.
Temporary friends, forever rewards
Creating a Temporary Posse allows you to find a group of folk to take on story missions quickly, and from there, any missions you accept will invite all the Posse members to take part in them. These are great for making a quick buck as other gang hideouts and camps can be robbed (provided their white flag isn’t up). Once you leave the game, the Posse will disband and the next time you log in, you’ll have to form another temporary one.
Those who stay together, slay together
Persistent Posses cost $200 to form, but they’ll exist even after you leave RDR2 Online. These are perfect for your actual friends. It’ll make it easier to join any future sessions as you don’t need to go through the creation process every time you log in. $200 is a small price to pay for efficiency.
Don't be a lone ranger – get yourself a posse
© Rockstar Games
Turn off Friendly Fire
When you’re in a Posse, having someone catch you with a bullet in the line of fire will be incredibly frustrating, so when you’re creating your Posse, make sure Friendly Fire is turned off. It’ll mean that if anyone accidentally shoots you, your health won’t be affected. It’s a small detail that may be overlooked, but if a rival gang descends on you when you’re roaming the plains, you won’t need to worry about getting in your friend’s way as an almighty gunfight ensues.
Bypass travelling to PvP matches
Scattered throughout the map are various white icons for PvP events, such as races and the Series Showdown matches, which are essentially playlists featuring your standard capture the flag, deathmatches, and Battle Royales. Of course, you can spend money fast travelling or waste precious minutes riding across various towns to get to them, but pressing left on the D-pad will allow you to join one quickly. Doing so enables you to take part in lots of different matches without wasting time travelling to the map icons offering them up.
Don't bother travelling across towns to get to PvP events
© Rockstar Games
Be more mindful
If you are taking part in one of the various co-op missions, making sure you’re careful when dispatching enemies is vital, as most missions only give your entire Posse two lives, and once they’re gone the mission is over. Make use of all kinds of cover within the vicinity because if any of your team die twice, you’ll lose any progress for that mission.
Speak up
This goes without saying really, but make sure you’ve got a mic and all Posse members are unmuted because talking about your plan of action will give you the best chance of success. Therefore, undertaking missions as a Posse is best for business because your friends will already be doing cowboy impressions through their headsets. Some missions are tricky and having constant communication will be vital if you want to reap that reward.
Get a mic and talk to your teammates
© Rockstar Games
Honouring your morals
A lot of these story missions give you a moral choice to make, such as letting those you’ve been sent after to be set free once you’ve heard their side of the story. Posses have a moral setting, so when you’re deciding on which one to join, make sure you check if they're honourable or not because it could be an indication of how each mission will go down. Also, if a Posse is dishonourable and you want to be a goody two-shoes, they might not be the right one for you.
