Rockstar has detailed the next Red Dead Online update which is shaping up to bring major changes to the game. The update is slated for February 26 and will attempt to combat griefing while also rebalancing weapons and adding daily challenges, among other things.
The Red Dead Online update was detailed in a news post on Rockstar’s official site. For starters, Rockstar is reducing the visibility of character blips to combat griefing. Griefers won’t be able to hunt players repeatedly as a result. A new short-term morality system is also being implemented that will highlight aggressive players with a dark red icon. Players can get marked by attacking and killing other players, and visibility of bad actors increases as they continue that behavior. Those marked with the dark red, and their posse, will be more visible to other players so it is easier to avoid bad actors.
Rockstar is also adding Posse-wide Parleys and is improving Feuds. Parley can be initiated following an attack leading to the death of a single member of your Posse. On the other side of the spectrum are Feuds, now with Posse and Leader Feuds. These act as a sort of timed deathmatch in free roam.
Bounty Hunters are being brought further into the Red Dead Online fold. NPC bounty hunters will hunt down players and their posse if a bounty threshold is met. The game’s honor and bounty system are also being rebalanced. Killing other players incur the highest general bounty while assaulting NPCs offer a lesser bounty and crimes like stealing or looting simply decrease a player’s honor.
Daily challenges are being added with the February 26 update. These challenges offer rewards including gold nuggets and XP. Some examples included foraging for herbs, selling stolen items, skinning animals, and clearing enemy hideouts. Rockstar also said that they plan to expand the challenge system with more challenges, rewards, and bonuses.
Weapon balancing is also coming in the update, particularly to the Varmint Rifle. Proximity voice chat is being reduced to a smaller area. Horse cargo is experiencing a number of fixes to combat problems with animal pelts or carcasses disappearing.
More content will also be coming in this Red Dead Online update, although Rockstar plans to share that information in the upcoming weeks.