BTW, how the heck do I make enough money in Chapter 2 to unlock fast travel (I gather by upgrading my tent – I already did Dutch’s)? Is hunting and selling to the town butcher worth it? Or should I just try to burglarize homesteads? Something else?
I’m guessing that the Javier Escuella (sic. – I think the last name is Escuela) mission in Blackwater is the end of Chapter 2, right?
There are some easy to find gold bars for some quick cash, that helps out a lot.
Just wait and do it later. By the end of chapter 3, you’ll have enough money that it won’t be an issue anymore. Enjoy the scenery and if you get really tired of riding from place to place, just find the nearest town and rent a stagecoach. I almost never fast travel anywhere because the hunting and encounters along the way are worth seeing.
Yeah I barely use fast travel at all. I am glad it was handled the way it was, else you’d miss out on some fantastic scenery.
I keep meaning to unlock fast travel back at camp just because it’s another thing I can do and even though I have plenty of cash I just haven’t gotten around to it. I genuinely enjoy traversing the countryside on horseback and I like that as I’ve become more familiar with my surroundings I can navigate more through landmarks and less with my map.
I’ve used fast travel to get around to specific places that I may need to hunt - like cougars for instance, only seem to be available in a few locations and they’re quite spread out on the map. Otherwise yeah, I like just galloping around and seeing the world.
Speaking of the world, this game is a map lover’s dream. I love how dynamic and personal the map becomes over time, as you add the plants and animals you’ve spotted in areas, plus little landmarks you encounter. I’ve been taking a canoe out to map the little islands between Blackwater and Saint Denis too, and there are specific types of wildlife on those as well. It’s such a blast for just finding things.
I’ve only used fast travel in Chapter 3 (where I currently am) to go from the Rhodes area to Valentine when I want a haircut. Unless I’m overlooking a closer barber?
I’m pretty sure I did a few missions for John and Dutch after that Javier one.
There’s one in Saint Denis, that’s the one I use. In fact I don’t think I knew there was one in Valentine.
Super silly: I’m purposely avoiding going to St. Denis unless the story takes me there – to preserve that “whoa, I’m going to a city” feeling. I assume going there is kinda like going to Mexico in RDR, so instead of exploring there, I’m waiting until a Scripted Moment, LOL.
In Valentine, the barber is in the saloon that’s been at the center of so many missions/drama.
I was planning to do this as well but then a gunslinger mission set me off on a train and before I knew it I was in St. Denis much earlier than I thought I’d be! Ah well. It was still a very cool experience.
You know, that never occurred to me. Myself, I’ve been all over the map because I wanted to see what the world had to offer. I suppose there are consequences to that, I think I’m technically “overleveled” in chapter 3 with level 8 health and stamina and level 6 deadeye, but that stuff doesn’t bother me. I’m kind of luxuriating in the fact that the world isn’t gated; there aren’t any horrible boss monsters out there somewhere that will send me running back to town with my tail between my legs. Sure, there are bears and wolves and cougars, but you know where to expect them and can plan accordingly. I love that the game extends me the courtesy of letting me play my way, which is by dabbling - I do a little hunting, then maybe a bit of gambling, then run into a stranger and see what they’re all about, then a story mission and start the loop all over again.
I don’t think your way is silly, you should be allowed to play the game your how you like, and the game is flexible enough to work either way. It’s win/win!
How is the Buck Trinket supposed to work? I thought it upgraded a skin one level? But to test it I killed a “Good” deer and when I skinned it the skin was… Good.
Ran across the snake bite guy again. I love that the game acknowledges I’ve saved him before in some funny conversations.
I can tell you how I believe it works from seeing it in action, but my answer is not official: I don’t believe the trinket can make a skin better than the animal the skin was on. So what I mean is, if you see an animal that’s two stars, and you kill and skin it, that pelt will not become three stars. But if you see a three star, and you kill the animal in a suboptimal manner, like it requires a bow and arrow and you used a rifle, where that would normally drop the pelt a star now it would not.
I took this panorma video from the top of Mt. Shann the other day. (PS4 really makes this easy, BTW.)
Also on top of Mt. Shann: weird flickering lights in the sky at night, a great snowy owl soaring, and an exact match for a panoramic map I found off the beaten track. Doesn’t seem to mean anything though.
I wish the game would keep track of how many cans of baked beans I’ve eaten.
If you consume the Legendary Can of Baked Beans you unlock this cutscene:
I was actually hoping that would be a thing at some point in the story.
Well, my horse drops road apples like he’s got a laxative addiction, does that count?
Whoah, I was just browsing the camp upgrades when I heard a creepy voice coming from the nearby forest, muttering about something about “you people”. I was in a menu, but the camera still shifted and focused on a dark area in some trees. A red marker had also appeared, but by the time I exited the menu and ran over it had vanished. No one else in camp seemed to notice, and Arthur didn’t say anything. Wtf do we have guards for, anyway.
(Hope this isn’t too spoilery.)
I never encountered that. Weird.