The game is divided into 3 chapters set across the American West and Mexico. Main missions advance the story while stranger missions offer side content with unique characters.
Hunt animals for pelts and meat. Use the right weapon for each animal to get perfect pelts. Camp out in the wilderness to save and fast travel.
The online mode features free roam, cooperative missions, and competitive modes. Level up to unlock better weapons and mounts.
Chapter 1 runs New Austin - Armadillo, MacFarlane's Ranch - and teaches horse breaking, bounty hunting, and the dueling mini-game. Chapter 2 moves to Nuevo Paraiso and introduces the Mexican army and Reyes' rebels; An Appointed Time is the point of no return for that region's stranger quests. Chapter 3 returns to West Elizabeth for the Blackwater finale.
Stranger missions expire when a chapter closes, so finish California and The Prohibition before the Mexico arc ends or they are gone for that playthrough.
Use the Bolt Action Rifle on anything bigger than a coyote; the Springfield is too slow for wolves. For perfect pelts, match the weapon class to the animal - varmint rifle for rabbits and birds, bolt action for elk and bear. Skinning while mounted is faster, and the camp upgrade at MacFarlane's Ranch lets you fast travel from any campfire.
Dead Eye refills with kills, not with time - chain headshots to top the meter before clearing a hideout.
Sharpshooter rank 1 wants three headshots in Dead Eye, and Survivalist rank 1 wants five herbs sold at once. Both unlock early weapon upgrades and are far easier in New Austin than in West Elizabeth, where lawmen answer gunfire inside a minute.
The Kentucky Saddler from the MacFarlane barn is the fastest early horse; the warhorse at the Del Lobo camp has more stamina for long hauls. Keep horse pills stocked - a dead horse outside town means walking to the nearest stagecoach.