As
promised last week, Rockstar has updated Red Dead Online with a new Frontier Pursuit. Today the developer has detailed the pursuit, which is called The Naturalist and focuses on tracking Legendary Animals.
As a Naturalist, players will work with Harriet Davenport, who aims to protect and study the region’s rarest animals. You’ll be required to track these species, sedate them with the new Varmint Rifle, and draw blood samples to be handed to Harriet. A Revive Tonic can be used to rouse sedated animals so they are not left vulnerable to predators and hunters.
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Naturalists can also brew other tonics, including Weight Loss and Weight Gain Tonics, and drinks that allow you to more easily sneak up on potential animal subjects. Other brews will mitigate weather effects.
Alternatively, players may want to work for big game hunter Gus MacMillan, who will pay a generous fee for the pelts of these rare animals, and even tailor them into unique clothing. Animals can be more efficiently hunted with the new Elephant Rifle and its one-shot, one-kill Nitro Express ammunition. However, working with Gus will sour your relationship with Harriet, so you’ll want to choose wisely.
Your targets as part of this Frontier Pursuit include seven new Legendary Animals, and each of those have three subspecies. An Animal Field Guide acts as a sort of Pokedex to complete while on your animal-discovery travels.
Naturalists can learn new skills including Mercy Kill, use an advanced camera, and partake in two animal-based Free Roam Events: Protect Legendary Animals and Animal Tagging. They also have access to role-specific weapons, outfits, and a horse.
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Legendary Animal Sighting Missions allow you to raid the camps of poachers and liberate their caged animals. Or, should you choose to, you can break them out and immediately kill them for their pelts.
Alongside the Naturalist content, the update also improves the Threat indicator, and implements Asynchronous Matchmaking, new Daily Challenges, new Daily Challenge rewards, and an improved wardrobe system. A new Outlaw Pass with 80 ranks allows players to unlock bonuses including 40 gold bars, XP boosts, new weapon metals and engravings, the Australian Shepherd camp dog, and filters for the Advanced Camera.
PS4 users will also get free gifts in the form of 10 sedative ammo, 5 animal revive tonics, and 5 blending tonics, as well as early access bonuses: the Woodcote poncho, The Legendary Ram, and The Coastal, Oceanic, and Megafauna Fossil collection sets.
The update comes in the wake of the Red Dead Online community protesting against Rockstar for not updating the game with new content.
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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.