Surviving on the western frontier in Red Dead Online can be expensive, and money doesn’t always come as easy as one would hope. Some weapons cost hundreds of dollars, and other content is locked behind hefty sums of Gold Bars. Unfortunately, some activities in Red Dead Online just don’t pay all that much, and sometimes you’ll need to save up for a while to get what you really want.
Thankfully, there are a handful of reliable ways to quickly make money in Rockstar Games’ online western. Whether you’re a PvP player or someone who prefers to ride solo, there’s a money-making strategy out there that suits your needs, and you’ll be rolling in cash and Gold before you know it.
10 Bounty Hunting
For Red Dead Online players looking for some action, there are always criminals that need to be brought in. Sheriffs will pay good money for wanted criminals, either alive or dead, and you can snag a live one in just a few minutes if you’re up to the challenge.
Repeatedly accepting bounties is a great way to level up your Bounty Hunter role and, in turn, get paid much more for your efforts. More difficult bounties yield higher rewards, and you can even earn some cool new weapons and gear by bounty hunting, too.
9 Moonshine Production
Red Dead Online‘s newest Frontier Pursuit also happens to pay very well. If you have the Gold necessary to start a moonshine operation, then it’s well worth the investment. Moonshine sales happen regularly and fairly quickly, and business owners can be paid handsome sums if they cater to the right buyers.
Like any business, however, a moonshine operation needs supplies to operate, meaning there is a cost involved in running things. Mash and other ingredients aren’t the most expensive things in the world, but more frugal players should look elsewhere for extra revenue streams.
8 Trading
For the aspiring business owner who doesn’t want to pay out of pocket for supplies, there’s the Trader role. Setting up shop at camp with Cripps can lead to bountiful payments down the line. All you need to do to keep things running is bring in tons of animal carcasses and pelts.
Short-distance sales are safer but have smaller payouts, while long-distance sales pay more but expose the goods to the possibility of an outside attack. A smart trader knows which route is best, and repeatedly making the right decisions can drastically increase their income.
7 Collecting
The Collector Role can bring in a pretty hefty payday, but it could take a while longer than more traditional lines of work. The real Collector money is in completed sets, and scrounging up a full set of items can be a daunting task for the uninitiated.
Knowing where to look for certain items and being able to afford treasure maps that point to rare items is crucial in completing a set, but the sizable reward makes the struggle all the more worthwhile. Rockstar tends to give away Collector items every now and then, too, so you might already have a headstart on certain collections.
6 Showdown Series
If you’re good with a gun, then Showdown Series might be your best bet for earning cash. Being able to place highly on a consistent basis will bring in a steady flow of cash, and doing well will even reward you with a decent amount of Gold as well.
Showdown Series Large will dole out even more cash, but with a greater risk of losing as a result of the bigger lobbies. Bringing the right loadout will definitely improve your odds, and sometimes you might have to spend some money on new weapons in order to successfully make some money in PvP.
5 Races
Talented riders may want to try their hands at one of Red Dead Online‘s many races to try and earn some cash. Not many people are running races in Red Dead Online compared to Showdown Series, so it might take a while to find participants, but the reward will be worth the wait.
Mastering the race mechanics can lead to frequent victories. Be sure to learn the track layouts and, when in doubt, try to find a weapon to thin the competition’s numbers. With some practice, you’ll find yourself performing well in no time.
4 Fences
If you take the time to loot fallen enemies after Red Dead Online‘s many, many shootouts, you’ve no doubt amassed a collection of trinkets and valuables that are most likely gathering dust in your satchel. If you take the time to actually seek out a fence and sell those items, you could be looking at a significant amount of cash.
Fences can be found in Emerald Ranch, Rhodes, Saint Denis, Thieves Landing, and Van Horn Trading Post. Make your way to one of these shady vendors to offload your valuables in exchange for money.
3 Daily Challenges
While completing daily challenges doesn’t reward any money, it does reward a pretty significant amount of Gold. Doing daily challenges regularly is a surefire way to accumulate a stash of premium currency, and these challenges rarely take a long time to complete.
If you play Red Dead Online regularly, then be sure to get a daily challenge streak going. Initially, challenges reward 0.2 Gold Bars each, but this number increases if you complete at least one challenge a day. This can start to add up, especially if you do multiple challenges in one day with an existing streak multiplier.
2 Free Roam Events
Free Roam Events take place in Red Dead Online every fifteen minutes, and they tend to reward lots of cash and Gold for very little effort. Free Roam Events are very easy to farm, as one usually starts up just as another ends.
These are some of Red Dead Online‘s most entertaining competitive modes, and they’re one of the most enjoyable methods of making money. Placing first in some of the larger Free Roam Events will earn you huge amounts of money, especially in modes like King of the Castle, Manhunt, or Railroad Baron. Be on the lookout for the more lucrative Free Roam Events, and never miss an opportunity to join one if you know you can do well.
1 Hunting and Fishing
Hunting and fishing provide a slow and steady source of income for any Red Dead Online player. Animals can sometimes be hard to come by while out in the open world, but if you know where to look, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a few deer. Animals tend to spawn frequently just outside of Blackwater and Valentine, so try your luck in those regions if you can’t find anything to hunt.
Hunting and fishing are best combined with the Trader role in order to maximize efficiency. Shoot birds and other small animals to take their parts to a butcher for cash, but bring larger carcasses and pelts to camp to keep your trading company supplied.
— GameRant to gamerant.com
