The 10 HARDEST Red Dead Redemption 2 Missions

10 Hardest Red Dead Redemption II Missions

Mathew Arter


Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 10 Hardest Red Dead Redemption 2 Missions. For this list, we’ll be looking at the missions that made our faces the reddest, our muscles the tensest, and our controllers the brokenest…est.

#10: American Dreams

To kick us off, we have a mission that isn’t hard because of the actual gameplay. Apart from a fist fight towards the end, the gameplay is as simple as moving from location to location and experiencing the story that goes along with it. American Dreams is a Stranger mission that has Arthur following the trail of a serial killer, collecting all of the clues that lead to the killer's whereabouts, and finally capturing or killing the monster. The thing that makes this mission so difficult is finding the locations of the murders. With no discernable trail, or guidance, the player essentially has to stumble upon them at random. Without an online guide, should a player want to complete this mission, they will have to simply wander to every corner of this epic and GIANT map to find the clues they need.

#9: A Fisher of Fish

In general, hooking most fish poses a bit of a challenge, in real life or in RDR2, but there's one elusive catch that can lead to significant complications, particularly involving legal issues. The Legendary Bullheaded Catfish dwells within the waters situated in the western region of Sisika Penitentiary. Accessing the island requires a stroke of luck in finding a suitable boat off the western mainland coast. Once there, you must carefully position yourself and cast your line - Oh also, don’t forget you are now in unauthorized waters. Any sighting by a guard instantly elevates your wanted level, turning the seemingly simple act of fishing into a rage-inducing, controller-snapping nightmare.

#8: That’s Murfree Country

Towards the end of the game, the gang has to move camp one last time before the conclusion of Arthur’s story in RDR2. Before they can move, Charles and Arthur go on a two-man scouting mission to see if this particular caved region is suitable for tenants. As it turns out, it is, because the inbred family of crazies known as the Murfree brood are already set up and comfortable. This mission requires the player to fight and murder every single Murfree, all of whom fight back in a more savage nature, some charging the player with a one-shot-kill machete attack. Regardless if you go in quiet or loud, this mission always ends with this incredibly difficult onslaught of attackers, and the player can only do one thing… Lock and load... and duck, and use cover, and generally just be good at the game. Still, it’s hard as f***.

#7: We Loved Once and True

There’s one character in this game that forces every player to audibly groan, and that is Mary. Chalk it up to toxic masculinity, but every time Arthur bends over backwards to help Mary, when she continues to look down on his choices, the player wants to run away with Sadie. In one of these “do everything Mary asks of you missions”, you track and locate her dim-witted brother, who has joined up with a goofy cult, and attempt to take him back home. No matter what happens with the dialogue, Mary’s brother will always get on his horse and flee, and boy gee howdy golly gosh does this boy know how to operate a horse. Keeping up with him is hard enough, but he takes you on a path of twists, turns, and obstacles that risk knocking the player off their horse and jeopardizing the entire mission. The final moment requires the player to use the newly introduced draw mechanic, and leaves little room for error. DON’T mess up right at the end.

#6: Smoking and Other Hobbies

Arthur Morgan loves a smoke, because he’s cool, and smoking is cool... For legal reasons I need to clarify that I’m joking and smoking makes you smell like you have a bunch of loose stuff on your backseat. Arthur’s smoking habit becomes strikingly evident when he encounters a character named Phineas T. Ramsbottom (sidebar: easily the funniest name I’ve ever heard). The encounter with Ramsbottom sets off the "Smoking and Other Hobbies" mission, one of the more challenging missions in Red Dead Redemption 2. His quest involves the collection of cigarette trading cards, and there are 144 of the bastards out there waiting to be collected. Finding these cigarette trading cards requires you to go well out of your way, and without a guide, it’s borderline impossible blind.

#5: Blessed are the Peacemakers

Once you’ve locked down your method, this mission will never be as hard as it was on your first go, but that first attempt is SOMETHING else. After getting positioned on a nearby cliff to monitor the meeting between Dutch and Colm O’Driscoll, Arthur is knocked out, and captured. After waking up, experiencing some torture, and cutting yourself free, the player must escape Colm’s camp in nothing but their under garments. Stealth is the way to go, any attempt at a loud exit will result in guaranteed failure if the player can’t get their hands on a weapon. But, with blurred vision and with the mission being set at night, this one almost has a guaranteed second attempt.

#4: A Test of Faith

Despite having a considerable amount of blood on his hands, Arthur engages in some rather peculiar odd jobs. One of the more eccentric tasks is from Deborah McGuiness, a self-proclaimed "leading amateur paleontologist". In her quest to locate all the dinosaur bones in the area, she decides to hire a cowboy… because she’s an idiot, I guess? Arthur must now meticulously search the land for 30 well-concealed dinosaur bones. This mission deviates from Rockstar's typical game design; it neither offers a quest marker nor provides verbal clues about the fossils' locations, much like the American Dreams mission, except you have to find 30 locations instead of 3. Without a walkthrough, players just have to rely on their observations.

#3: Blessed Are the Meek

If you didn’t already have a healthy amount of disdain for the unreliable and disgusting Micah Bell leading up to this mission, you will now. The infamous slaughter of Strawberry takes place when the player (as Arthur) breaks Micah out of jail. The mission has two simple elements: Break out Micah and fight your way out of the town. The problem is, Micah is one of the most aggressive and unreliable NPC partners the gaming world has ever seen. If Micah dies, the mission is over, and the game design leads to Micah often running into the heat of battle ALL THE DAMN TIME. You know what, I hope Micah dies.

#2: A Quick Favor for an Old Friend

In a bounty hunting mission featuring Sadie and John, the player must chase down Ramone Cortez and bring him to justice. Our bounty hunters trace him to a compact ravine, prompting Sadie to request that John provide cover from a distance with a sniper rifle. However, the scenario takes a sudden turn when, shortly after gunfire erupts, she insists on the sniper joining the front lines. Now, you find yourself sprinting to Sadie, who is in imminent danger, risking mission failure. Positioned at the bottom of the ravine, Sadie is under constant fire from Del Lobos gang members, creating a precarious situation as you join her in the worst cover position of all time. Despite navigating through a descending ravine, this mission transforms into an arduous struggle, forcing you to navigate through an annoying enemy force who very much have the tactical advantage - the high ground, if you will.

#1: American Venom

It would make sense that the final mission in the game would be the hardest, but when the story is heading towards climax, and the music is thumping, the last thing you want to hear is a death sound and silence as you restart the mission. Drudging through the snow to reach Micah requires the player to fight a barrage of enemies, all of whom either have the high ground and are shooting down on John, who also has no cover, or are trying to sneak tackle John and disarm him. The shots are constant and the lack of cover makes it all about being the quickest draw against an army of men. At least the ending is satisfying.