Summary

• Completing 100% of Red Dead Redemption 2 is a tedious and time-consuming task, but it offers some rewards.
• Players must complete the main story, side quests, and side activities, as well as find collectibles and reach certain milestones to achieve 100% completion.
• The reward for 100% completion is the Best in the West achievement/trophy, along with a special, albeit brief, cutscene.

Red Dead Redemption 2's attention to detail in every saloon and mountain range has made it one of the most stunning open world releases of all time, with a main story that can take around 50 hours to complete, and countless challenges that take protagonist Arthur Morgan on myriad misadventures. One of these milestones is the Best in the West trophy, which requires players to achieve 100% completion of RDR2. So, what do players need to complete to earn the achievement, and what rewards come with it?

RDR2's greatest completionist challenge is among the most tedious trophies to earn in recent memory. Not only do players need to complete the game's lengthy main story, but they also need to see many of its side quest chains through until the end, and master each of its side activities. A handful of these require discovering hidden areas, solving environmental puzzles, and mastering mini-game mechanics, each of which could take hours on its own. Make no mistake: completing 100% of Red Dead Redemption 2 is only for the most hardened outlaws, but it's not without its perks.

Is RDR2's 100% Completion Worth It?

Unfortunately, the Best in the West achievement's rewards never quite make up for the level of effort players need to put in to complete RDR2 100%. The trophy will only unlock two in-game rewards, but much like every other completionist achievement, its main allure is endless bragging rights. Finishing RDR2's story isn't even scratching the surface of what's needed to clinch Best in the West. It might take the same amount of time to complete the story as it does to hunt for all the required items, so the achievement isn't worth it for anyone who doesn't want to double their RDR2 playtime.

Players need to complete five categories of tasks to get 100% completion in RDR2 and earn the Best in the West achievement. The title lets gamers check on their progress by opening the main menu, selecting the "Progress" tab, and then navigating to "Total Completion," but it's more helpful to check the individual progress categories to determine what still needs doing. So saddle up: the quest towards 100% completion will take players everywhere from Blackwater to Saint Denis and back again. Here are the requirements for completing 100% of RDR2 and earning the Best in the West achievement.

All RDR2 Missions & Events For 100% Completion

Of course, the first requirement for 100% completion of RDR2 is to play through the entirety of the story. But even after that, there are many side quests yet to be completed. In order to achieve 100% completion and get the Best in the West trophy, players will have to:

• Complete all 107 main story missions.
• Complete 10 Stranger missions.
• Complete 5 Bounty Hunter missions.
• Complete 25 Chance Encounters.
• Survive a Gang Ambush.
• Clear 6 Gang Hideouts.

Stranger missions in RDR2 can be easy to miss, and some of them even have second parts. Players who get stuck should check out this guide on the most easily missed Strangers in RDR2 to make sure they don't pass any by.

Thankfully, with the proper guidance, it's easy to find and check off most of these quests, even if completing them can sometimes be a challenge. The only ones that may prove difficult to find are the Chance Encounters, which don't always spawn reliably at the same place. The key to finding them is simple patience and persistence - no one said getting the 100% trophy would be easy.

All RDR2 Collectibles For 100% Completion

Up next are collectibles, which is somewhat of a misleading category. RDR2's collectible hunt includes not only unique items and locations, but also a handful of collection-related side quests. To earn the Best of the West 100% completion trophy, players must:

• Find any one Point of Interest.
• Visit the 9 Graves of your fallen companions, which are only available at the end of Red Dead Redemption 2's campaign.
• Complete a set of Cigarette Cards.
• Find all 30 Dinosaur Bones and complete the "A Test of Faith" mission.
• Find all 13 Legendary Fish and complete the "A Fisher of Fish" mission.
• Complete all Exotic Tasks for Algernon Wasp and complete the "Duchesses and Other Animals" mission.
• Find all 10 Rock Carvings and complete the "Geology for Beginners" mission.
• Complete 1 Treasure Hunt Chain.
• Find all 20 Dreamcatchers.

Again, most of these are pretty simple to find and understand, especially the ones with quests attached to them. Points of Interest, however, may require more explanation. Sometimes, as Arthur or John is wandering through the world, they'll see a prompt to "Inspect" something. That's how they know they've found a point of interest. They'll look at it, give a comment or two, and sketch the object in their journal before moving on, Point of Interest checked off.

Likely the easiest point of interest to find is the Wild West Heroes 132 book, which is located at Downes Ranch southwest of Valentine. Simply enter the ranch house and head for the master bedroom, and the book should be lying on a nightstand next to the bed.

All RDR2 Compendium Entries Required For 100% Completion

Animals, Mounts, Fish, Plants, Weapons, & Equipment

Next are some of the exploration-based rewards. While players are likely to complete some of these naturally as they progress through RDR2's story, others definitely require straying from the beaten path. In order to achieve 100% completion of RDR2, players need to:

• Discover 50 animal species.
• Find 10 Equipment Items, like the Lasso.
• Discover 10 fish species.
• Discover all 6 gangs.
• Discover 10 horse breeds.
• Discover 20 plant species.
• Discover 48 weapons.

All RDR2 Upgrades & Progression Milestones For 100% Completion

Players will also need to level up their characters in order to achieve 100% completion of RDR2. Most of these categories are related: Dead Eye, health, and stamina are all leveled up via challenge completion, so doing one inevitably results in doing the other. Bonding with a horse is pretty easy when riding from one completion requirement to another, so most players are likely to complete this goal without trying too hard. Regardless, in order to hit the 100% completion mark, players will have to:

• Reach level 10 health, stamina, and Dead Eye.
• Reach Level 4 bonding with a horse.
• Complete all 90 challenges.

RDR2's Miscellaneous Requirements For 100% Completion

And finally, there are several miscellaneous requirements for achieving 100% completion of RDR2. These mostly involve quick, one-off side activities, usually aimed at creating greater immersion in RDR2's world. The final steps to getting the Best in the West trophy are:

• Investigate 5 Shacks.
• Kill 5 Legendary Animals.
• Play all 4 Table Games.
• Speak with 5 special characters.
• Take a bath once.
• Watch a show.
• Watch a live show at the Theater in San Denis.
• Craft 1 recipe.
• Complete a Home, Shop, Coach, and Train Robbery.

Most of these are pretty self-explanatory, but special characters are a little more complicated. These are recognizable, recurring NPCs who don't have quests of their own, but may have repeated interactions with Arthur and John as the story progresses. Examples include the Homeless Vet Mickey, the Cave Hermit, and Blind Man Cassidy. Thankfully, players don't have to find all of them to achieve 100% completion, or even see their quest lines all the way through. Talking to five of them, once each, is enough for the trophy.

Checking off all of these tasks can take players well over 150 hours, since many parts of completing RDR2 100% rely on exploration and stumbling upon hidden locations, events, and items. The Best in the West trophy isn't for the faint of heart, and the reward, while nice, is a little underwhelming.

[Warning: The following section contains spoilers for the end of Red Dead Redemption 2.]

RDR2's 100% Completion Rewards

RDR2 will only give players two rewards for completing the Best in the West achievement's laundry list of chores. One of these prizes might be enticing for die-hard fans of the Western series, but the absence of unique cosmetic rewards makes it difficult to justify the tedium of achieving 100% completion of RDR2. Here's everything to expect after unlocking Best in the West:

• The Best in the West Achievement or Trophy on Steam, PlayStation Network, or Xbox.
• Unlocks a secret cutscene where John Marston visits Arthur Morgan's grave and says, "I guess we're just about done, my friend," as Arthur's theme, "May I? Stand Unshaken," plays.

Want to see this secret cutscene, but don't want to go through the trouble of completing RDR2 100% to do it? Check it out in the YouTube video from HarryNintetyFour below!

Compared to what's required to achieve 100% completion in Grand Theft Auto 5, RDR2's The Best in the West achievement is not only more difficult to complete, but its payoff is far worse. The main appeal for finishing everything in RDR2 is bragging rights, so some hardcore gamers might be tempted to slowly chip away at The Best in the West's checklist. Still, its lackluster rewards don't make the commitment worth it in the end for anyone but the most devoted Red Dead Redemption 2 players.

Source: HarryNintetyFour/YouTube