Red Dead Redemption 2 offers players many ways to complete their objectives, and countless activities to fill their free time while roaming the Wild West. In addition to an arsenal of guns, RDR2 players can take advantage of several tools and a rudimentary crafting system to equip themselves for the grandest of challenges. One the most under-utilized tools of Red Dead Redemption 2 is the lasso, and players have found some strange tricks to optimize its usefulness in the wilds.
There are many activities to occupy outlaws in Red Dead Redemption 2, but after nearly three years, it's no surprise that players have begun to create their own solutions to unique problems they've stumbled across. Lassos have evolved to fill regular uses in hunting, player vs. environment, and player vs. player activities. Despite it being one of the simpler tools in RDR2's arsenal, it has accomplished some useful, but downright strange, tricks.
While it may not be as elegant as the bow and arrow, or as slick as some of the hunting rifles and carbines, a lasso can prove even more effective than these 'advanced' tools. Here are some of the many things RDR2 players can do with a lasso in Rockstar's Wild West open world.
RDR2's Lasso Brings The Hunt Up Close & Personal
While there are many types of weapons for RDR2 players to use when hunting down their prey in the wild, some of these methods may prove to be less effective than using the lasso. The value of animals in Red Dead Redemption 2 is based in a star rating system, with three-star ratings being the most pristine and valuable, and one-star ratings being mostly worthless. Three-star animals are rare enough throughout the wilds, but killing an animal with a three-star pelt and keeping its rating can be even more difficult. The dozens of weapons and specially crafted ammo prove to be useless when an animal catches the scent of player characters, which is where RDR2's lasso comes in.
Despite the various systems put in place to make Red Dead Redemption 2's hunting as realistic as possible, lassoing one's prey has proven to be one of the most effective methods of preserving three-star animal pelts. Lassoing the animal and reeling them in demands patience and attentiveness, as some animals may be inclined to fight back. This method is quite strange, as slaughtering a creature with a brutal stab of a knife likely shouldn't preserve the pelt of an animal better than a clean shot to the head.
Additionally, lassoing targets can sometimes be more dangerous than long distance engagements, as more dangerous creatures in Red Dead Redemption 2 will need to be circled around until players can get close enough without being mauled. The result is something of a deadly tango, with players constantly rotating around a dangerous creature while simultaneously drawing it in closer to finish it off.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Lets Players Create Elaborate Trust Falls
Red Dead Redemption 2 has impressive in-depth physics and game systems, as discovered by particularly motivated players in Red Dead Online. Through many instances of trial and error, RDR2 has been proven to have an excellent representation of gravity's effects. Players that wish to engage in the ultimate trust fall with friends can hoist themselves over the edge of a bridge and be lassoed around the ankles. The result is a new view of RDR2's open world as it has never been seen before. The swinging motions might nauseate some of the West's more sensitive outlaws, but it can be an entertaining challenge for Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode.
This lasso trick is not only useful in Red Dead Online, as it can be used to torment some particularly nasty NPCs that lurk about the massive open world in single-player as well. There are more than a few distasteful characters in Red Dead Redemption 2 that need a good dose of karmatic justice, and can be subjected to a trip over the edge of a bridge. When Arthur Morgan or John Marston land their lassos, the NPCs can survive and players can likely escape the area before any lawmen arrive. This lasso trick can also be a good punishment for griefers in Red Dead Online, as catching the offending player prevents them from dying and respawning to wreak more havoc. For those looking to master their lasso skills and act as an agent of demented justice, this trick can be just the tool that's needed.
RDR2 Allows For A Shifty Trick To Escape Lassos
Lassos are primarily used to wrangle Red Dead Redemption 2's horses, but occasionally, players may find themselves on the wrong end of another outlaw's lasso. While Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn't give a standard tutorial, instead slowly unfurling its systems over multiple hours of gameplay, it often rewards practical thinking, especially in tense situations. Avoiding lassos should always be the first priority, but should players find themselves in the process of being hogtied, switching to a knife is a hidden trick to free one's self in a timely manner.
It's a bit of a strange ability, given that to be lassoed one's arms need to be restrained, so it's unknown how player characters manage to reach their knives in the first place. Still, freeing one's self from a lasso in a seemingly impossible way is a tricky skill that every good outlaw should know if they're looking to make the most during their time in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Red Dead Redemption 2's Loot-To-Go Trick
This trick is a bit more situational, but given the amount of time that is spent breaking laws in Red Dead Redemption 2, most players will find themselves pitted against roaming bounty hunters more than once. When the law comes calling, sometimes the best option is to run in the other direction. The higher one's bounty is in RDR2, the more hunters are liable to show up and claim the prize. Sometimes, Red Dead Redemption 2 train spawns offer a quick getaway. Unfortunately, boarding a train and taking cover can mean that players miss out on some of the wonderful loot that bounty hunters tend to carry with them. As well-armed and skilled individuals, these hunters tend to carry a few treasures that can be sold to fences or offer improved weapons. Some players have adapted to this unique situation and used their lassos to bring the bounty hunters along.
While this can be crueler than simply shooting back at bounty hunters, if the law is after Arthur Morgan or John Marston, they likely aren't being the most honorable outlaws in the first place. Lassoing a pursuing bounty hunter and hoisting them aboard the train after a short drag along the ground can provide an efficient escape and some money for an outlaw's trouble. This trick can be difficult to pull off, as bounty hunters will need to be running alongside the train and players will need to regularly dodge shots fired in their direction. Additionally, environmental obstacles such as trees can knock an RDR2 bounty hunter or lawman out of the lasso, leaving their corpse (but more importantly, their loot) behind.
RDR2's Lassos Can Turn The Human Body Into A Weapon
While physics in Red Dead Redemption 2 tend to behave under normal circumstances, there are certain actions that can be taken to exploit the freedom Rockstar has given its cowboy communities. RDR2 protagonists Arthur Morgan and John Marston aren't the best men around, and regularly engage in illegal activities that have witnesses running for the law. The lasso can be used as an efficient tool to eliminate fleeing witnesses, but it requires players to be on horseback and have enough space to maneuver their mount.
Outlaws proficient with the lasso will be able to snag one of the witnesses and drag them behind their horse. While gaining speed, players should begin to make their way towards other witnesses. Once close enough, navigating Red Dead Redemption 2's horses in circular motions will begin to lift the lassoed target into the air. Striking the fleeing witness with the lassoed witness will result in both being killed or knocked out. While this is a more complicated method than simply killing the witnesses, it's certainly more fun.
Players are continuously discovering new ways to enjoy the world of Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2, in both the online and single-player modes. Time and time again, the community has proved the underappreciated artistry of the lasso by causing complete and utter havoc in the right situations. Whether it's wrangling bison out in the Heartlands, or swinging a griefer over the Blackwater bridge until they've given up their ways, there's a trick for all Red Dead Redemption 2 players that are skilled enough to pull them off.