Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of those games in which money-making is very difficult. You can obtain money in RDR 2 with various tasks and methods. You would not find out all of them while playing, but we got you covered. We did not include methods like hunting or fishing. You can check out our RDR 2 hunting guide to make money with hunting.
Here we will discuss the best ways to make money in RDR 2 or Red Dead Redemption 2.
Stealing Carriages
Stealing carriages is one of the easiest and riskless methods of making money in Red Dead Redemption 2. When you progress in the main story and reach a certain point, you will unlock a merchant in Emerald Ranch. This side mission is unlocked very early in the game.
You can sell stolen carriages to this merchant. Payment of $25 to $40 is received per carriage. Since there are so many open roads near this place, it is very easy to find carriages. You can either scare the passengers or hogtie them and steal the carriage.
This is one of the least time consuming and best way to make money in Red Dead Redemption 2. This method is much riskless since it does not involve major crimes. Since it has a low probability of getting into crimes, your honor level will also not be affected.
Stagecoach Robbery
Stagecoach robbery is another easy way to make money in Red Dead Redemption 2. But the stagecoach robbery missions will unlock only after a certain progression in the main story. After these side missions unlocked, the station clerk in the Rhodes station will give you information regarding remote stagecoaches that passes by.
Firstly give a small trip to the station clerk in order to obtain the information. You will be provided with the route of the stagecoach. Then You have to wait for the stagecoach to approach and then attack the stagecoach. The stagecoach will have a decent amount of loot in them.
However, you cannot do this mission too many times since each time the station clerk should come up with new stagecoach information. But this method is one of the easiest methods to make money in RDR2 without involving in major crimes.
Bounty Hunting
Bounty hunting is a side quest in Red Dead Redemption 2 which offers a great amount of money along with a certain amount of honor. The information regarding a criminal will be available in the sheriff’s office. You have to go to the location marked on the map once the poster is collected from the office.
After that, you can find the criminal and bring them to the Sherrif to collect the reward. As this side mission awards you with greater money, bounty hunting missions are very limited in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Bounty hunting provides you with a larger amount of money but it comes with its own risk. Anyways, this is also a best way to make money in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Homestead Missions
While you roam around the open world of Red Dead Redemption 2, you will come across strangers you can interact with. Some strangers will provide you with valuable information. Those include information regarding remote homesteads. This is added as a side quest once the information is known to you.
You have to find the homestead using the clues that you obtained. After finding, you can rob the homestead, in which you will get a decent amount of money. But be careful sometimes the Homesteads will be heavily guarded and would require a gunfight before you can get the money.
Make sure you loot everywhere in the Homestead since there is a great chance of you to miss the main money stash. Finding clues for homestead missions are very difficult, but this will award you with a large amount of money.
Treasure Hunting in Red Dead Redemption 2
Treasure hunting is one of the best ways to make a lot of money in Red Dead Redemption 2 if you invest some time in finding the Treasure location. Gold bars are scattered across all parts of the map which gets a high price in a fence(shop in RDR 2).
Fences give you the maximum amount of money for valuable goods. One Gold bar is worth $500 in a fence. Gold bars are awarded as a treasure once you find them. There are a few treasure maps that you find while playing. They will give you clues to find the next map.
After you complete finding a number of treasure maps, you will reach the location of the treasure. We will discuss some of the main treasure maps that can be found across the open world.
The treasure hunting quest will involve finding a series of treasure maps before the actual treasure being revealed. If you wish to explore treasure hunting yourself, skip reading the steps given below.
Jack Hall Gang Map
This is the first treasure map that you may come across while you progress the game. If you haven’t come across this, you can find this in a location South of valentine and East of the flat neck station.
When you reach this location you will interact with a stranger from whom you can purchase this map or take this map from his corpse after killing him. The treasure hunt will start when you find the first map. You have to find the second location by observing the first map.
The second location is in Caliban’s seat south of valentine. Once you get to the top of the mountain there will be a small ramp to climb down. Climb down and follow the trail. There will be a difficult jump along the way, don’t fall and die.
When you reach the end of the trail, you will see a small slit in the rock which you can search and find the next map. Refer to the first map if you have any issues in finding the spot.
The next location you have to go to is the Cotorra springs northeast of valentine. There will be a bunch of rocks that are stacked. Find the one that aligns with the previous map and search it to find the next map.
The final Treasure location is on the O’Creagh’s Run in the Grizzlies East. It is a lake which has a small island in the center. Swim to the island or go on a horse. There will be a stone lying down on the island, which you can remove to find the gold bars.
Poisonous Trail Map
The first map can be found on Cairn lake Northwest of valentine. There will be a little lodge with a bed inside it. Search under the bed to find a lockbox. Search the lockbox to find the first treasure map.
After finding the first map, go to a location called Face Rock in the Lemoyne area. There will be a dead tree as shown in the previous map, approach it. You can search the tree to find the next map.
The next location is West of Van Horn Trading Port. It is near Fort Brennand. You will notice it easily due to its weird formation in the shape of a snake. There will be a hole in the centre of this formation. Search and find the next treasure map.
Now, go to the Elysian pool Southwest of Annesberg. You can directly go inside the waterfall. Explore the cave to find the treasure inside. There will be a small entrance to your right when you move inside the cave which can easily be missed. You have to go inside it and follow the trail to find the treasure.
High Stakes Treasure Map
The location of the first map is between Diablo Ridge and Riggs station east of Strawberry. This map can only be obtained after chapter 3. You will find a stranger there who tries to hide the map. Kill or rob the stranger to get the map.
Next, go to Cumberland falls east of Wallace station. Then go to the waterfall in front of you. There will be a small log that leads you to the inside of the waterfall. Jump up a ledge and go inside. You will find your second map there.
The next location is in Barrow lagoon which is underneath the ‘M’ in Amberino or Northwest of valentine. There will be a log in the middle of the lake for crossing. Walk across and you will find a hole in it. You will find the final map here.
Now, go to the cliff just outside of Bacchus station which is east of Barrow lagoon where we found the previous map. There is a small ramp that leads down the cliff. Tread carefully and make sure you don’t fall. Keep climbing down by jumping rocks. You will reach a location where there is a slit in the rock, from where you can find the gold bars.
Treasure of The Dead
The treasure of the dead map can be found on Limpany South of valentine and north of Flat neck station. There will be a burned down building that looks like a jail. Go inside it and you can find the map near a corpse.
The next map is located in the docks of Saint-Denis south east of limpany. Climb down the docks and walk into the water. You will find a small gate under the docks. Inside it, there will be a small table with a lamp. Near the table, there will be a small slit in the wall in which we can search and find the next map.
The last map contains a riddle. To solve this, You have to go to the Saint-Denis cemetery. It is located in the Northern part of Saint-Denis near a place that you can play poker. Refer to the minimap for correct paths.
Walk straight into the cemetery till you reach the center of it and then take a left. After you take the left and walk a little further, you will see a house shaped structure to your right. Go inside and look to your left on the wall. You will get an option to search and find the treasure there.
Sketched Map
The sketched map can be found in Reed cottage north of Annesberg. Only one map is required to find this treasure. Enter the cottage and check the chimney to find the map. Next, You have to go to the elysian pool. Stand on top of the cliff facing the lake. You will see a tree marked as x behind you. Search behind the tree to find some rocks. Under one rock, You will find the treasure.
Related: Red Dead Redemption 2 Hunting Guide: How to Hunt Animals in RDR 2
Robbing Trains in Red Dead Redemption 2
Robbing trains is another easy method to make money in Red Dead Redemption 2. This method involves huge risk and can get you a large amount of bounty on your head. You will lose a lot of honor while doing this, But this will award you with a lot of money and valuables which can be sold for a great price.
There are a few methods to Rob a train. One way is that you can purchase a train ticket and get on a train. After a particular time, you can get up from your seat and start walking towards the engine. While doing this you can start robbing a train by harassing a citizen and stealing their money and belongings.
The other method is hopping into a moving train and start stealing the belongings from the strangers. Either way, take out the security officers first and then start robbing the train. But beware while you are on the train, You will be chased by security officers or bounty hunters while robbing. Make sure you are well equipped with weapons because this involves a lot of shooting.
While robbing a train, make sure you are robbing a passenger train not a goods train because only the passenger train can award you with money. The method of robbing a train for making money in Red Dead Redemption 2 is not so efficient since this will increase the bounty on your head to a greater extent.
The increased bounty on your head will require more money to pay it off indirectly. The loss of honor progression is also a problem. But if you are so tight and you desperately need money, this is one method that you make money in RDR 2.
Abovesaid are the main methods that you can make money in Red Dead Redemption 2. Not all these methods are efficient. Some of them involve large risk and loosing of honor which is very important in the game.
Note that some missions in the main story will reward you with a great amount of money. If you are facing too much lack of money maybe it is time for you to progress the main mission. Some main missions can award you with more money than all the above methods.
Playing poker is also an easy way to make money. But you have to learn how to play it. If you don’t wish to progress the main story and still want to make money, these are the most efficient methods to make money in Red Dead Redemption 2.Â