Look, Rockstar Games loves to make you work for it. If you’ve spent any time in the muddy streets of Valentine or the humid swamps of Lemoyne, you know that "completion" in this game is a massive undertaking. It's huge. It's actually kind of intimidating when you realize just how much junk is tucked away in the corners of the map. You want the best gear, the rarest horses, and those fancy outfits that make Arthur look like a sophisticated lawman instead of a mountain man who smells like bear grease.
Knowing how to unlock everything in Red Dead 2 PC isn't just about finishing the story missions and watching the credits roll. Honestly, that’s barely the start. It’s about the challenges, the hidden collectibles, and the weird, missable stuff that makes your 100% save file actually mean something.
The Grind for Legend of the East
If you want the absolute peak of Arthur’s (or John’s) potential, you’re looking at the Legend of the East outfit. This thing is the "holy grail." It gives you insane stat boosts to your cores, decreases weapon degradation, and makes you more resistant to melee damage. But getting it? It’s a nightmare. You have to complete all 90 challenges.
Think about that. 90.
You’ve got the Gambler challenges, which will make you want to throw your PC out the window when you're trying to win three hands of Blackjack with three hits or more. Then there’s the Herbalist 9 challenge, where you have to pick one of every single plant in the game. It’s tedious. You’ll find yourself staring at a digital map of the New Austin desert, wondering why you’re looking for a specific type of cactus at 2:00 AM.
There is a bit of a trick for PC players, though. If you’re playing on the earlier chapters and want to get into the locked-off areas of the map (like Blackwater and New Austin) to finish these challenges early, you can use the "Buggy Trick" or certain mission glitches. Most people just wait until the Epilogue, but where's the fun in that? If you want the outfit as Arthur, you’re going to have to exploit the game’s boundaries.
The Secret Weapons You Probably Missed
Most players walk into a Gunsmith and think that’s all there is. It's not. Some of the best, most unique weapons are tucked away in shacks or carried by NPCs who really don't want to give them up.
Take the Rare Rolling Block Rifle. You can only get this during the "Magicians for Sport" mission in Chapter 3. If you don't loot it off the sniper in the barn, it's gone forever. You can’t buy it. You can’t find it later. Same goes for the various unique revolvers held by the famous gunslingers you track down for Calloway. Most people forget to pick up Flaco’s Revolver or Granger’s Revolver after the duel.
Then there are the melee weapons. Have you found the Viking Hatchet yet? It’s up near Annesburg in an old stone ruin. Or the Pirate Sword in the swamps? These aren't just for show; they have unique animations and they're genuinely fun to use when you're tired of just shooting everything. Exploring the map is the only way to fill that compendium.
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Tracking the Rare Horses
Everyone wants the White Arabian. It’s the "cliché" pro-gamer move. You go up to Lake Isabella, you freeze your boots off, and you break the horse. It’s fast, sure. It’s also skittish as hell. One snake in the grass and you’re eating dirt while your horse bolts for the hills.
If you really want to unlock the best mounts, you need to look at the Fox Trotters and the Turkoman horses. On PC, the "how to unlock everything in Red Dead 2 PC" strategy usually involves waiting for Chapter 4 to buy the Gold Turkoman in Saint Denis, or better yet, using the Albert Mason mission glitch to track down the Silver Dapple Pinto Missouri Fox Trotter in Chapter 2. That horse is arguably the best in the game, and getting it early feels like a massive cheat code without actually cheating.
The Satchel of the East: A Game Changer
If you do nothing else, unlock the Legend of the East Satchel. Seriously.
Normally, your inventory is pathetic. You can carry maybe five pieces of meat or a handful of tonics. It’s annoying. Once Pearson crafts that final satchel for you, your carrying capacity for almost everything jumps to 99. It fundamentally changes how you play. You stop worrying about inventory management and start actually enjoying the world.
To get it, you need to donate a bunch of perfect pelts to Pearson at camp. This means you need the varmint rifle and the Springfield rifle with a scope. You need perfect deer, elk, cougar, and wolf pelts. It’s a hunting trip that will take you across the entire heartland, but the payoff is the single most useful "unlock" in the entire RDR2 ecosystem.
Dealing with the PC-Specific Stuff
Since you’re on PC, you have a few advantages and a few unique hurdles. The graphics are better, the frame rate is smoother, and the controls are snappier, but the game is still the game. However, "unlocking everything" on PC can also mean using the Rockstar Social Club to track your progress.
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The Social Club map is actually surprisingly useful for finding those last few Dinosaur Bones or Rock Carvings. If you’re at 98% and you can’t figure out what you’re missing, check your "Total Completion" tab in the pause menu. It breaks down exactly what the game considers "100%." Spoiler: you don't actually have to do everything to get the 100% trophy, but you do have to do a lot.
The Missable Camp Requests
This is where most "completionists" fail. Throughout the chapters, your gang members will ask for random items. Abigail wants a thimble. Hosea wants a book. Dutch wants... well, Dutch wants a pipe. If you progress too far in the story, these requests vanish.
If you want the "Errand Boy" achievement and a full compendium, you have to spend time in camp. Talk to people. Listen to their stories. It’s a slow burn, but it adds so much flavor to the world that you miss if you’re just rushing to the next yellow mission marker.
Actionable Steps for Completion
Stop trying to do everything at once. You'll burn out. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to efficiently unlock everything, follow this logic:
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- Prioritize the Satchels: Go hunting immediately in Chapter 2. Get that Legend of the East satchel so you never have to leave a pelt or a tonic behind again.
- Manual Saves are Your Friend: Before every major mission, save. If you realize you missed a unique weapon or a missable item, you can go back.
- The Trinkets Matter: Hunt the Legendary Animals early. Take their parts to a Fence. The trinkets you craft provide permanent buffs, like better quality pelts when skinning or slower core depletion. The Buck Antler Trinket is the most important one—it gives you a better chance at getting 3-star pelts from 2-star animals.
- The Challenges are the Real Game: Start the challenges early. Don't leave the Gambler or Herbalist grinds for the end of the game when you're already tired of playing. Do a little bit of each whenever you’re traveling between missions.
- Use the Compendium: It’s in the pause menu. It tells you exactly what you’ve found and what’s left. If you see a row of question marks under "Equipment," you’ve got work to do.
Focus on the legendary hunts first. They provide the materials for the best gear and the most useful buffs. Once those are done, move to the challenges. The story will naturally take you to most locations, so don't feel like you have to explore every inch of the map in Chapter 2. Let the world open up to you.