Buy Red Dead Redemption 2

Pistols - especially revolvers - are the most common weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2. Arthur can wield one or two pistols, depending on the size of his gunbelt.

Algernon’s Revolver[edit]

This tiny revolver is the final prize for completing 'Dutchesses and Other Animals' for Algernon Wasp. This gun’s snappy fire rate is only trounced by its snappy style.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Complete the side quest 'Dutchesses and Other Animals.'

Calloway’s Revolver[edit]

Pick up this guady pistol during the final part of 'The Noblest of Men, and a Woman' next to the victim in a duel. You must pick it up here or you will not be able to collect it.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Complete the mission 'The Noblest of Men, and a Woman.'

Cattleman Revolver[edit]

The most ubiquitous six-shooter in Red Dead 2, the cattleman revolver does low damage with a decent rate of fire.

Arthur Morgan begins the game with this weapon, but it can also be bought from stores when you increase the size of your gunbelt.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

The Cattleman Revolver is sold from any gunsmith.

Double-Action Revolver[edit]

While it deals less damage per shot, the Double-Action Revolver boasts an increased rate of fire thanks to its namesake double action, but the nature of the revolver will make accurate hits more challenging.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from all gunsmiths after the mission 'A Strange Kindess' in Chapter 2 or during a home robbery with Sean in Chapter 3.

Falco’s Revolver[edit]

Falco’s Revolver can only be collected next to Falco Hernandez’s body after your duel with him in the gunslinger mission related to him. You must pick it up here or you will not be able to collect it.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

This can be picked up next to Falco Hernandez’s body after beating him in a duel.

Granger’s Revolver[edit]

Granger’s Revolver can only be collected next to Emmet Granger’s body after your duel with him in the gunslinger mission related to him. You must pick it up here or you will not be able to collect it.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

This can be picked up next to Emmet Granger’s body after beating him in a duel.

Mauser Pistol[edit]

The Mauser Pistol may not pack a punch, but it has a high fire rate combined with a fast reload speed to make up for it.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from Valentine or Saint Denis Gunsmiths after 'That’s Murfee Country' in Chapter 5.

Micah’s Revolver[edit]

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Micah’s Revolver can only be collected after 'American Venom' in Epilogue 2. Return to the top of Mount Hagen and retrieve it.

Midnight’s Pistol[edit]

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Midnight’s Pistol can only be collected next to Billy Midnight body after your duel with him in the gunslinger mission related to him. You must pick it up here or you will not be able to collect it.

Otis Miller’s Revolver[edit]

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Otis Miller’s Revolver is hidden in a chest inside a cave along the north of Cholla Springs. Use the two Torn Treasure Maps to find it’s location and add the weapon to your collection after Epilogue 1.

Schofield Revolver[edit]

The Schofield Revolver boasts more firepower than most other revolvers with the quickest firing rate to boot - making it a perfect choice for fanning the hammer. Its only offset is a slightly longer reload time.

• Ammo Types: *Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from all gunsmiths after 'Blessed are the Meek?' in Chapter 2 or found during a robbery of Valentine’s doctor.

Semi-Automatic Pistol[edit]

The Semi-Automatic Pistol has a blazing fast fire rate perfect for pumping your enemies full of lead.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from Valentine and Saint Denis gunsmiths after 'The Joys of Civilization' in Chapter 4.

Volcanic Pistol[edit]

A lever-action handgun, the Volcanic Pistol deals the most damage of any sold revolver, although it suffers from a medium rate of fire, but boasts an improved ammo capacity.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from Valentine's Gunsmith

The Best Pistols[edit]

Here is a quick list of the best pistols based off their stats and how to find them!

The Schofield Revolver boasts more firepower than most other revolvers with the quickest firing rate to boot - making it a perfect choice for fanning the hammer. Its only offset is a slightly longer reload time.

• Ammo Types: *Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from all gunsmiths after 'Blessed are the Meek?' in Chapter 2 or found during a robbery of Valentine’s doctor.

Volcanic Pistol[edit]

A lever-action handgun, the Volcanic Pistol deals the most damage of any sold revolver, although it suffers from a medium rate of fire, but boasts an improved ammo capacity.

• Ammo Types: Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, Explosive

Sold from Valentine's Gunsmith

LeMat Revolver[edit]

Housing A 9-round revolving chamber, the LeMat Revolver also has a secondary 20 gauge barrel for a single buckshot round, giving players the ability to switch between a rapid-fire and heavy shotgun.

• Ammo Types: (To be updated)

Sold from Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue and Gunsmiths

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy.

 

Playing video games for a living, I get a lot of envious looks from other people my age who wish they had the time to devote to games. The folks with “real” jobs which leave them scarce amounts of time for gaming do try and squeeze some in, from time to time. Recently, I’ve heard them rave about Spider-Man, God of War, Fortnite and Smash Bros., but one of the biggest selling games of the year almost never comes up, Red Dead Redemption 2.

RDR2 is an undertaking unlike any of the others. It is a story of such a massive scale that it will take the “average” person weeks or possibly months to finish it, if they ever do.

And outside of a few select games journalists, I have talked to practically no one else who has finished the entire story. As I laid out near launch, Red Dead Redemption 2’s main story is about 55-65 hours at the bare minimum. Get distracted at all by side activities like hunting, fishing, bounties and so on, and that can easily stretch into 70-80 hours.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is losing most Game of the Year races to God of War, a game that clocks in at about 25 hours if you’re not distracted, 30-35+ if you’re hunting down all its secrets. And I have to wonder if a big part of that is the fact that RDR2 really could have done with some editing, as could many other titles these days. I know a number of people hadn’t even started RDR2 because they were still plugging away at Assassin Creed Odyssey’s 50+ hour story.

Red Dead’s problem is that its arc is so grand, you have to make it to the end for the payoff. While the first 20-30 hours are certainly good, you are probably not really getting to the meaty payoff of Arthur’s story until about hour 50, which is a mark that many players, most players, will never reach.

The original Red Dead Redemption had something like a 10% completion rate for its story, and I would be amazed if RDR2’s even heftier narrative was anywhere close to that among players that currently own the game. The sheer length combined with a fall full of other must-play releases mean that for many, RDR2 will be one of those “we’ll get to it eventually” situations, only almost everyone never actually will. This is why I’ve had such a hard time finding anyone to talk about Red Dead’s ending with, because so many players are weeks or months away from its conclusion, at best.

As I consider my own Game of the Year picks, this is a case where length is actively working against Red Dead 2. Sometimes, longevity is a plus, like I enjoy that Destiny is a game that makes me come back for hundreds of hours to grind for loot and power and what not. But when you’re telling a specific story, even 50 hours can feel like an eternity. To me, stories that demand this much time are like movies that are 11 hours long or TV seasons that are 60 episodes a year. Both of those things don’t exist for a reason, and there’s a rationale as to why most scripted movies are shows are capped at three hours or 22 episodes respectively. Anything else is A) super expensive to make and B) would cause audience fatigue anyway.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was indeed super expensive to make and also, is definitely causing player fatigue as well. There is no denying the quality of the finished product, and yet I don’t really understand the point of crafting a narrative that only 8% of players will ever finish. It would be like trying to talk about The Sixth Sense with people but 90% of those who started it never finished it to reach the twist that reveals the point of the entire movie. If you don’t reach the end of Arthur’s story, you will experience something similar, even if the payoff I’m talking about isn’t some big plot twist.

We are in an age when video game budgets are exploding and developers making the games are overworked to the point of burnout. My pitch is that you can shave 20+ hours of content from some of these story games, and it should actually make them better. I was heartened, for instance, to hear that Obsidian’s new Outer Worlds game would not be as sprawling as their past work with Fallout New Vegas, and I hope more games follow that lead. Or that of Spider-Man. Or Horizon Zero Dawn. Or any of these more manageable titles.

Have you finished Red Dead Redemption 2? Will you ever? And what does that say about the state of sprawling AAA titles in 2018?

Update: PSN and Xbox trophy data actually puts RDR2 completion at ~20%, not as dire as 10%, but still a far cry from even the majority of players seeing the ending. While it's true it doesn't take into account those who will still finish it, there will be others who continue to buy the game and don't, so I'd expect it to remain at about this percentage over the game's lifespan, or close to it.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook andInstagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novelHerokiller, available now in print and online. I also wroteThe Earthborn Trilogy.