The Red Dead Redemption 2 story mode features a selection of challenges which reward players with money, experience for the Health, Stamina and Dead Eye cores, and reinforced equipment items which grant permanent bonuses to one of the three main stats once the full set has been acquired.
These challenges are divided into different categories - Bandit,Explorer,Gambler,Herbalist,Horseman,Master Hunter, Sharpshooter, Survivalist, and Weapons Expert. While clearing these challenges is in no way required to complete the game and watch any of the endings, there are a few incentives for clearing them, not counting the money, experience and item rewards. As Red Dead Redemption 2 features a lot of different mechanics, attempting to complete any of these challenges will make you more knowledgeable about them and, in turn, make the game way more enjoyable.
If you're a completionist, however,you must complete all challenges, as doing so is one of the requirements for obtaining 100% Completion, which is, in turn, required to obtain the Platinum Trophy and 100% clear rate for the Xbox Achievements, as one trophy/achievement is unlocked after achieving full completion percentage.
Living means surviving in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, so it's hardly surprising to see a Survivalist category for challenges. These will test your skills in fishing, hunting, and crafting.
In this guide, we take a look at the ten Survivalist challenges and give you some useful tips to complete them with ease. Just like for the other categories, the Survivalist challenges must be completed in the order they are unlocked, so bringing five animals to Pearson or any trapper will count toward progression for the second challenge if the first hasn't been completed yet.
Survivalist Challenge Overview
The Survivalist challenges are among the most varied of the entire game, as they test your fishing, hunting and crafting skills, often tasking you with seemingly difficult tasks like kill scavenging animals while they are feeding a corpse, fishing from a riverboat and while standing on train tracks and more. Despite their difficulty, they're much easier to complete than some other challenges, like the Gambler challenges, as they don't depend on luck at all. Sharpen your skills, and you won't have much trouble completing them.
Catch 3 Bluegill Fish
The first Survivalist challenge is very simple, and you will likely complete it without even trying if you have been doing a little fishing, as you must simply catch three bluegills.
Fishing becomes available once Arthur gains a fishing pole, which happens during the A Fisher of Men story mission in Chapter 2. The mission will also teach you the basics of fishing, which is affected by the timing and the different bait types.
Catching bluegills doesn't require incredible fishing skills, as they are among the easiest fishes to catch. They are also extremely common, and you will find them in pretty much any body of water all over the map. Equip cheese as bait and catch the three fishes to complete the challenge.
The reward for completing this challenge is the Survivalist Gun Belt. This item is part of the Survivalist equipment set which grants a permanent Dead Eye bonus once all the items in the set have been acquired.
Kill 5 Animals With A Varmint Rifle
The third Survivalist challenge is as simple as the previous two, as you must just kill five animals with the Varmint Rifle.
This special rifle is not among the weapons you can obtain automatically during the course of the story and must be bought by any gunsmith. This weapon is not suited for combat at all, due to its terrible stats, but it's perfect for hunting, as it's the only weapon capable of getting perfect kills on varmints like rabbits, rats, raccoons and so on.
Finding the five animals to kill with the Varmint Rifle is extremely simple, as rabbits can be found all over the map, quite often running around close to roads. Once you spot one, aim with the rifle and try to get a headshot to kill it with a single shot. Make sure to collect the carcass or harvest its parts to make a profit as well.
The reward for completing this challenge is the Survivalist Off-Hand Holster, which grants a permanent Dead Eye bonus once the full set has been obtained.
Craft A Dynamite, Fire, Improved, Poison, And Small Game Arrow
The fourth Survivalist challenge will test your knowledge of crafting, as you must craft a dynamite, fire, improved, poison, and small game arrow to complete it.
These items are not available for crafting automatically, as you need to obtain the related crafting recipes first. They can be purchased by any fences after completing the Spines of America story mission in Chapter 2, which is the mission where fences are permanently unlocked all over the map.
Once you have obtained the recipes, you must get the items needed to craft all these arrows. The dynamite arrow requires one arrow, one dynamite, and one flight feather; the fire arrow requires one arrow, one animal fat and one flight feather; the improved arrow requires one arrow and one flight feather; the poison arrow one arrow, one oleander sage, which is found mostly in the swamps near Saint Denis, and one flight feather; the small game arrow requires one arrow, one flight feather, and one shotgun shell. Try crafting at least eight small game arrows, as you will need them for a later challenge.
The reward for completing this challenge is $10. You will also get additional Stamina EXP.
Catch a Fish in the Bayou From a Riverboat and While Standing On Train Tracks
This Survivalist challenge is going to test your fishing skills, as you must catch a fish while standing on a riverboat and while standing on a train track in the Bayou. This area is found in Lemoyne, in the southeastern side of the map. A few story missions will also bring you to the area, so you should be familiar with it if you have reached Chapter 4.
While completing this challenge is quite straightforward, at least on paper, there are some additional difficulties. The Bayou Nwa area is filled with alligators, so you must take great care in avoiding them, as they are incredibly resilient and it will take quite a few shots to kill them: if they start coming after you, we suggest you run fast since they can kill Arthur with a single blow.
Riverboats are pretty common in the area, but they are most easy to find near the south shore of Lagras lake. Just hop onto one, head south into the river and get fishing. Any fish will do, so you can equip some of the most common baits, like cheese and bread, to catch fishes like the Bluegills.
The train tracks are also very easy to spot by looking at the map. They are located to the north of Lagras lake, and there's a specific spot to the northeast of the lake where they are conveniently placed near a river. Get on the track, whip out the fishing rod and catch any fish. Just make sure no train is approaching, as it won't stop for any reckless fisherman, Arthur included.
The reward for completing this challenge is $10. You will also get additional Stamina XP.
Kill a Scavenging Animal While It's Feeding a Corpse a Total of 5 Times
Things are getting slightly more complicated for the sixth Survivalist challenge, as you must kill a scavenging animal while it's feeding a corpse a total of five times. The corpse can be of either another animal or a human.
While the challenge sounds complicated, there are a few ways to speed up completion. While well away from any settlement, town or city, you can kill any innocent passerby and you can either wait for any animal to come to feed the corpse or place a predator or potent predator bait to make them appear faster. Once the predator has taken the first bite, you can kill it.
In case you don't want to kill any human NPC and avoid the risk of getting your bounty raised, you can kill any animal and use the predator bait to attract predators to the area. In case no animal is on hand, you can use a herbivore bait to make one appear.
The reward for completing this challenge is $15. You will also get Stamina experience for your trouble.
Kill 8 Small Game Animals With Consecutive Shots Of Small Game Arrows
This challenge is rather simple if you have followed our earlier suggestion, as you must kill eight small game animals with consecutive shots of small game arrows.
Small game arrows can only be crafted by accessing any campfire with a regular arrow, one flight feather, obtained by killing birds, and one shotgun shell. As you may end up missing a shot, we suggest crafting more than eight to avoid having to make camp again and gather the required items.
The challenge tasks players with killing eight small game animals, so you must look for rabbits, opossums, rats, squirrels and other very small animals. Among them, rabbits are the most common, as they are easily found running around even when traveling on the roads. If you're looking for good hunting spots, however, you can head over to Bolger Blade to the south of Rhodes or to the fields to the east of Braithwaite Manor.
Since shots must be consecutive, we suggest you go for headshots with the help of Dead Eye. Taking any tonic that fortifies the bar, like the Snake Oil tonics, is also going to be helpful, as it will prevent the bar from draining for short amounts of time.
The reward for completing this challenge is the Survivalist Bandolier, part of the Survivalist equipment set which grants a permanent Dead Eye bonus once all items in the set. have been obtained.
Craft a Homing Tomahawk, Improved Tomahawk, Volatile Fire Bottle, and Volatile Dynamite
The eight Survivalist challenge will put your crafting knowledge and skills to the test again, as you must craft a homing tomahawk, improved tomahawk, volatile dynamite, and volatile fire bottle.
None of these items can be crafted from the get-go, so you will need to get your hands on their related crafting recipes first. While all of them can be found for free in different locations, they are also available for purchase by fences, who are unlocked right after completing the Spines of America mission early in Chapter 2.
To craft a homing tomahawk, you need one tomahawk and one owl feather; for the improved tomahawk, you need one tomahawk and one eagle feather; for the volatile fire bottle, you need one moonshine and one animal fat; for the volatile dynamite, you need one dynamite, which is sold by fences, one animal fat, and a high-velocity cartridge, which can be either crafted or purchased by gunsmiths.
The reward for completing this challenge is $15. You will also earn additional Stamina XP.
Catch a Fish That Weighs at Least 19 lbs
The final two Survivalist challenges are related to fishing. The ninth requires you to catch a fish that weighs at least 19lb.
Since regular fishes hardly reach this weight, the faster way to complete this challenge is by catching any of the fourteen Legendary Fishes. These fishes, which require the Special Lake, River and Swamp lures, all purchasable by the bait shop in Lagras, are extremely strong and will put your fishing skills to the test. A couple of them are located in the New Austin region, which can only be accessed after completing the game, so focus on those that can be found in the other regions.
In case you have caught all of the Legendary Fishes before unlocking this Survivalist challenge, your best chance of finding a big enough fish is to fish near the lighthouse located at the south end of the Van Horn Trading Post in the eastern part of the map. Equip the Special River lure and hope to catch a big enough fish.
The reward for completing this challenge is $20. You'll also get some Stamina XP.
Catch One of Each Type of Fish in the World
The tenth and final Survivalist challenge is among the most time-consuming to complete, as you must catch at least one of each type of fish in the world, including all Legendary Fishes. As some of them can only be found in the New Austin area, this challenge can only be cleared once the story mode has been completed.
There's no way to speed up the completion process, so be armed with patience, get as much bait as you can, including the Special Lake, River, and Swamp lures, and get to fishing.
The reward for completing the tenth and final challenge is the Survivalist Holster, which grants a permanent Dead Eye bonus once the full set has been completed.
You can find the locations of all of the regular Red Dead Redemption 2 fishes and the lures needed to catch them below.
Bluegill
The Bluegill is the most common fish in all of Red Dead Redemption 2, and it can be found easily in all lakes and rivers. Cheese is the best bait to catch it.
Bullhead Catfish
The Bullhead Catfish is found only in swamps, so the best fishing spots are the swamps surrounding the city if Saint Denis in the southeastern portion of the map. This fish's spawn rate increases when it's raining. Cheese and Corn are the best baits to catch it.
Chain Pickerel
The Chain Pickerel is quite common, as it can be easily found in all lakes, rivers, and swamps, but only in the morning hours while the weather is good. The Lake Lure is the best bait to catch it.
Lake Sturgeon
As its name implies, the Lake Sturgeon can be easily found in the southern lakes and swamps. It tends to appear more when the weather is cloudy. The Lake Lure is the best bait to catch it.
Largemouth Bass
The Largemouth Bass is found in any body of water located in the southern parts of the map, including the New Austin region. Rain makes it appear more often. The Crayfish is the best bait to catch it.
Perch
The Perch is very common in rivers and lakes, but only in the morning, with good weather. Bread is perfect to catch it.
Redfin Pickerel
The Redfin Pickerel is located in rivers found to the south of the map, but the weather also needs to be sunny, otherwise, it will not appear. Bread is the best bait to catch it.
Rock Bass
The Rock Bass is easily found in rivers and lakes, but only in the morning and with sunny weather. Bread is the best bait to catch it.
Smallmouth Bass
This bass is the exact opposite of the Rock Bass, as it appears more often when it's raining and only in rivers located in the northern part of the map. Any natural bait is good to catch it.
Sockeye Salmon
Like the Smallmouth Bass, the Sockeye Salmon is found in the rivers to the north of the map, but only when the weather is cloudy. The River Lure is the bait to use to catch it.
Steelhead Trout
The Steelhead Trout is the final type of fish in Red Dead Redemption 2. It can be found in all lakes in the south of the map, like Flat Iron Lake, but only when it's raining. Worms are the best bait to catch it.
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